So, as an apology for the previous chapter, we're gonna make the next two chapters long. Also, since both of our schedules conflict so much, plus college being a thing, updates will be sporadic. Also, sorry in advance

A Hunter's Guide for Running a Hotel

XVIII

Training Paid Off: Moon Festival

"An axe that transforms into a heavy, sharp whip.

Once a simple axe, a mercenary's weapon of choice, this blade was modified when it came in contact with a truly Great foe." -Description of Millie's Guillotine

…

Eighty-Three Days until the Next Extermination

The van that carried the band of wackos known as I.M.P drove across the desert landscape, the burning sands and molten rivers of Wrath speeding past as they trundled towards their destination. While Blitzø was driving like an escaped maniac, Loona was on her phone tapping lightly on her newly replaced (and reinforced) screen (this is the third fucking one this week) while the couple were looking out of the window. Well, it was mostly Millie. Moxxie was staring at the back of his right hand, studying the Hunter's Mark and pondering everything that led up to and followed its existence.

There was no other way to put it, he and the others had been cursed. This…thing's existence would be the death of them all if the worst came to pass. This wasn't exactly something most, if any, Imps would bother going through, the comparable scraps in exchange for their very fucking existence not worth it unless you were insane or on death's door. Even then, death was preferable to this not-life in almost every case. Eternal servitude as a pen pusher, your soul harvested as lighter fluid, there was even an Overlord that made carpet from the skins of the Sinners he trapped. Worst part was, they were aware of this, but he had fucked with their heads to make them like being torn into leather everyday.

Most Deals were accompanied by a bit of gold, to show that you were a demon's plaything. But this? The brand on his hand pulsed, a burning red glow flaring up, then dying down, in cadence with his heartbeat. This was something angrier, more vicious. If the Hunter, for whatever reason, decided to cash in his favor, what would become of them? Would they act as mindless attack dogs, slaughtering whatever they were told to? Would they be aware of it? Would they even care? 'This must have been his plan all along! Four of the best killers in Hell, ready and standing by at all times, loyal, uncaring of their own lives or the lives of others, willing to do anything we are told. He says fetch, we'd fetch! He says kill, we'd kill! And if he told us to die…what else could we do but obey? Oh Hells, I should have just kept my head down, dad was right all along!'

His wife looked at him and noticed his panicked, close to hyperventilating expression. "Something on your mind, Moxxie? You're not nervous about meeting my folk are you? They'll warm up to you!" She was aware of the frosty reception her husband would likely receive from her parents, him not being as "manly" or "macho" as the rest of them. Oh but were they in for a surprise! 'Can't wait to see the look on daddy's face when he sees the hunk o' man my hubby's turned into!'

Moxxie blinked, then looked over to her, snapping out of the dark thoughts that had plagued his mind for the past half hour. He tugged his glove back on, not willing to show that he belonged to anyone that wasn't his wife. I.M.P wore gloves now, to hide the marks given to them. No need to have clients gossiping, after all.

"Yeah. Just thinkin' about this little 'gift' we got from the Hunter." That caused the others to wince while Loona absentmindedly rubbed the back of her hand. "It's hard to believe he…owns us now."

"Eh, not really 'owned', more 'stay the fuck away from me unless I need you'." Unlike Moxxie's fear-clouded and manic mind, Loona wasn't blind to what the Hunter gained from this deal. He wanted them to leave him alone, so he made them leave him alone. If they got better in the process, well he still got what he asked for. Not that she minded, he reeked of dried blood and old bricks. Did he ever fucking shower? "Least he isn't like those dicks who'd fuck us over to get their rocks off," Loona commented, remembering what the Hunter said before departing.

It was paradoxical, how the Hunter had so much power to throw around, yet he didn't. Then again, he didn't seem like the type to dick around in any weight class above his own, regardless of dignity. Something he had written down in the homework he gave them mentioned cheating at every possibility. Made sense, the jackass never played fair in any engagement, regardless of skill. Or class, or pride, or cost. As she was growling the time he threw a bottle of cheap (but incredibly strong) perfume to muddle her smell, Blitzø finished hacking up another fucking feather. The unfortunate mental imagery of her legal guardian chowing down on some Goetia ass got her thinking of something that Moxxie had rambled to her in a panic when he had dragged their sorry asses from that 'Workshop' the jackass had given them the key to (She got a good look, and yeah, it fucking was human skin).

As she watched him flick it out the window, where it immediately got sucked back into the van via Moxxie's open window into his hair, causing him to yelp in disgust, she decided to ask. "I still can't fucking believe he has connections to the Princess of Hell. You and the bird I get, but Charlie fucking Morningstar?" She was even taken back by how his close friend was a living fucking Doll of all things!

"Yeah, we had the same thought. Didn't know how her, of all people, would end up there. But something tells me she's got her own…interesting reasons to be there." Blitzø responded, a twisted smile splitting his face as his mind ran wild with many possible, filthy reasons that a Hellborn noble would fraternize with him. "And now, we have something to blackmail him with, making our scores even!" There was something at the back of his mind. He was forgetting something again, wasn't he? Before leaving the office, he could have sworn he put the "key" to the workshop with the others they had found or stolen. Question was, where did he exactly put it? Oh well, it'll come back to him once they get back from this hick-nic. For now, he just needs to kick back, relax, and- 'Oh shit, am I driving!?' "And we're finally here."

The Van blew past a sign that read "Rough n' Tumbleweed Ranch". Entering the ranch, they saw two elder imps, one male and the other female, waiting in front of them. The vehicle rolled to a stop and the female imp hopped out of her window to wave at them. "Mama! Daddy!"

Millie ran towards them, and her father swept her up, before spinning her around, while the both of them laughed. He placed her down, still a bit giggly. "Yeeeee-hawwww! How's my deadly little pumpkin spice doing?" He asked, Wrath accent front and center as he ruffled her hair affectionately.

"I'm good, Pa! Thanks for lettin' us stay here for the harvest jamboree." She replied, then picked up her dad to give him her own car-crusher hug.

*POP* *POP* *POP*

"OOOoohhh-WEEeee! That felt better than an iced tea at sundown, you've learned a few things while freelancin' ain't ya?" Back thoroughly popped, and feeling ten years younger, Joe stretched side to side after Millie set him down, Moxxie looking disturbed at the gunshot-loud cracks that had emanated from Joe's back.

"It's no trouble Millie." Her mother, Lin, assured her as she stood next to her husband. "We know you aren't making as much anymore, what with 'freelancin' not bein' the most profitable job around." She puts in air-quotation.

