INFORMATION.
– I have quite a few chapters written in advance.
For the coming week: 1 chapter per day.
– The translation process is a bit messy.
Going from my native language to English makes some things lose their meaning, and when I fix the English version, things get messed up in my native language.
So, sorry if that happens.
If you’ve read this far, great.
Here’s a bonus chapter 🙂
I discovered my grand return to Pentagram City while drinking my coffee.
Which was rather remarkable, considering I had never actually left Pentagram City in the sense Hell’s television apparently meant.
I was sitting in one of the manor’s smaller lounges, one leg crossed over the other, with a still-steaming cup in one hand and the first reports of the day spread across the coffee table in front of me.
Hell’s reddish sunlight filtered through the large windows overlooking the complex, where activity had already resumed several hours ago.
Vehicles moved between the warehouses, my soldiers carried out their patrols, and a team was finishing loading a convoy scheduled to leave before noon.
A perfectly ordinary morning.
I had even managed to sleep properly.
My shoulder no longer hurt, my uniform was clean and, contrary to what some people seemed to believe after a battle, I had long since discovered the revolutionary existence of showers and spare clothes.
My lieutenant stood not far from me with several folders tucked under one arm.
He had just finished his report on the new security measures applied to our convoys when the program playing on the television was abruptly interrupted by the opening theme of 666 News.
At first, I barely paid attention.
Then my own face appeared on the screen.
I stopped drinking.
A photograph of me now occupied nearly half the image, surrounded by an aggressively red frame.
Behind it was an aerial view of the industrial district where we had fought a few days earlier.
A massive headline stretched across the bottom of the screen.
THE DEVIL OF WAR’S EXPLOSIVE RETURN
I remained still.
Then I slowly lowered my cup.
“Lieutenant.”
“Commander?”
“Had I gone somewhere?”
He looked at the screen.
“Not to my knowledge.”
“That was my understanding as well.”
Katie Killjoy then appeared on screen with her usual smile, the kind worn by a woman who had probably just learned that a building full of orphans had burned down and was mostly hoping the footage would bring in good ratings.
Beside her, Tom Trench sat behind the desk, his ever-present gas mask covering his face.
“And now, you miserable fucking bastards, some news that should remind certain people why choosing your enemies carefully can keep you from ending up as wall decoration!”
I raised an eyebrow.
My lieutenant did not react.
Katie continued with growing enthusiasm.
“After decades of keeping her tiny ass away from the spotlight, the Devil of War has decided to remind Pentagram City that she’s still around, and apparently she was really in the mood to blow some shit up!”
The screen behind her changed.
Footage of the industrial district appeared.
Someone had clearly filmed part of the confrontation from several streets away.
The quality was poor, the image shook violently, and much of the battle was obscured by buildings, but the artillery portals were perfectly visible in the sky.
I sighed.
“That explains some of the rumors.”
Tom Trench leaned slightly toward his microphone.
“Local authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of casualties, but several witnesses report at least thirty—”
Katie violently elbowed him.
Tom nearly fell out of his chair.
“Nobody gives a shit about the exact number, Tom!”
“I simply thought that—”
“That’s your first problem.”
I took a sip of coffee.
There was something almost reassuring about knowing that certain Pentagram City institutions never changed.
Katie turned back toward the camera.
“According to our sources, a local gang had the brilliant idea of attacking several convoys belonging to the Devil of War before sending her a personal invitation.
And because apparently ordinary suicide isn’t creative enough anymore, these geniuses even gave her the address of their hideout!”
I smiled slightly.
At least that part was accurate.
“The response?”
New footage appeared behind her.
It showed one of my salvos striking the old factory.
Katie threw her arms wide.
“THIS!”
Tom Trench leaned forward again.
“It should, however, be noted that several of the destroyed buildings were already abandoned and reports claiming several hundred deaths are probably exaggerated.”
Katie slowly turned her head toward him.
“Tom.”
