L-Arteest123, I have to say when I read your review, I couldn't hold my laughs! Lute's anger would have been uncontrollable! XD

Guillo1998 and JasonSkeans, I'm so glad you're enjoying my story thus far and you want me to keep updating, so wish granted! :D

For the Lady Guest, I'll be honest, when I came originally with the concept, I didn't plan for Adam to return. In this story, he's definitely dead. However, I did conceive an idea where he does appear, but I don't know how and if I'll add it. I won't spoil anything.

And of course, I'm grateful for Guest and Captain29thegamer's lovely comments. I was surprised to see people still left them, despite the hiatus.

Notes: English is not my native language, so please excuse any mistake I made. Enjoy! :)


Lute opened her eyes, her head heavy as if it was full of lead. She placed a hand on the source of the pain and winced. When she draw back, she saw it was covered in ichor.

The combination of pain, blurring and shock prevented her from realizing right from the start how and why she was here. Then, all the recent memories (the attack, Viol being in danger, the bullet) hit her like a track and woke her up on an instant.

It was pitch dark. The Extermination must have been finished hours ago. There wasn't a single Exorcist flying in the sky, not screams of agony and desperation. Actually, they were, but scarce. Nope. Only the hideous music coming from the clubs nearby. Lute couldn't understand how they could go clubbing after going through a massacre, but didn't think it further.

The important thing now was her daughter.

"Viol?" She called silently, careful not to attract any denizen.

No answer. Only a raffle that turned out to merely be a rat.

"Viol?" She called again and was greeted by the silence.

Her heart pandered faster and faster with each passing second.

Where was she?

She found it hard to control herself. At that moment, all she wanted was to rush to the streets and slaughter the first Sinner her eyes would fall in. It didn't matter if they were responsible for her missing daughter, anything would have been much more preferable than that awful feeling.

Out ot the blue, she recalled what she had told her daughter a few moments before that Sinner attacked her: to wait for her at the rooftop.

If Viol was an obedient child - which she was, Lute raised her to be like a soldier - she must have been waiting for her there.

She flapped her wings, before an ashing pain befell her whole body, causing her to stop right on track and yell. The source was from the spot the bullet has pierced her through, though it had gone numb all these hours.

She was lucky that there were outside stairs, which she used to climb up.

Upon reaching the top, she grabbed her sword, ready to defend herself against any intruder and called out again. "Viol?" She waited a few seconds, before she added: "It's me! Mommy!"

The realization that she was alone both comforted her and unsettled her. If Viol wasn't here, where in Hell was she?!

Maybe she was in Heaven, she proposed trying really really hard not to let panick overwhelm her. She was a fighter, for God's sake! Maybe another Exorcist found her and took her with her. She must be safe now! Yeah, that's it!

But...

If an Exorcist had found her, then why hadn't Viol told her about her mom and how she was in a serious condition?

That meant... the only place Viol could be was in Hell!

Lute couldn't bring herself to agree with the idea. Mainly because that gave rise to a good amount of horrible possibilities: Viol was either dead, heavily injured and seconds away from dying, or in good shape, but still an easy prey for the abominations inhabiting this place.

Terror shot through Lute as she was suddenly struck by the thought that she might never see her only daughter again. The only thing that reminded her of Adam...

She felt her eyes getting warmer and tried the hardest not to cry.

No no no!

This couldn't be true!

She cletched and uncletched her joins (both fleshy and mechanical) several times in order to calm herself down. It's alright! It's alright! She could still be alive and well! Yeah! She would stay in Hell for a few days (less than a week) and then, assuming she hadn't find her, she would return with an army of Exorcists on her disposal, ready to track her down or take her revenge.

Yeah! That's what she should do!

Problem was she had no clue to help her find her daughter. Where should she start? Should she start interrogating various Sinners and kill the ones who gave her false instructions? Should she investigate every house, every building on Pentagram City and then kill its residents and everyone that happened to be inside?

Even though these ideas appealed to her, she knew they would lead her to nowhere. And said massacre would make her an easy target, and as strong as an angel she was, she knew damn well she couldn't face the entirety of Hell at once, not now that they had find ways to kill them.

She stiffened when she heard a noise from the roads. She ducked and peeped carefully from above.

Two fugly Sinners, with dark spots in the place of their eyes and clothes that looked like they came from the '20s were roaming the streets, carrying a carriage behind them. When Lute took a closer look, she realized that the carriage was filled with... Exorcist corpses!