"Freelance pays pretty fine, Ma! Especially now, we've been makin' the big bucks!" Millie told them, her voice full of pride. "I dare say we've carved ourselves quite a fortune, what with all the fancy suits with grudges asking fer us by name!" A thought came to her, and she walked to where her husband was, who was carrying their luggages. "Anyway, y'all remember my darlin' husband Moxxie?" She hoped that just this once, they wouldn't-

"We do." Deadpan. Well shoot. Sorry Mox looks like you gotta pull out the big guns fer this one.

"Hey hey don'tchu be like that, he ain't the same noodle arms you knew a ways back!" As Moxxie mouthed 'noodle arms' to himself, he was unprepared for Millie to pick him up like a cat and set him in front of his in-laws, who were glaring down at him.

Moxxie can't help but feel nervous at their intense glare. "Greetings, Lin! Joe! How have you been, uh, with all the... flaming twisters and stuff around here?" He held out a hand to his in-laws.

"We lost our old farm hand to one of them terrors last week." His Father in-law responded, completely ignoring his greeting.

The Marksman imp felt nervous once again upon what he said, his arm appropriately flopping down like a noodle as any bravado leaked out of him. "Oh, crumbs. My bad! I am so sorry. I- I didn't mean to open that wound... sir."

Blitzø, overhearing his subordinate's comment, was offended that Moxxie was licking someone else's shoes instead of his. "Hey, watch it! I'm the "sir" here, bucko!" Of course, Moxxie would know that. It felt ironic considering that his Boss never calls his own Boss "Sir". "Bitch", "Asshole" and "Gape-holed limp dick" were common things used to refer to their temporary coworker and now pseudo-boss. The hierarchy at I.M.P was ridiculously convoluted.

Upon her boss barging into the conversation, she decided to introduce her colleagues to her parents. "Oh yeah! Y'all haven't met my boss Blitzø! And his hellhound!"

Loona felt insulted from the comment. She wasn't I.M.P's fucking pet for Hell's sake! "I'm not just his hellhound." She let out a small growl.

"Yeah, she's my daughter!" Her guardian clarified to them while pulling the Hellhound close and latching on, similar to a python wrapping around a buck.

Loona, having none of his bullshit, broke his hold on her by flexing, causing his entire body to audibly creak as he stretched like a rubber band, then fell to the floor. "Only on paper!" She reminded him before pulling out her phone and began stabbing (carefully) at the screen. "Y'all don't deserve to know my name." She was ignored as her guardian walked away to greet his colleague's parents.

While Moxxie dodged the shove he saw coming a mile away, Blitzø was fine with public humiliation. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the sperm and egg factory that popped out this little gem of an assassin. You two raised a…" He playfully elbows Millie, which made a sound similar to a large bell being rung, then cursed under his breath due to her enhanced body. "…Sturdy bitch."

"That we did! So... Blitzø, is it? Heh heh. That's a fine name." Joe shook his hands with the other Imp. Muscles tensed, bones creaked, and enough force was exerted to crush a normal demon's rib cage. Yet neither backed down, neither made any indication they were giving their all to mangle their opponent's hand. A true man's exchange, that was broken with a silent understanding and unclasping of iron fingers.

"It reminds me of war." Lin commented upon hearing the name, a dreamful smile crossing her face as she saw battles and trenches from her glory days.

"Nothing like a little war to make a strong man!" Millie's father let out a happy sigh before he flexed his biceps.

Blitzø can't help but make a snarky remark to the elder imp. "I like you people."

Moxxie thought it'd be appropriate if he'd join in their conversation. "Y'know... more battles were won by technological advances in warfare. I've researched the history of weaponry extensively, and it's inspiring how..." He decided to leave the part out where he and his colleagues mutilated the Hunter for ten straight minutes (And that's another event that'd haunt him for life. For fuck's sake, was there anything that asshole wouldn't do to spite him?!),"…For example, the progression of guns utilizing angelic technology has changed the landscape of Hell's combative..." He looked over to the side where his wife was frantically signaling an 'x' with her hands, before turning to his father-in-law, who had his arms crossed. "I mean…war fun!" He corrected himself in a deep voice.

"Guns get the job done... but a man ain't nothin' if he can't tear the head off a hellish beast with only his bare... hands!" Joe reminded him. This reminded the marksman of the Hell he and the others had been put through for the sake of being "professional".

"I Understand!" He quickly responded while he straightened himself, shoving memories away.

His boss laughed at his meek declaration, before he proceeded to egg him on in a baby tone. "He's right, Moxxie! You got cute wittle baby hands like your baby dick!" He grabbed his subordinate's hand and reached towards his crotch, which caused the other male imp to grab his arm in a specific spot, halting him as instinct told him to freeze.

"Refrain... sir." Moxxie sternly reminded his boss. Blitzø winced slightly at the viper's fangs positioned on his elbow. Moxxie had done that a while back, when Blitzø had been fucking around hard enough, and had knocked his arm out of commission for an hour. Moxxie had begged for forgiveness afterwards, saying he didn't know what came over him, but Blitzø wouldn't forget the fact that Moxxie hadn't even blinked when he was popping his boss' joint out of its socket. Unnerving.

Joe looked over at the two male imps roughhousing, before something else came up in his mind. "Speakin' of strong hands, y'all should meet our newest help." He turned to the other side to call out. "Hey! Striker!"

I.M.P heard the hooves of a horse thundering towards them, and all of them turned to see an imp wearing a cowboy getup riding a black hell horse with a fiery mane. The steed leapt over a fence, before rearing up and roaring to the skies. The cowboy (cowimp)(?) tips his hat in greeting with a stalk of Hell hay in his mouth. "Well, howdy! Oh, lookie here! You must be the famous Mildred!" Striker jumped from his horse and walked towards the female imp. "What're y'all doin' so far away from Imp City? Heh, the free workin' finally slowin' down?"

Millie quickly shook her head. "Oh, no! Freelance isn't free! It's a—... Never mind. We're just visitin' for the festival. The prince is our boss's boyyyyfrieeeend!" She said the last word very dramatically.

Blitzø felt insulted the way she said about the Goetia. "Millie, I am not above hitting a female in front of her daddy." And that caused his colleagues and adoptive daughter to groan inward.

Strike now shifted his attention to him. "Boss, huh...? Ohhh, YOU'RE the bold imp that started his own killing biz?"

"Yeah, well if you're good at somethin', you should probably capitalize." Blitzø clarified. After all, there really was NO ONE else better than them! Nope, not even ONE person came to mind!

Striker was astonished by his way of thinking. "Not many Imps start businesses like that on their own. That's pretty impressive, sir."

"Oh...! Yeah? It is— I-I-I guess- I guess it is, isn't it?" He said while stammering within his words. To be finally recognized! This was the best feeling ever!

The cowboy imp(?) then moved to another subject. "So you even conned that ditzy blueblood into gettin' you to the surface?" He grabbed Blitzø's hand and shook. Striker sensed just how physically strong the other one was, a respectable strength for an Imp. It was just borderline…unnatural.