“Yes?”
“Did anyone ask you to make this story less interesting?”
“No, but—”
She brutally slammed his face into the desk.
I watched the scene.
Then I looked at my lieutenant.
“I understand why this network maintains good ratings.”
“Would you like me to contact the newsroom?”
I seriously considered the question.
Katie was still talking behind us, now presenting my intervention as the “awakening of an ancient terror of Pentagram City,” which was particularly dramatic considering I had simply continued managing my domain throughout all those years.
“To tell them what?”
“That several pieces of information are incorrect.”
“Which ones?”
“You did not destroy three districts.”
“True.”
“You did not deploy more than two hundred fighters.”
“Twelve soldiers and yourself.”
“And you did not personally execute forty-seven sinners.”
I looked back at the television.
“That is an oddly specific lie.”
“Would you therefore like a correction issued?”
I set down my cup and picked up the first report he had brought me, concerning transportation.
I quickly scanned the figures.
No incidents.
I picked up the second.
Two groups that had begun demanding “passage fees” on certain roads had abruptly stopped making those demands.
The third stated that an intermediary we had been having difficulties with for several weeks had spontaneously confirmed that he would, after all, honor the original terms of his contract.
I looked back up at Katie Killjoy, who was now explaining with far too much pleasure that “even the lunatics of Pentagram City seem to have gotten the message.”
I put the reports down.
“On second thought, let them say whatever they want.”
The lieutenant tilted his head slightly.
“Even the false information?”
“Especially the false information.”
I picked up my coffee again.
“If idiots want to believe I massacred two hundred people because a gang touched one of my trucks, perhaps it will save me from having to actually massacre two hundred people next time.”
“Understood.”
I smiled as I watched Katie continue her report.
A free publicity campaign.
Alastor would probably appreciate the irony.
Charlie, much less so.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when my communication device began ringing.
I looked at the name displayed.
Then at the television.
Then back at the name.
“Ah.”
The lieutenant turned his head toward me.
“Princess Morningstar?”
“You’re becoming unsettling.”
“She usually calls after an event involving you becomes public.”
I picked up the device.
“You learn quickly.”
I answered.
“Good morning, Charlie.”
Silence.
I knew Charlie well enough by now to know that this was not a good sign.
“Tanya…”
I closed my eyes.
“Yes?”
“Do you remember our conversation a few days ago?”
“We’ve had several conversations over the past few days.
You’ll have to be more specific.”
“The one where I asked how your day had gone.”
I looked at Katie Killjoy on television.
The report was showing the artillery footage again.
“I vaguely remember it.”
“And do you remember what you told me?”
I could already see where this was going.
“Probably.”
“You said, ‘Pretty quiet.
A few administrative problems with a supplier.'”
My lieutenant turned his head ever so slightly toward me.
Traitor.
“That was a reasonable description.”
“REASONABLE?!”
I had to move the device away from my ear.
Charlie immediately continued, much faster.
“Tanya, I just watched six enormous cannons come out of portals in the sky while an entire district was being bombarded!
Katie Killjoy has spent the last ten minutes saying you massacred an entire army, and Angel just told me all of Pentagram City has been talking about this for two days!
How can that possibly be an administrative problem with a supplier?!”
I waited for her to catch her breath.
It took a moment.
“First, it wasn’t an entire district.”
“That’s not the important part!”
“Second, Katie is greatly exaggerating the number of deaths.”
“Still not the important part!”
“And third, it was indeed a commercial problem.
They stole a shipment.
I recovered the shipment.
Therefore, the problem has been resolved.”
Another silence.
I could almost imagine Charlie staring at her device as though hoping it would provide a translation into a more comprehensible language.
“You bombarded people to recover merchandise.”
“They had also destroyed several of my soldiers and attempted to kill me when I came to negotiate.”
“You didn’t mention that either!”
“You didn’t ask for a detailed report.”
I heard a voice in the background.
Angel.