By instinct, she turned on the other side, about to puke, but like any good self-respected soldier, she halted herself at the last moment. That reaction might have triggered her brain or something, because an idea crossed immediately her mind if these Sinners carried Exorcist corpses, there might have been a chance that they must have picked Viol at some point.

Lute was disgusted by the mere thought of her little girl being dead, but she tried to collet herself and look on the... less negative side of the quest: maybe Viol was just heavily injured and those dumb Sinners mistook her for dead. Even if that was the case, there was this small but hopeful possibility that she may survive.

She climbed down the stairs with silent steps and followed the carriage-pushers, making as little noise as possible. She watched as the streets and buildings switched as they kept going, from the basic modern and uninteresting structure (at least the buildings in Heaven, even the smallest ones, had something colorful to showcase), to one inspired by the '20s, which Lute found too old-fashioned for her likings.

She watched as they headed at the backdoor of a store, opened it and disposed the bodies there. She waited for a few seconds till they disappear and when she made sure they were gone, she went inside.

So this is where they left the Exorcists to die. Or that was Lute's first hypothesis.

The sight was sickening.

"Viol. It's me. Mommy" she called again, only to be greeted by the same groans.

Lute winced at the pain of her sisters. A thought crossed her mind• to kill them at the spot to ease the suffering, but she couldn't bring her arm to grab her sword. Killing Sinners was fine• they were vile things and their brutal death was the least deserving punishment for all the atrocities they had committed during their lifetime (as well as their afterlife in Hell). Exorcists, on the other hand...

Even though it pained her, Lute chose to let them die in a slow and agonizing death or until the Cannibals arrived to give them the final hit.

She moved slowly, careful where she put her boots, inspecting in great detail every body to recognize the face or the proportions of a child and let a small relieved sigh whenever she spotted an adult Exorcist.

Hours passed without Lute noticing them. It was only after the first red rays passed under the crevice of the door that she realized that she has wasted the night.

Then, the sound of footsteps that caused her to look for a better spot to dive and hide. The footsteps stopped in front of the door, casting two lines of shadows that darkened the room. Lute realized two things: the first being that her inspection was over and the second being that, if the Sinner entered inside, she had to kill them.

Then, a voice...

"Oh, my dear. It's so lovely to see you again"

The voice, a female one, was surprisingly friendly and joyful for a Sinner. It would lead you to believe that she actually had good intentions, were you an idiot, of course.

"It's my pleasure too, Rose". A second female voice replied. In contracts to the first, it was serious, stoic, almost militaristic and had a Hispanic accent. Soon enough, a second pair of feet appeared next to the first.

"What brings you here?"

"Just a little investigation. I know very well that you have a store of injured and dead Exorcists on your disposal"

Lute stiffened. She didn't like where the conversation was heading...

"Oh, you're quite correct, my dear" the one with the soft voice chuckled. "Anything your heart desire. May I invite you to dinner this afternoon? I think you'll enjoy the flavor"

Lute almost chocked her breath. How dare these blasphemous and vile creatures talk about them, holy and sinless beings of light, as merely food! It took a good amount to restrain herself from bursting from the door and slashing their necks.

"I'm afraid I have to pass the invitation" the second Sinner said. "I only had in my mind to examine their equipment. I use the Heavenly steel from the weapons of the disposed Exorcists to make weapons for the Sinners to defend themselves towards the Exterminations"

That would explain so much. Lute made a mental note to gather the name of this Sinner, alongside some other information about her and attack her home base whenever she finds the chance.

"Oh, my dear Carmilla - so her name was Carmilla and she was a weapon dealer. Good... - you have no idea how grateful we are for your services. But I keep wondering what are you doing in my store? Aren't there enough dead Exorcists for your disposal?"

"Rosie, sweetie" the dealer murmured. "Sometimes, you have to think business-like in order to survive, especially in a hellhole like this - at least, they were sell-aware enough to accept their eternal damnation. I have plans to expanse my business by increasing the quantity of my stock. And what better place to find heavenly steel, than your store?"

"That's a splendid idea, my dear" the lady peeped enthusiastically. "Though make sure to be quick. Valentino called us for a meeting and, according to Vox, he's in a furious state right now, and we don't want to enrage him even more"

"What's with Valentino? Does he have beef with Angel Dust? Satan dammit!" the Hispanic Sinner murmured. Her hand touched the doorknob and turned it slightly with a silent rattle.