"Well, it's long and complicated, but the short answer is yes." Now, Blitzø felt embarrassed to what he was about to say, "But he's not like, you know- W-We're y- We're not, like... We're not doing it... We w- What's betw- It's a transactional fucking, you see." He proceeded to make a sexual motion with his hands.

"Y'know... you boys should enter the Pain Games!" Joe told the two, causing Blitzø to scuttle away to his side, embarrassed and desperate to hide it.

"I heard games! What games, I'm in!" Blitzø quickly inquired. 'I just hope it'll be on the same level where we properly fought the Hunter with our new toys!' He then imagined using the Whirligig Saw in that event.

A deranged smile split his face, as Lin explained. "Every harvest festival, there's a competition to be the roughest, toughest bastard in Wrath!"

Hearing this made Millie cross her arms and let out a pout. "Yeah! Wish I could play!"

"Millie, you know you get too carried away. The last competition ended in fifteen separate funerals." Her mother reminded her, remembering the previous games she attended.

"I'm aware, but I only caused nine of them! How come Sallie May still gets to compete?" She complained before whining at the thought of her sister competing without her.

"Your sister doesn't have a neighborhood head count." Lin calmly answered.

"She so does!" She barked back. At the same time, that same sister passed by carrying a sack, with another imp dragging a dead imp body.

"It doesn't count if they don't find the bodyyyyyy!" She chimed in with a sing-song voice, which only made Mille seethe.

"Still, you get to root for her and your brothers, and now you can cheer on your boss!" Lin assured her daughter.

That topic made Moxxie place a hand on her shoulder. "Y'know, she can also cheer for me." He told her.

His father-in-law heard this before he let out a laugh, making him wheeze and slap his leg in the process. "…Wait, you?"

"Yeah! I can compete, can't I?" Moxxie spoke, wondering if they would gain his respect.

-Scene Change-

A hellhog peacefully slept within the confines of a pigpen. Moxxie cautiously walks towards the animal with a dagger and rope Striker had given him. All the while he was deep in thought about his Boss's words. "Now, just remember, your rep with the in-laws is on the line here! So, no pressure at all, you totally will not make an ass of yourself in front of everyone important in your life. Go get 'em, tiger."

Though he felt very nervous (considering he hasn't taken down a defenceless animal in his life), he wanted to prove himself. To his wife's parents that he could be capable of handling himself. His nervousness wasn't helping since his wife, his in-laws, his two colleagues, and Striker watched within the wooden gates. It didn't deter him from killing this boar. "Everyone is watching and it's time to prove myself! To prove that I am capable of handling myself for the pain game! I just hope Hunter's training would be valuable here!" With this in mind, he slowly approached the hellhog, doing his damn best not to get its attention.

The Sniper was able to get close to it without waking it up, thus giving him the opportunity to strike. No time to waste, Moxxie leapt towards the sleeping animal to pin it down. But there was a sudden upset.

Instead of being on top of it, Moxxie found himself at the hellhog's side, the rope tightly wrapped around its neck. This woke the animal, and it frantically squealed, thrashing around to run away from him. Right before he could raise the dagger, instincts that weren't his flared up, as the Man-eating Boar was stunned from the bullet sinking into it's thick skin, rattling what could barely be called a brain. The beast squealed, as it staggered on uneven hooves in an attempt to regain its bearings, resulting in it facing away from her. Opportunity presented, she grabbed her serrated throwing knife, then he flipped the dagger in his right hand to be blade-first, then…

Shoved his entire arm…

Right up its rectum…

The Hellhog screamed in agony, the twisted dagger tearing its softer innards apart with every thrash it made, blood and fecal matter spraying all over the pen. After a second of being in there, Moxxie yanked his arm back out, revealing the blood-shit stain that coated his right arm up to his elbow. Even more insides spewed out, and the Hellhog let out one final, gasping squeal, before face planting in the mud, dead. The knife had small bits of gut sticking to the serrated parts, and shit was ingrained into the grooves and notches.

The spectators who watched the scene before them had varying reactions. Blitzø was pissing himself at his Marksman giving the poor thing a back-alley prostate exam. "I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE A PAIN IN THE ASS! HAHAHAHAAAAAA!"

Loona had recorded the whole thing, expecting something for a fail video, but was impressed how this fatty butchered the animal. "This is fuckin beautiful," she commented, already seeing the temporary fame that awaited him once they got back. Her nose wrinkled 'No fucking way is he getting within ten feet of me for the rest of the week.'

His in-laws were impressed by this satisfying takedown, although there was a touch of disgust shown in their eyes. That was Joe's favorite shaving knife! And he ruined the liver and kidneys! Both were the best parts to fry, but now they were mush! At least he didn't fuck up the heart, that can at least be used for stew. 'Hmm, do I even need to gut it?'

Striker, however, was visibly grossed out. He'd thought the scrawny little guy would need a hand in taking the pig down, not fucking sodomize it! Something caught his eye. Under the glove that had been pulled up on exit (Uugh, it's prolapsed), something glowed. He didn't catch what it was, but now it had his eye. 'Looks like these here cityfolk got a few secrets of their own. I reckon I could use that against them, if need be. First, I gotta find it.'

Out of everyone, Millie was the only one who was outright confused by her husband's 'method' of killing the hellhog. She saw that his first plan was to rope it and stick it, using the lasso to cut its air, then slashing its throat while it was down. Personally, she always enjoyed the 'ride it until it's out of steam, then break its neck.' technique. Yet, some instinct had made him change his approach. This wasn't the first time now that she thought of it. 'Moxxie ain't usually like this, but ever since he got that antique pistol he swears by, he's been a lot more direct with his close-range kills.' A proud, yet slightly grim smile crossed her face. 'I'm glad that worked out then, I was worried he was about to make a fool of himself. But now,' She turned to look at her parents, who seemed to have a small sense of respect within their eyes. 'Let's see what they think of that!'

"EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW!" Moxxie squalled, smelling the shit-blood stains that were starting to dry on his arm. "It's fucking everywhere, oh fuck!"

Millie slumped slightly. 'Ah. I ferget he's squeamish like that sometimes. How are we gonna clean this up? No WAY that filthy shirt's comin' back home with us.'

He used his left to wipe it off while it was still relatively fresh, but all that did was spread it further. This wasn't what he expected, but doing it like that had felt right somehow, although that was definitely not the case now! 'Why the fuck did I do that!? That was disgusting! Oh fuck how am I gonna wash this off, blood already such a mess to clean, but now there's shit and guts and fuck fuck FUCK!'