I couldn’t make out everything, but the words fucking artillery reached me.
Then Charlie apparently moved the device away from herself.
“Angel, not now!”
Another voice joined in.
Vaggie this time.
Something about how she had warned Charlie that Tanya wasn’t exactly an ordinary businesswoman.
I smiled.
“Your hotel sounds lively.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
“I’m not trying to.”
“You said your day was quiet!”
I looked at my lieutenant, who had also participated in the confrontation.
“Lieutenant, on a scale from quiet to catastrophic, how would you describe our recovery operation?”
He genuinely considered it.
“Moderately eventful.”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek.
Charlie had heard him.
“Oh my God, there are two of you.”
“I warned you he was learning quickly.”
That finally made her laugh.
She clearly tried to resist, but her indignation didn’t last very long.
“You two are impossible.”
“Nevertheless, the problem has been resolved.”
“Yes, I gathered that.
Katie just said no one dares touch your convoys anymore.”
I looked at the report in front of me.
“For once, her information is accurate.”
“And the people who attacked the convoy?”
The question came more calmly.
I didn’t answer immediately because I wasn’t going to lie to Charlie.
But I also had no intention of giving her a detailed account of the contracts forced upon the survivors and the execution of their leader simply to provoke a moral discussion over the phone.
“They won’t do it again.”
Charlie remained silent.
She understood and didn’t press the matter.
Perhaps that was for the best.
We both knew we didn’t share the same way of seeing Hell.
She believed almost anyone could be given another chance.
I considered another chance to be something one needed a reason to grant.
Strangely, that no longer prevented us from talking.
“Well,” she finally continued with a sigh, “I guess I can at least be happy you weren’t hurt.”
I looked at my hand.
“My shoulder hurt for a day.”
“Tanya!”
“What?
You just asked.”
“I didn’t even—never mind.”
I smiled.
She remained silent for a few seconds before continuing with much more enthusiasm.
“Oh!
Actually, since I’ve got you on the phone, I need to tell you what happened here.”
There.
We had returned to normal operations.
I settled more comfortably into my seat.
“I’m listening.”
“Do you remember Sir Pentious?”
I frowned slightly.
“The snake with the airship?”
“Yes!
Although when you say it like that, it makes it sound like there’s only one of those in Hell, which might actually be true now that I think about it, but anyway, him.”
“I know his reputation.”
It was difficult not to.
Sir Pentious had spent a good portion of his infernal existence trying to become a recognized conqueror, usually with machines that were far too large, far too loud, and accompanied by enough theatrical declarations to warn the entire district several minutes before his arrival.
I had never considered him a serious threat to my territory.
That didn’t mean he was incompetent.
It simply meant his concept of stealth seemed to be based on the idea that it constituted a moral weakness.
“Well, he’s at the hotel now.”
I blinked.
“As an enemy?”
“As a resident.”
I stared at the device.
“Sir Pentious.”
“Yes.”
“The same Sir Pentious who regularly tries to conquer parts of Pentagram City with an armed airship.”
“That’s him.”
“And he wants to be rehabilitated.”
Charlie hesitated.
“It’s…
a little complicated.
But he’s trying!”
I leaned deeper into the couch.
Now that was interesting.
“How did that happen?”
Oh dear.
Mistake.
Charlie began explaining.
She started with Pentious’s arrival, went back to something involving Alastor, veered off toward Angel, mentioned an attempted espionage operation, returned to Pentious, added a detail involving the Egg Boiz, apparently forgot where she was in the story, restarted from another point, and somehow still managed to provide enough information for me to understand the essentials.
I let her talk.
My coffee gradually cooled as Charlie continued her little summary.
At some point, my lieutenant discreetly placed the folders on the table and left the room, probably having realized the conversation was going to take a while.
“And now he really is trying,” Charlie finally concluded.
“I know he still has a lot to work on, but that’s the whole point of the hotel.
