Sloth Digs Deeper II
Notes:
Welcome back, everyone! We have something big just in time for Halloween, so enjoy your treat!
All except Lucifer were fast asleep as morning drew closer as was Jamaica. The blonde had spent most of her waking hours indulging in many liquors ranging from scotch whiskey to the potent bullfrog cocktail. It eased her occasional doubts, in this case the humans in her care.
She saw no point to baseless threats. Salem becoming an obstacle would get him a dip in lava. The new problem was that he'd most likely be petrified for the rest of the trip. Before he practically idolized them, and he could at least hold his own against common fodder. She didn't want all of his potential go to waste.
The last she checked, Salem was long passed out after his artistic venting, face flat on the desk and covered with paper.
And that soon brought her to Maria, the other human on her mind. She had been honing her sword skills even though she didn't want to be in the crossfire. Lucifer knew deep down that there was no place for her on the battlefield.
Lucifer knew, even if she had to fight down to the last soldier, that girl was alive and had a home over her head. Maria, now lounging in her reclinable seat, dreamt about her late mother's embrace. She cradled her knees to her chest, mimicking the warm arms of the only parent she ever knew.
The blonde accepted a glass of gin from the bartender, chugging the whole thing down in one go as Beelzebub awoke with a cute yawn.
"Good morning." She greeted her warmly, sitting at the bar and ordering a glass of pineapples and nothing else.
"Morning Bub, sleep well?"
"Mmmhmm! I had the craziest dream last night when-!"
The whole plane suddenly lurched, knocking everyone to the floor. Many of the Sins were jolted out of their seats as the light of dawn became a harsh, blinding yellow. Everyone rushed into the main cabin.
"Everyone, we have company…"
"Filthy angel company!" Satan growled, ready to skewer some heads on pikes. "Let's annihilate them all!"
"Try not to create any new fault lines this time…" The redhead grunted, annoyed but accepting. Lucifer had already sensed Michael wasn't with them but any other thoughts left her. The plane was falling out of the sky!
"They're going after the engines!" Leviathan screamed.
"Shit! Ladies, we're going to take them all out! Salem, keep Maria safe no matter what!" He nodded, an idea already forming in his head.
Every demon aboard the plane appeared outside. The wings and tail were both spewing smoke, alongside one of the four turbines. They could now see the entire aircraft was being swallowed by the golden light of at least fifty angels.
"Hear me, demons! You have defiled the last of our heavenly relics! This is your only chance to repent your crimes! Embrace our light or perish in flames!" A veiled, female angel leading the brigade exclaimed.
"Sorry, we've got a full schedule today," Lucifer pretended to yawn.
"Don't make light of us, traitor! Your crusade shall end today-!"
Lucifer's staff pierced her throat, cutting off her tirade. The angel fell like a ragdoll to the Earth miles below, the other heavenly soldiers baffled.
"You know one thing I don't miss about living upstairs? How much you all run your mouths. Ladies, don't hold back." Lucifer easily resummoned her staff, prepared to gut the next angel who spoke back to her.
"Like you need to ask…" Satan smirked, axe in hand. And with all of the Sins armed, the two otherworldly armies clashed in battle. Lucifer headed to the left side of the plane followed by Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Mammon. That left Satan leading Belphegor and Asmodeus on the right.
Satan belted a mighty battle cry, her fiery aura powering up and channeling it all into her axe. Just behind her, Belphegor sent a bolt of lightning into the gigantic weapon to power it up further. As four angels rushed at them, Satan unleashed a slash of energy that ended up blowing them all to bits. Asmodeus distracted another thanks to a cloud of pheromones. To her pleasant surprise, her attacker was male.
"Oooh, I bet somebody is pent-up!"
Mammon was soon by Lucifer's side as half a dozen angels decided to fully destroy the plane. The angels were preparing to converge their power on the other engine. Mammon's motherly instincts flared to life as she surrounding herself with a cyclone, scattering them all and leaving the prideful queen to pick them off.
Adding to their problems was Leviathan controlling the clouds around the plane to swallow up the angels and distract them. And once they were trapped, Beelzebub ambushed them with a superheated knife literally glowing red with heat. But with each angel offed, something bizarre happened. They were reduced to a ball of golden light that seemed to disappear into the demon that killed them… Or at least it did for Mammon, Beelzebub, and Leviathan.
Inside the plane, however, things were going far less well. Salem and Maria were flung around the cabin with every swerve. The young artist could hardly believe he was swimming through the air until he spotted the papers fluttering around the cabin.
"Would you mind lending a hand?" The brunette quickly followed as they headed towards the end of the plane, Salem snatching up as much of his art as possible along with his brush.
"Um, what are you doing?"
"What? I put a lot of hard work into these. I'm not letting them get incinerated in a plane crash!" Just as he got his works secure, he and Maria wandered off preparing for the worst. Just then an angel rushed into the back of the plane.
"Maria, get the sword!"
Though horrified, Maria drew her blade from behind her seat. Salem held his hand out to take the weapon himself as the pair came face to face with the hooded intruder, standing before a hole carved out of the fuselage.
"Two poor lost souls, corrupted by the influences of demons. But worry not, it is not too late even for you. Admit your sins, only then can you be saved." The angel pled in a low, barely feminine voice.
"Wait, please!" Maria begged with tears in her eyes. "We don't have to fight! We aren't hurting anyone, we just want to be left alone."
"Ah, they have warped your mind as well… What a shame, such a devout follower od God who's lost sight of His grace…"
The angel and Salem booth stood, weapons ready. The latter charged first, defying gravity until he was running along the ceiling ready for an overhead blow. The only problem was the angel raising her staff to catch his swing and made him fall back to the floor.
"What an interesting power you have… Heaven could use a paladin such as yourself."
"Sorry, already taken!" Salem tried again and again to break the angel's guard, but her simple silver pole managed to hold him back even when she was sent skidding across the aircraft. She quickly retaliated using her polearm's better range to force Salem on the defensive, a flurry of parrying that only stopped when Salem got swept off his feet and then had his beloved rainbow coat sliced.
Though he immediately got back up, Maria could only fear for her friend. Salem led into a feint, then managed to nick the angel's arm. But when he tried to thrust his sword into the cherub's side, Salem got a kick to the face and then being held down the spearpoint resting on his throat.
"Recede, mortal, if you value your soul."
Maria crouched in fear, forced against one of the seats. The angel tried to give a calming smile as she insisted, "Still your fear, young maiden. I can help you find the light once again…"
"W-Wait, stop!"
The angel didn't listen as she stabbed the halberd through the legs of Salem's pants and dragged Maria towards the back of the plane… Where Salem was waiting with his arms crossed.
"Impossible! How could you have snuck past me?!"
"Sorry, trade secret! Now would you mind putting my friend down?"
