Meet the Seven Mortal Sins
Notes: Before we get back with our plummeting artist , let's check in with Maria and Satan as they engage in a friendly one on one. Be prepared for a long yet very engaging chapter.
Elsewhere in a swanky Tokyo penthouse, Maria was giddy. Today was the day she was going to visit Satan. A week had gone by since Lucifer's offer and now the arrangements were made for her to come down to Hell to visit the demon lord of Wrath. The schoolgirl turned ambassador passed the time on the balcony overlooking the city.
Maria drew a breath. She thought back to Levi questioning her eagerness to see the gate to the Underworld, but she was confident that Satan would protect her from any actual danger. It was pretty hard to be scared when you had a demon capable of rocking the entire world watching over her.
"Good morning, Maria."
The brunette turned to see a redheaded demon clad in armor who just teleported behind her. Despite the massive battleax still in her hand, Satan had as pleasant a smile as possible on her face."
"Before we leave, I feel it's only right to ask this; Are you truly comfortable with seeing the gates of Hell? It isn't exactly known for tourism. That and we don't have to stay there the entire time."
Even though Maria's knees were still wobbling, she steeled herself. "Yes, I'm ready!"
"Very well. Take my hand."
As soon as she grabbed Satan's gloved hand, both of them vanished and appeared at the gates to Pandemonium. Glancing around, Maria awed at how the clear blue sky was an eerie blood red, the ground looked to be made of fused bones, a horde blueish black silhouettes that were once humans shambled towards the massive gates at the end of a ravine. Maria only had to look towards the gates they were standing under to see it was made of people, petrified with looks of pure suffering on their faces. All of this made her feel faint until Satan spoke up.
"You're already doing better than most people. How do you feel?"
"It's a lot to take in… But it's not the worst thing I've seen with what God is planning."
Satan's gaze become more curious while Maria continued. "But I didn't come here to see the gate, I came here to spend time with you."
The redhead blushed at that, Maria's innocent optimism had her "soft" side coming out again. She shook it off as her attention shifted to one of the souls halting its trek to the gate, crawling towards Maria. Satan's mood instantly soured. Right as it was about to reach for Maria's foot, the wrathful she-demon kicked the soul straight in the face leading it tumble back into the small canyon. Satan's signature look of anger was aimed at the sorry soul.
"How dare you lay your filthy hands on her, you lowlife! Do you want to get erased?! Keep moving!"
"Thank you. I guess that's another thing I need to get used to down here?"
"Indeed, the souls of the damned will stop at nothing to cling to anything living they can get their hands on like moths to a flame."
Maria then suddenly thought of a question. "Satan, please don't take offense to this but… Do you hate humans? You seem to react to people like that down here all the time."
The redhead looked tense, obviously formulating an answer. "Hate is a strong term. I despise the atrocities man commits, yes, but not the species as a whole. This is true for all the Sins save for Belial. Trust me, I wouldn't show this to a person if I hated humans. Plus, your cuteness does help."
Maria blushed at the compliment as Satan continued.
"Cute things have always been my weakness. Puppies, kittens, children and even Beelzebub are too precious to be angry at."
Now the girl had to stifle a chuckle before Satan was turned into a stammering wreck. Their eyes turned to the shambling souls. The demon lord was vigilantly scanning for anyone else trying something funny while Maria felt a twinge of pity. She wondered what all of these people were like in life, if there was anything they could have done to save themselves this fate.
"Don't go there."
"Huh?"
Satan turned towards Maria's questioning look. "You're imagining how these people could have avoided this. Trust me, you'll drive yourself mad if you try to go down that path. They've made their choices already and there's nothing you can do for them."
Maria tried not to let that bother her too much before something caught her eye in the sky. Satan soon followed and caught sight of a black speck that was slowly growing larger.
"Is that something falling?" the human girl asked. Satan decided to fly up to see and discovered soon that it was a person rapidly falling through the sky!