He failed to notice Striker walking up to inspect the thoroughly dead game (and try to take a peek under Moxxie's glove), which gained his attention by rattling his spade tail near him. "I gotta say, that's not what I expected from a city boy like ya! Good work I suppose, saves me some of the trouble of gutting it." As he hefted the boar over her shoulder, and turned to walk away, he turned back to Moxxie. "I suppose it's not too late to make a man of you yet."

Moxxie only stared at him silently, in slight awe (but still disgust at his arm) before he walked away with the hellhog over his shoulder, looking back to the others. "Hey, boss man! You wanna help the men skin this thing for dinner?"

Blitzø excitedly threw his fists up in the air while the cowboy walked past him along with Millie's parents. "Oh, I am always down to skin the manly meat with the manly men!"

"That's what she said!" Loona commented before joining the others.

Her guardian figure took offense to this comment. "What "who said"? Wait, what bitch is talking shit about me?!" "Which one isn't more like" "What does that even mean?!"

While Loona and Blitzø pointlessly squabbled, and the others walked inside of the house, Millie approached Moxxie, who was still wiping the mess in his arms by scraping it on the wood, before patting him on the back to comfort him. "Well, at least you were capable there, Mox. But you don't need to do all of this to earn my parents' respect. They will give it to you eventually."

"No they won't!" Sallie May commented despite being far away, making Millie glare at her sister. "What? I'm right, ain't I?" Then, she saw the blood and shit that coated the pen. "Ah, what the fuck did you do?! I'm on pen cleaning duty today you ass!" Sallie was not happy about having to clean up whatever the hell happened. It's like they slaughtered fifteen fat men with explosive diarrhea! Blood was fine, shit was ok, but both with guts?

As she wordlessly screamed, her words only motivated Moxxie. "Still, I'mma enter those games." Hearing this caused his wife to sigh but not out of sadness. Knowing the kind of hell they'd gone through thanks to the Hunter, she felt as though he'd be more capable in the Pain game. There's simply no point in dissuading him to not partake.

"Hmm, how pissed would you be if I bet on him dyin'?" Her sister, apparently over whatever fit of rage she was having, appeared out of nowhere and leaned onto the fence near the couple, which caused Millie to glare at her sister again.

-Scene Change-

After changing into another shirt plus somehow cleaning most of his right arm (he could still smell it, even after using almost all the soap he had brought), Moxxie found himself crowded near a stage and stood near his boss and Striker. Up in the platform, an imp, who seemed to work in a lot of odd jobs, stood within it with a microphone in hand. " Welcome, I say-a, welcome-a... all to Wrath-a Ring's-a annual-a Harvest-a Moon-a... a-Festival!" Wally Wackford greeted in a dramatic tone.

Blitzø covered his ears because goddamn this imp was so loud! Striker took note of this. 'Sensitive hearing? Not something Imps normally suffer from. Little dude's not affected, but he's squintin' and it's barely noon, plus his eyes are dartin' around everywhere. Sensitive vision, and advanced motion tracking. If we get in a scrap, flashbangs would take both out.' "To kick things up, we have the great prince Stolas-a, here to usher in this here Pain Games!"

The leader of I.M.P and his Sniper turned to the Goetia and noticed a very unusual look. His eyes were very sleepy and blinked a lot, which signaled he had had little sleep. "Uh, Boss, why does Prince Stolas look so…tired?" Moxxie had asked, knowing what his boss did last night. Blitzø squinted at the Goetia, then groaned.

"Looks like someone was up all-night reading again!" Blitzø was unfortunately familiar with this side of the Prince. Anytime he found something that caught his eye, he'd spend every waking hour focused on nothing but that. He remembered the time the Prince had found a half-burned book, from some place called… fuck what was it? Bergworth? Burgermart? Whatever. Point is, the Prince had spent fifty-two hours awake, and he wasn't even reading the damn thing! Just poking at it with all kinds of weird equipment and hissing at anyone that got too close. (Him hissing at Stella would forever be the funniest lock screen Octavia had shown him) Eventually, him and Octavia had managed to remove the book from his position by baiting him into his bedroom, then filling the room with chloroform gas. After he had passed out (another three goddamn hours what the fuck is he made of!?), Blitzø had snuck in, nabbed the book, and the two of them dumped it in the fireplace, ignoring the way it screamed when it burned. Sure enough, the Prince seemed to forget about the book the second it was gone and had eaten for the first time in three days after that.

After that, Blitzø had started to remind him about the real world, so that he wouldn't walk off a balcony or into one of Stella's poorly laid traps, by fucking him in the ass every time he picked up anything that even looked suspicious in his presence. So far it worked, but apparently Blitzø was gonna have to be a bit more thorough. He still remembered the night he and Stolas had fun (And Goddamn, the Prince is a good rider!), but there's a non-negligible chance that he'd have to 'saddle up' again after this was over.

The Goetia Prince slowly blinked his eyes, one after the other, and saw that everyone was waiting for him to make his announcement. Rubbing his eyes, he let out a yawn before standing up and walking to Wackford. He took the microphone off from the imp before letting out an embarrassed chuckle. "How kind, Wackford." Now he turned to the crowd. "Greetings, tiny... Wrath Ring Imps! I hereby welcome you all to another year of celebrating the spoils of your labor that continue to feed the citizens of Hell!"

Instead of getting applause, all of them just glared at the Prince. Some even let out a few "boos!". Well, this was getting awkward. Stolas needed to make this fast. "I'm happy to kick off the start of these games that will challenge the toughest Imps to show their skill in dominance. Good luck to you all!" He shifted his attention to a certain individual, which boosted his energy from his sleep depravity. "Especially that sexy little one there... Yoo-hoo! Blitzy!" He let out a friendly wave.

Blitzø could only glare at the prince while both Moxxie and Striker quickly glanced at him. "Ugh. Fuck me."

…

…

…

*BANG*

With that gunshot, the Pain Game had already begun. And sure enough, two imps were already taking the spotlight.

First, Blitzø and Moxxie jolted in a blink of an eye within the trail as the run began, leaving Striker and the other contestants far behind! Oh dear, Stolas never realized how fast his darling was. Now that explains how he was too fast in their deal.

The next game, they both excelled in climbing the wooden ramp structure with varying results. While Blitzø leaped from it, clearing with meters to spare, Moxxie nearly fell into the pond, but she twisted midair as she spotted a monstrous shark lurking within the murky waters. It lept, jaws with far too many eyes closing in on her. Angling just right, she snapped its jaw shut and pushed it onto its back with a well-placed kick, then plunged her hands into the water, pierced the creature with his hands, and speared its heart out. Landing on the floating carcass, he nervously glanced at the heart still twitching around his pointed fingers. Oh crumbs, he did it again, and this time it was against this event's property! As much as he wanted to barf, he'd need to hold it in. To save himself from embarrassment, and also to keep up with his leader. Who had already finished. Crumbs.