If someone already arrived perfect, there wouldn’t be much point.”
“Logical.”
“And he invents tons of things!”
That caught more of my attention.
“What kind of things?”
“Machines.
Lots of machines.
Some of them are a little too…”
She searched for the word.
“Pentious?” I asked.
“Yes!
Exactly!”
I laughed softly.
“That is a surprisingly clear description.”
“He’s actually working on a little thing right now.
I don’t know exactly what it is, but he’s been talking about it all morning, and he banned Niffty from touching the gears after she took one because, and I quote, she wanted to ‘see if it cut well.'”
I remained silent for a second.
“What did she want to cut?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Wise decision.”
“You could come see.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
I should have recognized the trap the moment she started talking about machines.
“Charlie.”
“What?”
“You just spent twenty minutes telling me all of that solely so you could invite me to the hotel?”
“No!
Haha.
Of course not.”
A pause.
“Not solely.”
“Obviously.”
“But you could come!
Just for a few hours.
You already know everyone now, and Pentious would probably love to show you his invention.
Well, maybe he’d panic a little first because he probably knows your reputation, especially after the news, but after that he’d be thrilled.”
I looked at the television, where Katie Killjoy had finally moved on to another subject.
“I visited not that long ago.”
“I know.”
“I also have work.”
“I know.”
“And I’m not going to start visiting you every three days simply because you discovered I answer the phone.”
Charlie laughed.
“I know that too.”
I sighed.
The problem was that this time she had chosen an argument that was actually effective.
Sir Pentious intrigued me.
Not his attempt at redemption, although that already constituted an interesting experiment in itself.
His inventions interested me more.
I had seen several of his machines over the years, usually from a distance or after they had exploded, and some contained surprisingly ingenious ideas despite their tendency to favor spectacle over efficiency.
“A few hours,” I finally said.
The cry of joy from the other end immediately made me regret answering so quickly.
“Great!
Can you come this afternoon?”
“You had already planned the time before calling me, didn’t you?”
“Maybe…
Two o’clock?”
I looked at the folders.
Then at the time.
I could move a secondary meeting and finish the rest before leaving.
Damn it.
“Two o’clock.”
“Perfect!
I’ll tell everyone!”
“Do not turn my visit into an event.”
“I won’t do anything special.”
I knew Charlie well enough to understand that this sentence could mean absolutely anything.
“See you later.”
“See you later!”
She hung up.
I remained there for a few seconds with the device in my hand.
Then I called my lieutenant, who returned almost immediately.
“Commander?”
“Have the car prepared for thirteen-thirty.”
“Hazbin Hotel?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You’re becoming far too perceptive.”
“Should I bring a brush?”
I stared at him.
His sharp-toothed mouth remained perfectly still.
Then I understood why he had asked.
Niffty.
“You really are making jokes now.”
“I prefer to be prepared.”
I smiled despite myself.
“Have the car prepared.”
At exactly thirteen-thirty-two, we left the domain.
As with my first visit, I had no reason to turn a trip to the Hazbin Hotel into a military operation.
One soldier drove.
My lieutenant sat opposite me in the rear section of the vehicle, and I used the journey to finish several documents I hadn’t had time to handle before leaving.
After about twenty minutes, I noticed my lieutenant looking at me.
At least, I assumed he was looking at me.
The lack of eyes always made that kind of interpretation slightly complicated.
“What?”
“Nothing, Commander.”
I continued reading.
Ten seconds passed before I asked,
“You have something to say.”
“Why are you returning to the hotel?”
I looked up.
“Charlie invited me.”
“She had already invited you several times before your first visit.”
I lowered the document onto my lap.
“Pentious interests me.”
“His rehabilitation program?”
“His machines.”
“I see.”
His answer was perfectly neutral.
Too neutral compared to a moment earlier.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Lieutenant.”
He remained motionless.
“You also said the princess interested you out of curiosity.”
I stared at him.