"What the?!" she exclaimed as the oddly colored shape rushed past her before she dove down and managed to pick up enough speed to grab him and return to the ground where a thoroughly baffled Maria was waiting.
"How did a man get down here?!" she asked, "Is he another angel?"
"Doubtful, especially with this hideous costume," Satan grunted, "We need to report this to Lucifer ASAP. Hang on, we're going straight to Cocytus."
One slam of her staff later, Satan and the two humans were now standing in the central throne room of the Mortal Sins. Leviathan was trying to convince Lucifer to share the latter's seat even though the Lord of Envy's had her own seat.
The others were more preoccupied with their usual pastimes: Mammon was busy counting gold coins, Beelzebub was gorging on a massive steak, Belphegor was lounging with her tablet and Asmodeus somehow looked aroused by just slinking over the arm of her seat. All of their meandering, however, stopped the instant Satan arrived with someone new in tow.
"P-Please, you have to help him!" Maria begged, "He just plummeted out of the sky!"
Lucifer approached the unconscious man, her lance already in hand this was a trap. She wouldn't put it past Michael to send bait like this. A quick scan with her magic made her eyes widen.
"A normal human… And he's alive!"
The rest of the Sins were baffled. Belphegor, for once, took initiative and spoke first. "But, like, that's impossible! Wouldn't a normal person explode or something if they tried setting foot in here?"
"There's no precedent as far as I know of," Mammon countered, "But that only makes this all the stranger. Just who is he?"
A slow stream of mumbles suddenly cut them off, the demons looking around until they realized it was the man in Satan's arms. The horned demon laid him down on the floor as his eyes started to open.
"Well… That was officially the worst experience of my life…" he groaned, "Next time, I'm owning up and calling a taxi."
"Oh, thank goodness, he's alive," Maria sighed as she went to help him up. She reached down to give him a hand only for his blurred eyes to first focus on the ample breasts underneath her uniform and a slight grin to appear on his face.
"Well, I've had worse dreams…" he muttered before reaching out for a handful only for a sharp slap to the face to jolt him fully awake.
"Watch it, creep!" Leviathan snapped, "Nobody just gets to get grabby with Maria!"
"Um, didn't you molest her with water tentacles?" Beelzebub asked, only to the get the taller demon grumbling under her breath.
"Okay, so I'm definitely awake now," the man groaned again, tenderly rubbing his cheek as he took on the expansive hall around him and the many women's eyes on him. He also fully grasped that he just tried to cop a feel of a stranger's chest and that Maria was clearly shying away from him. A sudden wave of guilt swept over him.
"I am so sorry, I know I was just a creep but you would NOT believe the day I've had. Not that that excuses what happened-"
"Save the apologies for later. I'd like to put that theory of yours to the test," Lucifer spoke up, commanding his attention instantly, "We're all quite interested in how you got to Hell."
"H-Hell?!"
"The one and only underworld. By our accounts, you're the first living man to have ever set foot in our domain and we're looking for answers."
As disbelieving as the man looked, he did spill how he was just an artist named Salem Winslow going out for groceries before getting lost and ending up in a cult's ritual. To say that the group was surprised would be an understatement.
Salem, for his part, was more put-off by just how insane one night's events got before he himself realized something. He was in Hell, the literal netherworld for all damned souls.
"You all are demons, aren't you?"
"What gave it away, the horns on our heads?" Asmodeus teased. Salem then fell to the ground, his forehead lowering to the floor, much to the confusion of the Mortal Sins.
"I can't believe it… My deepest beliefs have been questioned… I've learned the truth…"
Maria, now fully understanding that this man really wasn't trying anything underhanded, was about to place a comforting hand on his shoulder and relate how she was in the same boat not too long ago.
"I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG!" Salem cheered to the sky, completely stunning Maria and confusing the demons to no end as he leapt to his feet and running circles around the group.
"I knew that all of those Bible-thumping blowhards had the wrong idea of Hell! To them, it was all just fearmongering to get people to act how they wanted, and I mean murder and rape and stuff like that is all disgusting, but that's the fault of man! Demons could be better, stronger, above us in so many ways! That they have beauty and charm of their own!"
