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Chapter Text

Verosika's head felt light and numb. She muttered to herself as she clutched at her aching head.

It seemed that Verosika did drink more than she planned, although thatt was normal when she and her group decided to go out drinking after a particularly successful concert, while on earth, although being drunk was not a problem for her.

The problem was that she didn't know exactly where she was, because after leaving the bar, Verosika and her group got separated at some point, and the hellish pop star somehow ended up wandering, until she came to a small hill with a house on it. . at the top

Verosika felt tired from walking, so she planned to call a taxi, but quickly realized that she had no balance on her cell phone. In a way, this was good, because she wouldn't do something stupid, like call her ex Blitzo or something like that, but being cut off in the middle of the unknown wasn't exactly ideal.

She saw that the house had the lights on, and from the noises that were heard, she knew that there were people, at least two, so Verosika had an idea.

She would go to the house, they would recognize her for the pop star that she was, and she would ask them to use the phone.

Sure she was lucky, she only had to sign an autograph or two, maybe act a little sexy, and if she wasn't lucky... well, he'd have to deal with ugly . dicks ...in more ways than one.

She walked up the hill, and as she got closer, she could detect something, a strange yet familiar sensation, but with the alcohol clouding her senses, she couldn't place it.

Also, as she got closer to the house, she could hear the activity inside the house better, there was a lot of commotion, that was for sure, but Verosika couldn't make out what was going on inside.

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Great… Is this one of those weirdos trying to use some weird ritual to summon a demon into his living room or something, only to end up with something from the underworld?" She rolled her eyes and snorted.

She debated what she would do in this situation. She could just leave, but she really needed to use the phone, and with the screaming and rage going on inside, she highly doubted she was going in there knocking on the door...

"Oh, screw it.." She said before she kicked the door off its hinges and was about to casually enter the house.

But when she did, she felt that same sensation as before, but now with greater intensity, hitting her like a gust of steam from an open oven, to the point that it stopped her for a moment. Whatever the ritual was, It was extremely intense, the idiot doing it must be trying to summon a greater demon, which is why the concentration of energy was so massive and permeated the entire house with the energy of hell.

There was so much going on that Verosika could swear she was back in hell itself.

She glanced at the door again, but she wasn't worried, she'd just pay the cost of the door at worst, and blame the damage on whatever the hell was causing all the fuss... assuming the idiot making the summoning ritual didn't end up being killed by the demon they were trying to summon, or because the ritual failed.

She looked around with her hands on her hips. She saw that there was a telephone. Unfortunately it was ripped off the wall with the cable snapped in half. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. " Greeeat …" she murmured, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked down into the basement. "Maybe the owner has a cell phone..."

She looked around, but couldn't see it with the naked eye, so Verosika snorted in annoyance, it seems like she would have to go inside the house to find the help she needed.

Something that Verosika noticed upon entering, is that the house was much bigger inside than it seemed on the outside, in a rather supernatural way, since while the outside the house looked like a small one-room house, but inside it looked like there was at least a second story, and a basement.

And in that basement, she heard the commotion he had been hearing since she entered, now that she was inside the house, she could tell that it was some kind of fight, and from the voice, it was definitely a woman screaming.

Her eyebrow slowly rose at the sound of it, and she frowned deeply. "Wow, whoever's down there is completely unhinged..." She began to debate with herself if she really wanted to go through with going down there. She did NOT need to deal with crazy today.

Suddenly, the door in front of her began banging loudly. She jumped at the sound of it, and her eyes darted back and forth. "Uuuuhh..." Was all she had the chance to say before the door was slowly opened. She tensed up, expecting something crazy to emerge.

What she saw was instead a small child, completely naked. He was a VERY tiny little thing, so tiny that he didn't even reach the doorknob. No, instead he was several feet off the ground, holding onto it for dear life as the door slowly swung open.

He was trembling violently, and there were tears in his eyes as the door finally fully opened. He looked down at the floor, seeing how high up he was, and then he flinched and began to cower in on himself, his tiny body trembling violently as he silently cried.

The succubus was completely stunned by the unexpected development of events, and as Isaac released the doorknob landing on the ground with some pain, she was with thousands of thoughts running through her mind

When Verosika got a better look at him, she was still surprised, more so than before, because he could see his face clearly, and she could see that the boy had a swollen black eye, with a trickle of blood coming from his mouth, and a small side of his shaved head was caved in.

And not only was his face mistreated, his entire body had evidence not only of abuse, but also of abandonment due to how thin and malnourished he looked.

And his eyes, for Verosika , were perhaps the worst, because they transmitted a pain and a sadness that she had only seen in not only those who had collapsed from living in hell and had abandoned almost all hope, but in herself when Blitzo broke her heart.

With this new vision, Verosika's brain no longer had thousands of questions, but MILLIONS.

so he started with the first one:

"Who are y-"

"ISAAAAAAAAC!"

Verosika was interrupted by a thunderous voice, it was a woman's, but everything was wrong.

She sounded human but at the same time inhuman, since that voice was accompanied by an otherworldly echo, as well as being imbued with anger, hatred, resentment, bloodlust and envy in the purest state Verosika had ever heard, to the point that her spine froze.

And the worst part is that it sounded close, WAY too close, and behind the boy, whose face turned to the door through which he had just left, and was filled with utter fear and despair, as his body shuddered and moved away.

Before Verosika could say anything, the owner of that voice made an appearance, walking out of the same door the boy left. The first thing she saw was a huge fat hand grabbing the frame, and plunging the fingers into it. Then the rest of the body came out.

She was a huge and obese woman, who wore a lavender dress with yellow polka dots and heels of the same color.

But the girth of that woman was the least of it, it was the face of said woman that called the most attention above all, since it was totally inhuman.

Her skin was completely pitch black, blonde hair falling from her head, her eyes were glowing orbs of pure red, she had no lips, instead just sporting a huge row of bright, numerous, sharp crimson teeth, which were in a perpetual laugh or snarl of rage.

And the second worst thing is that her face was completely distorted into a predatory expression full of hate, rage, anger and pure and undiluted evil.

And the worst thing is that it was totally directed at the little one.

"ISAAAAAAAAC!" the woman roared.

The boy, apparently Isaac, began running to the side of Verosika ,but the creature, because calling that a human woman would be a mistake and the Succubus knew it, was surprisingly faster than the boy, despite her mass, so it didn't take long for her to catch him, grabbing him by the neck, picking up the boy with great ease and smashing him violently to the ground, in such a way that the boy's face crashed to the ground.

Verosika flinched at the sound of the child's head and face cracking against the floor. She was used to seeing violence and blood flow, whether male, female or child.

But looking at this particular boy, it was different, maybe it was the fact that he was being tortured, maybe because he didn't give her a reason to hate him, whatever it was, Verosika was going to stop this situation and that monster woman right now.

But before she could intervene, the events that followed unfolded in slow motion, filling the succubus with unspeakable horror, as they burned into her memory forever.

That monstrous woman turned Isaac to look at her, and raised the other hand that wasn't holding the child, revealing something shiny and thick, and when Verosika's brain registered what it was, she froze. Because it was a knife.

Wasting no time, giving Verosika no time to react, and giving Isaac no time to escape or defend himself, she plunged the huge knife into the boy's chest, burying the entire sharp blade inside the boy's small body.

Then he pulled out the knife, splattering the boy's blood everywhere, and made a horrible cut across his throat. It was at that moment that Verosika decided to act.

"Sick... twisted... old HAAAAG!" Verosika hissed in disgust and pure rage. And then she began to change.

Her tanned skin began to turn a hellish red, two horns sprouted from the top of her head, a tail emerged from her tailbone and, though she didn't stick them out often for convenience, a large pair of batlike wings emerged from the top of her ribcage.

The monstrous woman's eyes widened at the sight of her, and then she turned on Isaac in fury, and with the demonic voice she roared at him.

"You lured another one of them here! When will you learn?!" The boy, curled up and trembled violently, trying his best to disappear, or would have, if it wasn't for the fact that the poor boy was lying on the ground, gasping for breath, choking on his own blood, due to to the serious injuries that woman inflicted on him with the knife, and Verosika wasn't having it.

"Focus on me, you overfed toad! The kid is the least of your worries right now." Shee said coldly.

Using her wings to propel herself forward, she lunged at the woman and pushed her against the wall and out of the house, then down the hill, knocking them both down.

When they reached the end, a bloody fight began between the two demonic women, with her sharp claws and quick movements, the succubus managed to scratch and hit the monstrous woman, but given the enormous amount of fat that covered her body, and a kind of supernatural of stamina, blows that would have killed a normal person only left her with serious injuries, but not enough for her to give up.

For her part, that monstrous obese woman, in addition to her supernatural body stamina, also had speed and strength beyond any ordinary human, but it was obvious that she was in a real fight for her life, against someone who could truly do real damage to her. Even though her attacks were furious and strong, she actually only managed to land Verosika 2 out of 10 hits the succubus landed on her.

If Verosika could notice something, it was that this couldn't be a normal knife, each cut that it gave her didn't hurt like a simple cut would, it burned as if it were acid or red hot, for some reason that she didn't know.

if Verosika had been paying attention to anything other than her opponent, and the pain of her injuries, she would have noticed that every time she harmed that monstrous woman, the house and the hill trembled, and small but visible cracks opened up.

But Verosika didn't notice any of that, she could only think of how to make her suffer for her shamelessly cruel actions towards a child

At one point, the monstrous woman had the upper hand and grabbed Verosika by the arm, and thanks to her superhuman strength, she held her in order to plunge the knife into her more easily, but Verosika managed to stop her before she could force it in by pushing against her wrist with her free hand.

