It had been a few weeks now since Nick had been forced into servitude, and needless to say, he wasn't enjoying the experience a single bit. From the very first day, Thomas had taken it upon himself to make the Sinner's afterlife as miserable as possible by piling on so much back-breaking work, Nick may very well be on the verge of insanity. If he wasn't up at a certain time of the day, his first task was to continually mop up the cold water Thomas dumps on him every morning. Following that was a simple breakfast followed by donning a uniform consisting of a white button-up shirt, black pants with red suspenders, a pair of black shoes, a checkered red and black bow tie, and all finished with a pale grey apron. After that, the rest of the day was filled with a series of chores that always involved Nick having either a broom or a washcloth in his hand.

If he had been allowed to go at his own pace, he may not have considered the job to be that bad, HOWEVER, Thomas always insisted on timing Nick's efforts, thus leading him to give him a small ultimatum… finish a particular chore within a set time limit, or have his dinner withheld. Now Nick may not have known whether Thomas was just bluffing to get him to work harder, but the Sinner sure as hell wasn't going to risk such a threat if it turned out to be true. So, despite his reluctance, Nick actually put in a fair amount of effort with each of his tasks, BARELY managing to finish each task with only a few seconds to spare. Of course, once Nick started doing well on that particular front, Thomas decided to be cruel by shortening the time limit by a minute or two every time he thought the Sinner was getting too comfortable. This would, of course, surprisingly lead Nick to develop the speed and efficiency he would later display at any and all future cleaning work he would eventually have, though he could never anticipate as such at the current time.

If he had been working for literally ANYONE else, Nick probably would have complained to Thomas's employer about his abusive behaviour. However, the fact that he tried STEALING from said employer remained, so he knew better than to push his luck by stirring the pot, especially considering the fact that Glasya could easily get rid of him with a mere snap of her fingers. Thus, all he can do is continue the work and hope that his debt will be paid off soon.

Eventually, an entire month had passed by since Nick's soul had been bound to Countess Labolas, and Nick was just as miserable as ever. Spraying a small canister of oil over the wooden surface of the dining room table, the Sinner let out a heavy sigh as he continued to use a dry rag to polish every nook and cranny… all 20 feet of it! Meanwhile, Thomas continued to stand in the corner, observing his progress with a stopwatch in one hand and a bacon sandwich in the other.

"Be sure to get all the corners lad," the Baphomet said smugly. "I'd hate to use YOU as the rag."

"Oh, please," Nick retorted with a groan. "You'd LOVE it."

Thomas, of course, merely chuckled at that.

"You're right, I would," he stated, not even remotely close to denying such a claim. "Doesn't give you an excuse to dawdle though."

If this was supposed to have been a Cinderella story, then where the fuck was a Fairy Godmother when you needed her!? Hell, the only other thing missing with Thomas's smug visage now was a fucking whip! If he didn't know attacking the Baphomet would result in a firing of the literal kind, Nick probably would have strangled the mutton-faced dickhead by now. Alas, all the Cat Demon could do was grumble as he continued his work.

"Oh and when you're done there, the Countess wants you to bring her a sandwich," Thomas suddenly spoke up, causing Nick to pause in his polishing for a brief moment.

"Isn't handling the food YOUR job?" he pointed out, remembering one of the key details of his contract with Glasya.

Thomas, however, merely rolled his eyes at such a remark.

"Yes, but I told that fuzz-ball that I was busy," he stated bluntly. "So congrats, ya stupid boy, you've been promoted from janitor to delivery boy."

If Nick didn't know any better; he would probably say Thomas was just using his enforced servitude as an excuse to be lazy… not that he could prove it. Either way, he did NOT appreciate being talked down to in such a manner, as such, the instant he saw the Baphomet's smug face, he immediately began to picture multiple scenarios involving a baseball bat and a rabid raccoon.

"Chop chop now," Thomas continued, "The lady's hungry."