“I advise you to enjoy your new sense of humor in moderation.”
“Was that a joke?”
“I could make you drive next time.”
He turned his head slightly toward the soldier behind the wheel.
“Understood.”
I picked up my document again, although a smile still threatened to form at the corner of my mouth.
That bastard really was learning too quickly.
The Hazbin Hotel eventually appeared at the end of the street.
This time, I didn’t feel the need to study every window or access point before the vehicle had even stopped.
I knew the place.
I knew its inhabitants.
And I knew approximately what kind of chaos awaited me behind those doors.
Which, on second thought, perhaps should have worried me more.
The soldier stopped the car in front of the entrance.
My lieutenant got out first and opened the door.
“Thank you.”
I had barely placed one foot on the sidewalk when the hotel doors opened almost immediately.
Charlie appeared.
“Tanya!”
She came down the steps with a smile wide enough to suggest I was returning after several years away rather than a few days.
Vaggie followed behind her, much calmer.
“Hello, Charlie.
Vaggie.”
“Hey,” Vaggie replied.
Charlie looked at my uniform.
Then my face.
Then back at my uniform.
“You really don’t have anything.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know!
After what I saw on TV, maybe a bandage or something.”
“That happened several days ago.”
“Yes, I know, but—”
Angel Dust appeared in the doorway.
“Holy shit, it really is her!”
I turned my head.
He came down one step, cigarette in hand, and examined me as though trying to compare my appearance with the footage from 666 News.
“So, Shortstack, was that really you with the giant cannons in the sky?”
“Angel,” Charlie sighed.
“What?
Everyone wants to know.”
I looked at Angel.
“Yes.”
His eyebrows rose.
“Seriously?”
“Katie Killjoy greatly exaggerated, however.”
He almost looked disappointed.
“Aw.
Which part?”
“Mostly the number of deaths.”
His expression froze.
Vaggie closed her eyes.
Charlie looked at me in despair.
Angel eventually grinned.
“Okay, I like you.”
“I’m not sure whether I should find that reassuring.”
“You shouldn’t.”
At least that was an honest answer.
Charlie invited us inside.
Husk was behind his bar and simply raised his glass in my direction.
“You’re back.”
“For a few hours.”
“That’s what they all say.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, and judging by his tone, he didn’t seem particularly interested in the answer either.
Then a small figure appeared from behind the counter.
Niffty.
I felt my lieutenant tense beside me when she spotted us.
Her eyes—or rather, her eye—lit up.
“Mr.
Teeth!”
I slowly turned my head toward my lieutenant.
He had stepped backward.
Not much.
Only half a step.
But I had seen it.
The officer who had crossed a firefight only a few days earlier, commanded my men under machine-gun fire, and watched six pieces of artillery pulverize a factory without displaying the slightest hesitation had just backed away from a tiny cyclops armed with a feather duster.
I carefully stored that information away.
Niffty approached.
“Are your teeth still clean?”
“Yes.”
“I can check!”
“No.”
I looked at my lieutenant.
He had just used the permission I had given him.
I was almost proud.
Niffty tilted her head.
“Okay!”
Then she ran off in another direction.
The lieutenant remained motionless.
I moved slightly closer to him.
“Well done.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
“You didn’t even draw your blade.”
He turned his face toward me.
“I’m beginning to regret this visit.”
I laughed and gave him a small pat on the back.
Charlie looked at us in confusion.
“Did I miss something?”
“Long story.”
“She tried to brush his teeth,” Husk called from behind the bar.
The lieutenant slowly turned his head toward him.
Husk drank calmly, as usual.
I was liking this hotel more and more.
I met Sir Pentious a few minutes later in a room adjoining the lobby.
Or, more accurately, Sir Pentious met me.
I was listening to Charlie explain the latest changes to her program when the door suddenly burst open.
“CHARLIE!
I HAVE COMPLETED THE SECONDARY REGULATOR AND CAN NOW STATE WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY THAT—”
He stopped.