The woman tried to plunge the knife in with all her strength, and Verosika resisted with all her might, but the latter felt that she was beginning to weaken and if she didn't do something soon, she would end up with that sharp object buried deep inside her body.

The position she was in allowed her to see the horribly misshapen face of the woman in greater detail, much to the succubus' disgust, allowing hrt to clearly see the lack of a nose, the unnatural black skin, her long, matted blonde hair, her mouth full of sharp crimson teeth, through which several threads of blood flowed from the blows Verosika dealt her, and finally the glowing eyes red as literal fire, red as blood... And that gave her an idea.

Taking advantage of how close her face was, Verosika spat into the obese woman's face, making sure that the drop fell directly into one of her eyes, and luckily for the succubus, it fell on both.

And since Verosika was drinking her "special cocktails" earlier, the kind of drink that would leave third-degree burns on the skin, that was more than enough to enhance the potenty of the spit. While what little was left in Verosika 's mouth wasn't enough to melt the woman's face, it was enough to make her stop trying to stab her. Her eyes began to bleed.

" Ghraaaaaaaa !" The now blind and monstrous woman screamed, releasing the succubus and dropping the knife in the process.

This gave Verosika the golden opportunity she was looking for because she quickly grabbed the knife, and before the obese monstrosity could recover, she pounced on her, repeatedly striking her in the chest with that knife, over and over, each blow full of fury, rage and pleasure at doing to that obese creature the same thing that she did to that child.

Each blow not only caused the monstrous woman to scream in pain and patter blood, but the screams on the hill and in the house grew deeper and deeper, until they became huge glowing pits of hell. Red began to appear on the ground, and huge pieces of the house were beginning to fall.

But Verosika was too focused on stabbing that damn monster to notice that.

The monstrous woman tried to defend herself against her, but the Succubus was much faster in her stabbing, and with one last push, plunged the knife into her chest with great force.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGG!" The monstrous woman screamed before falling backward, the knife lodged in her chest, and there it stayed.

Verosika panted, covered in blood, more the monster's than her own stared at the obese corpse for a moment.

"God damn, that bitch was tougher than I imagined," She said as she caught her breath.

"But as hard as it was, it shows that besides from that boy, he hadn't fought anyone- THE KID!" Was Verosika's reaction when she remembered the child and the situation in which she left him. She quickly flew up the hill, which luckily was small, and quickly entered the house, and saw him, lying in his own puddle of blood, with the wounds on his chest and throat, but amazingly still alive.

Verosika was not going to waste time, so she prepared to take the child away.

"GRAAAAH!" But suddenly her ears caught a thunderous scream, furious and familiarly demonic, and before she could do anything, the succubus was tackled with great force by a huge mass of flesh, which smashed her against one of the walls.

It was that woman, who despite her injuries, was not dead, and still had the strength to fight, which she demonstrated by grabbing Verosika by the neck, and holding with all her strength with one hand, while with the other she tried to stab her with the blood soaked knife.

This left them in a position similar to the previous one, where Verosika was being held down by the monster woman, and in turn was trying to stab her in the head, only this time the pop star from hell was with less energy than before, and she was quickly running out of air. If she didn't do something soon, she and the boy would end up getting killed by this damned humanoid abomination, and she couldn't play the same card as before.

"YOU GENDER OF HELL! I WILL SEND YOU IN THE NAME OF CHRIST TO THE KINGDOM WHERE YOU BELONG, AND WE WILL BE SAVED, SAVED FROM SIN AND CLEANSED OF EVERY STAIN ON OUR SOULS!" The monster bellowed with passion and hatred at the succubus.

But at that moment, she had a new idea, quite unpleasant and risky for her, but which was preferable to being dead.

She decided to let the woman stab her, and she did not hesitate and took advantage of the window of opportunity that Verosika gave her, so she directed the knife with all her might directly at the head of the succubus... who with her free hand deflected it and moving her head, dodged at the last moment.

Instead of being buried in her skull, the knife ended up buried in the wall just a few millimeters from her, a moment that she took advantage of to make her move.

*CHOMP * "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Said movement she made was to bite the big meaty fingers with all her strength, making use of her sharp teeth, before wrenching them free as violently as she possibly could to maximize pain.

This was worth a scream of thunderous pain from the obese woman, when she felt how her fingers were severed by the bite, which made her step back, while she looked with horror and rage at how her phalanges had gone, and where they were before, now the blood gushed uncontrallably.

Verosika felt the unpleasant taste of that demon's blood, because that was a taste she would recognize anywhere, it was not the first time she had tasted it, and the unpleasant sensation and texture of her victim's calloused fingers in her mouth, which she quickly spit out.

Although he did not concentrate much on it, since he had something even more urgent to do, which was to grab the knife stuck in the wall, and with insane speed, he buried it in one of the monstrous woman's eyes.

Not even heeding her scream, Verosika hastily proceeded to seize the woman's head, digging her sharp claws into the fleshto make sure her grip was fully secure.

Once she did that, she threw her head back and then, to get as much momentum as possible, she gave the most powerful heabbutt she possibly could, making sure to hit the hilt of the knife, sticking out of the eye socket so that it was completely buried in the monstrous woman's skull, further bathing Verosika in blood and pain.

Thanks to the force of the blow, she and the woman separated, Verosika looked at what she had done, the knife practically disappeared inside the woman's skull, and everything was silent for a couple of seconds, which felt like 2 minutes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Until the monstrous woman, with that demonic double voice of hers, let out a scream of sheer pain, at the same time that where Verosika had plunged the knife into her, a stream of blood and a powerful crimson light came out, and everything began to shake.

The crimson cracks that had appeared during the fight between the two of them grew larger and more noticeable every second, which allowed the succubus to notice it, as she watched as the house began to crumble, and the tremor became more and more violent each time.

The monstrous woman began to move back further and further as she continued to scream in pain, unaware of what was behind her, so the next step she took back was her last, as she fell into the hole from which a crimson light was coming out. She fell, her screams getting fainter and fainter, until they were gone, replaced by the sounds of the house collapsing, and the floor creaking.

"What the hell is happening here!?" Verosika wondered but she didn't expect an answer, since she had a more important concern, the badly injured boy from earlier.
"It doesn't matter" she said as she grabbed the boy's body and cradled him in her arms.

It didn't take long for her to sprout her wings and fly high above the house on the hill, not far, just enough to be at a safe distance, where she saw how the house and the hill were literally swallowed by the earth, leaving a huge hole of crimson light. It was energy from hell in its purest form.

"ISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

That demonic cacophony of voices was heard, while a huge torrent of fire, rocks and crimson lightning came out of the hole, shooting into the sky, while the earth trembled, as if it were a volcanic eruption.

Verosika could only gape as she held the boy, Isaac, tightly and protectively in her arms.

It went on like that for five seconds, the scream echoing farther and farther away, the tremor, the rocks, the lightning, and the flames dying with it, until all was utter silence in the night, the only sound the crackling of flames in the smoking hollow where once there had been a hill and a house.

"What in the nine circles just happened here!?" Verosika said when she managed to snap out of her stupor.

Suddenly, a cough caught her attention. It was from the boy, who surprised her by staying alive, something that should be impossible given his injuries and blood loss.

But it was not the moment to question what had just happened, nor the small miracle that the infant was still alive, so she wasted no time, and using her wings she flew at full speed towards the nearest hospital.

She flew high, high in the sky, her eyes narrowed with determination as she headed for some place where he could get help for this child. Now, her actions here would definitely lead to reports of a cryptid sighting flying through the sky, but she honestly didn't give a damn at this point.

She gave the little boy a gentle squeeze when she felt him tremble violently in her arms. "Hold on..." she whispered as she flew through the sky as fast as she could, until she finally saw what she was looking for. There was a hospital just below.

She calmed down at the sight of it, and then approached the situation carefully. First, she searched for the most secluded area she could find. Parking in the back. There was no one parked there at this time. She flew down as fast as she could, then gracefully landed in a kneeling position, hugging the boy close to her neck. And the moment she made contact with the ground, she changed back into her human disguise. Altogether, it all took the blink of an eye. It was amazing what she could do when she was properly motivated, she had to admit.

And with that same motivation, Verosika ran towards the hospital, kicking the entrance door with such force that it almost knocked it off its hinge, but in the end her damage was limited to leaving a mark on her foot.

"Help! I need help now!" She screamed and was then surrounded by hospital staff.

They all took one look at the child in the woman's arms and quickly sprang into action. Verosika had to give the humans credit, they certainly took the health of their own much more seriously than the demons of hell. While the hospital staff in hell would pace around and show very little interest in their work, these people were actually urgent, they wanted to help the boy.

She gave Isaac a light squeeze and looked at him. He was so small in her arms, hardly bigger than a stuffed animal, and he looked so small and weak and vulnerable... She slowly wiped a few tears from her closed eyes.

He was... adorable. She had to admit it was adorable. She wasn't comfortable admitting it out loud, but…she had a soft spot for children, both those born in hell and on earth. She didn't interact with them much, she didn't want to show a soft side amongst her clique, but there was something about their innocence, their purity that just… made her want to protect them… A happy child was easy enough to ignore, but this child? One so damaged, so broken, so scared, alone, heartbroken and in pain? It... spoke to her. She COULDN'T ignore it. She HAD to help him.

It was difficult to have to let go of the boy, while he was carried on a stretcher to the operating room, but Verosika knew that it was necessary to treat his serious injuries, and do all the necessary paperwork to save him.

For a moment, Verosika was grateful to be in Europe, and not in the USA, because otherwise, the Succubus was sure that the child would have been left to die, due to lack of health insurance.