"You dare side against your salvation? Then prepare to fully join Hell, traitor!"
"If you insist!" Salem ducked under her, quickly upping his speed to draw a black circle fully around her feet and the ceiling in a few seconds. "I'm sorry in advance, Maria!"
"Huh?"
Salem landed a high kick to her chest, sending her topping into the edge of the circle. The angel disappeared into the ink, falling into an abyss before she fell back through the portal in the ceiling. Both the angel and her prisoner screamed in horror as they kept falling faster and faster, stuck in a neverending loop until their voices skipped over each other from the sheer speed.
After over a minute and moving as a blur, Salem reached in to grab Maria. While she wasn't sucked out of the plane, she was still terrified. Her breath was ragged and she shook like a leaf even as she watched the angel who almost abducted her still being trapped between the two bottomless pits.
"T-T-T-Thanks f-for the s-s-save…" she muttered, "How d-d-did you know?"
"Call it a gut feeling. I'm so sorry for having to put you through that, are you alright?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. Right now, we need to stop them before we crash!"
"All taken care of!"
The two turned to see Lucifer fly back in through the hole in the rear of the plane with one exception. "Satan's wiping the floor with the last of them now that she isn't wedged into the nosecone. Once they're gone, I'll steer us to a smooth landing."
"I actually beat an angel!" Leviathan squeed, "That bastard's probably floating in a block of ice on the Atlantic right now!"
"Good for you, hon. But I didn't get to finish playing with that hunky herald…" Asmodeus pouted.
"Ugh, the hypocrisy!" Mammon scowled, using her wind powers to block the gaping hole, "They dare call us cruel and disgraceful but they resort to sneak attacks and bum-rushing us!"
Beelzebub was already back in her seat, wondering if now qualified as having breakfast for lunch. And despite her mission now being interrupted, Belphegor was as mellow as ever. Now that the immediate threat as gone, Lucifer walked up and escorted Maria back to the nearest seat.
"Good job keeping Maria sage," she said, "You held your own against an angel all by yourself.
Salem's face turned beet red as he chuckled. "Heh, you didn't see the part where I got kicked halfway back home. Wait, what about the angels outside?"
"I figured I could use an extra set of eyes, plus someone I know still needs more experience. So, what do you say?"
The little wink the blonde gave made Salem gape.
"OF COURSE!" He answered at the top of his lungs, much to her amusement. Soon he was smacked by a wall of wind and almost had a panic attack at seeing the plane steadily approaching the crystal blue ocean. Then he looked down and saw his feet were sticking to the surface of the plane.
He and Lucifer then ran to the underside of the plane were Satan was actually holding the entire jet on her back, sweating in effort as hundreds of tons rested on her muscles while the islands of Jamaica came into view.
Then he noticed something glinting rapidly coming towards their escort. Salem summoned his easel as the glimmering projectiles rocketed forward, the artist twisting and swinging the wooden stand to block the shots.
"What the…?" He looked and saw a solid gold arrowhead sticking out from the easel's back end.
"SALEM, BEHIND YOU!"
The artist whipped around to see another gilded missile heading for Satan's back, spotting the barest trace of another shrouded angel aiming the bow. He moved at top speed, angling his shield before the one keeping the rest of the team afloat was struck down…
"GAAAAH! FUCK!"
The arrow managed to go through one of the gaps in the wooden planks, piercing Salem's right side just below his ribs. A new, excruciating pain burned through him. That same rage from Belphegor's world flooded him.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He ripped the arrow out with battle cry that made even Satan shocked before bellowing, "GET OUT HERE AND FACE ME, YOU FUCKING COWARD!"
He twisted around the angel, now wielding a gilded gladius, and rammed her own arrow into her outstretched arm. The angel screamed in shock as she dropped the blade into the ocean below. Salem quickly capitalized, swinging the arrow like it was a dagger and forcing the heavenly thug back and away from the two demons.
His purple eyes glared through her veil, making her flinch just long enough for his new weapon to stab through the angel's forehead. With the angel disappearing into golden motes of light, Salem dropped the arrow and walked back up to a thoroughly stunned Lucifer.
"You saved me… And the whole group…"
Salem's breath hitched as his eyes returned to normal. "Well, yeah, I needed to make up for yesterday and help-gkh!" He suddenly felt his side flare up as blood starting pouring from the wound, "I think I need to see Mammon now…"
"Right, I wouldn't want my favorite artist to bleed to death. Besides, we're arriving in a few minutes." Lucifer teleported with Salem back into the plane while Satan stayed the course, grunting in effort as she shifted the weight of plane onto just her shoulders.
Once they touched down on a runway of Norman Manley International Airport, the Sin buckled as her heeled boots dug into the asphalt, sparking from the friction as Lucifer held the one damaged engine in place just to make sure they didn't blow up on the tarmac.
Once they were actually out and about in Kingston, the Sins decided they needed to stick together. As their limo pulled up and they drove off, none of them bothered to take in the lines of shops or the scent of sea spray in the air. They had all sworn off air travel for the rest of their quest and now needed an alternative.
"Um, this might sound like a stupid question, but you can't you all just teleport places?" Salem asked.
"We can transport to Hell at will, but the whole reason we haven't done that was to throw them off," Lucifer explained, "Otherwise I would have taken down Belial in a week."
"Ooh, then why not a boat?" Mammon offered, "I have plenty to choose from!"
"The issue is protection," Leviathan warned, "Just like in the air, a ship on the sea is open to being attacked from all angles. Plus even the fastest ships in the world are way slower than planes. We'd be talking day-long trips now taking close to a week assuming the weather and currents never turn against us, even with my powers."
"Guys, just chill out!" Belphegor told them, "Everything is going to be just fine!"
"Would it kill you to take this more seriously?!" Satan snapped, almost punching out the window next to her, "Heaven is officially on our tail! We have to hurry up and collect these artifacts before God decides to personally nuke us!"
"Okay, okay, don't blow a gasket! It just so happens that I prepared a little rendezvous with a friend of mine that should help us…"
Now that got everyone curious. Belphegor not only put in extra work for her mission, but she had a friend outside of the Sins? When Lucifer looked just as confused as the others, nobody could even guess who it could be? Beelzebub wondered if it was some video game executive or the latest hot dog eating champion, much to the slothful demon's amusement but she wasn't telling.
The Sins and company had some time to kill on the short drive. While Satan kept watch for any more angel attacks, the others either dozed off or chatted. Salem kept his nose buried in his sketchpad, pointedly trying not to notice Lucifer's winks or her fingers walking up his arm.
Asmodeus quirked an eyebrow at the blatant teasing but the blonde just insisted she'd discuss it later. She turned to look at the flora whizzing by the windows, a small smile coming to her lips. The second the car pulled to a stop in a remote lot outside of the Hellshire Hills, noticing the worn dirt trail leading towards their destination.