Lute's body stiffened. She had two options: either attack and risk being captured and tortured or whatever other punishment the Sinners had in their mind for Exorcists like her, or play dead and find a chance to escape in some way or another. Her warrior instic told her to rely on her fighting skills and face the demons. Her mother instinct told her to think of Viol and stay alive.

Lute battled with these two propositions and chose to go with the latter.

"In a way-" the other Sinner replied, carrying on the conversation. "Someone brought him a promising new worker, but Angel Dust rescued them. He claimed he would make lots of money with that angel kid-"

Angel kid?

It can't be.

"Angel kid?" The dealer asked, as if she was able to read Lute's thoughts.

"Yeah" the cannibal assured. "Don't know how she ended up here, poor thing, but Valentino planned on putting her on the dirty lines, then the lights turned off and *poof* she was gone!"

What?!

Lute had no idea who this Valentino was, but if she ever saw him, she would rip out his disgusting head and balls and give them to the severe head to eat them. Her fingernails accidently dig into the corpses of her fallen comrades, but Lute didn't notice. If she couldn't attack the Sinners, she was in need of another way to express her newly founded anger.

Heck, maybe it wasn't even Viol, but she couldn't think of any other Exorcist who had brought their kid into the battlefield.

Time was over. The door opened and Lute buried her face on the first Exorcist corpse, hoping to appear as dead as she could. She could sense their distance from their footsteps. One was light-footed, like a high-class woman noting her pacing, while the other was heavy and clanged to the floor, as if the shoes she was wearing were made of metal or something similar.

And to her great dismay, they stopped right above.

Lute held her breath, praying they would go away as soon as she came. Luck wasn't on her side. One of them touched her with her bare hands, probably inspecting to see if she was fully dead.

Lute realized she couldn't hold it any longer. In one way or another, they would find out she was alive and would make a move. So she decided to be the first to surprise them.

She stretched her wings, hitting the one closer to her and making her stumble backwards and scrapping the other ever so slightly. The contact sent a wave of pain on her injured wing, causing her to bite her lip to restraint it. With the adrenaline still rushing in her veins, she ignored it and made as high of a jump as the injured wing let her, facing her opponents.

The one she hit was a middle-aged woman with red sinful eyes and long loose white hair, not different from her own hue, and a defiant pose. Her attire was mostly black, with white elements and she wore a pair of pointing ballerinas that gave her extra height. That wasn't the most unusual part about it. Rather, they shone in a peculiar way whenever light fell upon them, similar to her own sword, and crackled in every step. Angelic steel. Lute despised the very sight of the Sinner adorning herself with such a holy material, but in combat, she had to remind herself to avoid her kicks.

The other Sinner looked like she jumped right from a 1920s period film, what with the dress, the hat and the somehow elegant hairstyle. An appearance that couldn't quite hide the vacant sockets, where her eyes should be, and the pointy teeth in her shocked expression, traits that defined a Cannibal. Regardless, she wasn't dress for battle, nor she looked combat-savvy, so Lute didn't have to worry about her for now.

She turned the attention to 'Carmilla' (that's how the Cannibal Sinner called her, she recalled) and tried to appear as threatening as possible. She stretched her wings to appear bigger - a move that once again gave her pain waves, she had to stop using them for awhile, though she chose not to cover them - and pulled out her sword.

The filth didn't seem frightened to the least, instead she shot a look at her companion and said: "Rosie, bring Clara and Odette right now!"

Rosie nodded and headed instantly to carry out the order. Before she could take another step, Lute cut her way and lifted her sword to Rosie's neck.

"Reinforcements? Not in my case" she said with her raspy voice. "If you want to fight me, you have to do it fair and square"

Technically, they outnumbered her two to one, but no matter the odds, an Exorcist angel remained stronger than the average Sinner.

Carmilla shot herself and blew a kick that Lute avoided at the last second. She watched as the blades passed a few inches away from her and thanked God that the ballerinas didn't hit her and cut off her eye. She was in no mood to have any more lethal injuries, especially in vital parts, like her wings. She responded by punching the Sinner in the face so hard, that she sent her flying to the nearby pile of Exorcist corpses.

Before she had time to withhold her composure, Lute shot her a question: "Where's Valentino?"