As she sat in the hallway waiting for Isaac to be attended to, the disguised succubus continued to reflect on her love for children.

Yes, Verosika appreciated children, perhaps the only exception was children who were directly mean or unpleasant, but even those children, she would never wish upon them what happened to this boy.

What could he have done to make that monster leave him in that state?

And now that she thought of her, who was this woman possessed by?

It was obvious that she must be some kind of occultist, but how was she related to the boy? And why did she do what she did to him?

After what seemed like hours, the doctor came out with a solemn look on his face, which really scared Verosika because she had seen that look before, many times, and knew what was coming.

The worst moment of the night had arrived... but not in the way she expected.

"Tell me the truth... please... just tell me" Verosika said not wanting to drag this out more than necessary.

"Well miss…wait, I guess I never knew your name, what's your name?" asked the doctor.

"I'm Verosika Mayday, please tell me how he is." She said with a pleading voice, she just wanted this man to say what happened to the little boy, and that's all.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he recognized the name, but he maintained his professionalism, there were more important things to focus on now than the fact that he had a big-name celebrity in front of him, although this certainly added extra layers of difficulty and complexity to an already complicated issue.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses at the scathing look she was giving him. "Yes, well…You see, Miss Mayday, the boy is…stable. He is in no danger of dying from his injuries, which are healing faster than we could have anticipated."

Verosika sighed in relief, placing a hand over her heart. She was grateful that a small child wasn't going to die in her care…but what the doctor would say next would end any relief she had.

"However, the injuries he recently received, however serious, were unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg." The Doctor drawled, and his words filled Verosika with fear.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her chest crushed by terrible fear, she had already seen the state of the boy before that monstrosity stabbed him, and it was terrifying at first glance, the map of pain etched on the boy's body, she really didn't want to believe that it was worse than it seemed.

"After stabilizing him, we did a thorough review of the body to assess the damage, and what we found is...you better sit back down," He began, but decided to give this advice to Verosika, and she fearfully obeyed.

The doctor sighed, and it was obvious that what he was going to say next was not easy or pleasant, on the contrary, it was written all over his face.

"What we have seen when we did the analysis was terrible, almost all of his bones are or were broken and damaged in some way, his skin was full of scars and marks of all kinds, as well as multiple wounds, some infected. and with signs of necrosis, in addition to presenting severe malnutrition even for his age, he weighs 2 times less than he should, it seems that he was burned, with a metal in the shape of a crucifix, beaten and then put through hell for at least 3 years!" The doctor gasped for air, while his gaze was filled with horror and sadness.

"I'm not sure what horrible thing they didn't do to the poor boy, Miss Mayday, what happened to him?" asked the doctor, almost desperate to know, where the celebrity found this young torture victim.

"I... found him ...next to a huge burning crater on the outskirts of the city...I don't know what happened to it." Verosika, with great difficulty and her voice on the verge of breaking, half lying, because although that was not the whole truth, it was credible because it was partly true, she didn't mention the fight she had before bringing him, and there was no need, the blood of that woman on her clothes could easily be confused with that of the child.

"Will he live?" she asked, with her voice faint, since she felt that she was about to collapse at any moment, and urgently needed good news.

The doctor looked at her with some discomfort, but also somewhat more relaxed.

"Well, yes, although those wounds should have killed him, due to his miraculous stamina factor. With miraculously accelerated formation, he will be able to live without any physical damage, but I can confidently say that the most worrying thing is the psychological damage, the child will have serious mental ramifications after all..."

Verosika clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, she knew it was going to be like this, but she still hated hearing the confirmation, this kid was going to be absolutely traumatized after everything that had happened... He would never come back be the same...

"Can I see him?" Verosika asked. She felt like she was going to collapse, and it was obvious because the doctor nodded.

"Yes, but be careful and don't touch anything, if an emergency happens, you can press the button next to it and a nurse will come to attend to you, he is currently under anesthesia, so he won't wake up until tomorrow, okay?" the doctor asked, to which Verosika agreed, and unlike other times, she took the word of the medical staff seriously, since it was such a delicate situation.

"Well, see you tomorrow then, bye" said the doctor who knew that Verosika wouldn't leave the child all night.

Verosika wasted no time going in and seeing Isaac, and her heart broke.

There was the boy, in a bed so big that it seemed that ten of him could fit, covered with a sheet, and dressed in hospital clothes, but those were minor details, compared to the multiple bandages that covered much of the tiny boy's body, as well as the different tubes and cables connected to him which supplied him with oxygen or other nutrients, in addition to reading his different functions. Seeing that boy like this, intubated in a bed, with his breathing assisted, and his eyes closed was an extremely unbearable sight for Verosika. She simply sat in the chair next to the bed, and collapsed .

She lay half her body on the bed and wept bitterly at what had happened to him, wondering why this had happened to him in the first place.

She may be a demon, born and raised in hell itself, a place that is far from ideal for those with empathy and decency, but anyone with even a minimum of those two traits would soon snap one way or another at the sight of a child in a situation. like this, and Verosika was far from lacking in that "weakness".

Holding the boy's tiny hand, being careful of the wires and IV tubes attached to it, Isaac continued to sleep and breathe, while Verosika cried and cried herself to sleep next to the boy.

But if she hadn't been crying, and perhaps if she had stayed awake a few more seconds, Verosika would have witnessed something amazing.

Isaac's body began to glow, first red, then green, then gold, then black light, and so on with all the colors until it glowed pure white, before returning to normal. .

But since Verosika cried herself to sleep, and since only she and Isaac were the only ones in that room, no one noticed that light show.

However, Verosika unconsciously squeezed the boy's tiny hand in her own, feeling the calming energy emanating from him as they both slept. It was a relaxing sensation that easily eased her restless sleep, and she even smiled a little.

Meanwhile, in hell a few hours earlier, things were business as usual, which is to say, good for some and extremely bad for everyone else.

Some souls were people who were genuinely good, but ended up having a lapse in judgement, and ended up in that place despite a lifetime of good deeds, others were true monsters, and many of whom didn't even deserve to exist.

In each of the rings that made up this place, everything remained the same.

until...

"ISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

In every part of hell, from Lucifer's palace, to the darkest and most insignificant corner, that thunderous cry was heard, which was composed of a cacophony of multiple voices, the main ones being that of a woman and a demon, a sonic boom that ended up causing almost everyone who heard it to cover their ears, something useless for most because that did not stop them from starting to bleed, or almost all the glass breaking.

Accompanied by an earthquake that shook all the rings of hell, but strangely, the tremor was especially strong in the rings that surrounded the Ring of Envy.

It lasted for about 20 seconds, until both the screaming and the shaking faded away.

But while the low-level demons and sinners only heard the thunderous scream and felt the tremor, even they could sense that something had changed.

The demons and sinners who used magic regularly, and of higher rank felt something that for the first time for many, either in a long time or in their entire lives, made them shudder with fear to a lesser or greater degree, because although they could not pinpoint it, they knew that something very big and unprecedented had happened.

Happy Hotel

This was a place created to redeem sinners, and although its success so far had been nil, they were still giving their best efforts.

Charlie, the owner, was the princess of hell, daughter of Lucifer and over 200 years old.

So she was obviously able to detect that there was much more to this event than a thunderous scream and an earthquake, it felt like the annual exterminations, with a cacophony of millions of voices disappearing forever.

Although it disturbed her, that did not stop her from seeking to help the other residents of the hotel, to see if the event or the broken glass did not harm them.
The only one who seemed affected by this was The Radio Demon Alastor .

For once, his perpetual smile had almost disappeared from his face, before returning with great force.

Whatever had happened, it promised to be quite entertaining for him.

The other inhabitants of the hotel could only look around with concern, while they recovered from the event.

Meanwhile, in the Goetia Arts domain, things were no different, while Stolas and his wife Stella were in the middle of an intense discussion, because he had cheated on her with an Imp, the fact in question distracted them.

They both felt it until their cores could feel as if they had been ripped from reality itself, a primal part of themselves, something that was always there but now no more.

Far from there, in his own palace, Paimon was the same, but with a look that had horror etched all over his features, he had never felt anything like it before.

Lucifer's Palace.

And in the domains of the master and lord of the underworld, where he and his wife lived, for the first time in a long time Lilith and Lucifer felt something they had not felt since the first was expelled from heaven and the second from Eden, and that was fear, uncertainty and confusion.

Because something had happened to the foundations of hell itself.

Both were in a state of shock because of what they had felt, and everything caused by that event.

And since they were both the rulers of hell, they could feel it more deeply than anyone, and they both knew that whatever this event was, it had its origin in Envy.

Lilith wasted no time and told her husband to gather the leaders of hell as quickly as possible.

Back to Earth...

Verosika ended up waking up with a huge headache from her hangover, she groaned in annoyance as she sat up slowly, her brain starting to catch up, remembering the unreal recent events, and as unreal as they were, they were definitely just a dream. .

"Damn that drink was strong, I had the craziest dream, there was this guy, then that monster woman, and then…" She stopped when she realized she wasn't in her house, but in a place that she didn't recognize. It wasn't a hotel room either, so she didn't bed anyone...

No, these were strange and unfamiliar hospital walls.

She wondered why she was in a hospital, until her brain caught that she was holding something, and when she saw that that something was a very small hand, she finally remembered everything.

She gasped in surprise as she remembered that she was in the human world. She quickly went to put on her disguise... when she noticed that she actually still had it on, which was very strange, since that the disguise should not only have vanished during the night, but on top of that, she should have felt extremely tired from having it activated for all that time, despite being a simple spell, it still consumes energy.

But aside from her hangover headache, Verosika actually felt great, full of energy, even with her costume on all night.