A short while later, Nick found himself grumbling in agitation as he made his way up the stairs, carrying a small plate holding the sandwich Glasya had asked for: fried pork cutlet with mustard and soy sauce on wholewheat with the crusts cut off. Thankfully, Nick didn't have to actually MAKE the sandwich since there was an entire stack of them already pre-made in the fridge, so at least Glasya wouldn't have an excuse to have a go at him if it didn't taste right.

That being said, he wasn't all that confident in being the one to actually bring the sandwich to her. After all, it was stated quite clearly in his contract that he was ONLY here to clean. If he were to do anything else, who knows how Glasya would react?

"Oh, yeah, bring the lady a sandwich… unclog the toilet… trim Thomas's fucking nose hairs," Nick muttered, his left eye twitching with intense anger, particularly at that last one. "I swear, if I ever get out of here, I'll… I'll… huh?"

At that moment Nick's ear suddenly perked up when a beautiful sound rang throughout the hall, one that seemed to ease his anger, if only for the briefest moment.

"What the…?"

Those were about the only words Nick could let out before he was soon drawn towards the direction of the strange, yet mesmerising sound, the sandwich in his hands being immediately forgotten. Soon enough, he found himself slowing his pace as he approached a particular room with the door standing slightly ajar. Daring to get even closer, he placed the sandwich on the nearby wall-mounted shelf and brought his ear close to the gap. There, he heard the sound with much more clarity… revealing it to be some of the most beautiful music he had ever heard.

Made from what sounded like a five-stringed violin, there wasn't a single sign of any scratching or a single mistimed note. Instead, all that Nick could hear was the soothing symphony of the high-pitched strings, each one resonating a smooth, graceful note as the bow glided across them like satin.

Completely captivated by the enchanting music, Nick just had to take a small peek inside the room. Slowly and carefully pushing the door a little bit, he managed to open the gap just enough to get a good look into the room, hopefully without attracting the musician's attention.

There, he saw none other than Glasya Labolas herself, donned in her silk dressing gown with the neck of a polished black violin in one hand and its bow in the other, each item resonating what can only be described as musical magic as she stood in the middle of the room using them to their fullest. With her eyes closed and her breath steady, Nick could tell that Glasya had also been captivated by her own music, so much so that she was surrounded by tiny flickers of her blue flames, each one appearing to dance in the air to the symphony like starlight.

Fully lost in the melody, Nick couldn't take his eyes off Glasya, even for a moment. The longer he watched her play, the longer her music began to reach into the core of his very soul. For the first time since before he died, he actually felt… at ease, as if all the problems he had ever had never existed… even if it was only just for that moment. He was so moved, in fact, that he didn't even notice when the tears started to fall from the corners of his eyes.

"Beautiful…"

Only when Glasya suddenly stopped playing and her flames instantly snuffed themselves out, did Nick realise what he had inadvertently done. Snapping a hand to his mouth, he immediately gasped in horror when Glasya quickly turned her attention to the door and spotted the Sinner's frightened eye through the gap.

"YOU!" she yelled, instantly causing Nick's blood to freeze in his veins. "In here, now."

Seeing that he had been caught, Nick didn't dare to disobey. With a fearful gulp, he then picked the sandwich back up and cautiously stepped into the room just in time to see Glasya putting her violin away inside a long, black case. After putting the padlock on it, she then turned her hardened gaze back towards the Sinner in her presence.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

Fearing the She-wolf's fiery wrath, Nick immediately presented the sandwich he had brought for her, his whole body shaking in terror.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt!" he blurted out, bowing his head to the point of grovelling. "I was just bringing the sandwich you wanted! Please don't incinerate me!"

Hearing that, Glasya's glare faded away and, surprisingly enough, was immediately replaced with an embarrassed blush.

"Oh… right," she said sheepishly. "I forgot I asked for that. Just put it on the table, would you?"

Without a hint of hesitation, Nick quickly headed over to the nearby coffee table and placed the sandwich down. Not wanting to overstay his welcome any more than he already had, the Sinner then swiftly tried to turn towards the door again, however, the sound of Flasta clearing her throat immediately caused his feet to freeze to the floor.

"Um… how long were you listening?" she asked, a small hint of embarrassment riddling her otherwise calm tone.