His serpentine body froze in the doorway when his eyes landed on me.
Then on my lieutenant.
Then back on me.
“Oh.”
He was exactly as theatrical as I remembered.
“Sir Pentious, I presume.”
He immediately straightened.
“Indeed!
The great, terrible, and incredibly ingenious Sir Pentious!
Extraordinary inventor, master of machines, and former scourge of the streets of Pentagram City!”
Charlie smiled.
“Pentious, this is Tanya.”
“I know who she is!”
He had answered far too quickly.
I raised an eyebrow.
Pentious cleared his throat.
“Obviously.
Any Overlord worthy of the title knows the other important powers of this city.”
Angel poked his head through the doorway.
“He watched the report three times.”
“ANGEL DUST!”
I smiled.
“I’m touched.”
Pentious turned slightly red.
“I was merely studying the potential military capabilities of another infernal power!”
“By rewinding the part where she blows up the factory?”
“IT WAS RELEVANT!”
Charlie intervened before the conversation could deteriorate any further.
“Tanya wanted to see your invention.”
Pentious went silent.
Then his entire expression changed.
“My invention?!”
I looked at Charlie.
She had clearly spoken the magic words.
Pentious immediately moved closer.
“You’re interested in my work?”
“I heard you were competent.”
His chest puffed out.
“Competent?
My dear, I am a GENIUS!”
Angel sighed.
“And there it is.
Here we go.”
Pentious led us toward a table at the back of the room.
A small machine rested on it.
It was nothing spectacular compared with the enormous contraptions usually associated with his name.
The entire thing barely reached my knee and resembled an improbable cross between a small autonomous cart and a mechanical automaton.
Several articulated arms folded against its body were apparently designed to pick up small objects, while a system of wheels and stabilizers allowed it to move.
Pentious proudly placed his hands on his hips.
“Behold!
The first prototype of my multipurpose mechanical assistant!”
The machine emitted a small whistle.
“It can transport objects, follow simple instructions, automatically avoid obstacles, and even serve drinks!”
Angel leaned against the wall.
“So you invented a metal Egg Boi.”
Pentious spun around.
“It is absolutely not the same thing!”
An Egg Boi standing in the corner raised his hand.
“I think it kinda looks like me, boss!”
“Nobody asked you!”
I approached the machine.
The joke was easy, but the mechanism quickly caught my attention.
I crouched.
“How does your guidance system work?”
Pentious stopped.
“Pardon?”
I pointed toward a small series of sensors.
“Are you using these only for obstacle detection, or do they also contribute to positioning?”
He blinked, surprised by the question.
Then he moved closer.
“Both.
Well, partially.
The front sensor measures distance, while the two lateral sensors correct the trajectory whenever the device detects a variation that is too rapid.”
I looked beneath the chassis.
“And the power source?”
“Miniature infernal accumulator.”
“Operating time?”
“Theoretically six hours.”
“Theoretically.”
Pentious straightened slightly.
“Five hours and twenty-seven minutes during the last test.”
“That’s already more credible.”
I removed my right glove and examined one of the articulated arms.
The mechanism was unnecessarily complicated, but well constructed.
“Why three joints here?
Two would be enough.”
Pentious looked personally offended.
“Two would limit its range of motion!”
“To serve a drink?”
“It doesn’t only serve drinks!”
“You just presented that as one of its primary functions.”
“Among many others!”
I smiled.
This was becoming entertaining.
For the next ten minutes, we almost completely forgot about everyone else in the room.
Pentious showed me the power system, stabilization mechanism, and several modifications he had been forced to improvise using materials available at the hotel.
I criticized his excessive use of moving parts.
He defended every gear as though I had personally insulted his children.
At one point, Vaggie entered the room.
She looked at us.
Then at Charlie.
“How long have they been doing this?”
Charlie vaguely checked the time.
“Almost twenty minutes.”
“What are they talking about?”