Which in the end was a good thing. If one of the staff had seen her in her real form and she couldn't convince them it was a costume, things would have turned ugly for her and the kid.

That reminded her of what was important, and she diverted her attention to the boy, and she could only look at his state with great sadness.

"...He shouldn't be lying in that bed...A child in his condition should be cuddled close in the arms of a loved one." She said heartbroken.

But he couldn't, he was too hurt.

She clenched her teeth in frustration and fought the urge to punch the nearby wall. She knew there would be no point in doing so, it would accomplish nothing more than bruise her hand, damaging the wall and making her pay for it, and potentially wake up the child that needed his rest.

She took a deep breath and gently squeezed the boy's hand. Then she remembered her gang. She... literally had no idea where any of them were. She blinked before pulling out her phone to see if any of them had texted her to see where she was.

She wondered why she hadn't used it the night before and then remembered that she had run out of credit, but since the hospital had Free WiFi , she decided to use it.

Verosika wondered how that was possible, until she looked around and saw a sign stating that the room was equipped to wirelessly charge devices, in case the medical equipment cables failed or were compromised. and also for devices, like Verosika's phone.

In fact, Vortex had essentially blown up her phone with text messages. She smiled to herself. That Hellhound was a good boy, he knew he had made the right decision in taking him as his bodyguard.

There were more than 30 dozen messages, which could be divided into two categories.

1) boss where is you?!

and 2) did you feel that boss!? where are you?!

Verosika didn't understand what the messages in that category meant, at least not at first, but she had her suspicions about it.

She sighed before sending a text to Vortex . 'I'm fine. I just got screwed over and my phone died. Some shit fell. But I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'll live.' She looked at it before sending it. And then she saw that he was responding almost immediately. He was really worried about her.

' Where are you now? I can come pick you up.

'I'm…in a hospital somewhere. I don't know where exactly. I was pretty out of it after getting hit last night. It went off the beaten path. I'll get back to you when I have a better idea of things.

'Hospital?! You are injured?!'

Verosika read Vortex 's question , and was going to answer no, when she remembered the fight last night, and how the woman managed to hurt her with the knife, in addition to the blows she received.

It was then that she looked at herself, looking for her injuries, and realized that she had no injuries, not even pain (except for the hangover), and this surprised her quite a bit.

She knew that being a demon, she healed quickly, but they don't heal that fast, nor were the wounds she received from a normal weapon, she remembered the burning sensation she felt when she was wounded by the knife.

And now, the only proof that was left of that, were the torn parts of her clothes, where those wounds were.

'No, I'm fine' was what Verosika replied, as she racked her brain trying to find an answer.

'Ok, that's good to hear, but then why are you in a hospital?' Vortex asked .

And although she couldn't see it, Verosika was 100% sure that her Hellhound bodyguard breathed a sigh of relief before answering her.

Verosika then thought for a moment, how did she explain the situation to him? SHOULD she tell him?

Sure, he may just be her employee, and he may be a hellhound, but since she's known him, he's proven to be one of the nicest and most down-to-earth people in hell, even if it's not about business. .

So she made up her mind.

'Well, it's... a very complicated and fucked up situation, like talking about it on the phone, I'll send you the details, and here I'll explain everything to you in person, okay? come in the car

'ok, I'll be there as soon as possible, will I bring the rest of the group?'

'no, come alone, better not involve them yet'

'okay, see you there'

great

With that, Verosika put down her cell phone.

She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. Her makeup was all smeared. That was a bit of a pain in the ass. Granted, she didn't need it to look good, but she didn't like the stripes running down her face, it was so unattractive.

She looked back at Isaac, who was still fast asleep, before letting out a sigh, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a tissue to wipe away the smudged makeup. A new coat would be applied, but that was in her bag, which she did not have on her at the time.

Hopefully Vortex had it with him, there were things in there that it would be a real shame to lose...

Verosika sat down again, and looked at the child who, despite the tubes and cables he was connected to, would sleep peacefully, surely it was the first time in years.

The succubus had so many questions related to the boy and the night before.

Who was that woman? Was she the mother of the child?

If it's the latter, why would she want to kill her own son?

Of course, Verosika knew that there were parents who were complete monsters, and who would not hesitate to kill their children without remorse, hell is inhabited by such people.

But even so, they were not that common, and many many times did not survive the annual purge, either because they were left to die at the hands of exterminators, other sinners, or their own children.

And who was the demon that possessed that woman?

The presence felt extremely familiar, but Verosika couldn't quite place where she had felt that before.

Although to be fair, at that moment Verosika could only feel anger and disgust at what had been done to the poor boy, so it's not like she could be very aware of that demon's identity.

She could only feel rage and massive power.

On top of that, this woman tortured and tried to kill her son, why was she possessed?

Or did that demon possess her because she was already rotten inside of her?

If she was a cultist It would make sense, if it wasn't for all the religious tirade she spat in her face, while trying to plunge the knife into her head, she was an insane religious fanatic.

So if that was the case, how did she come to be possessed and perform a ritual with such hypermassive amounts of demonic energy?

So many questions and no clear answer.

And it's not like she could ask that poor kid, that bitch took it upon herself to damage his vocal cords, so he won't be talking anytime soon.

Either way, when Verosika saw that bitch in hell, she was going to make sure to do everything in her power to torture that obese bitch until the next annual purge, then let the exterminators wipe her from reality.

She huffed and crossed her arms over her breasts before turning her attention back to Isaac. The doctors had said that he would wake up in the morning, but he was still sleeping soundly... Had they been wrong? Would he stay asleep much longer?

She received her answer a few seconds later when the boy started to move. First his eyes slowly opened. They then dashed around in confusion, before finally, he seemed to realize that he was in an unknown place and began to freak out.

Isaac looked around nervously, he was in a totally unknown place, and that nervousness only got worse when he realized that he had strange things inside his body.

From a plastic tube that was shoved down his throat, to several cables and other smaller ones stuck or buried in his body.

Although to the surprise of many this was not something new for the boy, many of his previous transformations were given by the objects he found, including things like a saw, coat rack, and other things buried in various parts of his body, even having nails buried in his eyes

And although those hurt infinitely more than these, these were not only new and unknown, but also the environment was different, Isaac was expecting his mother to pounce on him at any moment.

The last thing he remembered was her stabbing him with the knife, killing him for his sins, for making his father leave, for being like his father, for being like the devil.

He should have been dead, but instead he was in a different place, in an unknown situation.

His breathing became rapid, intense, his fear beginning to overwhelm him as his eyes darted from side to side in sheer terror, searching for something, ANYTHING that looked familiar, but found absolutely nothing he recognized in this place.

No dark room. There was no newspaper on the floor. No bowl of dog food or spoiled produce for him to eat. It was a neat and clean room, and he was suddenly afraid that someone would come out and start opening it.

Verosika saw that the boy was now wide awake and saw the raw fear in his eyes. She hurried over, took his tiny hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. Isaac shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the pain and suffering... But it never came.

This almost seemed to calm the boy down, and although the situation didn't get any worse, Isaac was still in the middle of a panic attack, the succubus could see his eyes closing as he began to tremble, and rivers of tears instantly ran from his eyes, in a abnormal amount and speed, but she didn't care about that.

Verosika already knew that if this continued, he might start ripping off the wires and tubes he was wearing, so she thought and came up with a great idea, which was to sing a song.

The only problem was that almost all of her songs were too raunchy or talked about her breakup with Blitzo.

It seemed like she would have to give up on the idea, until Verosika remembered one of her new songs, one that had the melody and instrumental, but no words.

'I hope humming it will have the same effect.'

So Verosika began to hum the song slowly as she continued to hold Isaac's hand, while with the other she began to caress his head.

And the song had a slow effect at first, but slowly and surely the boy began to calm down, still keeping his eyes shut tight, but slowly and surely the rivers of tears dried up, as his trembling stopped, and his moans slowly ceased.

Isaac expected the pain to come from somewhere, but it never came, instead someone squeezed his hand, not squeezing until it broke, but gently but firmly.

Then something else happened, he began to hear a humming, while he felt another hand gently and slowly caressing his head.

It was a truly beautiful and magical sound that almost immediately calmed all his worries and fears. Little by little he managed to calm down, it was easier to breathe, the dark thoughts left his head and he could think clearly about his situation.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, then looked up to see the woman who was singing to him. She was pretty. The prettiest lady he had ever seen. She was so kind to him, so careful not to hurt him, and her song was so soothing…

She was an angel. She had to be.

As he relaxed, a part of Isaac couldn't help but think that there was something familiar about this angel, both in her voice and her appearance.

Verosika felt relieved to see how her idea worked, little by little the boy calmed down until he was completely relaxed.

So, she went on for a while longer, not just because she wanted to calm the boy down, but because she wanted the boy to be happy, as he clearly enjoyed her humming to him.

'Looks like I've gained a new mini fan,' she told herself as she laughed at the idea, briefly pausing her hum before continuing.

She didn't really have childish fans, which was to be expected considering the content of her songs. Still, it felt...nice to know that there was a boy who enjoyed a song of hers And not because of the sexual overtones, but because the sound soothed him.

He was much cuter when he was in a relaxed state like this. All of his fears hid in the back of his mind as he allowed himself this moment to just relax and enjoy the attention he was receiving. The first positive attention he had received in a long time.

They went on like this for a while, until Verosika felt that she had received a message, it was Tex who had already arrived at the hospital.

But a problem had arisen, from the looks of it, security didn't want to let him go.

Since she brought Isaac, and unknown to her, the building tightened security and contacted the authorities.

Which made sense, being a super pop star who brings in a child on the brink of death and who seems to have been through a concentration camp?

