As Steve follows Mehira, he notices that he's rather short in comparison to the various other sinners walking around them.

If Steve had to guess, his height would be like… 5'8, and then everyone around him is an actual giant.

During his walk, Steve tried to extend his legs to boost his height, which worked… But it was uncomfortable to hold that position for an extended period of time, so he ended up just accepting the fact that he's created short.

Eventually, Mehira brought him to the bar she was talking about, which was titled… "THE bar."

Mehira saw the look on his face and explained, "Meinol's ego is massive, and quite frankly, rightfully so. He was a key supplier of alcohol back in the day, to the point people were beginning to call him an Overlord, but then he got his ass kicked by Grillby, a different Overlord, and he ended up tapping out. Anyways, Meinol is just a grumpy old dude now, don't be afraid."

Steve tilted his head, "What's an Overlord?"

Mehira smirked, "I'll explain, c'mon."

Mehira opened the door to the bar, gesturing for Steve to come in first. Seeing nothing wrong with it, Steve entered the bar first.

Then someone threw a glass of beer at him, shattering on his face and leaving him drenched.

Despite the absolutely terrible day he's had so far, he still had his dignity as a human being, and so he shouted, "What the FUCK! WHO DID THAT?!"

Laughter erupted from all over the bar, and Steve was stuck in place being extremely pissed with the entire situation, but not being able to do anything about it.

Mehira chose to enter at that point, chuckling, "Consider it an introductory gift. New guys get a glass thrown at them for free."

The bartender, some sort of weird hairy monster who Steve assumes to be Meinol, spoke up, "Yep, it looks like Mehira brought a new sucker in. Don't feel too bad, kid, you'll get used to it."

Steve growled, "I can't close my eyes, and now I have alcohol in it."

Meinol chuckled, "That sucks. Welcome to hell."

Ah, right, he's in hell. How could he have forgotten? That makes it totally okay that Steve has yet to fully accept his body for what it is.

Yeah, right, he's going to kill the bastard one day.

Mehira walked up to the bar, "I'll pay for his drink, since he's broke until he gets himself a job."

Meinol shrugged, "Alright then."

As Meinol went to get their drinks, Mehira patted a seat next to her, "C'mon, Steve."

Steve obediently sat next to her, whispering to her, "Is everyone like that?"

Mehira shrugged, "If nobody has a problem with it, they're free to act however they like. Though, there are rules depending on the turf you're on. We're in Hammer territory, so there are basically no rules here, though."

Steve tilted his head to substitute for the lack of eyebrows, "Hammer territory?"

"It's the territory of the Sergeant Hammer, an Overlord whose only claim to fame is her monopoly over arcades and tank factories," Mehira explained, then she tilted her head as she remembered, "Ah, right, Overlord. Basically, once you get enough recognition from the people around you either through accruing enough souls and strength, taking over some territory, or getting major control over a fairly important industry, people will call you an Overlord. Basically just signaling that you're someone not to be easily messed with. Of course, not all Overlords are equal, and some people try to label them into tiers. But nothing concrete has happened on that front yet. After all, even the weakest Overlords are dangerous for the average sinner to face."

Ah, so Overlords are basically mob bosses. Steve gets it.

It was actually quite interesting, because Steve once wanted to become his own boss. Though, after years of peddling drugs and reselling goods at higher prices to idiots, he eventually became stagnant in his desires for a higher position.

So, perhaps, he will focus on just figuring out what to do with himself for now.

Meinol brought them their drinks, Mehira quickly grabbed hers, and Steve quickly followed.

Though, Steve wasn't an alcoholic. Never get high on your own material, after all. But he decided to just drink to be polite.

And yeah, Mehira wasn't kidding. Meinol was good.

After Mehira finished her glass, she asked, "By the way, Steve, do you have any loved ones still on Earth?"

Steve thought about it for a moment, wanting to say that yes, he did have someone he missed… But the more he thought about it, the more that he couldn't genuinely say that he did have someone close to him.

Steve shook his head, "No, I don't."

Mehira seemed oddly disappointed, "I see. Well, that's a shame, isn't it?"

Steve nodded, "I guess…"

Meinol chuckled as he was refilling Mehira's drink, "That was her trying to take your soul. Don't listen to her."

Mehira frowned, "I own your soul. Don't you forget it."

Meinol tiredly sighed, "Yeah, I don't."

Steve confusedly looked at the two, "Wait, you can own other people's souls?"

Mehira rolled her eyes, "Ugh, what a hassle. Well, there are two ways you can get control of a soul. You can get it personally and control it forever. Or, you can get it indirectly and have it temporarily."

"So, how can I get to own someone else's' soul?" Steve asked.

Life returned to Mehira's eyes as she curiously said, "Oh? Maybe there is some promise in you. Well, the first method requires a soul contract. On just any piece of paper, you can write the terms and conditions for owning someone's soul. If they write their name on that paper, the paper becomes official and you own their soul. You can do the same thing by just verbally stating it and shaking their hands, but people are a lot more wary of that type of contract making because it's easier to find loopholes in written form."

Steve hummed. That all made sense. So he didn't ask any questions and allowed for Mehira to continue.

"The next method is to just own a soul temporarily," Mehira said, "This is usually used for memberships and the like. For example, there's an Overlord named Vox who owns a tech company called VoxTech. They sell TVs, and their newest ones can be pretty pricey. However, if you sign up for the VoxCult Membership, you can give your soul to Vox for the span of a year, and you get lowered prices for the duration of that year. Oh, and this type of soul trading is used pretty often in gambling circles, where the loser gives the winner their soul for a few days."