"About… a minute or two?" Nick answered honestly, not even bothering to try to lie since he had already been caught in the act.

"I see…" Glasya replied, taking in a few calming breaths.

Fearing that he had done something incredibly stupid, stupid enough to warrant a torrent of fire, Nick then instinctively chose to add a little bit of honest flattery to his answer.

"W-well… if you don't mind me saying, Ma'am, that music WAS quite beautiful," he said. "Best I've ever heard in fact."

Hearing that desperate form of flattery, Glasya couldn't help but stifle a small laugh as she watched Nick squirm like a frightened rabbit. Still, despite the form they took, Glasya nonetheless couldn't sense any hint of a lie amongst Nick's choice of words.

"Thank you," she replied with a genuinely grateful smile. "It's one of my own compositions."

This, of course, caused Nick to lift his head in surprise.

"R-really?" he asked, earning himself a small nod from the She-Wolf in response.

"Mhm," she uttered, her smile never once faltering for a moment. "Music has a sort of… calming effect for me. Whether I'm listening to it, playing it or writing one of my own tunes, there's nothing like a good melody to soothe a stressful soul."

Hearing that, Nick couldn't help but nod his head in agreement.

"Well…if more music was like the masterpiece you were playing, then I dare say all of Hell would be a much calmer place," he pointed out.

At those words, Glasya's smile few just a little as a small bashful blush tinted her cheeks, causing her to turn her head and hide her face with her hair. Did… did she not get that many compliments?

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Suddenly that blush of flattering turned into a beet-red flush of embarrassment as Glasya's stomach rumbled like an echoing cave. At that moment, the regal-looking Hellborn was placed in the most unladylike position she could have been in.

"G-guess I shouldn't have skipped breakfast this morning," Glasya commented sheepishly, trying and failing to save face as she quickly picked up her sandwich and took a deep sniff of it. "Mmmm… my favourite."

However, just before she took a bite, Glasya noticed the look of hesitation on Nick's face. Having a rough idea of what might have been going through his head, she quickly addressed the situation before her new servant suffered a panic attack.

"Relax," she said sternly, lowering her sandwich for a moment to look Nick right in the eye. "I wouldn't have asked you to bring me my food if you couldn't be trusted with it."

Hearing that, Nick couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief.

"Besides you couldn't poison me even if you wanted to," Glasya continued. "Not only does our contract forbid it, but I also have… certain immunities that most Demons don't. So don't worry about it, okay?"

"U-understood, M'lady," Nick replied, not really sure what else he could say in response. "W-would you like anything else?"

"No, this is fine," Glasya replied with a gentle shake of her head. "But thank you for offering. That will be all, Nick."

"Y-yes, Ma'am!"

Without another word, Nick quickly turned around and left the room, once again leaving Glasya to her own devices. As she watched him leave, however, the horned She-wolf couldn't help but scratch her chin in thought, an expression filled with intrigue slowly shrouding her face.

By the time he made it back downstairs, Nick's heart was beating like a bongo drum as he stabilised himself against a glass cabinet filled with painted china plates. For a moment there, he actually thought he was going to end up a pile of ash on the floor, and yet… by some miracle, Glasya seemed… pretty understanding for some reason.

As the fresh memories of the scenario played back in his head, however, for some reason the Sinner managed to find himself calming down as the music from Glasya's violin still echoed through his mind. Even now, such a powerful melody continued to rock him to his core and give him a sense of peace that he hadn't felt since before he died. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that he heard the music of angels.

"Slacking off are we?"

"GAH!"

THUMP!

SMASH!

Being so in thought, Nick ended up being completely unaware of Thomas walking up behind him with a stern look on his face. The instant the Baphomet spoke up, the Sinner immediately jumped in terror, accidentally knocking into the cabinet, causing some of the contents to fall off their pedestals and shatter once they hit the bottom shelf. Had the cabinet door not been locked, the shattered pieces would have more than likely scattered all over the floor.

"Ffffffffffffffffffuck!"

That was about all Nick could manage to squeeze out of his mouth before anxiously turning towards his superior, his mind having a strong idea of how much deep shit he now found himself in.