Belphegor, for once, led the way as she idly took in the colorful flowers and leaves rusling in the ocean breeze before she stopped. "Hey, guys? Didn't you feel something when you got close to your artifacts?"
"Yeah?"
"Yes, dearie."
"Uh-huh!"
"Huh, weird…"
"Maybe since it's the opposite of sloth, you have to really work to feel it?" Maria asked. Belphegor just pressed ahead, eventually coming to a large earthen hole with wooden steps leading to a glimmering pool at the bottom. Salem noticed a second hole just nearby and realized where the name "Two Sisters Cave" came from.
"Alright, Bub and Satan, you both are guarding these two. Levi, Asmo and I will be heading down with Belphegor. Mammon, I need you to look into something…"
The motherly blonde leaned in as Lucifer whispered something in her ear before nodding and walking back towards their limo. With everyone having their roles, Belphgor figured it was now or never. She simply pulled off her socks and dove right into the water, shuddering at the frigid temperature before diving down below. The other three Sins did the same, leaving Salem and Maria waiting.
The four explorers noticed just how clean and clear the water was, much to Levi's delight. But as they swam into the depths, Belphegor tried concentrating with all her might only for nothing to happen. Lucifer and the others all combed the bottom of the cavern dozens of feet down, further blackened by the shelf of rock overhead, only to find nothing but the occasional piece of litter and plenty of gravel.
Belphegor came up minutes later, her face red. "Okay, what gives?! Where is the stupid thing?!"
"I don't sense anything unusual in the water…" Leviathan confirmed, "Honestly, it's pretty strange."
"Agreed. Let's try the other cave and see if we have any better luck," Lucifer ordered. But after jumping into the twin cave and scouring everything from the walls to the cave ceiling, the Sins came up empty-handed. Belphegor was actually starting to panic. She wrung her hands around her tail, fearing that she might be the only failure of the bunch. Asmodeus placed a hand on shoulder (and kept it there for a change) and helped her calm down while Lucifer and Leviathan headed back up.
Once they were back outside they saw Mammon with a rolled-up piece of paper in her hands and a dour look on her face. "Found this on a billboard. I believe this ought to explain things…"
Lucifer unrolled it and balked. "ASTAROTH?!"
Indeed, the pink-haired demoness was front in center on a poster. Her signature red guitar in hand, she looked the epitome of confidence as her hands were positioned along the strings with the instrument's neck pointing at the camera like a firearm being aimed at a target. In bold black letters along the top was "One Night Only! Astaroth – Live at Jamaica National!"
At the bottom of the poster, Lucifer's glanced at the copyright notice listing "Byrendahl Records." She crumpled the page in hand. "That fucking wench…"
"What's wrong?" Salem asked only to have the posted shoved in face while Lucifer marched back to the cave to get Belphegor. He took one look at Astaroth's face and blinked.
"That moody alt-rock rapping girl from YouTube?" he asked, "What, is Lucifer not a fan?"
"Honey, let me explain…" Mammon offered. By the time everyone was gathered back up and the driver was flooring it back to the city, Salem felt his head swimming.
"Wait, how does somebody just stop being a Demon Lord?"
"The same way that guy in the 30s went from King of England to fucking a wannabe Nazi, you get off your seat and leave," Asmodeus shrugged, "The real question is why she's suddenly willing to perform onstage."
"This just reeks of Belial," Satan growled, "I should've known that attention whore would stick her nose into this."
"But wait, she actually helped us stop Michael the first time!" Maria pointed out, "Maybe this is all a misunderstanding?"
"Whatever it is, you are not getting near her," Lucifer growled, "Leviathan, stay by her side the whole time."
The purple-haired demoness nodded. If the tension leaving the city was thick, now it was suffocating. Salem gasped in relief when they pulled up to the sloped walls of Independence Park. As soon as their limo came into view of the place, security guards in black appeared to escort them as "VIPs" to their destination.
"She seems extremely sure of herself…" Salem noticed.
"That's just her, totally full of herself," Beelzebub told him, "She was just like this as a leader, making us do all the real work while she sat around."
When the limo came to a stop, the Sins all filed out and were guided through multiple doors and passageways. True to her orders, Leviathan was side-by-side with Maria the entire way until they were in a high-end green room. And sitting behind the table full of delicious food was Belial, smirking as she nursed a glass of chianti.
"Aaah, the fan club has arrived! Come on, everybody take a seat in dig in."
"Hand it over," Belphegor ordered, staying exactly where she was. Belial just quirked an eyebrow as she sipped her wine.
"Goodness, your manners haven't improved in the slightest. Still have a hoard of junk around your throne, don't you?"
"Stop toying with us, you traitor!" Satan yelled, "We know you have one of the heavenly artifacts, so either surrender now or we'll-!"
"You wouldn't want to cause too much of a ruckus, meathead. They're always watching upstairs…" Belial pointed a manicured nail to the ceiling, making the group blanche.
"Then you must have it hidden somewhere around here. All we have to do is find it!" Beelzebub challenged only for Belial to laugh.
"What in the blazes have you done to yourself?! Bub, stop playing grown-up and let the real demons talk."
"Hey! There's no need to be so catty!" Salem argued, "Besides, weren't you their boss at some point?"
Belial's glass cracked in her hand at the sound of his voice. She turned to glare at him like an exterminator looked down at a horde of cockroaches. "Who gave you permission to speak, mortal? Still your tongue unless you want me to rip it out."
While he flinched at the venom in her voice, he grew far less intimidated when he looked below her neck and realized she was still wearing her Gnosis armor. "You sure you can manage that? I'm not sure you know how to put on a shirt…"
"OH SNAP!" Leviathan jeered, as the rest of the Sins laughed. Before Belial could rise from her seat, Lucifer stood in front of him, eyes narrowing in anger. "Salem is a valued ally to my mission, and a voluntary member of our court! Unless you want to incur the wrath of the Seven Mortal Sins all at once, you will keep your hands off of him!"
"What's goin' on over here?" Everyone looked to see Astaroth strolling up, guitar in one hand and sheet music in the other, "Huh, Belphegor? When did you all get here?"
"Oh, I just invited them!" Belial said with a smile suddenly on her face, "I knew you could use a little more moral support!"
Astaroth shrugged, waving hello to the Sins and making Salem blink. This woman used to be one of the leaders of Hell? Something was not adding up to him but he didn't want to push Belial's buttons right now. The pinkette whispered something in Belial's ear and the silver-haired vixen gave her let earlobe a nibble while her hands roamed out of sight but it was quite clear what she was doing…
"See you tonight, gorgeous…" Belial swatted the pinkette's ass as she walked off, making her squeal in surprise before leaving with her head down so no one could see her other cheeks turning red. Asmodeus was practically rippling with anger.