Angel answered.
“No fucking clue.
But the snake found someone who understands his bullshit, so we might lose him for the day.”
I paid no attention.
Pentious had just removed a small side panel.
I looked inside.
And there, I had to give him credit.
The arrangement was clever.
Very clever.
He had managed to concentrate several systems into a small space while retaining relatively easy access to the components requiring the most maintenance.
The wiring was chaotic, but the general principle was excellent.
I stood.
Pentious waited, trying to hide his impatience.
He failed miserably.
“Well?”
I put my glove back on.
“You use too many components, your energy consumption is excessive for the functions provided, and I’m almost certain that arm will jam after a few hundred cycles.”
His face gradually fell.
I continued.
“But considering the materials available and the fact that you built this here, the overall design is surprisingly good.”
Pentious’s eyes widened.
“Good?”
I immediately realized my mistake.
“I said surprisingly—”
He spun toward the entire room.
“SHE SAID MY DESIGN WAS GOOD!”
Angel burst out laughing.
Vaggie rolled her eyes.
Charlie smiled broadly.
“Congratulations, Pentious.”
“AN OVERLORD HAS RECOGNIZED MY GENIUS!”
“I absolutely did not use the word genius.”
He was already no longer listening.
I looked at Angel, who shrugged several shoulders.
“Shouldn’t have complimented him, Shortstack.
He’s gonna live off that for three days.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Charlie moved closer to me.
“See?
I knew you two would get along.”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
“You just spent twenty minutes crouched in front of his machine.”
“Because it was interesting.”
“Exactly.”
I narrowed my eyes.
She was smiling far too much.
I decided not to give her any more ammunition.
The rest of my visit was surprisingly calm.
Well, by Hazbin Hotel standards.
At one point, all the lights flickered and the bar television began producing static violent enough to make Husk swear.
A few seconds later, a voice from a nearby radio mixed with the interference while Angel announced with far too much enthusiasm that “TV asshole and radio asshole are starting their dick-measuring contest again.”
I immediately understood who he meant.
“Vox and Alastor?”
Husk grunted.
“Who else?”
I watched the disrupted screen.
“Do they do this often?”
“Not for seven years,” Husk replied.
“But Smiles came back, so I guess the other one needs to compensate for something.”
I took a sip from my drink.
“As long as they compensate far away from my domain.”
Angel laughed.
“You’re not gonna go watch?”
“Why?”
“Two big Overlords starting shit with each other.
Could be funny.”
“Watching two powerful men turn an old rivalry into an ego contest could indeed be entertaining.
Participating, however, would be profoundly stupid.”
Husk raised his glass.
“Finally, someone reasonable.”
A cheerful voice came from behind us.
“Oh, I don’t know!
A little competition keeps the mind sharp!”
Alastor.
I turned my head.
He stood several meters away with his eternal smile.
“I assume you speak from experience.”
“Naturally!”
His gaze slid toward me.
“I’ve also heard that you’ve been making quite a lot of noise recently.
What a spectacular return!”
I sighed.
“I wasn’t gone.”
His smile widened.
“The media do love a good story.”
“And you would know.”
“Touché!”
He laughed before walking away as though the conversation had never mattered in the slightest.
I watched him go.
Vox and Alastor could continue their little war perfectly well without me.
I already had enough problems.
I ultimately stayed a little longer than planned.
Not much.
I would say about forty minutes.
And only because Pentious had decided to show me a second modification to his stabilization system.
That was my official explanation.
When I finally announced my departure, Charlie accompanied me to the entrance.
Pentious followed almost immediately.
“Will you come back to see the improved version?”
I turned toward him.
He was trying to look detached.
Another remarkable failure, considering how quickly he had asked the question.
“Maybe.”
“I could reduce the number of joints in the secondary arm!
Not because your criticism was correct, obviously, but because I was already considering that modification!”
“Obviously.”
“And improve the efficiency of the accumulator!”