"You do realise that little stunt just INCREASED your debt by about a fortnight, right?" Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Nick to immediately start panicking.

"I swear it was an accident!" he all but pleaded, his words not even remotely gaining any form of sympathy from the Baphomet.

"Ooh, back chatting are we?" Thomas retorted. "Seems like we'll need to fix that attitude a little more, ya stupid boy. In fact, I dare say a little extra work might do you some good… I'll make you a list."

At those words, Nick's eyes immediately shrank in horror.

"A list!?" he exclaimed, his fear suddenly rising ten-fold in a matter of seconds. "Oh, no, no, no, no, please, not a LIST. Not another one of your lists!"

As it turned out, Nick was right to be afraid. If there was one thing worse than the timed chores, it was when Thomas put them all down on a list that he expected to be completed by the end of the day. While something like that may not have sounded too bad at first, the Sinner was quickly proven wrong when he received the first list from Thomas a couple of weeks ago.

On top of all the regular cleaning duties, Thomas would also sneak in some more elaborate chores that should have been given to professional workmen. These would, of course, include fixing wall sockets, painting the kitchen, and even patching up small holes in the roof, just to name a few. By the time Nick actually managed to complete one of these lists, it would have been past 8 in the evening, leaving him so tired he would end up sleeping in his uniform until the following morning.

Needless to say, after having to do at least three of these lists, Nick considered them one of Thomas's most sadistic punishments. As such, he always trembles any time one is brought up. And after accidentally smashing those china plates, the most recent list was BRUTAL.

Despite the horror he had endured with the list, the next three weeks after that seemed relatively peaceful by comparison. However, that may have been due to Nick not being able to get Glasya's music out of his head since then. Any time he felt like the work was getting too much for him, his mind would always think back to the melody of her violin and how it soothed him like a warm blanket over his soul.

In fact, he was so enchanted by the music, that for the last fortnight, the Sinner had been trying to see if he could hear it again every time he was able to walk by the music room. Much to his delight, while he may not have had much luck on most attempts, Nick did manage to hear the music now and then. However, during those times, he made sure he didn't linger as long as he did the first time. As such, he reduced the risk of getting caught, which thankfully, has yet to happen for the time being

One morning, while mopping up the floor in the foyer, Nick was once again thinking back to the music after hearing the tune once again during the previous day. Being so caught up in the bliss of the moment, he quickly found himself groaning with irritation as Thomas came walking up to him, caring very little about the wet floor.

"You can stop what you're doing there, lad," he said, giving Nick cause to raise an eyebrow. "There's a more pressing matter to deal with."

Needless to say, Nick was immediately confused by this. Normally Thomas would just let him continue working and just surprise him with an extra task as soon as Nick thought he was done for the day. Yet another one of the Baphomet's twisted moments of enjoyment as it happens. But for some reason, he was suddenly telling him to STOP working? Just what is this monster up to?

"And this pressing matter is?" the Sinner asked, practically dreading the answer he was going to receive.

"Killing a rat that somehow found its way into the attic," Thomas answered bluntly, only adding to Nick's confusion.

"A LITERAL rat… or another intruder?"

Had he been in different circumstances, that question would have caused Nick to receive numerous odd looks. However, after everything he had witnessed since arriving, it couldn't hurt to be sure… especially given the smirk Thomas was giving him.

"Luckily for you, it's the former," the Baphomet replied. "But still, we can't have vermin in the house… well, except for YOU of course. So the little bastard has got to go."

Nick, of course, could only glare at the Butler for the blatant jab at him, not wanting to dignify the insult with a verbal response.

"I'll get right on it," the Sinner uttered, through gritted teeth, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Splendid!" Thomas replied with his signature smirk before pulling out a wooden baseball bat from behind his back. "Oh, you might need this."

The attic of the Labolas household was about what one would expect from a mansion as large as Glasya's. Beginning at a small staircase connected to the lower floor via a locked door, it was a large, dark, open area that took up several smaller rooms worth of space, with wooden floorboards and an assortment of small lamps lining the wall. Much like any other attic, it was also filled to the brim with many assorted objects, many of which were either covered by dust sheets or lining the large number of shelves that had been constructed all over the room, making the place seem more like a labyrinth than an attic.