"You bitch… You know how much Astaroth loves you, so you're stringing her along with sex! I swear I'm going to make you pay for this…"
"Oh, pshaw, like you haven't done the same. Honestly, you all have the gall to act all high and mighty. What kind of shitshow have you been running, Lucifer?"
"That's enough!" Maria yelled, "Why are you doing this?! We got attacked by angels on the way here, that means they could come after you too! We should all be working together to stop God and his plan!"
"Oh great, your other pet clearly needs training too…" Belial ignored the wave of glares she was getting as she strutted around the table, showing off her almost naked body to Maria's embarrassment, "What I'm doing is sticking it to you ingrates and that sanctimonious twat in Heaven at the same time. If I can't rule in Hell or guide from Heaven then I'll turn this realm of man into my playground instead!"
She snapped her fingers and a small platoon of burly guys in shades surrounded the group. "Now then, I'm afraid you all will have to leave now. Please come back at 8:00, you all have a private box booked. Take care now!"
As much as Satan wanted to rip them all apart, she followed behind Lucifer as the rest of the group were escorted back to their car. Leviathan kept her arms around Salem and Maria the whole time to make sure nothing bad happened until they were well out of sight of the stadium. Only when their limousine was cruising down the roads did the Sins relax.
"Belial has it," Belphegor told them all, "I could practically feel my skin crawling just being near her."
"It makes sense," Lucifer admitted with a grimace, "She was a fallen angel too. Of course she would know where all of those artifacts were."
Belphegor crossed her arms as she slouched into her seat. "Well, this is just fucking great. Now I have fight that bitch to get it, and without raising enough of a fuss so Michael doesn't nuke us!"
"Sounds fitting for the artifact representing diligence…" Leviathan noted before noticing how sad the tailed demoness was. For all of her blasé attitude from before, it was apparent she was upset that she did want to succeed.
"Well, I suppose there is one good thing. We have plenty of time before the show for the meeting I set up."
Eyebrows were raised as Belphegor leaned forward and instructed the driver to the nearest beach and even offered a hefty tip so he would run the speed limit the entire way. Once they all arrived at the sands outside of May Pen, loaded with tourists in everything from wetsuits to tiny bikinis, Belphegor led them to a small fire pit.
"Oh, there she is!"
"WHAT THE?!" Lucifer balked, "You can't be serious!"
"Belphegor, over here!" A petite girl with blue hair waved from the rock she was sitting on. While she wore a black one-piece that kept everything covered, they all noticed a stack of ornate cobalt armor pieces bundled up next to her.
"You've got to be shitting me," Asmodeus blanched, "What the hell is SHE doing here?!"
"Um, I invited her? I told you guys, like, four times…"
"Not that!" Satan growled, her axe in hand much to the terror of many surrounding beachgoers, "What are you doing contacting one of the Lively Virtues?!"
"WHAT?!" Salem and Maria gasped.
"Sandalphon, the Lively Virtue of Diligence," Lucifer told them, "You've got thirty seconds to explain yourself before you become a smear on the asphalt."
"Hey, hey, there's no need to be angry! I come in peace!" the angel insisted, "Me and Bel here have been web-pals for ages now. And… I'm here because I want to help."
"Oh, wonderful, you're here to surrender!" Mammon said with a clap, "I just so happen to have some tranquilizing potion here somewhere…"
"Wait, wait, wait, no! I'm seriously here to help! You guys want the Mattock of Diligentia right? I know Belial took it yesterday!"
That did make everybody stop and listen, Belphegor sitting next to her friend while everyone else gathered round. "I was already here to meet with Bel when I sensed that someone breached the protection spell in Two Sisters' Cave. By the time I arrived, I couldn't sense the artifact anywhere and that demon was gone!"
"Then, here's a crazy idea," Salem offered with his hand raised, "If you know Belial has it, and you know for a fact that it was stolen, then why not get a few dozen angel buddies to attack her? You know, like the ones who almost crashed our plane?!"
"Wait, what?! Oh no, Michael really is going off the deep end She's not allowed to mobilize troops!"
"Pft, she probably got a hand-signed letter from God authorizing it all," Lucifer scoffed, "And knowing her, she could very easily be tracking you right now."
"This isn't a trap, I swear! Besides, I'm not the only one who doesn't agree with this whole war thing…"
Two flashes of light shone into existence, making the Sins and company flinch in surprise. To the angel's left was an extremely buxom blonde with mismatched eyes that shined with innocence. To her right was a brunette girl in a green sailor fuku outfit that had a beignet in one hand and a giant rainbow lollipop in the other.
"I knew it, this is an ambush!" Satan roared, "Somebody warn this country's Coast Guard before I start making waves!"
"Hold it!" Lucifer ordered, "These are the two small fries of the Virtues."
"Hey, no need to be rude!" the angel in green said in between licks of her huge sucker, "We're here to help! Um, where's the runty one who eats too much?"
Beelzebub marched up to the angel, snatched the candy out of her hand and threw it aside. "You're looking at her! Where the Hell were you when we were getting the flower?!"
"Wait, hold on, that's the opposite of gluttony?" Salem asked, completely lost, "The one who's chowing down on desserts?! Shouldn't be running a vegan food co-op or something?!"
"Yep, that's Raphael, Lively Virtue of Temperance," Mammon sighed, "Probably didn't even notice what we were doing since she's too busy with her 'research' into human junk food. Never mind why she eats it all herself instead of just analyzing it with magic…"
"Well, now I'm super grateful I've been rooting for demons this whole time."
Leviathan was about to say something only for the blonde angel to sweep her into a bear hug. "Now, now, can't we all just get along? We're all here to help!"
"Hey, Sariel? Could you maybe not suffocate one of my subordinates?" Lucifer asked. Sure enough, the purple-haired demoness was flailing her arms and squealing muffled obscenities into the angel's pillowy breasts that wrapped around Levi's face.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry!" Sariel let go, giving Levi time to take several deep breaths before stomping in rage.
"Hey, titty-monster, I didn't ask for any milk! And besides, Lucifer's are waaay nicer!"
"Flattery won't get you anywhere…"
"Let me guess, Virtue of Kindness?" Salem asked. Satan nodded, making him roll his eyes. "Seriously, these guys are your enemies?! At least Metatron tried stepping in, even if she was a psycho!"
"Hey, we've just been super busy is all!" Sandalphon argued, "Now, I get we've had some problems but right now none of us like what Michael is doing. So, why don't we all come up with a plan to get the Mattock back and then convince Michael to stand down."
Lucifer belted out a laugh. "'Convince' her?! Good luck! Michael is the most stubborn immortal this side of the Greek pantheon. If God told her to make popcorn on Pluto, she'd fly over with a bag of kernels and a box of matches!"
