Charlie nodded blankly.
She didn’t say a word as she let Vaggie help her onto the sofa.
Vaggie immediately picked up the remote and turned on the inn’s old, flickering TV.
She intended to play the promotional ad they had just finished filming, hoping it might lift Charlie’s spirits.
When the television flickered to life, the screen pulsed with static for a moment.
However, instead of their advertisement, it automatically tuned to the Hell News channel.
The Hell News studio was decorated in an absurd and eerie fashion against a backdrop of Hell’s dark red sky.
Sitting behind the anchor desk were the two most famous—and notoriously petty—personalities in Hell: Katie and Tom.
Katie wore a gaudy red dress with exaggerated makeup and spoke with a sharp, acidic tone.
Tom sat beside her with a wooden expression and a dull voice.
Together, they performed their usual routine, reporting on Hell’s chaos, violence, and negative news in a tired, cynical style that everyone found grating.
“Welcome to Hell News.
I’m your host, Katie Killjoy.” “And I’m Tom Trench.” As usual, the two began reporting on the daily happenings of Hell in their flat, repetitive manner.
There was nothing new or interesting.
But halfway through the broadcast, their expressions suddenly turned grave.
Katie’s voice spiked, filled with a sudden sense of urgency and tension.
“Emergency announcement!
Emergency announcement!
We have breaking news coming straight from Heaven!” Tom immediately took over, his voice cold as he made the declaration.
“Heaven has officially issued a mandate.
The planned Extermination of Hell has been rescheduled.
It will now take place in six months!
To repeat: the Extermination has been moved up.
In six months, Hell will face a total cleansing by the Angelic Legion!” The news hit Charlie like a bolt of lightning.
Already on the brink of despair, hearing the official notification on the TV was the final straw.
Tears burst from her eyes instantly.
She collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking with every breath.
She choked out desperate, broken cries.
“Six months…
there’s really only six months left…
I failed…
I couldn’t convince Adam at all…
I can’t save anyone…
My entire plan is ruined…” Vaggie stood by her side, her heart aching with worry and pity.
She didn’t know how to comfort her, so she simply patted Charlie’s back gently, sharing in her sorrow.
The other demons in the inn exploded into a frenzy the moment they heard the news.
Panic spread like wildfire as they began to argue and shout.
“Six months?!
Why did they move it up so much?” “It’s over, it’s all over!
We’re all going to die!
The angels are going to slaughter us all!” “Princess Charlie’s plan was useless!
Heaven isn’t listening to us!” The air was filled with complaints, curses, and terrified screams.
The entire inn descended into chaos.
[Hell · Abandoned Ruins · Dark Corner] At the same time, deep within Hell, something strange was happening in a desolate wasteland of crumbling walls and broken structures.
These ruins had once been a prosperous demon city, but it had been utterly demolished by angels during a previous Extermination.
Now, only rubble, shattered architectural remains, and dried black blood remained.
The air hung heavy with the scent of death and decay.
It was cold and silent, devoid of any sign of life, save for the howling wind that whipped dust through the ruins like the wailing of restless ghosts.
In the deepest, shadowed corner of the ruins, a small drone—entirely golden in color—hovered in mid-air.
Its lens swiveled constantly, scanning a corpse on the ground.
The corpse belonged to a headless Exorcist!
The angel’s body lay in a thick pool of dark red blood.
The pristine white uniform was stained crimson.
The head was missing, leaving only a jagged neck from which golden blood still slowly leaked, mixing with the black blood of Hell to create an eerie, swirling pattern.
The cyan drone’s lens locked onto the headless Exorcist, transmitting a crystal-clear image.
The destination of that transmission was an office in Heaven.
[Heaven · Office] The office in Heaven was designed in a style of pure white sanctity—spacious, bright, and centered around a massive desk.
Adam sat in the chair behind the desk, his legs kicked up, looking completely indifferent.