"He's really weird," Beelzebub noted, causally pulling out some chocolate out of nowhere.
"But at least he's a fan," Asmodeus pointed out, "Besides, I didn't want to have some poor, scared weakling we have to watch over so he doesn't piss himself."
"I'm wondering how a mortal man can run that fast…" Satan noted, drawing attention to the fact that Salem was dashing quick enough to kick up a dust cloud in his wake. Some of them were starting to get dizzy trying to keep track of him and his rapid-fire questions until Lucifer leaned out with her staff to catch him by the stomach.
"Alright, alright, we get that you're excited, but you are still in our domain. Do try to contain yourself."
"Yes, ma'am…" Salem wheezed, his lungs flattened by cold iron. Once he could properly breathe again, he looked at the group with a renewed energy.
"But, now that you all know who I am… Who exactly are you? Aside from astoundingly attractive, I mean."
The others either blushed or smirked at that blunt compliment before Lucifer started gathering them all together. All seven of them formed a huddle leaving Salem to look to Maria for answers but she was just as lost.
"Well, we could just tell you our names…" Lucifer teased, "But where's the fun in that? How about something with a little more spectacle?"
The blonde demon snapped her fingers, suddenly plunging the throne into total darkness. Salem and Maria yelped in surprise as they felt themselves being placed into two cozy armchairs that appeared out of nowhere. A spotlight shone down on them from on high, illuminating how they were now in black leather seats, Maria looking more frazzled as she tried to figure out what was going on. Salem, meanwhile, was now bouncing in his seat in excitement.
"This is going to be awesome!" he cheered silently before the blackness parted to reveal that they were somehow underneath the ocean. Sunlight rippled dozens of feet above them as fish of all shapes and sizes, including an adult Great White, swam past and the floor was a rocky mishmash of colors and textures. Even more strangely, despite all evidence to being submerged, neither of the humans felt the least bit wet.
"The desires of man run deeper than all the oceans," a voice announced around them, the fish suddenly swimming for their lives as massive infernal whales colored blue and purple emerged out of thin water to start devouring the other sea creatures.
"To be the best at all costs! It's only natural for humans to take from others so they can thrive! I represent the push that makes all humans achieve!"
As the voice rose to a crescendo, the demonic pod began to swirl around and soon forced all of the ocean water to part around them. As the current sped up and evolved to a full whirlpool, the menacing marine mammals turning into a blur until a single piercing beam of light shone down from the now open sky. Maria and Salem both watched in awe as the seafloor cracked in front of them to reveal a colossal geyser of seawater.
And riding this spout to the top was a purple-haired buxom beauty, her white tee shirt clinging to her ample body while her striped, blue sleeves and stockings turned sheer to reveal more skin. With a sudden jerk down of her arms, her aquatic jet lowered herself down to her audience so they could see the challenge in her blood-red eyes. "I am Leviathan, the Demon Lord of Envy!"
Her grandiose entry, however, was stopped by what looked to be a foot-tall blue plush toy with a gas mask over its face popping up behind her with a cheerful squeak.
"Oh, fuck off!" Leviathan pouted, before giving a side-eye to the humans. "And that was Behemoth. He can be useful sometimes…"
Out of nowhere, the water suddenly rushed back in drenching all three of them. Maria shrieked in surprise but Salem laughed like a giddy child getting to go down a massive water slide. Just as torrent hit them, it faded an instant later and both humans were both dry again as well as blinded by shadows.
Soon their senses began to be hit by a new barrage of sensations. A booming bass from a set of loudspeakers thumping louder by the second. The leather cushioning their seats quickly warming up to make them restless. A sweet and earthy scent that each could only half identify. Maria knew the first part was the fragrance of roses from her times touring her old school's gardens. Salem knew the other half was the scent of a man's musk from the nights he spent alone in his room with a magazine and a tissue box.