Mammon crossed her arms under her chest, just as unimpressed. "And it's funny, none of you bothered to step in and help when Metatron was threatening us and my children. By the way, how is your dear sister doing?"
"Erm, she's still recovering… It'll take months for her arm to grow back. If it's any consolation, she did tell me she was going to look at getting some proper treatment for her sadism."
"Great, that means you've actually accomplished one thing amidst a cavalcade of fuckups," Leviathan groaned, "And it only took one of you nearly dying to do it! So, whose ass is getting rearranged first?!"
"Please, there's no need to be so hostile!" Sariel begged, "We can all just sit down and talk."
"Shut up…"
Everyone stared at Maria, the brunette staring at the sand as her hands curled into fists. "'Talk?' What's there to talk about? God is evil, and planning to wipe out everyone, and you want to TALK?!"
"Maria…?" Lucifer gasped, "Look, it's going to be okay…"
"NO, IT'S NOT! BECAUSE THESE ANGELS ARE A BUNCH OF USELESS FUCK-UPS!"
The sheer sound of Maria cursing, let alone at the top of her lungs, made everyone drop their jaws. The sweet, kind schoolgirl was turning red by the second as angry tears streamed down her face.
"Do you have any idea what's going on here?! The WORLD is in danger, all of your own followers will DIE if God gets what he wants! We don't have time for talking, we need to stop him NOW!"
"Look, it's just not that easy!" Sandalphon argued, "He's kind of omnipotent, you know!"
"Oh, is he? Then tell me, why hasn't he struck us down yet, huh?!" Maria spread her arms and shouted to the heavens, "Come on, you bastard! You can see everything, right?! Then I want to see you hit me with biggest lightning bolt you've got!"
"Okay, whoa, time out!" Belphegor wrapped her tail around Maria's waist, "Girl, you need to calm waaaaay down! I'm upset too, but going nuts isn't going to help here!"
Raphael spoke in between bites of beignet. "Yeah! We're here because we don't like what Michael is doing either, she's going completely mental!"
"Then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Don't waste your time coming here! Unless you can sneak the other artifacts away for us, then what can you do?!"
She then stormed up to Sariel, completely brushing Belphegor off. The angel actually flinching despite being several inches taller than Maria. "You! All you've done is talk about 'talking things out' when it's pretty damn obvious that's not going to work!"
"W-Well, you don't know that… People just need some gentle words to let them know what they're doing is wrong and push them in the right direction…"
"Yeah, when they're FIVE! Most adults know they're doing wrong, the issue is that they don't care! Or worse, they get a sick thrill from it! Because, if your method works, how come we have prisons full of rapists, murderers, cannibals and terrorists when apparently all they needed was their mommies to scold them?!"
"Ummmm…"
"Hey, knock it off! You don't know anything about us!" Raphael argued only for Maria to slap the dessert out of her hands.
"You know what, I did just meet you. Let me ask you this, what's your virtue again?"
"Temperance?"
"So, you're all about restraint and not giving into temptation, right?"
"Yeeeeah…?" Maria just pointed to the cream-filled pastry now covered with sand.
"Then what are you doing eating that?! I haven't had any sort of dessert in days and here you are chowing down like Augustus Gloop!"
"Well, in order to help people steer clear of temptation, I need to be fully informed on the qualities of what tempts them…"
"Did you ever think of just, oh, I don't know, USING THE FUCKING INTERNET?! Why else would people call it junk food then?!"
"Maria, please, control yourself!" Satan told her, "Nobody likes these angels either-"
"Hey!"
"Not now, Belphegor!"
"And speaking of not knowing anything about you, didn't you say that Metatron was your sister?"
"Yes, she is…"
"And she has that little vial of medicine that basically cures any disease, right?"
"We can't just release that! Humans have to advance on their own otherwise they'll grow stagnant and complacent!"
"And I'm sure that'll help the millions of people dying from cancer every year! What are you going to tell the little kids in those charity hospitals? 'Sorry little Miwa-chan, the angel lady says you have to die from progeria because there are too many sinners! Just pray really really hard and it'll all be okay!"
Maria's tone went from sugary sweet to heinously bitter in a second. "I can't imagine how many prayers you get in a day. Actually, I do, because I kept praying for someone to watch over me after my mom died and how crushed I was when I would still end up alone."
Maria then turned to Sandalphon, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. "And you're supposed to be diligence. What do people pray to you for?"
"To get their dream jobs, to finish school, to make it through some horrible time…"
"And how many of those people do you actually try to help?"
The angel just looked down even more. The answer was several but the bluenette often ended up just annoying her chosen one into giving up or screwed things over. Maria's eyes then leaked tears as she stared at the three Heavenly Virtues.
"You all… Maybe you can't just magically fix all the world's problems but you could at least do something more than sit back and just expect things to fix themselves. Billions of people look up to you… Just like I did… And this is what you all do for us?! Let Michael wipe us out?! Maybe you all should be in Hell instead!"
Maria finally cracked completely, bursting into tears and rushing back to the limo just to get herself away from the three Virtues before she did something she would truly regret. Lucifer just gave a piercing stare. "This meeting is over. Either you three step up and help us, or don't bother contacting us again."
The Sins then headed back where they came save for one. Belphegor just looked up to her friend, shaking her head in disappointment before turning back. She at least hoped that Sandalphon could offer some advice or even tag along to help them. But apparently her fear of Michael outweighed their friendship since the bluenette and her comrades disappeared into a column of light without another word.
"Well, this whole thing officially sucks…" The slothful demoness sulked as she was the last to head into the limo. With several hours to burn before the concert, they were officially at a loss. Salem looked at her with a question in his eyes. He then looked to Maria who was sobbing into her lap, then again to Lucifer who nodded.
"I didn't want to assume anything," Salem spoke up, "But going by that uniform you always wear... You were a Catholic, weren't you Maria?"
"Y-Yeah… For a-as long as I can re-re-remember…"
"Don't take this too personally, Maria," Lucifer said with a gentle hand on her shoulders, "The Virtues have gotten really complacent. For all of His saying how he sees everything, God has a really bad habit of turning a blind eye to his servants."
"But why?! H-How can they stand there, thinking the-they're the good guys?!"
"Fear, mostly," Satan answered, "Humans will commit horrible acts for the sake of self-preservation, and the angels are supposed to reflect humanity to an extent. They fear either Michael's wrath or going against God's word, so they tow the line in order to maintain their place."
"Darling, please, we know it can't be easy," Mammon cooed, "But you still Lucifer and us. We won't abandon our mission, and we won't turn a blind eye on you."
Salem then scooched over next to her, hands on his lap. "I know this must be pretty hard for you… Considering I went through the same thing."