That would do more than raise an eyebrow, they weren't going to let just anyone pass.

And since Vortex had nothing to indicate that he actually had a working relationship with Verosika Mayday, and given the situation he was in, he was not allowed to enter.

Verosika snorted with some annoyance, it seems that she would have to go down to the lobby, and talk to the employees to let Tex pass.

She got up, and Verosika was about to open the door, until a small gasp stopped her touching the knob.

She turned and saw that the boy went from having a peaceful expression to one of surprise and sadness at seeing Verosika leave so suddenly.

"Oh, don't worry" said Verosika as she opened the door "I'll be right back, I'm just going to-" the disguised succubus couldn't finish, due to the scene of almost terror that suddenly began to form.

She watched as the little boy began to hyperventilate and go into what appeared to be a mini panic attack.

He tried to get up, only all the wires and tubes connected to him held him in place, and this was where the worst happened.

Verosika watched in horror as he tried to pull out the wires and IV lines.

But before he could do anything to harm himself further, Verosika swung into action and managed to stop him.

"Wait, wait! What are you doing!?" Verosika asked sharply, which made Isaac flinch, and left the succubus wanting to kick herself. She decided to soften her voice and speak to him.

At that moment she realized what was happening, the boy thought she was leaving him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, but please, you have to leave these connected, they are important for you to heal, and I have to go do something, but don't worry, I'll be back." she told him as she tried to sound completely sincere.

Even so, the boy seemed skeptical, which he showed with a pleading look, so Verosika began to think of a way to make him believe her.

And that's when she had an idea, she would give the boy something, to let him know that she would come back for him.

At first, she wanted to give him her cell phone…but then Verosika remembered the rather picturesque videos stored inside the device, so she thought of something else.

"What can I give you?...Oh, I know!"

She reached into one of her pockets and found what she was looking for, which were her sunglasses… they were cracked and bent.

'What!? Damn, they must have broken during the fight, dammit these were my favorite glasses! Agh... never mind, this will still do.'

She handed them to the boy, who looked at the object with wonder and curiosity.

"Here, I have to do something very important, I'll be back for them and for you, can you take care of them for me please?" She asked as she handed the glasses to the tiny boy.

The boy saw the object, and then nodded vigorously, which made Verosika smile, and she headed for the door.

"Okay, I'm leaving now, but I won't be long" she said as she left to settle the matter with Tex as quickly as possible and closed the door behind her.

Now that she was gone, Isaac suddenly felt dejected and looked sadly at the bed before turning his attention back to Verosika's sunglasses.

He was on a mission to protect them with his life and keep them safe from harm.

He noted how damaged the glass was, how the glass was broken, and how the metal was bent.

They must have been very pretty glasses when they weren't broken like him.

So, he wanted a way to know how to return them to when they weren't broken.

Then in front of him, appeared something unknown, at first Isaac was scared, until he recognized that the object was a very familiar blue hourglass.

Then he smiled excitedly.

Verosika walked through the corridors and entered the elevator to reach the reception. She crossed her arms over her breasts and tapped her foot impatiently. She hated elevators, they always seemed to take too long to get her anywhere.

After what seemed like several minutes, she finally made it to her stop and headed for the front desk, trying to keep the annoyance off her face. "Excuse me, but is someone close to me trying to break in?" She asked as nicely as he could.

The receptionist looked at her for a moment, not quite recognizing her.

" Um , I'm not sure, can you tell me your name?"

"Verosika Mayday". The disguised succubus answered, and when she did, she could see the receptionist's eyes widen.

"Verosika Mayday!? Sorry I didn't recognize you!" she said apologetically.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, look, can you tell me if someone is looking for me or not? It's very important." She said something tense; she really didn't want to have to deal with fans at this time of day, much less in the situation they were in.

"Oh! Sure! Sure! Let's see... there's a certain Vortex who asked to see you," the receptionist said.

"And where is he?"

"in the waiting room"

"Okay, can he please come in?"

"Sure, I'll call you right back" said the receptionist, as she called Vortex through the microphone.

Verosika waited patiently for her Hellhound bodyguard to arrive and nodded when she saw him approaching at a brisk pace, a look of relief crossed his face. "Ugh... You had us worried enough, boss." He greeted her when he reached her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Verosika smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm a big girl, Tex, I can take care of myself." she assured.

" Heh. Yeah, I get that. So, what are you doing in a hospital anyway? You seem a bit beaten up, but this is the kind of thing you usually walk away from."

Tex immediately knew that this was not a normal situation upon seeing how Verosika's face and attitude changed so quickly, from one of relief to one of concern and seriousness, while her body tensed.

He knew something out of the ordinary had happened, he had doubts about it, but seeing his boss react like that confirmed it.

"Actually… something happened, many things at the same time really, I… I want you to meet someone, come with me" She told him as she walked back to the room where Isaac was waiting for her to come back. Considering how the boy reacted when she left, Verosika thought it would be best if she explained everything to Tex while they were with Isaac.

The hellhound looked dead serious now. She had to admire that about his employee. He was probably the most mature member of her entire gang; he was the one who responded to situations in the most appropriate way. Each group needed a voice of reason to keep things in order.

She found Isaac's room and let out a breath. "Okay... This is why I'm here." She entered, and Vortex followed her. He blinked when he saw the boy lying on the bed, holding his boss's glasses, and then looked at his boss. Had she gone out of her way to save a child? That was...unusually nice of her. He had to say... he was proud.

Verosika spoke as she entered. "Okay honey, I'm ba- Hmm ? My glasses! They're like new!" She ran excitedly to the boy's bedside and knelt down beside him. He turned to her, and his eyes began to sparkle with joy at the sight of her.

At this point Vortex had too many questions and really needed an answer.

"So... who exactly is he?" the costumed Hellhound asked , drawing Verosika's attention.

"Oh well, his name is…Isaac…I think, wait a minute." then she turned to look at the boy, who was looking at Vortex with a little curiosity, and then he turned to look at Verosika.

"I'm sorry, but your name is Isaac, right?" Verosika asked, to which the boy nodded happily, for the angel knew his name. "Yeah, his name is Isaac."

"Oh, all right, and why is he... like this?" Vortex asked pointing to all the medical equipment the boy had attached to his body.

Now, he knew that the answer could not be good, but seeing how his boss's face changed from one of joy to the concept of bitterness made flesh, took him by surprise.

"What happened to him...was...was terrible."

She took a deep breath. "Some fat old hag was abusing him and I had to fight her and that's the most I'm willing to say while he's still awake because I DON'T want to dig up bad memories for the poor thing." She said simply.

Vortex visibly grimaced at her words and looked at the boy sympathetically. " Wow ... Geez... Sorry to hear that, little buddy." He gave Isaac a friendly pat on the head, and the boy blinked and tilted his head. Was someone else being nice to him too?

He always knew that people were kinder than his mother, but he didn't think that anyone would be so kind to him like this, he never thought that someone would feel sorry for him... He had felt as if he...

While Isaac was having those thoughts, Vortex saw the boy, with all that medical paraphernalia attached to him, he noticed that whatever this "fat old hag" did to this boy, it must have been terrible, he wasn't an expert in medicine, but he could recognize an artificial respiration machine, and seeing one hooked up to a child meant nothing good.

The Hellhound clenched his fist tightly, this way he avoided growling and scaring the boy, why would someone hurt a boy like that?

"And do you know why she did it?" He asked.

"No, I have no idea why that crazy woman would do something like that."

He decided to ask one more thing.

"And where is this 'fat old hag' now?" Tex asked.

"Where do you think I'd send it?" Verosika said she hoped Tex would take the hint.

"I see…wait, doesn't that mean we risk seeing her when we get back? I don't think she'll like it very much." Tex asked, confused.

"Yes, I know, but I know someone who can be in charge of keeping that monster away from us, locked up in some not pretty place, at least until the next purge, when the exterminators will take care of erasing that vermin from the creation forever, it's the least she deserves." She said angrily.

"Well, that seems right to me." Vortex said when he saw that the boy would receive justice,

"But wait... what's going to happen to him from now on?" Asked the Hellhound in disguise.

"Well, first we have to wait for the doctors to give him the go-ahead"

"Okay, that's logical, but later?"

Verosika opened her mouth to reply, only to find that words failed her. "I, uh... uh... I... I don't know." She sheepishly admitted. "My attention turned to getting that THING out of the picture and getting him to get medical help, but after that, I'm not sure what to do."

Vortex hummed and crossed his arms. "Do you think the little man has any living relatives he could go live with?" Verosika stiffened a little at what the hellhound was saying and she honestly had no idea why. Why was she suddenly feeling afraid?

Was she…attached to the child already?

That shouldn't be possible, she had just met the boy.

Yeah, he was cute and all, but she didn't want to be responsible for him... but she didn't want to be separated from him either.

Thinking of his bodyguard's question, she answered.

"I.. I don't know if he has any other relatives," Verosika said.

Vortex thought about that answer and had an idea.

" Um , well, how about this? Since that witch isn't home, why don't we go over there and see, I'm sure there must be documents or something, about his other relatives?"

At that, Verosika gave him an awkward look.

"That... it won't be possible to go back there anymore." She said.

"Why? Cause the police? We can wait until they leave the scene of the crime" Vortex replied somewhat confused.

"No, it's not because of that, it's something else."

"Why? Is it because of him? Didn't you send that monster to the other neighborhood?" asked the Hellhound, somewhat confused.

"Yes, and she took the whole house with her in the process" Verosika replied.

"How did she take the house? Did you blow it up or something?" asked the Hellhound, as he imagined that his boss blew that monster into the air.