As off-putting as it should have been, it somehow lulled both of them further into this new environment as they felt their hearts race, sweat beginning to drip down their bodies and a desire to get up and move. Before they could, an electric pink light illuminated a single metal pole standing a few feet in front of them both.
"Humans have always needed to breed, but there's much more to this need," a silky voice purred, "They crave the passion of another, to release their innermost desires…"
The music now grew to a pounding crescendo as a stunning woman walked up to the pole, her pink hair shining under the light along with her flawless porcelain skin and a body that was the perfect blend between toned and curvy. One hand began rapidly moving up the top of the pole as she licked her lips, causing Salem to shiver at the apparent attraction in her eyes. The fact that she was only wearing a pair of red heart pasties over her perky nipples and a matching sticker over her vagina only made it worse.
Then, with supernatural grace, she twirled herself in a half-circle to reveal a naked backside and to give a teasing eye to Maria that made her blush like a tomato.
"I am that voice in your mind that keeps you at night…" She then lifted her leg and tilted back against the pole with a moan.
"I make even the dirtiest, most depraved fantasy a splendid dream...!" She then lifted herself upside down, her splayed legs grinding against the metal while her tongue lolled out of her mouth while her arms somehow kept her from falling.
"I am Asmodeus, the Demon Lord of Lust!" The pole was then suddenly grabbed by two massive thorn-covered vines that hauled the metal cylinder and the still gyrating demon into the air, effortlessly carrying her away to presumably finish her little dance in private while the blackness and sensory emptiness returned.
"Is she always like that?" Salem whispered to Maria, him seriously wishing for a cold shower.
"Yes, but she's actually quite nice. She's just very… Um… Proud of her body…"
This time there was no gradual transition. The two just suddenly noticed that their chairs were now sitting in what appeared to be a luxurious house. From the marble floors to the crystal chandeliers hanging from the vaulted ceiling twenty feet above, everything screamed opulence. A massive window leading outside showed half a dozen Italian sportscars lined up from the front door.
The walls were covered in paintings and antiques that somehow left no doubt about their authenticity. Maria browsed the wall to observe as much as possible but Salem was drawn to a single picture of an old-fashioned three mast ship riding atop a turbulent ocean.
"This painting…" he muttered, "It can't be…"
"Hm? Do you know it?" Maria asked as Salem grew paler.
"This is The Storm on the Sea of Galilee! It's an original Rembrandt that was stolen from a museum over thirty years ago! I can't believe this, it-it must be worth millions of dollars!"
"Oh, you recognize it?" a gentle voice with an odd European accent to it asked, "It's nice to see a fellow appreciator of art. That one has quite the story behind it…"
The mortals turned to see a gorgeous blonde woman slowly walking up behind them. Salem would have thought she was a normal person aside from the curled brown horns like Asmodeus had protruding from the top of her head. The doughy blue eyes, striking attire that including knee-high leggings and a bustier all in striking black and the two more than abundant breasts threatening to burst from her top gave Salem an equal dose of sexy, sweet and dangerous that made him wary.
"I remember clearly that it was a woman who craved this painting more than anything, swore she would surpass Rembrandt in every way."
"You stole it?!"
"Not quite, I merely gave her the tools to do it. All I asked for was… A price."
The blonde demon suddenly held a gold doubloon in her hand, looking pristine despite appearing centuries old and idly flipping the treasure in the air. "People have always wanted what they don't have. Dreams are almost never free, you know, or maybe the price tag is out of sight."
"Um, this sounds a lot like what Leviathan said…" Maria noted but the blonde gave her a kindly smile.
"Darling, you should know that the sins can bleed into each other. People become wrathful out of pride, sloth is often born from gluttony, and indeed envy and greed are not too dissimilar. But whereas envy is the drive to have what others don't, I am much more material. I care not for what it is humans seek but how much it can line my pockets."
With one last flip, the gold coin disappeared into a closed hand. When she opened her palm, in its place was a shimmering business card which she graciously handed to Salem with both hands.