"Really?" Maria looked up and saw the melancholy in his eyes.
"The Winslow family has run the largest meat-packing plant in the great state of Indiana since 1909. My real name is Gabriel, and they fully intended for me to follow in their footsteps. Only child, too, so I had better get to reading that Bible from a young age…"
He looked up at the limo roof as a brief smile crossed his face. "When they started making me recite scripture and singing hymns, I got so bored with all the talk about God and goodness. Then when I first heard about the Devil, I wondered what he possibly could have done to be seen as bad. Nobody would tell me anything except that he was the 'root of all evil' and stuff like that. So, I did what any kid in the early 2000s did, I tried looking him up online…"
"And that's when you started getting interested in demons?" Beelzebub asked.
"Yeah, and that finally got my attention. These infernal beings that had all these interesting shapes and names and powers. That was when I got into art because I was fascinated by what these things were…"
Levi winced. "Something tells me your parents didn't like that…"
"Actually, they thought it was cute at first. They clapped whenever I showed them my drawings, bought me new art supplies, even put me in a nice school known for its arts program. But even then, I did notice they had something to say like, 'Wow, son, that looks great! I bet you'd make amazing mosaics for the church!' or 'Honey, you're so talented! I want to see how you draw an angel!'"
"Then, around the time I turned nine, they started to realize this wasn't just a phase. They tried sitting down and talking to me about where this 'unique' focus on demons came from. I told them I thought they were cool. Funny enough, that summer was the first time I went to Bible camp."
"Ouch…" Belphegor patted his back, "Did they at least try to dress it up as something other than mental reprogramming?"
"Oh, they wrote it off as 'making new friends' which was true since I wasn't very popular at school with anyone besides the art teacher. Heh, that was where I first heard about the Salem Witch Trials as some 'horrible plague by the Devil' when I later learned it was just a bunch of teenage girls pranking everyone and paranoia going out of control."
"If it helps, a whole bunch of the townspeople are still in Hell," Asmodeus told him, "And they're stuck going through all the punishments they forced onto the people they essentially murdered out of their own insane logic."
"Heh, that actually does make me feel better, but once I got home and it was clear that beating the goodness of God into my head didn't work, they only tried harder. They never went full-on hateful, but I started to get the picture. I mentioned that I was looking up stuff on demons online? I come home to find my computer 'needed repairs' and somehow never came back. I only draw demons? They say that 'money's getting tight' so they can't afford any new art supplies. I start spending time in the art club after school? I keep finding Bible Study pamphlets in my bookbag."
Maria, now distracted from her crisis, brought her hands to her mouth. "That's just terrible! Why can't they just let you be happy?"
"Because, as far as they were concerned, I was Gabriel Winslow, future CEO of Winslow Meats and having him be anything other than a good ol' Christian would be a huge scandal and hurt all the people they employed… And, you know, the stock plans and commodities they kept buying up but funny how they never mentioned THAT."
"But then came high school and that's where the shit hit the fan. That was when I was finally put in a public high school, and I actually met some other kids who were into demonology and the like. They loved my artwork, and they were the ones who came up with my nickname Salem since there was like five other guys named Gabe or Gabriel in school. One day, I asked if it was okay to invite them to my place after school and they said yes…"
"Boy, the looks on their faces when a bunch of kids with temporary tattoos, Linkin Park shirts and piercings all showed up. Catherine all but had a heart attack and Joseph threatened to call the police on them because obviously these were a bunch of criminals looking to rob the place."
Everyone blinked at who these two people were only to connect the dots and pale. Salem's eyes started getting misty as he went on.
"After that, I just gave up. I went to school, spent all my spare time either at art club or my friends' houses, and only went back there to eat the dinner left out for me and go to sleep. They ordered me to get a job since now they were convinced my art was 'just a hobby.' I tried to get a job at their biggest competitor, and only got turned down because they saw my last name. And then came senior year… They told me two weeks before graduating that they had paid my tuition, in full at that, to some big business school out on the east coast…"
"Of course, they did," Lucifer growled, "It's classic emotional manipulation, making you feel like you have to comply because they already put so much money into it."
"Heh, yep… So naturally, I told them I wasn't going and wanted to be an artist professionally…"
The Sins all watched as a literal thought bubble formed over his head. Despite only being about a foot across, they could all perfectly see a younger, much more conservatively dressed Salem staring up at two silhouettes, one clearly female wearing an apron and one man in a brown three-piece suit.
"What do you mean, you're not going?!" the man yelled, "Do you have any idea how many favors we had to cash in to get you enrolled in such short notice?!"
"And that's my fault how?" Salem asked with his arms crossed and a palpable glare in his tone, "I never ASKED to go there, just like I didn't ask you two to keep butting into my personal life!"
"Gabriel, honey, please listen to us," the woman pled, her hands even clasping together like she was praying, "We're so worried about you. This… obsession you have… People are going to start getting the wrong idea!"
"Oh, you mean the fact that I can actually think for myself? That I'm not really your son? Well, you know what?! I wish I was adopted because then maybe I could find my real parents!"
The woman gasped and started sobbing in the most over the top melodramatic manner possible, while the man curled his hands into fists. "How dare you address your mother like that! As if all this demon worship wasn't guaranteeing you'd go to Hell, the Bible clearly says…"
"I don't read the fucking Bible! You think quoting anything from it means shit to me?! And besides, you're not some model Christian either, Joseph! Tell me, where in the good book does it say to lay off employees with no notice just so you can afford your $100k Christmas bonus?!"
"I never-!"
"Oh, bullshit, I saw you cutting the check in your office! And also, where does it say you're allowed to violate national law by putting a mandatory question about sexuality and gender identity on your applications?!"
"That's not-!"
"And, oh yeah, I almost forgot, how about the time you tried splashing me with 'holy water' when I was asleep a few weeks ago?! What happened to 'love thy child?!'"
"I was trying to wake you up so you wouldn't be late for school!"
"With a bucket full of ice-cold water?! And then you forced me to clean up the mess you made, meaning I was late anyways! Fuck you and your stupid book! I'm not sure when I last saw you read anything that wasn't a stock printout!"
The woman then got between both of them, her voice whimpering, "Gabriel, please! W-We're just worried about you! All this talk a-about d-d-d-demons isn't natural…!"
"Oh, up yours, Catherine! You wouldn't know 'natural' if it hit you in the face! You get a new Porsche every year for your birthday, oh sorry, the 'anniversary of when you turned 35', off the back of selling meat coated with enough preservatives that it can survive a nuclear bomb! And the last time I checked, those new boobs of yours are silicone!"
Her overwrought crying died in an instant, her voice as hard as steel. "Young man, go to room right now. You're grounded for the rest of the summer."