"No, actually... I don't know what happened, I just know that after I made a knife disappear through her head, a giant sinkhole appeared, and now there's nothing left but a smoking hole." Verosika explained as best she could.

Not only did he not want to go into details, because Isaac was looking at both of them in their conversation, but not understanding what they were saying, what the goal was.

But also, because he had no idea what had happened.

"Wait! A sinkhole? And by chance a huge column of fire and rocks came out, and you heard a scream?" Vortex asked, suddenly surprising Verosika with the precise description.

"Yeah, how did you know?" she asked, surprised that her bodyguard managed to describe it perfectly, something he didn't see.

"Because those were all over the news! Didn't you hear?" Vortex said as he searched for something on his own phone.

"No, I was with the kid and I haven't checked my networks for anything- wait, did you say 'those were' in the plural?" She asked as she was getting more and more confused.

"Take a look." He showed her one of the videos.

The video was of a subject who was recording an apparently abandoned house, which was surrounded by cracks from which a hellish red glow came out, Verosika quickly saw that they were identical to the ones she saw before the huge sinkhole appeared that swallowed Isaac's house.

And as with Isaac's house, these cracks grew until a sinkhole appeared, and swallowed up the house entirely.

Based on the information the video offered and the language spoken by the one she recorded, Verosika was surprised that this was also happening in another part of the world.

"How is it possible?" She asked.

"And there are more of these." Vortex said as he fiddled with the cell phone, and showed Verosika something that left her speechless.

It didn't happen just once or twice, in two different places, but in multiple parts of the world.

Not just abandoned houses, but factories, hospitals, commercial buildings, churches and various others, most of them were abandoned, but others had people inside, luckily the vast majority came out.

And it was not only limited to modern places, but also different parts of nature, abandoned temples, these sinkholes appeared and swallowed everything and then exploded like volcanoes of fire, rock and infernal energy, although only a few were recorded that were archaeological sites.

Although of course, none of the posts, videos or news had a clear answer to what was happening, but theories abounded by millions.

From an unprecedented seismic event, to a sign of the apocalypse.

Verosika decided to put that aside for now, since she had to get back to the main topic.

"Well, if that's what happened, then do you now understand why we can't go back to that house? Everything that was there is lost forever." Verosika said.

"Right, even if we left the boy here, it wouldn't have served my idea." He spoke.

"We couldn't leave him alone for long either, believe me I already tried, and he tried to take out the wires and IV lines, because he thought I was abandoning him, I had to give him my glasses to calm him down."

"Really? This is harder than I thought then." Vortex said.

"Yes, fortunately the glasses worked, he protected them very well." Verosika said as she stroked Isaac's head, a gesture that he appreciated.

Vortex was curious when his boss mentioned her glasses, and he remembered what Verosika had said when he walked in.

"He not only protected them, but also cleaned them, they must have been very dirty after last night." the hellhound said, imagining how his succubus must have stained them with blood.

"Oh no, actually when I took care of that witch my glasses... broke... completely."

At that, Verosika suddenly realized.

When she gave Isaac her glasses, they were shattered, the metal completely bent and the glass shattered, not salvageable.

Then how was it possible that they were now completely repaired?

"Really? They look good to me." Vortex said without understanding.

"Yes...they were broken" Verosika said.

She racked her brains thinking about how Isaac had fixed her glasses.

Was there a new pair right in this room within Isaac's reach? No, that would be too much of a coincidence.

Did someone come in to repair them? That was even more absurd.

At that, Verosika turned to Isaac curiously.

"Isaac, how did you fix my glasses? When I gave them to you, they were completely damaged."

Isaac looked at her curiously and suddenly understood what she meant.

At that he waved to Verosika to give him the glasses, she nodded and gave them to him.

And then he snapped them in half.

Verosika was about to ask him what he was doing, when something incredible suddenly happened, leaving her and Vortex completely stunned.

In a small burst of smoke, something appeared floating in Isaac's hand, it seemed to be an hourglass, but it glowed with a blue light of its own.

Then it glowed brightly, as a sphere of blue energy surrounded the broken glass.

Verosika and Vortex saw how the glasses unfolded, and returned to their original state, completely fixed.

Once repaired, Isaac examined them and with an approving smile the watch disappeared just as it had appeared.

Isaac then proceeded to hand over his glasses to a stunned Verosika, who examined them and saw they were as good as new.

"...Holy...uh...spit..." She stopped herself from cursing at the last possible second as she gave Isaac an incredulous look. "Well…thanks for that, these were my favorite pairs and I'm glad I still get to wear them." Isaac smiled at her praise.

She smiled at that and leaned down to gently rub his tiny bald head. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch like a cuddly kitten, and that warmed the succubus's heart even more. Her tail curled into a heart shape before it began to wag back and forth...

"Uh... Boss?" Vortex spoke. Verosika blinked before realizing that her disguise was slipping slightly. She quickly retracted her tail with a sheepish smile, hoping Isaac hadn't seen it. It tended to pop out when she was particularly happy in her human form.

After making sure her costume was still on, she continued to pat Isaac's head as she thought about what to do with the boy once he was released.

By itself, the option of sending him to an orphanage was an option that Verosika was not very fond of, not only because of the idea of being separated from Cutie Pie, but also because she had heard some horror stories, on several occasions.

Vortex too, as a Hellhound, knew what it was like in the care of a foster system, and earth may not be hell, but still the thought of letting another child get thrown into something so rotten it wasn't on his to do list.

And now, after what the boy has just shown he was capable of, even less so.

That also raised even more questions than before.

Vortex wondered if that was the reason she rescued the boy, but seeing her utter surprise confirmed that she didn't know any more than he did on the matter.

He decided to question her in more detail on the matter, preferably when the boy was not around her.

For her part, Verosika had similar thoughts, wondering if the reason that monster was torturing him was because Isaac had that unique and incredible ability.

'If that was the case, why did she try to kill him? Was it part of a ritual to take away that power? No, it seemed more like she was trying to eliminate him for it.'

They continued like this, until the Doctor who attended Isaac the night before, opened the door.

"Excuse me, miss, am I here to give the boy a routine checkup?" explained the doctor. Verosika blinked and stepped to the side to allow the doctor to reach the boy. Isaac was visibly saddened that she had to move, and he looked at the doctor with sad puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head, darling, I'm right here." The disguised succubus cooed softly. This was enough to soothe the boy's sadness as he snuggled closer to the sheets. The doctor came over and began the procedures.

As the man did his work, Verosika felt an overwhelming urge to hold the boy. And not in the urgent 'get him medical attention NOW' kind of last night, but she wanted to hug him just for the sake of holding that sweet little boy close to her.

Still, she held back because the doctor had to do his job and make sure the boy was okay.

After a while, the doctor finished examining Isaac and from his expression, it seemed that he was puzzled.

"Hey Miss Mayday? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"What's wrong doctor, is something wrong?"

"No, can we really talk in the hallway?"

Verosika hesitated for a moment, she didn't want to be separated from the boy again, but she really wanted to know how his health was, even more after the last events.

"Can you be quick? He really doesn't like being left alone." Verosika asked.

"Yes, and I understand why, it's actually what I want to talk to you about, it will be quick, I promise."

"Okay, just let me do one thing." Verosika said approaching Isaac who was looking at her curiously.

"I'll be back, the doctor has something important to talk to me about, but it won't be long." She said to the boy, who was frowning when he found out that the beautiful lady was leaving again.

" Vortex, can you look after him for a moment while I'm gone?"

"- Eh , yes , but don't take too long, I'm not very good with children." Tex said a little uncomfortable, since he wasn't much of a babysitter, but given how extremely special this case was, he would do it. It would not be wise to leave this particular child alone.

Verosika went with the doctor to the corridor and closed the door, they moved away from the room, but not too far.

"Well, doctor, tell me what's wrong, is something wrong?" Verosika asked.

"Well, not really, I would say the opposite, I don't know how or why, but this boy is healing fast, and at an amazing level." said the doctor to which Verosika asked curiously.

"How awesome are we talking?"

"To be honest, Mrs. Mayday, he shouldn't be able to stay awake, let alone be as active as he is right now."

"And that wasn't because of the machines you've connected? I mean there are dozens"

"No, that would help to a degree, but it would still take time, do you have any idea why this is happening?"

"Not really" Verosika lied quickly, she actually HAD an idea, why, but she couldn't exactly tell him about it.

"Well, as far as his physical health is concerned, he's totally fine, but his mental health, I'm afraid, is a completely different story", said the doctor solemnly.

"What does that mean?" Verosika asked in fear of what the answer would be.

"The injuries that child has sustained... Well, I don't know where they came from, but... no child is going to sustain such severe injuries without extreme mental trauma from it... Do you know how he was hurt that much?" Verosika took a deep breath.

"It was... his mother..." she said softly, her heart sinking as she realized the additional trauma that simple fact was going to cause the little boy. "She was abusing him, and I fought her and ran away with him to bring him here and away from that nutcase.

"I see..." The doctor's mouth formed into a thin line. "And where is his mother now?"

Verosika started to sweat lightly, " I…I think there was a gas leak or something, because that house kinda…exploded with her in it?" I know it sounds hard to believe, but you have to trust me on this."

"Really? From what you describe, it may not actually have been a gas leak, Ms. Mayday," the doctor said.

"Yeah? So what was that then?" Verosika was suspicious, but it was better to feign ignorance.

"You haven't seen the recent news?" the man asked the pop star.

"I haven't had time, Isaac has taken all my attention, I barely had time to call my bodyguard." Verosika said, not entirely lying, which worked.