"'Mammon, Demon Lord of Greed…' How oddly low-key. I was expecting, well… Mountains of treasure or something like that."
The avaricious demon let out a chuckle as she patted his cheek like a doting aunt. "Oh, you are just adorable! Trust me, my little cherub, I brought you to one of my spare rooms. This is where I keep all of my least valuable treasures."
The young man's eyes nearly left his skull earing that but decided it would be best to just keep quiet for now as Mammon escorted her back to their seats before bidding them goodbye. Her heels clicked across the spotless floor as the lights dimmed and the showroom faded out of sight.
As they sat in the inky blackness for a fourth time, both humans had a very different reaction. Maria was keeping still, patiently waiting for the next segment to begin. She was impressed by all the pageantry but she understood this introduction was more for the man sitting next to her and she didn't mind.
Salem, on the other hand, tapped his hands against his chair's arms and desperately wished he had his sketchpad. All of the imagery and displays of power he had seen already were making his creative juices rush like a river. The fact that all three of the Sins seen so far made something else rise was just an added bonus.
The two then waited in silence until they heard what sounded like the beeps and noises of someone interacting with a computer of some sort. The noises were faint and seemed to come from everywhere at once until the darkness simply vanished like a light switched being flipped.
The spectators were now in a white void with only a comfy recliner, a flat-screen TV that was turned off and several snack wrappers strewn across the featureless floor. In the seat, lounging with a tablet in her hands, was another demon lord who looked far more engrossed with the screen than either of them.
While Maria smiled contently, having seen this all before, Salem's eyebrows moved in confusion. To him she just looked like a loafing tourist that frequented the Vegas resorts. If it weren't for the large, rounded ears that matched her shaggy white hair, black-and-yellow striped horns coming from her forehead and the striped tail occasionally swaying behind her as she did her work, he could have mistaken her for a college student. He also wasn't impressed by how her unbuttoned shirt left much of her expansive breasts open or the fact that she only had white panties and ill-fitting socks on from the waist down. Unimpressed, he kept telling himself.
"Oh, it's you two," the demon noted, "What's up?"
"Um, isn't there supposed to some sort of grand show?" Salem asked, "You seem… Unprepared."
"Oh, right… I'm Belphegor, Demon Lord of Sloth. And that means if I wrote some huge speech about how people are lazy and it's my job to make them lazier, wouldn't that be, like, hypocritical?"
Salem mulled that over for a moment before admitting she had a point. Maria just chuckled, already knowing just how capable Belphegor could be when she put her mind to it. The slothful demon then started chugging sake from a bottle held up to her lips by her tail before pressing a few times on her tablet to summon a hole beneath their feet.
After falling for a good while, screaming all the way, the two somehow landed back in their chairs without a scratch.
"Okay, learned to not underestimate her…" Salem quivered, thankful for the sudden cushioning. He was then further relaxed when a mouthwatering aroma hit his nose and instantly drove the sudden freefall from his mind. The fact that he hadn't had a real meal in several hours only intensified the effect, his stomach now loudly demanding a proper meal.
A quick glance to the left showed that Maria was going through the same thing, her tummy rumbling and the poor girl blushing like mad as she tried to keep her own cravings under control. Tiny flickers of flame glowed to life in group of three, the light slowly spreading to reveal that they were candelabras set on a fine dining table, the white linen underneath all but sparkling.
But the furniture was the last thing on either of their minds. Salem and Maria were focused on the platters of food, all of it in massive portions and looking so picturesque that everything just came off of cookbook covers and fine dining magazines. Roast chickens, cauldrons of soup, mashed potatoes loaded with toppings, pyramids of fluffy rolls and even sushi rolls that looked fresh from a sushi master's chopping block were all sitting in front of them both alongside much more.
And on the other side of this fine spread was a young girl that looked indistinguishable from a human barring the several-inches-long that jutted out from her forehead like a unicorn. Other than that, she seemed like an adorable preteen with dark blue hair styled into long pigtails, wide light green eyes that seemed to express constant wonderment and a frilly French maid outfit that made her look as precious as could be.