"No, I'm not! You haven't acted like my parents in years, so you don't get to order me around!" Salem then shoved past them both, only for the man's hand to grab him by the shoulder.
"You little fucking ingrate! We've done everything we can to fix you! You and your demon worship, it's disgusting! You could've had a perfect life as my successor and had all the money you could ever want! But now you're not going to see a cent from me! If you walk out of that door now, don't ever come back!"
The bubble disappeared, leaving Salem to look up and see the entirety of the Sins staring at him with pity. He turned to see Maria just in time for her to give him a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Salem…"
Lucifer then joined in, her hands feeling so amazingly gentle on his back. "If it makes you feel any better? They're both in Hell."
"Really? What for?"
Mammon pulled up her tablet, scrolling through until she read, "Catherine and Joseph Winslow, found guilty of tax fraud, insider trading, charity fraud, bribing various government officials, 'creative accounting' and general mistreatment and abuse of employees via underpaying wages, mass layoffs, revoking benefits, and rampant employee discrimination based on ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, and background. Sentence: being boiled in molten gold and cast into statues."
Salem let out the biggest laugh, clapping in celebration. He even asked for a glass of something to celebrate their downfall, downing a shot of tequila only to go into a coughing fit.
"Heh, sorry, was never good at holding my liquor…"
"It's okay, you've definitely earned that," Levi told him, "But man, what a pair of assholes. No wonder you go by Salem…"
"Yeah, and you dress all crazy just to piss them off," Asmodeus finally understood, "Gotta say, you were pretty badass in your own right."
"But how did you get out to Nevada?" Beelzebub asked him.
"Those friends from high school? I bunked with them for a few years while selling my art online and doing commissions. I saved up enough to buy a one-way ticket to McCarran International and a few month's living expenses. Right before I met you all, I was talking about doing artwork for some huge resort to get my name in the big leagues."
The car then pulled up to a stop at the hotel where they were booked to stay. With nothing else to do before the concert, they all poured out and headed up to their room. As luxurious as the beachfront penthouse was, no one paid anything much mind as they scattered.
Belphegor retreated to one of the many bedrooms, flopping down on the bed with a sigh. This whole mission had become a giant fiasco. Not only did Belial butt in at the exact worst time, but the Virtues proved less than helpful.
She pulled up her tablet and noticed several messages waiting for her.
I_Like_Sand: Hey, are you there?
I_Like_Sand: Look, Bel, I'm really sorry I can't do more…
I_Like_Sand: But you have to stop Michael, she's going CRAZY!
I_Like_Sand: I'm pretty sure she just wants to kill Lucifer at this point… And Luci used to be pretty good at her job…
The demoness finally typed back. 'Used to be?' San, she's still awesome. God just kicked her out for not wanting to go along with his plan. Which is, you know, GENOCIDE?!
I_Like_Sand: Oh, yeah, totally, I know that! I didn't mean to insult her...! She's the good guy at this point!
SlothGurl69: No shit, Sherlock. Anyway, what are the other Virtues up to?
I_Like_Sand: Gabriel is… Acting even weirder than usual. Like, really quiet and just giggling to herself. And Uriel is just acting like Michael's lapdog, kissing up to her.
SlothGurl69: Great, the walking chastity belt is planning something. I'll tell Asmo to keep an eye out. That's actually some useful intel. Thanks.
I_Like_Sand: Sure, no problem! I just… Wish I could do more…
Belphegor could feel the blue-haired angel sulking through the screen. She knew the feeling all too well.
SlothGurl69: At least not doing stuff is on brand for me…
I_Like_Sand: Right?! But me, I just have to sit here not looking for messiahs or anything!
SlothGurl69: Messiahs?
I_Like_Sand: Don't ask, it got really weird. Even Michael tried… Anyway, how's your friend?
SlothGurl69: Maria's pretty down, poor girl was a devout follower of yours…
I_Like_Sand: No, I meant the other one.
SlothGurl69: Salem? He's, uh, himself. Though it turns out he had some pretty shitty parents.
I_Like_Sand: No, the OTHER one. YOUR friend?
SlothGurl69: …Do you mean Astaroth? Into some kinky shit with Belial.
I_Like_Sand: NO! What was her name again? Sayo? Soya? Sa… Something…
Belphegor's eyes widened, typing on instinct. Sayuri?
I_Like_Sand: Yes, that's the one!
SlothGurl69: How do you know about her?
I_Like_Sand: Huh? Michael told me…
SlothGurl69: Tell her to mind her own fucking business.
I_Like_Sand: Whoa, what's the matter? I thought Sayuri was your…
Belphegor saw red as she reached her hand into the screen, grabbing something on the other side and yanked with all her might. Sandalphon crashed into the hotel wall, shaking the pieces of plaster out of her hair.
"What the fuck are you asking me about her?! Really?! Do you think I want to deal with that shit now?!"
"What's going on in here?!" Lucifer charged in. Seeing the angel lying on the floor, she pressed her spear to Sandalphon's throat. "I knew it, you were up to something!"
"W-W-Wait, stop! I just asked about…!"
"SHUT! UP!" Belphegor's entire body was wreathed in lightning, floating off the ground as her power was unleashed, "You want to ask me about her?! NOW?! As if I don't have enough problems, you have to remind me of the biggest fuck-up of my life?!"
Lucifer smacked her with the blunt end of her weapon, directly in between her horns. "You, calm down. Save that for Belial."
Belphegor nodded rubbing the growing welt on her friend. Lucifer grabbed Sandalphon by the neck, threatening to crush her esophagus with her gauntleted hand. "And you, don't ever show your face around here. Unless you're willing to become one of us, you have nothing to offer."
Sandalphon disappeared into a beam of light, leaving the Sins alone. "What was she talking about?"
Belphegor, not feeling like talking, picked up her tablet and started clicking away. Lucifer watched her go through several folders, many of them encrypted with dozen-digit long passwords, before pulling up a video file.
"She's talking about this… My life…"
Belphegor simply handed the tablet over, shocking Lucifer since she's never seen anyone else get ahold of it. The blonde watched the screen quickly grow and expand into a three-dimensional recreation of a typical Japanese classroom. The calendar alongside one wall said 1987. Teenagers in uniforms all sat around desks discussing anime or the insane real estate boom that's made plenty of their parents rich.
All conversation died as a stern teacher in his mid-forties and a suit walked in, followed by a tan-skinned girl with messy black hair who was constantly readjusting her green skirt.
"Alright, everyone, today we have a new student joining us. She's come all the way from the Polynesian Islands, so let's make sure we make her feel welcome."
Lucifer could scarcely believe how quiet the human Belphegor was, barely raising her voice over a whisper since her Japanese was far from perfect. The scene then blurred into nothing before reassembling into a typical hallway, wooden floors well-trodden as dozens of students chatted and passed through with the new transfer student wandering around in a daze.