“Start with that.”
He nodded vigorously.
Charlie was still smiling.
I preferred not to look in her direction.
My lieutenant was waiting near the car, and Niffty stood several meters behind him.
So he had learned.
“Thanks for coming,” Charlie said.
“You trapped me with an inventor.”
“It worked.”
“I noticed.”
She laughed before her expression became slightly more serious.
“I know you don’t want to stay here all the time.”
I looked at her.
“Correct.”
“And that’s not what I’m asking.
I’m just happy you come by sometimes.”
There was no insistence in her voice.
No attempt to convince me to join her program.
I sighed softly.
“I’ll probably come back.”
Her smile immediately returned.
“Probably?”
I pointed toward Pentious behind her.
“He still has to prove he can improve that energy consumption.”
Pentious threw his arms into the air.
“I WILL!”
Charlie looked at me with an expression far too satisfied for my liking.
“Of course.
For the machine.”
“Don’t start.”
She laughed again.
I climbed into the car.
We reached the domain in the early evening.
I had spent a good portion of the journey thinking about Pentious’s prototype, which was mildly irritating because I could already see several ways to improve his system without increasing its power consumption.
I would probably tell him about them eventually.
But not today.
I had already devoted enough time to the Hazbin Hotel.
I had barely returned to my office when my lieutenant entered behind me.
“There is still one piece of correspondence to review.”
I removed my cap and placed it on the corner of my desk.
“Urgent?”
“I don’t know.”
I looked up.
That was an unusual answer.
He approached and handed me an envelope that I immediately recognized from the seal.
My mood dropped several degrees.
“Ah.”
I took the envelope.
A summons.
More precisely, an invitation formal enough that the distinction became mostly aesthetic.
A meeting of Pentagram City’s Overlords.
I sat behind my desk and quickly read through the contents.
“When?”
The lieutenant gave me the date and time.
I sighed.
I hated those meetings.
Not enough to systematically refuse every invitation, but enough that my presence had become exceptional over the decades.
Pentagram City’s Overlords were perfectly capable of spending several hours discussing their territories, interests, and little wars of influence without me feeling the slightest need to participate.
My domain was outside the city.
My businesses functioned.
My commercial relationships were established.
As long as no one stuck their nose into my interests, I generally let the others tear each other apart.
So I was about to place the invitation on the pile of non-priority matters.
My hand stopped.
Six months.
I looked at the document again.
The Extermination had been moved forward, and Pentagram City was already beginning to react.
A gang ambitious enough to attack my convoys had tried to take advantage of the chaos.
Prices were rising.
Groups were arming themselves.
Territories were becoming nervous.
And now, a meeting of the Overlords was being organized.
I didn’t like meetings.
I liked missing important information because I had preferred to remain comfortably in my office even less.
“Who has confirmed their attendance?”
The lieutenant checked the document he was holding.
He gave me several names.
Some were expected.
Others more interesting.
I slowly tapped one finger against the desk.
“Would you like to decline?”
I looked at the invitation.
Under normal circumstances, probably.
But circumstances were no longer particularly normal.
“No.”
The lieutenant went slightly still.
Even he seemed surprised.
“Should I confirm your attendance?”
I picked up my pen and signed the response document.
“Yes.
Apparently, this week hasn’t tried hard enough to get me out of the house yet.”
He collected the paper.
“Understood.”
Then he headed toward the door.
I looked once more at the seal on the invitation before he carried it away.
I had no idea what the other Overlords actually intended to discuss during that meeting.
Probably the accelerated Extermination, its economic consequences, territorial movements, and how each of them intended to protect their own interests.
Nothing particularly surprising.
At least, that was what I thought.
I had no idea yet that a certain far-too-confident Overlord was going to arrive late carrying something capable of calling one of Hell’s oldest certainties into question.
For now, my main problem was simply accepting that, for the second time in only a few days, I was going to have to return to Pentagram City.
Fucking week.