As he hopped to the shore, a heavy set of boots landed next to him, and immediately started bolting for the line. Not one to be left behind anymore, Moxxie pursued, and both Imps were soon neck and neck. The line got closer, closer, and then…. "TIE!" Breathing a bit heavy, Moxxie turned to his opponent, and held out his hand.

"Marvelous race my friend!" As Striker just stared at him uneasily, Moxxie looked down, and realized the heart was still on his hand. Panicking, he waved his hand around, trying to shake it off, while Striker plotted and schemed. 'Never thought I'd see that today, but he's surprised too. Instinct maybe? The Hell kinda instincts make you rip a heart out?! I'm gonna need some answers after this is done.'

Tug of war. Now, that type of game would normally mean Moxxie loses instantly over the others and his boss. Yet, somehow, he was barely keeping on par with his boss along with Striker, who they teamed up against three muscular imps (making Moxxie blush and be momentarily distracted before getting out of his fantasies) where the trio easily yanked the rope towards them. The three muscular imps fell into the water due to the rope pushing them off the platform and unfortunately became the snack of the monstrous sharks. Still, they were somehow still alive.

Though he wasn't behind Blitzø and Moxxie, Striker's suspicion only grew to new heights. He barely had to put in any muscle, yet Blitzy and the Little dude were smoking the others like prize bulls 'gainst ponies. String beans beatin' pure muscle in a tug-a-war? Horseshit. The way these two city imps played; they were definitely riggin' the odds, but how? Did they have help? Who? The Goetia? 'Couldn't be, while he has his favorite, he's done jack-shit to help. Don't think he really cares much about this truth be told, just here because he needs to be. Sleep deprived too, so while he's only aware of his immediate surroundings, he's also not pulling any mental strings. Makes the shot easier, but answers none of my questions.' He needed to figure out these Imps, and why they made so little sense.

Wrestling. In a pen topped with barbed wire. If that weren't enough overkill, it was fought in a mud pit. As Striker grappled against Blitzø, the assassin in disguise could feel the substantial difference in strength between them and disengaged before he could be pinned to the ground. Blitzø wasn't making it easy, his unnatural contortions making it easier to catch greased soap in a hurricane, and was closing the distance, laughing like a loon. At the same time, Moxxie had quick stepped to the side of the first Imp that tried to dogpile him and drove the palm of her fist into the mutated Yharnamite's jaw, sending elongated and sharpened teeth flying through the air, and quickly stepped behind another that tried to tackle her. Wrapping her arms around the waist of the guy in front of him, squeezing hard enough that he heard bones pop, she then performed a suplex that could shatter stones, but instead buried the poor sod up to his chest in the mud. Despite her small size, he grabbed two burly Imps by the base of their horns, bashing their heads together, causing them to slump, concussed, to the muddy ground. She took a moment to catch his breath, as she looked at his surroundings to see what he had done.

'What in the unholy fuck what is happening?! What are these flashes? Who was that? I…I need to get my head straight I-I can't I-'

Moxxie's panicked internal tirade was ground to a halt by two external senses. A heavy hand clapping on his shoulder (and causing a minor bruise to form) and hearing some- wait no- many people shouting his name.

"-x! Mox! MOX! MOX! MOX! MOX! MOX! MOX!"

They…they were cheering? But…why? He wasn't that strong; he wasn't that burly! He was just…surrounded by the weakly twitching forms of his opponents. Ah. That'd do it.

"I TOLD YOU HE'D DO IT!"

A voice boomed like thunder, audible over all other noises. Turning towards it, he saw his wife standing there, foot slowly caving in the wooden guardrail it was planted on. As her family watched on (With approval! With admiration! And with slight winces, from Millie screaming from directly next to them), she shouted her declaration for the whole festival to hear.

"I HOPE YOU GOT SOME MORE FIGHT LEFT IN YOU MOX! YOU'RE GONNA BE NEEDIN' IT TONIGHT!"

A blush spread across his face, as the rest of the spectators started laughing and whistling at the poor lover-boy getting his just rewards. 'Well… I guess it would be nice. I hope she's gentle tonight, I'm going to be a bit soft for the next few days. Oh what am I saying, I'm taking what I've earned tonight!'

The crowd cheered louder as Moxxie flirtatiously winked back at her, causing Millie's feral smile to stretch into pure hunger. Worried that she'd jump him in public, he hurriedly mounted later to her, then turned back to Blitzø. Who had somehow managed to wrap himself around Striker's upper torso like a lasso. Striker seemed confused as to how Blitzø's body functioned, while Blitzø was immobile, having managed to tie himself into a perfect honda knot, and having no way to escape. Having gained an unfortunate amount of experience with 'undoing' the knots his boss made himself into, Moxxie sighed, and got to work.

Once the game had ceased, and all contestants were more or less conscious, the wacky imp jumped back onto the stage, and landed like a superhero, before standing back up. "I say, I say, for the first year ever, we have a three-way tie for winner of the Harvest Moon Pain Games! First ever in documented history, and maybe the last time ever! These are the roughest, toughest bastards in Wrath I do declare!"

Right as he was about to announce the winners, Stolas had, rather rudely given how he was semi-awake now, taken the microphone off from the imp. "The Winners are my daaaarrrlling Blitzy and his Marksman sidekick! And also Striker I suppose."

Blitzø and Moxxie, who stood at the side of the stage, heard this announcement. The former only rolled his eyes at what he heard. "Just say my name RIGHT! Fuckin' dick." Still, he walked with a bit of bounce, flexing towards the losers as he ascended the stage. Moxxie just chuckled and turned where his wife sat in one of the wood benches and saw the look of pride in her eyes. The parents were almost smiling! He'd gained more affection at this one event than his entire time knowing them in person! Which wasn't truthfully long, but still. Shifting to Striker, he can't help but feel uneasy. He'd been…focused, ever since the end of the match. His eyes had narrowed into his, like he was looking for something inside them. Something he didn't find, as evident by the rush of air from his nose, and him walking away.

For a moment, he was worried that Striker was sore about not being first alone, but it seemed he had only had eyes on him specifically. Oh no…was Striker into him? 'It's just like one of my trashy romance novels! But why did it have to be me?! Why couldn't it be the boss instead!?' But, after a bit of thought (and a dose of common sense administered via palm to forehead), it felt more like Striker was sizing him up. Did that mean he was a 'real man' now that he was considered a threat? Oh this was just too confusing!

Back with Millie, she was barely keeping herself in control. Her honey was right there, and she had to keep herself from jumping his bones right then and there. That sassy little wink, he knew what it was doing at it was driving her insane!