"Don't be shy," she said, her high-pitched voice almost twinkling, "Please, help yourselves!"
Salem didn't need to be told twice, his hands becoming a blur as he piled the plate in front of him with chicken, buttered rolls and a heap of other sides before scarfing it down. Maria simply took a few sushi rolls and ate them much more patiently while the other two made pigs of themselves.
Granted, neither of them seemed bothered by the lack of table manners and only seemed to focus on the wonderful taste. Not only did all of the food appear like it was made by gourmet chefs but the taste somehow surpassed it. It was only minutes later with a decent chunk of buffet devoured that both of the voracious diners were satiated enough to talk.
"Wow… That was the single best meal I've ever had…" Salem sighed contently, "Thank you so much!"
"It's no trouble, really! This is what I do: Give people the satisfaction of enjoying good food and never judging them for it."
"Let me guess… Demon Lord of Gluttony?"
"Yes, my name is Beelzebub. It was nice to meet you, Salem! Now you'd better get ready, the last two Sins are much more… Intense than I am."
With that, the humans' seats suddenly did a 180 and then moved back towards dark nothingness. As they felt themselves being rolled elsewhere, Salem was starting to wonder if he should've gotten an antiacid tablet while Maria was idly enjoying the show until she noticed a red glow up ahead.
"This ought to be interesting," she said lightly, having figured out that the Sins were going in order of when they officially joined Lucifer. And that made her all the more grateful for having gone light on the sushi since the next show would be anything but restrained.
The seats underneath them soon came to a stop and both Salem and Maria swore they were on the surface of Mars. Barren red ground, craters aplenty and a brownish-orange sky filled with haze and dry winds blowing about. All of it screamed lifelessness, making them tentative to leave their chairs lest they be stranded here.
As time passed, they both noticed a few details. The air smelled of gunpowder, the craters were the scorched remnants of explosions and the fine sand beneath them actually contained small bits of rubble.
"It's a battlefield," Salem figured out, "But what's going to happen?"
Right on cue, the ground began to rumble and ravenous yells sounded through the air. The two mortals watched in growing alarm and shock as a mismatched army was charging straight towards them. A strange cavalcade of Greek warriors in plumed helmets and skirts with gleaming spears, medieval knights in full armor riding on horseback and modern-day militia with assault rifles and full body armor.
"Oh crapbaskets!" Salem yelped, feeling his stomach drop at the sight of the oncoming attack. Maria, meanwhile, kept looking around for someone. She knew exactly who would show up but hoped it would be sooner rather than later.
As the army charged forward, an even stronger set of tremors rattled the humans until they noticed cracks appearing in the ground only feet away. Right as the attackers began leveling their weapons, something ripped straight out of the ground and into the sky with a ear-splitting yell that demanded everyone's attention.
The army soon had to scatter as whatever just tore through the ground crashed into the middle of their ranks seconds later. The air was soon filled with the sounds of battle as weapons clashed and bodies were sent flying. Salem tried to focus on the newcomer through all the dust and chaos. As soon as he did, he could feel his breath being taken away.
The tallest demon of the lot, hovering around six feet, made even more statuesque from the ivory-white horns jutting straight up out of the back of her skull to add a few more inches. Blood red hair waved in the wind as she swung as a colossal battle axe with enough force to cleave through the horde surrounding her like a hot knife through butter. Her only real armor were equally crimson shin guards and gauntlets while her torso was mostly open, giving Salem a glimpse of a womanly figure that belied muscles that clearly had superhuman strength far beyond his little display with the cultists.
"Damn…" he sighed, even as a headless corpse was carelessly tossed at his feet.
"You spineless cowards!" the amazon screamed, "Attacking two defenseless bystanders, was one humiliating defeat on your battlefields not enough?! I'll tear your souls asunder!"
A violent red glow roared to life around her, her strikes becoming blurs as the amassed attackers could barely get enough time to scream before being reduced to chunky entrails splattered on the ground.