It sounds like people don't value their souls very highly in hell if that's how they're treating their souls, then. Steve would've imagined that the very essence of their being would be a bit more prized than it sounds… Though, Steve is- was? A Christian, so perhaps he values it a bit differently than the other…

Hm, if Steve was a Christian, than there must be other Christians here. But all non-christians would go to hell, so…

Well, Steve doubted it mattered anyways. They were all equally sinners.

Though, Steve will continue calling himself a Christian anyways. After all, though hell was a bit different than what he thought it would be, his religion was basically the right one. Why should he be ashamed of that?

"So, why would someone want another person's soul?" Steve asked.

Mehira pointed to herself, "You get more power, obviously. For example, my skin color was a bit more pinkish, and my wings were smaller back then. But I got a few souls under my belt, and I could change myself to how I like it. Also, the more souls you gain, the more unique things you can do. I know a few people whose only magic they could do was maybe summon a spark of fire, then they got a few souls and they were much more impressive after that."

Then, Mehira's face turned predatory, as a massive grin appeared on her face, "Oh, and you can't deny the commands of whoever owns your soul."

Ah, so it's power. Of course it's about power.

And apparently, sinners can use magic? That's… Odd. The more he learned about hell, the more it sounded like an fantasy anarchy composed of the worst people in the world.

He did hear of an expression that went along the lines of "Hell is being stuck with your worst enemies," but he didn't actually think that hell would be like that.

Speaking of hell, "How big is hell?"

Mehira hummed, "Hm, population wise? Who knows, nobody is counting. Land wise? There are 7 rings of hell, but you can only travel through the top ring, the Pride ring. That's where we are."

Steve questioned, "Why can't we go to the other rings?"

Mehira shrugged, "Nobody knows for sure, it's just a rule. But the most plausible one is that it lets the angels not have to flush out the rest of hell for their extermination."

…The what.

Mehira spotted the dumbfounded look on Steve's face, "Oh, right. Every year on December 31st, angels come down to hell to cull the population to ensure it doesn't get out of control. That's because you sinners are functionally immortal, and you can't die no matter what damage you take. You'll just regenerate sooner or later. The only exception is if the damage is caused by holy magic or steel, which, of course, the angels have in usually kill about 10% of the population every year. But they kill anyone they can find, so you have to hide. Me, though? I just take a vacation to the lust ring on that day."

Okay, so angels come down to kill sinners once a year.

Wow.

That's happening in 5 months from now.

And apparently, he's immortal now?

Steve wasn't exactly sure how to comprehend all of this. The only thing he knew for sure, though, is that if he ever wanted to kill himself, that was the method.

He wanted to ask why, but Mehira already explained it, and Steve could probably figure it out by himself. It was pretty easy to understand that the demons outnumbered the angels most likely, and thus they don't want to have the possibility of hell rebelling against heaven.

Speaking of which, where is Satan?

So, Steve asked, "So, uh, where's Satan?"

"Wrath Ring 5 rings down," Mehira answered, "Or maybe you're asking about Lucifer, who rules the Pride Ring, and the rest of hell."

"I thought Lucifer and Satan were the same people."

"What? That's ridiculous."

Well, he was still right. There was a Satan. And Lucifer, he supposed.

Steve hummed as he thought of another question, "So, am I supposed to… Just, get a job, somewhere?"

Mehira nodded, "Yep. Or you can sell your soul and your new owner will probably give you a job. You know, I know where you could sell your soul if you wanted to…"

Steve tilted his head again, "Are you an Overlord?"

"Soon to be," Mehira smiled, "I started a few years ago, I'm still just trying to build my niche, but sooner or later, I'll be properly respected."

"And what's your niche?" Steve asked.

"Secret," Mehira smirked, "You're only allowed to know if I own your soul."

Steve sighed. Yeah, that sounds about right for a demon.

Considering his future, though, he probably won't be moving around a lot at first. So he should get a good relationship with the Overlord of this area, and figure things out from there.

So, Steve asked, "So, uh, about this Sergeant Hammer… You say that she owns arcades?"

Mehira's face fell, "Why are you asking about her arcades?"

"I like games," Steve said, "I think I'll probably sign up for whatever job she can give me."

Mehira sighed in utter disappointment, "Ugh. Fine, Meinol, get me a piece of paper. I'll give you the address."

Steve thanked Mehira for her time, and went on his way.

Hopefully, the game industry in hell is up to date.

If the games suck, Steve would probably just try to become an Overlord or something. Fortunately, he thinks that this Sergeant Hammer girl has a good head on her shoulders, so it shouldn't be an issue, and he'll be able to enjoy his new life in hell without any complications.

AN:

Hahahahaha.

Anyways, Plaze is born in the next chapter. Not exactly sure how long each arc will take, but considering it's roughly ~2k per chapter so far, it'll probably be fine.

Also Sergeant Hammer is the same Sergeant Hammer from Heroes of The Storm, Blizzard's moba game. Why is she in hell? Because she's a bitch to fight against with my main, Orphea.

And that's why the entire Heroes of The Storm cast will be in hell.

Anyways, see you.

[Weekly uploads is kind of slow, but I do need the time to work on my other stuff. Maybe I'll do bigger chapters for this when my backlog finishes.]