As her claws were slowly adding deeper scratches to the already scarred benches, sanity revealed itself via her parent's whispers. "-he's not exactly-." "-told us soone-" "uscle out of thin air-" "-right choice-" Her fingers unclenched. They were proud of him! Sure, it took competing in the Pain Games (That she's still pissed about being banned from!), the deadliest sport in 50 miles, but it worked! The female imp gazed at her parents, and saw their expressions were slightly improving. It wasn't much, but Moxxie was getting there.

"I gotta say…" She turned to Striker, who sat next to her, with a little space between due to her fingers still lodged in the wood. "That little swanky husband of yours sure puts on a show!"

"Yeah, he sure does!" She admitted with the same pride.

"That got me thinkin', what's with that glow under his glove?"

The female imp looked at the farmhand with a very bewildered expression. 'What is he on about?' "Glow? What glow are'ya on about? Only thing I care for right now is getting him in me now."

Now, Striker was a patient Imp. He'd managed to crack a particularly stubborn criminal after twelve hours of enhanced interrogation techniques, so he knew how to keep his head cool in these kinds of situations. However, one of them turned themselves into a lasso, and the other's likely possessed, as well as a fifth of his fat paycheck riding on no one knowing it was him that did it. Any and all liabilities or otherwise unaccountable variables must be 'sorted out' before he made his play. And yeah, he was a bit pissed about sharin' the stage, sue him. But now that 'high noon' was approaching, he didn't need someone playin' stupid right before the tumbleweeds started rolling in. "Don't play now, Mildred. I know you're involved in whatever the Hell's up with him. Same could be said for your boss." He warned her, tone straight but lightly laced with venom.

Mllie, however, was still confused about what he was saying. Considering she was barely keeping her pants on from how horny she was, pretty much anything that wasn't her hubby tearing his pants off in front of her went through both ears. "Oh, we ain't gonna be playin' around tonight, that's for sure. If I ain't pantin' like a Hellhound in July by the time he's done I'm gonna straddle him, an-"

Well, the cowboy imp wasn't able to pry anything from her. But, that didn't staunch his curiosity from looking into the city imp. If she wasn't a reliable source, then he'd have to find the next person to answer his demands.

-Scene Change-

Back in Millie's ranch, everyone was busy setting something up (well, Millie and her family were doing the yard work while Blitzo was just watching Striker's horse devouring a corpse). Inside of the house, Moxxie walked up a flight of stairs, wanting to lie down after that crazy experience (he'd need to meet the Hunter within the Dream to explain these weird flashes soon). Reaching the top, he heard something. His ears flicked like satellites, assessing and dissecting the signal. 'A choir? One of the Soprano's throats are dry, and some of the Alto members have had their tonsils removed, but there's no doubt about it, that's a heavenly choir. But that means…'

Walking towards the door the sounds were coming from, Evelyn already in hand, the sniper slowly opens it, and peers around the room before his eyes land onto the bed with a box on top. 'Noise is coming from there. Unless he's packed a chapel in there, I'm certain there's only one thing I'm gonna find.' Cautiously, he crept over to the slim, long box 'Walnut base, fine lacquer finish, whatever's in here is high-end and expensive', and opened it carefully, revealing a slender, pure silver rifle. "Oh my crumbs!" he whispered, recognizing the metal to be Angelic Steel (He'd gotten used to it since his Wife's Modified Axe shined in their room as they slept at night. Helpful if you had to piss at 3am, not helpful when you got close enough to hear the choir screaming.). He ran his hand down the side of the rifle, inspecting its make and model. 'I'm probably the first to even touch this rifle, let alone fire it. Scope's not set yet, but seems capable of 12x. Ammunition, 6.66 Devil Slayer round, singular. Not going for many targets, or he's sure he won't miss.Only one target is even worth this beast. Stolas.'

"What're ya touchin', little dude?" Moxxie freezes up as he hears Striker's voice behind him. He'd gotten so into his inspection that he hadn't heard the boots creeping up on him, or the cloth and leather of Striker's clothes rustling. Turning around, he saw the cowboy imp leaning on the side of the door. "You know, it's rude to go through someone's stuff when they ain't around." "Of…of course! M-my apologies, but I mus-"

"Nah." The door shut behind him. "Now that you're here, I wanted to ask you somethin' that's been burnin' at me ever since you violated that hellhog." Stepping away from the door, Striker slowly advanced on the Imp. taking the long way around the room, towards the window.

Moxie could only gulp, feeling nervous about whatever he was going to say. "W-what is it?"

Striker glanced out the window, then nodded to the other imp's right hand. "Yer really attached to that glove aintcha? It's strange that you wore it even after you tossed the other one. Makes me wonder just what that dim little glow is."

'Crumbs' "W-What glow? I c-can assure you th-that t-there's no such g-glow coming from me!" Moxxie was not handling this well. First he finds this guy's probably trying to kill someone, then he's stuck in the room with him, and now he's asking about the mark! "W-well, you s-see it's quite a funny st-"

"I'm sure it is, little dude." Striker had turned the lights out, and was right next to the curtain, where the sun was peering through the window, illuminating his poisonous eyes. "But tell me, who'd ya get it from?" Moxxie stiffened. "Ah, so I was right 'bout that. But now the question is, who? That Goetia y'all been stalkin'? Some Overlord? Or is it somethin' else?"

"Why do you need to know?" Moxxie was starting to feel how this was unfolding, and was starting to get his thoughts in order. A fight in a small room, against an opponent who's CQC was remarkable, were terrible odds for the Marksman. If he could somehow get one of the others in here before things went bad, it would even the odds in his favor, but she'd first have t- AAAAAUUGH!

Bright, blinding light filled Moxxie's vision, Striker having used his recently polished belt buckle to shine the sun directly into his eyes, causing temporary blindness. As he stumbled around, Striker continued to talk. "Yer eyes gave you away. Every time you do one of those things, yer eyes change color and dilate. Kinda like mine, 'cect mine ain't half as sensitive as yers."

Moxxie couldn't see. The light, combined with the dark room, meant that his sight was out of the picture, but her hearing was perfectly…

FWEEEEEEEEE

Nails on chalkboards, metal in a woodchipper, a chainsaw against wrought iron, none of these were even close to the agony that was assaulting Moxxie's eardrums at this moment. Now he was both blind and deaf, the device in Striker's hand rendering his hearing inert. "Yer ears swoop out like sails too, makes it easy to figure out they're hearin' things they normally shouldn't." The gun was kicked from his hand. Moxxie was helpless.

"Now that that's taken care of, let's see what's under here, shall we?" And with that, Striker grabbed the thrashing Imp by the arm, rips off the glove, and h̸i̶s̶ ̴e̴y̸e̵s̴ ̸s̵t̵a̷r̶t̵e̸d̶ ̵ b̵̢̼͇͓̯̂́͛͑͐̉̐͘͘͝͝u̸̢̨̧̎̏̾̑̚r̶͓͖̱̝͋̅̅̄͑̈́̒͂͗̿̍͘͝n̴̡̢̢͚̲͎͓̟̦͖̫̪̾̽͜i̵̡̜̹̖͔̹͍̰͛͂n̸̡̨̢̢̮̪̲̯͉͚̈͊̅́͊̊͂̀̈́̃g̸͍̗̎͐͛̿̽̽̀.