"Hmph," the demoness scowled, "Pathetic."
"That was… Wow…"
Only then did the literal redhead notice the onlookers, quickly sheathing her weapon. "You're both well?"
"Yeah, thanks to you…" Salem awed, "Who are you?"
"Satan, Demon Lord of Wrath. I apologize for being late but it seems like I got the circles of Hell mixed up."
The man kept staring at her, causing an uncomfortable twinge in her stomach before Satan moved on to check on Maria.
"Thanks for the help, Satan. Was that all part of your plan?"
"Yes. I've never been the best at public speaking, so I thought a combat demonstration was in order to show the efficacy of wrath and how it can also lead to your doom. A shame those feeble men and their toys were no match for me…"
"Yes, yes, that was a decent bit of entertainment," a grandiose voice said all around them, "But how about we get to the end of this little parade? And, naturally, I saved the best for last."
The desolate area soon spiraled into a vortex of colors and distorted noises before quickly fading to reveal they were all back in the throne room of Cocytus. Everyone turned to the throne at the head of the table to see a smug blonde demoness with a spear idly twirling in her left hand while her other arm held her chin, all while wearing a satisfied smile. The blue Renaissance-era dress coupled with the white feather skirt and gunmetal gray armor on her legs made for an unusual yet alluring mixture of femininity and strength. The solid red eyes along with a supermodel's face that gave her a piercing stare and a constant air of confidence.
"You've seen that the Mortal Sins represent the follies of humanity, the power we wield over your vices. We are monarchs of Hell, the bane of God Himself. And what is the greatest weapon the supposed creator of all?"
She slinked out of her throne, metal footwear clinking along the stone floor until she reached an openly ogling Salem. Her hand gently grabbed ahold of his chin and brought him inches away from her luscious lips.
"You clearly know a thing or two about demons, young man. Go on and say it. Who am I?"
"The Demon Lord of Pride…" he whispered, earning an affectionate pat on the cheek from the blonde demoness.
"Exactly. I am Lucifer, leader of the Seven Mortal Sins, and ruler of all of Hell! And to demonstrate that, I think there's only one proper display…"
Lucifer then snapped her fingers, summoning all of the other Sins in a circle around her. Maria and Salem were then suddenly hoisted into the air by an invisible force until they were surrounded by a transparent bubble several feet in the air.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Maria asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna take them all down at once."
The two then watched as she forced the other Sins back with an arcing swing of her lance. Once they were separated, the prideful demon actually closed her eyes and then pointed in a random direction. She soon looked to see that Mammon was in her sights and quickly charged towards her follow blonde hellion.
Mammon immediately had several flasks in her hands, throwing them as Lucifer was inches away only for them to get swatted into the sky were the explosions rang out of range.
"Was that nitroglycerin?!" Salem gaped, appreciative that the bubble he and Maria were now in didn't pop from a blast only a few feet away.
"I don't know," the girl replied, incredibly calm, "But trust me, Salem. If Lucifer put us in here, I have a feeling we'll be safe."
Back down on the ground, the two golden-locked ghouls were caught in a game of cat and mouse with Lucifer lunging ahead to skewer Mammon while the bustier demon kept her at bay with all manner of potions that ranged from more explosives to foul-smelling gas to a few flashbangs. She cast a quick glance to the side and suddenly stopped as a lightning bolt arced towards Lucifer.
"Hmm, predictable," she yawned, simply catching the bolt in one hand before crushing it in her palm, "You'll have to do a lot better than that, Belphegor!"
"Try this on for size!" Asmodeus declared, the lustful demoness suddenly flying down to try and slug Lucifer in the face. The blonde easily caught her but didn't account for a sudden burst of pink energy that made her breath short and her thoughts cloudy.