Then, she caught sight of a handful of kids talking about something she had never heard of before: anime. Curious by their excited tones and fantastical stories, she asked about it and suddenly found herself swarmed by a new social group.
"Otakus… Some things never change…"
"Heh, if only…"
Lucifer then saw Belphegor next to her, observing the scene with a sad smile. "I literally knew no one when I got here. But those guys, all I did was show interest in their stuff and they practically adopted me…"
Her eyes lingered on one of the younger girls in the clique, a first-year girl with a frizzy mane of blonde locks that made her stand out. "Sayuri Hinamoto… My best friend…"
The scene literally flashed forward to the nervous human Belphegor in a small living room, a TV with a VCR and the crowd of eager fans holding stacks of cassettes. Lucifer watched as what started as apprehension quickly turned to something else, the young foreigner spending hours glued to the screen absorbing explosive shonen action, sparkling shoujo romances, faraway futures full of mecha and epic fantasies set in the distant past.
"From that day on, I was totally obsessed with anime. It gave me an escape from this strange new place, even helped me learn the language better than my parents ever did."
Lucifer then watched as days passed by, Belphegor spending all her time with her new gang of otakus. Someone got her in front of the original Famicom system, adding a passion for videogames to the mix. Soon she began decorating her blasé grey and green uniform with lapel pins and commemorative patches from conventions she was invited to.
But as time went on, the queenly blonde started noticing a few things. Belphegor was literally throwing her schoolwork aside, shutting herself off in her room to play games or watch shows, not to mention how her bedroom went from bare to plastered with memorabilia in no time at all.
"My parents were land developers, making it huge off of the housing bubble of the time," she explained, "But yeah, I probably put a dent in their wallets with my new hobbies. And it was only going to get worse…"
As the dreaded exams approached, the new otaku's parents finally put their feet down and threatened to rip her away from her precious goodies if she failed. Lucifer watched the clock tick away into the late hours of the night, a black-haired teenager furiously going over textbooks and make-up assignments long overdue to try and stand a chance. Then she reached into a nearby backpack and pulled out a bottle of sake…
"Where did you get that?"
"One of my friends had an older sister who was a real party girl, just handed out bottles of the stuff. I mentioned how stressed I was for exams and so I took it."
Lucifer watched the timid young girl pour herself just enough to fill up the bottle cap, barely a shot. She nervous downed the clear liquor, coughing up a storm before eventually going back to studying. Of course, on a lightweight, short teenager, the booze quickly took effect as she started giggling over something she misread in her books.
The next scene flashed forward to a muggy summer afternoon in Kyoto, the human later known as Belphegor and her otaku pals hanging outside a video game store and laughing off their exams. Sayuri was there, the only one confident she passed while the others all just prayed to their respective god of choice or, like Belphegor, took another swig of the liquid courage in the nearest alley.
And as Lucifer watched, it was pretty obvious Belphegor became an alcoholic. She saw the young lady get turned down by schools and then drown her sorrows late into the night. She would binge anime and video games for hours to the point of missing meals, and what little she did eat were instant ramen and pocky. Her room slowly turned into a garbage dump for trading cards, food wrappers and sake bottles until her parents finally threw her out as the housing market crashed along with their finances.
By the time the young lady was twenty, she had become a sedentary slob who's only salvation from crippling obesity was her metabolism. And more shocking of all was when she put down the bottle to pick up a vial of white powder.
"Wait, since when are you on drugs?" Lucifer asked.
"Trust me, I learned to kick that habit the hard way. The alcohol's fine now since demon magic means my liver can't get fucked again."
Right as the otaku addict snorted up a handful of powder, the door opened to reveal a familiar looking blonde. "Oh my god, what happened to you?!"
"Heeeeeey, Sayuri… You're just in time, have you seen the new Gundam anime? C'mon, I got snacks…!"
Rather than turn around and leave, the studious blonde stepped inside presumably to talk her old friend back to her senses. Lucifer paled when the next shot showed the two of them in front of the TV together playing videos games with several glass bottles between them.
"Oooooooh…"
The slothful demon looked down, her ears wilting. "At first she tried to find me a job, offered me ways to get a degree… But I ignored them all and pushed her to just 'let go' and 'chill out' since she was always stressed out from exams… It worked way too well… In about three months she flunked out and lost her internship at the nearest law firm."
Lucifer then watched as Belphegor's entire circle of otaku friends now sat in a filthy apartment, mountains of trash around them as the six of them huddled around an old game console. Of course nobody actually bothered playing well, instead stuffing their faces with snacks and microwave ramen along with copious amounts of beer and liquor.
And sitting right next to the eventual demon was Sayuri, just as wasted as the rest. Her blonde hair was stringy and unkempt, lounging into a beanbag while half-naked with a vodka bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Belphegor stared at the ground in total shame, remembering every moment as clear as day.
Lucifer wondered how this could get any uglier… Right before Sayuri went to the back for "something stronger." She reached for a small plastic bag filled with white powder and shoved her face inside before taking a huge whiff. The poor blonde immediately clutched her chest, her eyes almost popping out as she tried to scream for help. But with all of her friends so busy with their games and their collective buzz, nobody even heard her drop dead on the floor.
"Thirty minutes…" Belphegor cried, "That's how long it took for any of us to notice… She was long dead by the time somebody called for an ambulance…"
The last scene was shot in all gray, the sun ahead dulled as a young girl stood over a grave in the cemetery. Flowers were lined up in front of the tombstone and the cobbled steps leading to it, a picture of the vibrant, studious blonde girl on her first day to becoming a prestigious attorney.
Sayuri Hinamoto – 1972 – 1993
"I… Ended up dying the same way she did only a few weeks later. And of course, Heaven branded me a murderer and quickly named me the Lord of Sloth. Belial found me and took me in. That's why I stick to video games to lure people in since… That… Happening again is pretty unlikely."
The two Sins then appeared back in the hotel room, Lucifer handing the tablet back. The blonde placed a hand on her comrade's shoulder, "Take some time for yourself. We're going to stop Belial and you will get your artifact."
Belphegor just nodded, slumping down to the cozy bed and blocking out the memories that were still clearly playing in her mind. She had enough to deal with, including the inner desire that she just teleport into her virtual world and stay where she can actually accomplish something.
Notes:
So, in order, Belial still doesn't know when she isn't wanted, Maria is going through a theological crisis, Salem had a pretty piss-poor childhood and Belphegor has a baggage problem. Happy Halloween, everybody! But in all seriousness I've been looking forward to this chapter for months since first concepted because of all these, and yes it only gets more crazy from here. And I couldn't be more happier.
Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave questions or comments below. And have a safe Halloween!