LITERALLY OUTSIDE OF THE SAME BUILDING…

Millie heard something within her home. Her instincts flared up at the sound of her husband screaming, but got more tense from a grunt of pain that wasn't his. By the way it sounds, he was about to get violated by…Striker? Okay, why in the actual fuck is that cowboy interested with her husband!? Without her!?

Snapping back to reality, she bull rushed into the house, and turned into a blur as she reached the stairs. She bashed into the room, and saw the cowboy imp rubbing his eyes, standing over Moxxie with his clothes removed (really, just his glove pulled off, but Millie wasn't in a right state of mind). "WHAT THE FUCK AR'YE DOIN' WITH MY HUSBAND?!"

Striker and Moxxie, both with semi-obscured vision, blearily turned to look at the female imp, and Moxxie, still suffering from his senses being fried, reached his hand to her. "Millie, help me…"

Rage. Pure, unfiltered, hate coursed through her. Blinded by her wrath, her first wild swing at Striker didn't even get close to connecting, but the force of it rattled the window in its frame, and caused the curtains to flutter. Her second swing was ducked under, Striker keeping a hand on his hat to keep it from getting yanked off by the wind. 'FUCK she's strong, if I get hit once it's curtains. He's still the bigger problem though, can't have him anywhere near me.' As he dodged and weaved under, around, and through a few more haymakers that could level buildings, giving a few testing counters to soften her (nothing worked, she was an iron fucking wall), he digested his newly-acquired intel.

Striker had seen what it was that the Imp had fought so hard to hide. He now knew why it had been such a pain to figure out their tricks, and what the hell was up with the sniper. The mark was a brand, and an Eldritch one at that (Caused him a minor headache and his eyes were still itchin'). He had been right, they had been cheating, but he was wrong about how. He thought they had a blessing from an Overlord or the Prince, but no, the members of I.M.P were an Elder Being's Chosen! Most elders wouldn't even stir for the vast majority of their flock, but every now and then, when the stars aligned and enough blood was spilled, they handpicked one that had been deemed worthy, and granted them uncountable boons. Boons that could definitely turn the odds in their favor, like what had been happening at the carnival. The leader's unnatural flexibility fit, as did the bruiser's. Even the most seasoned cult-buster rarely ran into one, and even fewer walked away alive, fewer still with all parts attached. He himself had only met one, some Weasel Sinner that had rambled about eyes and spiders, and he had barely escaped with his life in tow. One Chosen was enough reason for an entire elite dispatch to be sent down to Hell, but fucking four!? They'd send a Seraph if he was lucky, a fucking SAINT if he wasn't. That's assuming he even got out alive, because fresh or not, Chosen are always being watched by their foul God, unless something truly catastrophic was happening elsewhere.

He had to bail. NOW. Damn his curiosity, he should've known better than to meddle with things he didn't understand. Damn the contract too, no money was worth catching the attention of something other. 'But first, I can take one with me. Chosen or not, other or not, all of us share the same weakness.' At this, he made his move. After ducking under another high hook, he yanked the enraged bruiser by the forearm, and kicked out her leading leg mid-air, causing her form to buckle, and she was overextended long enough for him to disengage. Long enough to vault over the bed, grabbing his rifle as he did, slamming his emergency bullet into the receiver and cycling the bolt. Long enough to land in a crouch, sights roughly set on the recovering Imp's heart.

Long enough to pull the trigger.

PWWWM

CRACK

-Scene change to a minute ago because fuck you-

Blitzo was walking around the ranch, Bombproof having wandered off, and he had only just realized that his favorite voyeurism victims weren't present, and was actively looking for them, hoping to show up while they were in the act. "Ooooh Millie~~! Moxxie~~! You guys better not be fucking without me there to witness~~!"

CRASH

'Found them. Sounds like it's really heating up, I'd better hurry.' As he hustled towards the sound, he couldn't help but wonder something. 'Is there a third person already there? A fellow Connoisseur of the fine arts? I wonder if they'll be into competitive sex.' Moving faster, he now had his plan. Barge into the room as loudly as possible, and hopefully Mox won't get blue-balls like last time.

-Scene change to now, unfuck you-

A shot has been fired, but no one was hit. Millie, having snapped out of her rage at the gunshot, looked down at her chest before placing a hand on it. No bullet had pierced her (which, considering the bullet was of the Lethal kind, was a very fortunate occasion.). She turned to Striker, rage pooling up in her again now that it was obvious she wasn't hit, who was now holding a sniper rifle. A sniper rifle that had been shattered into two. Turning to the furthest corner of the room, she saw her husband, who had recovered while the two were briefly brawling, Evelyn in hand with its barrel smoking. Moxxie's aim was impeccable, and he had managed to hit the weakest part of the rifle, causing it to break in half. The gun turned to Striker's eyes, Moxxie already reloaded in the few seconds it had been. "Don't even make a move!"

Damn. The odds were against him again. Striker realized the other imp's quickdraw was lightning fast. Faster than him. He should be angry, but he wasn't. He didn't have the time to be angry, since this dual was gonna be a gunfight if he didn't bail. Seeing his chance getting thinner, he plotted his next course of action… and flung the shattered pieces towards Moxxie, the sharp Angelic fragments making good throwing knives.

Moxxie's eyes widened at the speed the pieces were moving. Fear guided his mind as she knew she wouldn't be quick enough to sidestep to safety…

*SLAM*

*SH-SHUNK SH-SHUNK*

"Are you two fucking already?!" Blitzø entered the room bombastically, throwing the door open with enough force that it swung back, catching the fragments in their path. He wasn't aware that a shattered piece had almost stabbed entirely through the door, the sniper cross-eyed as he stared at the sharp point mere inches away from his eyes.

He was expecting some roughhousing, but not to this extent! The walls were dented, stuff was all over the floor, and they hadn't even taken their clothes off yet! Wait, he was missing something here. 'Gunsmoke, tense muscles, darting eyes? Ah fuck they're having a shootout! Without me! AGAIN!' By the looks of it, none of his colleagues had spilled blood, but Moxxie was still feeling aftershocks, and Millie was slightly bruised (Slightly because Striker could not damage her. The bruises came from her hitting herself accidently). His and his colleagues' eyes darted to Striker, who was climbing out of the window while the others had been distracted. Right before he left, he gave a chilling reminder to the Sniper.

"Watch yerself, Little One. You'll bring Heaven on our heads if that gets out." With that said, he jumped from the window, landing on Bombproof who had apparently been there a while, and hauled ass away.