"Well, go on," Thomas declared, opening the door for Nick to pass through. "Get to it, ya stupid boy."

With a roll of his eyes, Nick clenched the bat in his hands and reluctantly stepped inside, hearing Thomas close the door behind him with a click just as he began to climb the first couple of steps.

"Okay, so I'm pest control now?" he grumbled to himself. "No fucking problem."

With a heavy sigh, Nick reached out for the nervy light switch embedded in the wall by the door. However, much to his frustration, no matter how many times he flipped it on and off, nothing seemed to happen, and Mick was stranded in the darkness.

"Sure… why not?" he uttered sarcastically, choosing not to dwell on the details as he began his climb up the stairs.

With every step he took, the Sinner kept a vigilant eye on all his surroundings, both his gaze and hearing solely focused on picking up any sign of movement. By the time he reached the top step, his nerves were completely on edge. Thankfully, there happened to be a large, round, multicoloured stain-glass window at the far end of the attic so he wasn't in complete darkness. However, even daylight could only illuminate the room so much. True, his vision may have been well suited for darkness but even so, it does take a minute for his eyes to adjust, and even then, it wasn't as if he suddenly gained the ability to see through solid objects, nor did said objects suddenly become transparent enough to allow any extra light through. So for now, all he could see inside the darkened room was the multitudes of shelves surrounding him like the walls of a maze, each one containing a different item than the last.

Coughing up a little of the stale, dusty air, Nick cautiously walked past the shelves, unable to resist wiping a finger along one of them, grimacing as he saw how filthy it was up here compared to the rest of the house as he wiped the grime between his fingers. Knowing that, the Sinner couldn't help but dread that at some point soon, one of the new chores Thomas had in mind for him was going to be CLEANING this godforsaken hell hole.

Taking a glance at the items on each of the shelves in question as he walked by them, the Sinner found himself taking note of the numerous accumulation of strange objects that Glasya had no doubt been hoarding for years. Everything from rustic-looking bladed weapons, knickknacks like snowglobes and small statuettes, and even some old clothes still hanging on the rack, some of which looked like they would have been worn by characters in a Shakspearian play, complete with neck ruffles. At some point, while making a left turn in between the gaps in the shelves, Nick was even surprised to encounter one particularly large item that he couldn't help but stop and admire.

"A silver vanity mirror?" he thought aloud, taking in the majestic appearance of what could only have been a priceless antique from what he guessed was the 18th century. "Wow, I really AM in a rich woman's house."

It was at that moment that Nick suddenly spotted something else stacked next to the mirror, specifically what appeared to have been a small stack of paintings carelessly tossed in between the gap between it and the next shelf like a forgotten book. Unable to resist his curiosity, Nick pulled out one of the paintings and took a look at the contents of the picture.

To both his surprise and horror, each painting appeared to be a portrait of another Wolf Demon, all of whom seemed to have horns like Glasya had, though none had wings as she did. In one painting, there was the face of an oversized beast with tiny horns and a trickle of drool leaking from the corner of his smirking mouth, the next one showed a wolf with horns so long and gnarly that they looked more like grey tree branches, though that did next to nothing to tear Nick's gaze away from the inane look in the wolf's eyes. The third portrait seemed to depict another female Wolf Demon judging from her feminine features, though her fur was pure white and she seemed to wear a dark metal diadem for some reason. And then there was the fourth portrait… for some reason, THAT particular one frightened Nick most of all. Fur dark as charcoal, a pair of curved, bronze-coloured horns and a monocle covering his right eye, which only added to the unease Nick felt when he looked upon the wolf's terrifying sneer.

"Sheesh, Dorian Gray, eat your heart out,"

That about all Nick could say on the matter before he quickly put the paintings back where he found them and continued his search for the supposed rat. However, no matter how many times he turned his head, or rounded a corner, there didn't seem to be any sign of the alleged vermin. Eventually, he managed to find his way out of the labyrinth of shelves and came across the wall where the sole window resided.