Lute stood before the desk with a stern expression, reporting the latest combat updates.
On a massive screen in front of the desk, the live feed from the cyan drone was playing—showing the headless Exorcist lying in the pool of blood.
As Adam watched the screen, his nonchalant expression darkened.
His brow furrowed, and his voice turned irritable and annoyed.
“Huh?
Another Exorcist killed in Hell?
And headless this time?
Those pieces of shit down there actually have the balls to initiate an attack on my angels?
They must be tired of living!
Lute, find out who did this!
I want whoever it is torn into a million pieces!” Adam barked the orders at Lute, his voice thick with rage.
As the leader of the Angelic Legion, having his subordinates killed in Hell was an intolerable provocation.
Lute nodded and was about to respond when something bizarre happened.
The light in the heavenly office flickered slightly.
All the electronic equipment, including the giant screen, seemed to be hit by an invisible force of interference.
Dense static suddenly covered the screen; the signal stuttered, and the audio became a garbled mess.
The interference lasted only a few seconds before the screen went completely black.
The signal was severed, and the image vanished entirely.
Adam and Lute both froze, staring at the black screen in disbelief and confusion.
“What the hell?!
How did the signal cut out?!
Is there actually something in Hell capable of jamming a signal from Heaven?!” Adam surged to his feet, his bloated face flushed with anger and bewilderment.
He had never encountered this before.
The demons in Hell shouldn’t have been capable of interfering with Heaven’s technology.
[Hell · Abandoned Ruins · Spade’s Location] Back in the ruins of Hell, the moment the signal cut out, the golden drone was suddenly snatched by a hand that appeared out of nowhere!
That hand belonged to Spade, Prototype 1006.
The palm was massive and grotesque, shimmering with a cold metallic luster.
With terrifying strength and a sharp “crack,” the sturdy cyan drone was crushed into scrap metal.
It fell from the air into the rubble, completely lifeless.
Spade slowly stepped out from the shadows of the ruins.
His figure remained partially hidden in the dim light, his green eyes cold as ice.
He looked down at the headless Exorcist corpse without expression, though his voice held a hint of weary exasperation as he sighed.
“Carmilla…
Oh, Carmilla…
You really haven’t changed at all.
Still so impulsive, still so reckless.” He shook his head slightly and sighed again, the tone of an old friend who had long since given up on giving advice.
“Well, whatever.
We’ve been friends for many years, so I won’t bother lecturing you.
Since you don’t want this angel’s body, I’ll take it for my collection.” Without another word, Spade reached out and hoisted the headless Exorcist.
The body was incredibly heavy, yet in his grip, it seemed weightless.
He turned and walked with steady steps toward the edge of the ruins.
His silhouette gradually vanished into the darkness of Hell as he headed toward his own territory.
[Spade’s Private Territory · Cold Storage] Spade’s private territory was hidden in the most secluded depths of Hell, a place no outsider could find.
Within the territory sat a massive cold storage unit.
The walls were biting cold, and the interior was filled with various “ingredients” hanging from hooks or laid out on tables, radiating a chilling frost.
Spade carried the headless Exorcist inside and tossed the body onto the frozen floor.
Amidst the many “ingredients” already stored in the cold room, there was now a new piece of “meat.” The heavy door of the cold storage slowly swung shut, sealing everything in darkness.
As for where the Exorcist’s head had gone?
Spade’s lips curled into a mysterious smile.
A flash of mocking realization flickered in his glowing red eyes as he chuckled inwardly.
“Heh, where did the head go?
Is that even a question?
Don’t make me laugh…
Besides the Vees, who else in Hell would be so interested in an angel’s head?
Who else would have the guts—and the power—to pull it off?
Hehehe…” His chilling laughter echoed softly through the cold room, merging with the darkness of the deep.
And as the Extermination six months away hung like a sword over the heads of every demon, a storm that would engulf all of Hell was quietly brewing.