Everyone could only watch in silence, dumbfounded to what the Cowboy had said. Blitzø blinked a few times, and he spoke. "What the fuck just happened?!"

"An assassination attempt on Stolas, Sir!" Moxxie yelled to him as he put his glove back on. His hearing was still gone, so he had to yell to hear himself. Thankfully, his boss was also incredibly loud, so he could hear him no problem. His wife walked to the side, and helped him to his feet, keeping an arm over his shoulders to help him get his bearings. "He caught me off guard, and would've killed me were it not for Millie's intervention! He was looking for the mark under my glove, apparently it had gained his attention!"

"I didn't realize he's got an interest of the mark," She said, comforting him about how his Branding got revealed.

Blitzø, of course, was taken back by this revelation. "Oh, shit! Did he really take it off!? Damn, Hunter is not gonna be happy with this." His colleagues knew he brought a valid point. The Hunter wanted them to leave him alone, but then only made it worse by showing their enemies their deepest secret. What could they do now? "Oh well, fuck him. Only thing was to keep Stolas from finding out, not some random schmuck with a cowboy fetish. At leas-"

"Quit using that fucking gun, Mox!" The entirety of I.M.P was present now, Loona entering the room after hearing that gunshot from the Fairgrounds, and getting annoyed at hearing it. It was ignorable the first couple of times the fatty had done it, but now he used it any chance he could! Nail loose? Shoot it. Paper needs to be hole-punched? Fucking shoot it. Fly buzzing around the room, and landing on her shoulder? GUESS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED!? (He was lucky he hadn't missed, or she would have skinned him) "It's so fucking loud I could hear it from…far away…" She looked at the messy room and wondered what the fuck had occurred. "Damnit, would you quit fucking 'til we get back!?"

-Scene Change-

The morning sunlight beamed over the ranch as I.M.P packed their bags into the van. Well, it was most of them as Moxxie, after getting his hearing back, found himself standing in front of his wife's father. The other man's arms were crossed, and he was staring intently at him, not blinking. The Sniper could only let out a gulp and wondered why he wanted to see him before going. 'Oh crumbs, why does he need to see me? I somehow proved myself, but what more does he want from me!?'

A few moments had passed and the two imps stared at one another, one as unshaking as a mountain, the other barely keeping himself from shaking. The moment eventually broke as the elder imp smiled at Moxxie, and softly chuckled. "I gotta say, I never expected you to change from the previous time we met. You proved to handle yerself in the pain game. For that, you have earnt my respect." He offered a hand to him.

The Sniper Imp was taken off guard though he was able to recollect himself and took his hand before shaking it. "O-oh, really?! Thank you, Sir!" Sparkles were fully displayed in his eyes. While he was feeling accomplished after finally winning the affection of his in-laws, the thoughts that had been plaguing him came back. 'I still don't know what the fuck Evelyn is doing to me!? Who is 'she'? Why can I see the things she did? Was this hers once? The only type of demons who possess such an ability are the Infestors. But Hunter is more than that. I need to talk to him about these flashes.'

Joe let go at the other imp's hand and silently nodded before heading back to the ranch. Moxxie wasn't aware that his wife was standing on his left. "Wooow! He nodded! He's never acknowledged your input before! Especially the stunt ya pulled back in the games!"

Moxxie nearly jumped at hearing his wife speak, though he managed to regain his footing. Excitedly, thoughts pushed away for now, he asked her "Is that so? Does that mean its progress!?" She nodded at him, before walking towards the van to help the others. He followed suit, but not before having another thought of what Striker had done to him, the shame of his dignity being stripped away (It wasn't that serious, those trashy romances were poisoning his brain. Just his glove got pulled off). 'Striker was able to see the brand. Oh Crumbs, I hope nothing bad comes of this. He wouldn't tell anyone, right?"

…

…

…

Somewhere in a run-down motel, Striker sat on the bed, on a call with his contacter, spinning his angelic-coated revolvers around. "I failed to kill the target at the festival. Didn't expect some fierce resistance from his bodyguards. But don't worry, ma'am... It won't happen again."

On the other side of the call, a certain female Goetia impatiently drummed her fingers through the table. "It better not! I want this cheating prick dead! I don't care who you have to go through, MAKE IT HAPPEN!"

Unsurprisingly, Stella was sitting down on the dinner table, her husband sat on the opposite side and was too occupied to even care. His attention had been sucked dry the past day, with that piece of 'leather' (she knew it was human skin but didn't really fucking care what it is) he's been staring at for five hours keeping him from responding to her. He was practically being hand-fed by his daughter. Octavia, who was so much in a disarrayed state that she blasted music loudly on her earphone, was disappointed that it had happened again, and was waiting for the Imp to come back so that she would be done with this. Stolas, gaining clarity for a scant second, looked up at his wife for a moment, before looking back at the object in interest.

"Understood." Striker assured his handler before the female bitch Goetia hung up the call. Now, he was alone, twirling his gun again as he began planning. He had been close to killing his target, but didn't expect the three imps to set him back. That shouldn't worry him. What they were did. He'd had to re-evaluate his strategy for dealing with them and get some quality cult-busting equipment. "I'll get him next time. Just you wait. Your bodyguards will expect the next encounter to be…different." He let out an evil chuckle as he turned off the light, his poisonous eyes glowing in the darkness while his tail rattled.

Well, chapter a chapter to go, and 10k words no less. This is only the first chapter of two. So, expect it to come in December or January time.

Before moving on to the notes, I just wanna say this in the recent Vivziepop drama. Wow, whoever leaked that is a straight-up dick. I don't know the motives behind it, but I'm gonna say this. You have ruined someone's hard work and that is coming from someone who has had a bad past on writing Fanfiction before (Yes, I copied someone's work years ago and I still regret that action to this day). But please, don't do that again for your own reasons.

Now that is out of the way, here are our notes.

Crimson Soldat: So, Stolas has the key to the workshop but doesn't know how to function it. Which is good and bad. Good because it means the Hunter's secret is kept for now. But bad because Blitzø had inadvertently exposed the Hunter to the Goetia Prince.

HalfWitHillbilly: Well, first they'll have to somehow get it out of Stolas' grabby little hands, before he does or says something that opens a door. Tick tock Blitzo, your boss won't be happy if you fail.

CS: Next chapter will be bloody. So, there will be more actions! This time, it'll be one sided. And Moxxie will get his answer of the strange flashes eventually.

HH: Eventually, meaning five or seven years down the line (jk jk). But yeah, let's see how I.M.P handle something that stays dead when you kill it.

Comment down below what you want to see in future chapters! Right now, we have to go through the first Extermination first before anything else. For now, we will be looking at mostly original content.

With that said, we'll see you in the next update!