"Okay… that's ominous," he uttered, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

To his surprise, the window was in a terrible condition. To be more specific, there was a large, gaping hole at the very bottom of it and several cracks in where the rest of the glass somehow managed to stay in place… However, that wasn't the specific detail Nick found himself focusing on. Seeing the shards of glass scattered along the floor, it was easy to tell that whatever broke the window… did so from OUTSIDE. But how? He was in the attic, the very top floor of an extremely large house. So what could have possibly caused such damage and not leave any trace behind?

SHKSHKSHKSHKSHKSHKSHK!

CLANG!

"Huh!?"

Finally hearing movement coming from behind him, Nick immediately turned around and raised his bat in defence. However, he only managed to catch a glimpse of a metal tray falling off the shelf with a loud clatter. Needless to say, the Cat Demon was immediately freaked out by this.

"Alright, calm down Nicky," he tried to tell himself, taking in a few breaths in an attempt to calm his nerves. "It's just one little rat. You've dealt with much worse while working at the pet shop… just find it, squash it, then get the fuck out of here."

Alas, no matter how many times he tried telling himself that there was nothing to worry about as he slowly made his way back towards the shelves, between the noise and the broken glass on the floor, the Sinner continued to feel a horrible twist in his stomach. Whatever was going on… it felt… wrong. As he moved through the labyrinth of shelves once more, he soon began to feel like a mouse in a maze, only this one didn't have a chunk of cheese at the end of it.

SHKSHKSHKSHKSHKSHKSHK!

Once again snapping around to face the sound of that horrible scuttering, Nick once more raised his bat in defence, only to see nothing in front of him yet again. Snapping his head in all directions, he quickly began to feel frustrated at his predicament as nothing seemed to even remotely catch his attention… suddenly he felt it. A cold, slimy dampness suddenly soaking into the shoulder of his shirt, sending an instant shiver up his spine.

"EW!" he exclaimed, wiping away some of the slime away with his hand. "What the hell…?"

At that moment Nick looked up and froze in horror. There… crouched on top of the highest nearby shelf, with eyes the colour of blood, was the rat Nick had been sent up here to look for… however Thomas had failed to mention that it was going to be the size of a fucking DOBERMAN! With a huge trickle of drool continuing to leak out of a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, sloshing all over Nick's shoulder in the process, the disgusting grey-furred beast eyed the Sinner standing beneath him with what could only be described as a gaze filled with ravenous hunger.

…

"Nope!"

Not even a second later, Nick ran like hell with his long tail between his legs, his weapon little more than an afterthought as fear cloaked over him like an icy blanket. With a fierce, ear-piercing shriek, the Hellrat immediately leapt down after him and gave chase, crashing down to the floor with a loud thump and charging like a rampaging bull.

Never being that fond of rats even when he was alive, Nick wasn't really looking forward to dealing with this particular problem to begin with. But now that he was suddenly being chased down by one the size of a large dog, it was a miracle that he hadn't already wet himself. While this may not have been the only time Nick would ever find himself being chased down by such a beast, he would always remember this first time as one of the most horrifying moments of his afterlife.

Not even daring to look back at the pursuing rodent, Nick instinctively tried to flee for the exit. With any luck, he might just be able to escape with his life. However, between all the twists and turns he had to take while fleeing through the shelves, and the salivating Hellrat hot in his tail, just regaining his bearings was proving to be a difficult task. As soon as he managed to turn one way, he somehow managed to get turned around and arrived back at the spot where he made the turn in the first place.

"Where's the bloody exit!?" he yelled in panic, his fear only outmatched by the frustration he felt after making the third wrong turn in a row.

Suddenly, the Hellrat somehow managed to appear in front of him without him even realising that it managed to get ahead of him. It was almost as if the disgusting beast had been lifted like a chess piece, swooped through the air, and set down to block the Sinner's path as if he were another piece in the board.