"A pheromone trap," Mammon noted, "Quite clever. Don't worry, glorious leader, I have just the medicine for you…"
She was about to pull a bottle wedged in her bosom before Lucifer merely scoffed as she ripped her own dress off, bearing her flawless body and bountiful chest before them both. While both of them were distracted, her body quickly cooled down enough to fight through the sudden arousal and quickly kicked Mammon in the stomach, smacked Asmodeus around with her staff and then flying into the air to reestablish the distance between them.
Satan took that as the chance to fly into sight, bellowing a war cry as she readied her incredible axe to try and bifurcate her boss. That swing stopped dead when Lucifer held her spear with both hands so the shaft effortlessly caught the attack.
"Oh, now you're just showing off…" the redhead sighed only to stop a stab through her face.
"No shit, Sherlock! What gave you that idea?"
As the two continued to trade aerial blows, the force of their attacks being enough to send shockwaves throughout the antechamber, they were split apart by a giant spoon of all things spinning towards them with enough oomph to embed itself in the stone walls.
Both looked down in surprise to see Beelzebub, another supersized silver utensil in her hands as she soared up to meet them both and doing her darnedest to whack Lucifer upside the head.
"You know, I almost forget that you can fight, you're so adorable…" Satan noted casually before flying to Lucifer's back and turning the spoon-assault into a two-pronged attack that did seem to put the lead Sin on edge for a second…
"Okay, thanks for the warm-up. Time to get serious."
Lucifer suddenly chucked her weapon into the air and caught both of her opponents in her hands, Satan and Beelzebub trying and failing to break free of her grasp. They were then jolted back when the proud ex-angel ripped the heads of their weapons off with a simple twist of her wrist and then flung the remains to the ground. This seemed like waste until it sliced a demonic giant eel into three pieces.
Leviathan, rather than pout over one of her summons being destroyed, decided to try again by conjuring a massive blast of water almost as tall as she was. Lucifer, having swiftly caught her spear, rocketed downward straight towards it. The tip of her weapon pierced straight through the rushing river like it was nothing.
Salem's mouth had long since surrendered to gravity at Lucifer's flaunting. As he watched the lead demon suddenly flip around and kick Leviathan to the ground before landing on her feet, he realized exactly how she embodied pride. She was not only treating a six-on-one encounter like it was a cakewalk, but her confidence never faltered. She knew she would win from the get-go.
Maria, for her part, was more curious. She knew Lucifer was powerful, especially once that sealing spell Belial put her under was lifted, but she wasn't sure what to think of this. Especially as she watched all six of the other Sins surround her.
Lucifer, on the other hand, looked annoyed. "Really? All this time and only now you come at me all at once? As if you could win any other way?"
The other demonesses wasted no time rising to her challenge, all rushing in with their weapons only to be sent flying back by the lead archfiend simply releasing a wave of power out of nowhere like a miniature explosion. She then disappeared from view before a series of slashes started ripping Leviathan's outfit to shreds.
"H-Hey! What gives?!" she squeaked before having to cover up the breasts bouncing out of the tattered remains of her top.
The others barely had any time to react as slices began appearing along all of their outfits, no one even being able to track where Lucifer was coming from or going next as their clothes were ripped to pieces. Even Satan's armor was reduced to scrap in no time at all before Lucifer stopped back in her throne.
"Hmph," she scoffed, "Guess you all need to step up your game."
The blonde then started filing her nails while the bubble holding Maria and Salem lowered itself to the ground. While the young girl was blushing at seeing all of her friends suddenly naked, Salem was still barely processing what he just saw.
"Impressed, are you?" Lucifer asked, "Don't worry, I have that effect on people."
"Y-Yeah…" the artist mumbled, "You all are… Incredible."
"Glad to see you're impressed," Asmodeus thanked, looking no worse for wear. All of the Sins had already regained their clothes and began taking their seats in the chamber.
"But as fun as that was, we do have serious business to discuss," Lucifer noted, "With our… Neighbors upstairs."
Notes: So with an adrenaline pumping display from our lovely canon cast and confirmation for Salem that demons and angels are real what happens next? Find out next time!
Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave comments or questions below.