"I get it. Well, to make a long story short, some strange sinkholes appeared literally overnight last night, the origin of this is unknown, but it's possible from what you describe, that just as I rescued Isaac, one of these would open up and lift up and swallow the house." explained the doctor.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so despite what the poor boy has been through, he's lucky you found him." the doctor said.

"I understand... By the way, when do you think Isaac will be healthy enough to leave?"

"Oh well! At the rate he's healing, I'd say less than a week, a few more days, although his vocal cords are another story, it'll take longer to heal."

Verosika closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose at that. "I see..." Damn woman, taking the child's voice away...

"And if that's not enough... I know that this kind of trauma can lead to one... not talking to anyone. I'd be ready for the possibility that he may be too scared by the world around him to speak, even after his vocal cords are healed, at least for a while."

Verosika frowned at that. "I see, I see..." She let out a soft breath and put her hands on her hips. "Well... I hope a little TLC can help with that..." He tried to lighten the mood weakly, a weak smile on his face.

Verosika went back to Isaac's room, before entering she listened while the door was open for Tex to speak.

"...and that's how I lost my eye" Tex finished telling the story to an Isaac who was looking at him in astonishment.

" Vortex, would you be so kind as to explain, why did you tell a story like that to Isaac?" She said with a cold tone and he grimaced.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking, but I have a reasonable explanation."

"Oh well, I'd love to hear it now."

Vortex raised his hands appealingly. "I didn't tell him any gory details, as far as he was concerned it was just a cool action story where I ended up losing an eye." Verosika frowned deeply and narrowed her eyes. "It's true!"

Verosika sighed. "Whatever... Just don't say anything inappropriate to him, okay? I know I'll have enough trouble with the rest of my friends..."

Vortex chuckled. "Oh yeah, you'll definitely need to talk to them. I saw Kiki giving 'the talk' to a five-year-old while she was waiting for you to put on your makeup. She said it was stupid to wait to tell her when it was a 'natural process' or whatever.”

Verosika rubbed her temples. "If she doesn't want to wake up UNDERWATER, she'll start to respect that most worthwhile parents DON'T WANT their kids to know these things..."

It might be illogical to prevent Isaac from exposing himself to that sort of thing, considering not only the kind of demon Verosika was and the music she made, but also where he'd be living soon. Yes... She was taking him. That she had decided.

So sooner or later, he'd be exposed to those things, but she wanted to enjoy Isaac's innocent before that, and if she could avoid him being corrupted as much as possible, within what's healthy, she would!

Although Verosika, seeing that Isaac was engrossed in the story, couldn't help but be glad to see the astonished boy, his sparkling eyes instantly warmed her heart, which made her decision to adopt him more or less final.

"Well, what did the doctor tell you?" Vortex asked snapping Verosika out of her thoughts.

She exhaled through her nostrils. "Well, he's healing up well, and he should be free to go by the end of the week…" Vortex knew from her tone that there was a 'but' waiting at the end of that sentence. "But... his throat was damaged, and after the trauma, he... might not be able to speak again for quite some time..."

Vortex frowned and shook his head. "Man... Some people... They just don't make any sense at all..." He sighed.

"No, they don't. I mean, really, treating their own children like that…Disgusting, isn't it, honey?" She gently rubbed the top of Isaac's head, and the boy let out a soft squeak of satisfaction.

"So, have you decided to keep him?" Vortex asked, already knowing the answer, but just wanting to be sure.

After a minute of silence in which Verosika patted Isaac's head, she finally spoke.

"Yes, I will, there is no other option, and I think that in the end if there was... I wouldn't choose it." She said as a small smile formed on her face.

Vortex was happy with the answer, but there was one more matter to deal with, following his boss's decision.

"You're doing the right thing boss, but there's a little big problem, when are we going to show him our err ...true side? It's not something we can keep hidden for long," the hellhound asked with understanding from Verosika.

Verosika was thoughtful as she reflected on the situation, Vortex was right, the truth of what they were was not something that could be hidden for long, if that was done too long, it would be possible that the boy would react appropriately.

But they couldn't tell him right now either.

Then Verosika made a decision.

"I'll tell him at the end of the week, when we can get him out and he's fully healed, until that time comes, I have to prepare him for when I break the news."

Vortex nodded, which seemed to him the wisest and most prudent thing to do at the moment.

But he still had one last question.

"If that's what you decided, how are you going to avoid exposing him to... unforeseen things? Where we're going is not a place that's... what was the word... Family Friendly, and I'm not sure he needs to know that I'm going to-" Tex paused to decide his words better.

"Well, you know how our home name is not well received, it's a dirty word in the best of cases, and in the worst feared by the adults, imagine for a child".

Verosika analyzed what Vortex wanted to say, and he was right, and if the theory that this monster was a religious fanatic was not wrong, it would be totally safe to assume that she would have put all the fear in the world on hell, and she would have told him who knows what about the place.

Although hell was far from a nice place, even more so for those who were low class, like imps, hellhounds or poor people, it wasn't such a terrible place as many of those ridiculous beings that call themselves "shepherds" used to shout to control people.

Again, it wasn't a heavenly place, but it was certainly better than many third world countries, and not unlike many bad places on earth.

Also if you had enough beauty, power, influence and money, you could live in relative peace and quiet, and Verosika met at least 3 of the 4 aforementioned requirements, so she could manage to give Isaac a good life, and when he was older, he could easily face the worst parts of life.

Still, there was a big problem. Verosika couldn't just tell Isaac something like, "Hey! What do you think about me taking you to hell with me! But don't worry, it's not as bad as they told you it was!"

'Yeah, that's not going to end with the kid becoming a traumatized mess, not at all…' Verosika said with a snort in her mind.

So, she formulated a plan.

As she thought about it, Vortex and Isaac looked at her worriedly, a full 5 minutes had passed and Verosika was completely silent.

"Ummm... boss?" Vortex asked which seemed to wake Verosika from her trance.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Sorry, I was thinking about what you said, and I think I came to a solution."

"Really? Which one?" Vortex asked with interest.

"First in terms of an atmosphere' Family Friendly ', I have enough power and fame to create a space where Isaac can grow, at least for a few years, until he's old enough to be exposed to that, as soon as I get out of here, I'll talk to my team about the changes I'm making. And before you say anything, they can still be as obsessive as they want, but NOT in Isaac's presence, and that's something they'll definitely accept, or else I'll MAKE them accept it."

"Okay, that makes sense, and as for... his new home?"

Verosika was silent for a moment, Vortex feared that she would remain silent again for a long time, but this time it was only for a few seconds.

"I'm not going to tell you where we're going. at least not yet, I'm going to take him there first, let him see what it's like, because I'm 89% sure that the witch who did this to him was an extremist fanatic, so I'm sure he'll have a NOT-so-impressive picture in his mind of our... world, so first I'll show him how it's really like and that way it'll prevent him from having a breakdown or something."

Once again Vortex nodded his agreement. It was certainly the best course of action to take.

"In the meantime, I will tell him the truth little by little, I will tell him that where we are going is a somewhat dangerous and turbulent place, but that in the end he does not have to fear, because I will be there to protect him, and all he has to do is stay close.

She paused before continuing.

"After a while, I'll tell him the whole story, by then he'll know what it's like."

"That's great, but how long will it take you to tell him the whole story?" Vortex asked.

"It will be 1 or 2 years, I think it will be more than enough time, at least so that he doesn't suffer a mental breakdown." She spoke.

"Well, that's an excellent plan boss" he said with a proud smile.

"You know I only have great plans, Tex," She said with joy and pride.

"Oh yeah? Like that NFT ad?" He asked jokingly, wiping the smile off Verosika's face, and a look of annoyance and some embarrassment replaced it.

"You know perfectly well that I was bound by a contract, one that I would not have signed if I had known they were ESO ads." Verosika shuddered.

"At least you sold everything before it exploded." Tex said, remembering what a disaster that was, Verosika's reputation took a blow that day, but in the end, she recovered, she can't say the same for the rest.

"Actually, that's one of the first things I should teach Isaac when he's old enough, I should do it right after The Talk." Verosika says determinedly.

"For now, Tex, I want you to go back to my crew and tell them I'm fine, I'll be back at nightfall and I'll explain everything in great detail and the changes that are going to happen. "

"Wait, when you say 'in great detail' does that include Isaac's ability?" Vortex asked.

"Yeah, though I'll make sure they keep their mouths shut, or make them wish they'd been purged by a terminator if they tell someone else." She said seriously, while Tex flinched a little.

"Okay, I'll go tell them then, see you later!" Vortex said as he got up to leave, which Isaac noticed, and tugged at the succubs' clothes. He called out to Verosika to get his attention as she gestured to the kind man leaving,

"Wait, Vortex." Before he could get to the door, Verosika called out to him,

"Huh? What's up boss?" He asked.

"Looks like Isaac wants to tell you something.

" "Oh yeah? What?"

As they talked, Isaac tried to pay attention, but he couldn't understand much of what they were saying, he understood several things, like that Verosika apparently came from a dangerous place, or that it wasn't appropriate for a child, but that she would make it work anyway. She'd do everything possible for him to be with her, something that made Isaac smile, knowing that the pretty lady with the voice of an angel wanted him close.

But the rest were things he did not understand, not only because they seemed like things of adults, but because he was thinking about the story of Vortex , how he lost his eye, and could no longer see with that eye.

As someone who has lost his eyes several times and had objects pierce or cover them, or monsters get them as they took them out before killing him, he knew what it felt like to not be able to see, and because he was someone who had only been nice to him. it was something that saddened Isaac.

So he had an idea and he had to carry it out before he left. And when asked what was wrong, Isaac reached out and focused on what he wanted to do, and what he wanted appeared on a bean bag.