Fearfully backing away from his pursuer, Nick could practically feel the Hellrat's hot breath brushing over him as it steamed out of its mouth. The worst part was that the giant rodent didn't pounce on the Sinner as soon as he had managed to gain the upper hand. Now that the rodent had Nick blocked off, the sadistic vermin chose to play with his food a little by letting him stew in his own terror for a brief moment, his burning red eyes staring into Nick's like tiny orbs of blood and fire.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

"GAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

With a large fierce leap, the Hellrat immediately launched himself at Nick before he had the chance to turn and flee in the other direction. Fortunately, the Sinner's survival instincts immediately caused him to react just in the Nick of time. Just as the Hellrat managed to pin him to the floor, he held up the baseball bat in front of him and managed to shove the middle of it into the Hellrat's neck, somehow managing to force the giant vermin back just enough to keep it from biting into his neck.

Locked in a nightmarish scuffle on the floor, both cat and rat continued to try and push into the other with little to no success. With the Hellrat desperately trying to reach for Nick's neck while the latter continued to push it back with the bat, neither one seemed to be making any progress over the other. That being said, Nick could quickly feel his arms starting to shake and struggle against the rat's brute strength, its sharp claws digging into the floor beneath him to pin him down by the shoulders. If he didn't do something to turn the tide, the Hellrat was going to completely rip his throat out!

Suddenly, something glimmered in the corner of his eye. Turning his head for the briefest of moments, the Sinner gasped as he caught sight of his salvation, that being a small knife with a curved edged blade as well as a gold and blue handle. More than likely I had to have been another one of Glasya's decorative pieces she had stowed away up here that had fallen off its shelf, but decorative or not, it still looked sharp enough to suit Nick's needs. The only problem now was getting to it, with his arms forcing the Hellrat back and his legs pinned under its weight, it did appear that the giant vermin still had the upper hand… However, there was still one other limb the rat didn't account for.

While he may not have had his tail for very long, ever since he died, Nick had many months to practice using it. True, it constantly reminded him of the rope he used to hang himself with, but he'd be an idiot to waste any sort of advantage if he was going to survive in Hell. As such, he had developed quite the skill of using his tail to pick up and grab objects when his hands were otherwise occupied. Slithering it across the floor like a snake while the Hellrat was distracted, Nick wrapped the tip of his tail around the handle of the knife until it was taught before giving it a good, hard yank. With one swift motion, he then used his tail to swing the knife like a flail and stab it right into the Hellrat's left hindquarter.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

With a loud, painful screech, the Hellrat instinctively reared itself back in agony, allowing Nick to knock it off him and kick himself free.

"Fucker!" he yelled, immediately getting back to his feet and once again turning to make a run for it.

However, the Hellrat wasn't going to let its prey escape so easily. Despite its injury, large trickles of black blood seeping out of the wound, the large beast roared with ferocious fury and once again tried to pounce upon its target. Fortunately, Nick was able to see the attack coming just in time and reacted accordingly. Just as the Hellrat made its leap, he quickly fell to the floor, narrowly avoiding the attack by inches… the shelf behind him, however, wasn't quite as lucky.

CRASH!

"Huh!?" Nick blurted out, immediately snapping his head back up and staring in horror at the devastation that had suddenly been set in motion. "No! No! Nononononononononono! NO!"

SMASH!

CLUNK!

THUD!

CLANG!

BAM!

Like the first domino made to fall in a stacked row, the first shelf that the Hellrat smashed into fell over and knocked into the one behind it, followed by the one behind that, and then the other. In about 26 seconds, almost every shelf in the attack had toppled over, causing considerable damage to the structures themselves and destroying at least half of the items that were stowed away on them… many of which Nick was sure had to have been PRICELESS!

Dropping the bat to the floor, Nick stood there, frozen in utter horror, his left eye twitching in disbelief. Looking all over the room, the entire floor was littered with broken pieces of wood and metal, along with tattered fabrics, spilt inks, and shattered pieces of china, NONE of which seemed remotely salvageable.