Carmilla narrowed her eyes. "Why do you want him?"

Lute clicked her tongue, bothered that she didn't answer immediately. "Why do you care? He's an Overlord. You should want his pathetic ass out of the way to reduce the competition or whatever the fuck you call this economy! Just let me do this for you" she tried to negotiate, as if that was possible with a pest.

"Not when an Exorcist wants him" Carmilla replied. "And the Head Exorcist, of all people". She rose from the pile and approached Lute hesitantly, making no move to attack her. Lute, however, was taught to never let her guard down and clenched her sword even tighter.

A decision that proved life-saving, when she sensed the remaining Sinner approaching her, holding an axe on her hands. Lute elbowed her on the throat, causing a loss of balance against her opponent. She fell on the floor with a gasp, her axe - or to be more precise, the axe that she had stole from a dead Exorcist - slipping from her hands and sent to the other side of the room with a kick from Lute.

She wanted to laugh. They were Overlords, the strongest demons in the entire Hell realm, yet they were no match for her. The only reason she hadn't kill them yet, was because she was in desperate need for information.

"For the last time, where's Valentino?" She demanded, pointing the Cannibal with her sword.

Her composition didn't last for long. Taking advantage of her distraction, the weapon dealer struck a kick on her right rib. Lute let a pained yelp, but she didn't let go of her sword. She clutched her side, turned around and howled: "You BITCH! YOUR TIME IS UP!"

She was about to make a move when...

"Mom, what's going on?" A young voice called.

Lute turned her head at the open door and came face to face with another two Sinners who, judging from their notable red eyes, must have been related to the weapon dealer. Despite that, the two looked nothing unlike. One was dark-skinned, had puffy violet hair and wore a top that exposed her midriff - Lute shouldn't have expected modesty from Sinners - whereas the other had pale complexion, round red myopia glasses, blonde hair caught in a ponytail and her attire indicated she just came out of the lab.

Great. The more, the merrier. She sarcastically thought to herself.

Her suspicions were proven right the moment Carmilla addressed them. "Clara! Odette! Don't tell her anything!"

Clara eyed Lute suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"Valentino's headquarters' address!" Came the answer.

"Don't-" Carmilla shook her head, hoping that her daughters would get the memo.

"Just give me the fucking address!" Lute hissed between her teeth. "And I will leave you alone!"

Carmilla eyed her sternly. "Do you promise you won't kill us?"

Lute clenched her upper lip. "Yes" she said.

"And that you will only target Valentino?"

"Yes!" Lute howled. "Just gimme it already!"

"It's 13 Imp, Azazel District" Odette said within a breath.

"Odette!" Clara exclaimed.

Lute nodded, thanking the filth for her help - the closest thing to respect she has ever shown to a demon. She put her sword back to her scabbard and headed outside, completely oblivious to the conversation that followed between Rosie, Carmilla and her daughters.

"Why did you give her a fake address?" Clara asked her sister. "Do you want her to get furious and kill us all once she returns?"

"It was the only way we could save Ma and have her leave from here. We can't face the Head Exorcist on our own" Odette replied and stared at her mother lovingly.

Carmilla approached her daughters and hugged them tightly, relieved that they came alive after an encounter with an Exorcist (though, frankly, this wasn't the first one).

Rosie stared at the sigh, moved from the display of motherly love, but also slightly jealous that she could never again experience that kind of feeling, though there was still a concerning thought racing on her mind.

"How do you know she won't kill anyone?" She asked worried.

"I don't" Carmilla replied stoically. "But I trust that Lucifer will put her in her place once she she starts wrecking his kingdom"

Rosie nodded in approval.


Hey guys! I know it's been some time ever since I last posted, but I swear, I was busy with exams and I couldn't find time. Then, writer's block hit and I couldn't find inspiration for anything and how to move on the story. Truth to be told, when I first started writing it, I had vague scenes in my head, but not a coherent outline on how the story would unfold.

Right now, I have prepared four chapters for the following two months, all under heavy construction. I must warn you, as I have done multiple times already, that English is not my native language so it's bound that I will make mistakes in the process.

For that reason, I'm in desperate need for a beta reader who will help me with the editing, preferably an English-speaker. If you're interested, feel free to contact me.

A note for Carmilla lovers: this won't be the last time we'll see of her. For that, I am sure.

Have a lovely week and I'll see you soon.