Over a MONTH of enforced servitude, probably only a couple of more weeks left in his contract until he was finally free… and now everything was RUINED! What were Glasya and Thomas going to say when they saw all of this!? If Glasya didn't incinerate Nick for all of this, then surely his debt was going to be increased again! If breaking a few plates increased his debt by a fortnight, then how much was all this destruction going to set him back!? Months? Years? DECADES!? No… someone as rich as Glasya Labolas wouldn't have just had items that were worth mere chump change… one of the paintings alone could have been worth more than this entire house! With just one attack, that fucking Hellrat had destroyed his chances of ever being free again!'

Suddenly, Nick was snapped out of his stupor by the sound of something moving beneath the now-destroyed shelves. Soon enough, his eye once again began to twitch with utter disbelief as the Hellrat slowly started to climb out of the wreckage, bruised and scratched up but otherwise okay. Needless to say, the instant he saw that the titanic vermin was alive and well… Nick was absolutely FURIOUS!

"YOU!"

That was the last thing the Hellrat would ever hear before Nick's tail suddenly snapped over to it like a whip and wrapped itself around the Hellrat's neck! How dare it… how DARE it ruin his chances of freedom and have the gall to try to walk away unscathed!? No… that was NOT going to happen… not if Nick had something to say about it!

As the Hellrat struggled to breathe, the large beast understandably struggled to break free… only to suddenly freeze on the spot the moment it saw Nick glaring back at him as he edged a little closer with the knife in hand. Long gone were the Sinner's feelings of panic and terror, all of them now replaced with nothing but blind fury. As the Hellrat stared back into Nick's burning red eyes, it could have sworn there were even trickles of steam seeping out of his fur.

"You know what cats do to rats on a regular basis, right?" Nick uttered, lifting the knife with a grin so thin and creepy, the Sinner appeared as though he were on the verge of insanity. "Well, I can assure you… I'm not going to be that merciful after what you've just sentenced me to, buddy boy."

Seeing the inane twitch in Nick's eye as a low creepy laugh escaped his lips, the Hellrat suddenly couldn't help but whimper. For the first time since the Sinner had walked into the attic… the Hellrat was scared of HIM!

Hearing the sounds of utter carnage and pained screams coming from the other side of the attic door, Thomas merely leaned up against the nearby wall, sipping his cup of tea with a look of pure bliss even as trickles of black blood suddenly started seeping out from underneath the door.

"Mmm, nothing beats a nice cup of Hellgrey," he thought aloud, suddenly wishing he had some custard cream biscuits to go along with his beverage.

BAM!

Suddenly turning his head to the attic door, Thomas couldn't help but smirk as he saw the result of Nick's foot kicking it in, breaking the lock off in the process and allowing it to swing open. Had this been any other time, the Sinner probably would have worried about increasing his dept to replace said lock, but after everything he had just been through… he just didn't care anymore.

As he stepped back out into the hallway, Thomas immediately took notice of the vast amount of blood staining Nick's tattered clothes and a deranged twitch in the Sinner's eye. Those along with the fact that he also appeared to be wearing a Hellrat pelt over his shoulders like a cape with the Hellrat's head in one hand and a knife in the other, he looked as though he had gone completely feral in the mere 30 minutes he had been up on the attic floor.

"So… how'd it go?"

Hearing the mocking sound of Thomas's voice, Nick immediately snapped his head around with a sickening crack, giving the Baphomet the most blood-curdling glare he could muster.

"You…" he uttered, pointing the knife at Thomas like a deranged lunatic. "You… are PURE evil!"

Thomas, however, remained completely unphased by the Sinner's words, if anything he only seemed to find them amusing.

"Flattery will get ya nowhere, lad," he shamelessly said, much to Nick's utter disbelief. "Now… after you clean all that blood off the floor, you'd better tidy yourself up and get your arse downstairs. The Lady of the House wants to speak to ya."

With one final sip of his tea, Thomas then turned around and casually walked away, leaving Nick completely flabbergasted and twitching in a mixture of anxiety and trauma. At that exact moment, his brain felt like it had completely shut down.

"You… you… fucking bastard,"

Those were the only words Nick managed to force out before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he ended up crashing face-first into the floor, passing out completely.