Verosika and Vortex saw how Isaac extended his hand, they thought that he wanted the Hellhound to give him something, until they saw him close his eyes, and in a few seconds, from a small explosion of smoke, similar to the previous one where that stranger came out, the watch, appeared.

Only instead of being that glowing hourglass, something else appeared.

"Is that a... glass eye?" was what Verosika asked surprised.

Vortex was the most confused, until he remembered the story, he was telling Isaac, and how he couldn't see with that eye anymore, which moved him a bit.

"Is that for me?" Vortex asked, half astonished and half moved, though, like Verosika, he wondered why he had such a thing.

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks bud, it doesn't work for me because I still have my eye, but it's a very nice present, so I'll keep it". he said as he was about to put away the eye that was floating in Isaac's hand. Maybe he could put it on a shelf or something, surely his girlfriend would like to hear how a child gave him a glass eye.

But when Vortex grabbed the eye and stared at it for a few seconds, before something amazing happened.

The eye glowed white for about half a second, before disappearing, and before Vortex could ask what had happened, he felt two things.

The first was that his blind eye suddenly felt different, in a way he couldn't describe, though that was almost overshadowed by a feeling of power coursing through his body, one he felt coming from that eye, which he instinctively closed, and his head felt a sudden ache.

It did not last more than a few seconds, but when it was over and he opened his eye.

"Wow! What... what? What was that?" Vortex said a bit confused and disoriented.

"Vortex! Your eye!" Verosika said again, to which this time the Hellhound heard her.

"What? What's wrong with my eye?"

"Look!" she told him as she handed him the hand mirror that she brought in her bag, so that her bodyguard could see what was happening.

And when he did, he was speechless.

"No way..." he said completely stunned, seeing that his blind eye had not only disappeared, but had been replaced by an eye of another color, which he quickly recognized as the eye that Isaac had given him. .

Before he could ask anything else, through his reflection he saw something above him, which seemed to be floating.

"Huh? Boss... do you see the same thing as me?" he asked, hoping what he was seeing wasn't a hallucination.

"What do you mean?" She said looking up, only to fall silent when he saw what the hellhound was talking about.

Floating above was a black box, with the words:

" Glass Eye " written in white, and below it was the words "DMG + luck ", but in much smaller, but still noticeable letters.

"Yeah, I see that too Tex"

It lasted only half a second before disappearing

"What the dem ..." Vortex suddenly noticed something else, he didn't believe it at first, but after closing his good eye, he checked it, and the surprise grew bigger.

"It can't be... I can see!"

"Like, no way!

"Yes! I can do it! I can see with this eye again!" He said between disbelief and emotion.

"Isaac…what did you do…oh wait, you can't talk, right?" Verosika asked before remembering that she couldn't speak.

Isaac just looked at her curiously, before looking back at Vortex with a feeling of pride and joy at having helped him.

While Vortex was delighted with the gift, both he and Verosika realized that being able to summon an hourglass out of thin air was just the tip of the iceberg, and that Isaac was most certainly a jack-in-the-box, which had only just begun. . to emerge.

Things have certainly just changed in Verosika's life.

She didn't know they wouldn't be the only ones affected, but from the moment she and the boy met, creation itself was forever changed.

Chapter Text

It had been 3 weeks, almost 4, since Isaac was admitted to the hospital, and things had been hectic for Verosika ever since.

Although his physical health was perfect and 100% in the first week, he had not been discharged until week 3. The main reason, but not the only one, was that his abnormal recovery had caught the attention of the doctors, who wanted to study the situation further. There were 2 factors that prevented him from doing so, at least 100%.

The first was that Verosika was completely opposed to treating the boy like a lab rat, as the boy had suffered enough. In fact, the hospital staff themselves agreed with her, and this is where the second reason why Isaac was still in the hospital, despite being recovered, comes in.

His psychological state, which was still very delicate at best, as a result of the brutal and relentless torture he received, at the hands of his own mother, no less. So, it was not uncommon for him to have panic attacks, or for him to wake up screaming in the middle of the night, due to the nightmares he suffered, and spend long hours in a fetal position crying.

And not in a normal way, but almost literally like rivers that flew non-stop from the eyes in such a way that an ordinary person would die of dehydration. (Another of the many reasons why the doctors wanted to study Isaac).

By the time this happened, there were only two ways to calm him down:

Sedated him before he hurt himself, or Verosika comforted him until he calmed down, humming and cuddling to him, among other things that helped bring Isaac's mind back to a better place, and not where he had to relive nightmares and horrors.

As a sample of the nightmares and horrors that are in the mind of the poor child, there were the enormous number of drawings that he had made. Although the quality of the drawing was crude, understandable given the artist's age, Isaac had a talent for expressing through barely legible illustrations and lettering what's inside his head.

And when it was not pure nightmare fuel, then it was pure nausea fuel, and if it was neither of those two, then it was tear jerking, and if not? Then it is all of the above that Isaac illustrates and describes, things that should NOT be in the head of a boy like him.

Deformed beings, fetuses, deformed fetuses, blood, objects buried in his own body and eyes, dismembered animals, nightmarish creatures, unknown horrors, excrement, blood, pus, worrying mentions of suicide and hell in a constant and positive way, that and much more is what Isaac usually illustrates and describes when he is drawing in "The Basement", which is what he calls that personal hell that he had created.

So horrifying that it's no wonder many hospital staff went out of their way not to see the poor boy's drawings, and thankful that he still doesn't have the talent to do more detailed work. What surprises him is the attitude that he usually has, when he does not suffer from panic attacks or nightmares.

Despite all of this, Isaac still behaved in a sweet and charming way, despite how broken he was, he still behaved like a little child, which made the whole situation even worse for both the hospital staff; Verosika, and Tex.

It's not that he doesn't just draw horrible, nauseating and terrifying things, but when he's not drawing about The Basement, he draws about things that have been more recent in his life, or more innocent things from his past.

From his past would be his pets, a couple of cats named Tammy and Guppy, a couple of dogs named Max and Cricket, who seem to be Isaac's company, as well as other strange creatures, such as baby-like creatures, insects of different shapes, mostly flies, and other different creatures.

Most recently on this list would be the hospital staff, the hospital itself, and what Isaac can see from the window. But more importantly, and therefore the most repeated theme in Isaac's drawings, would be Verosika and Tex, the boy seemed to develop a rapid, intense and understandable affection for the pop star and her bodyguard, who already appear in many of his drawings, almost constantly, Verosika being more than Tex.

But he also began to draw a third unknown character, a kind of angel with red wings and a halo, who fights against a huge obese and cruel creature (who they would later discover is Isaac's mother). In Isaac's illustrations this angel, who is apparently a woman, can be seen rescuing Isaac and delivering him into the arms of Verosika, who is often portrayed as an angel on various occasions as well.

Verosika was incredibly touched by these drawings depicting her in such a light. It melted her heart that this sweet boy thought so highly of her. And it also made her more than a little anxious about revealing her true nature as a demonic succubus to him...

Because he was a very religious little boy... And if he found out that his savior was a demon... Well, she was scared he wouldn't like her anymore, that the bond they had been building over these past few weeks would just... fade away into nothing...

But she knew she couldn't hide it from him forever. He was going to have to find out at some point... And she knew it would be better to rip the band-aid off sooner than later. She was already making her plans to figure out what she was going to do to break it to him gently. She just hoped he wouldn't be too scared to come home with her. He was firmly in the belief that hell was a place of fire and brimstone and torture and fear. It was... well, it was a shithole, that was for certain, but it was at least liveable for the most part, and he'd be just fine there.

Besides, despite everything it was a shithole better than many others on earth, like Hollywood Boulevard. Verosika still shuddered when she remembered the smell and misery of that place, the term sleeping on the stars lost all its beautiful meaning when you see a homeless person doing that in the place.

Even so, Verosika had been preparing everything to tell Isaac the truth, in such a way that he wouldn't give her a mental breakdown. She won't tell him that the place he's going to is hell, she'll keep that information hidden until he's mentally strong enough, and until he's lived there long enough that he doesn't have a heart attack or something similar.

Verosika wasn’t entirely sure whether or not a child can have a heart attack from stress, but she's not going to risk it and find out. So, for now, she would keep Isaac living in a half lie.

During these weeks, she prepared it; telling the little boy that the place where they were going to live was known as "The Underground", an unpleasant place with a terrible reputation for many, but if you are lucky enough, money, beauty and power, like Verosika, there's almost nothing to worry about, as long as you're careful, he listens to her, and does everything she says.

She had already prepared the place where she was going to live, talking with her employees, both her work team and those from her home, about how to act when Isaac is there. Verosika had explained everything to them, in great detail, from beginning to end, from the torture and the boy's mental state, to his apparent powers.

All so that under no circumstances, Isaac discovers that he is in hell, or exposes him to undue harassment. Although the vast majority agreed, there were some who were more resilient to this change. Most of these were not direct opposition, save for one: Josh.

The Incubi in question directly opposed bringing the child.

*Flashback*

Verosika could see the faces of everyone in her group, and after telling them the entire story of Isaac, the expressions were either utter horror, unsweetened rage, or deep sadness depending on the person, but they were all deeply affected, no one had said anything yet, which was to be expected.

And that's when Verosika dropped the biggest bombshell on them. "And uh…well, I've grown a bit fond of the kid, he's a true sweetheart, so…that's why I've decided to bring him to live with me!" she concluded happily.

There was a moment of silence. Most of the group seemed intrigued by Verosika's decision, some of the members even seemed excited by it. But Josh? Josh looked at her as if he thought he'd lost his mind.

"...Verosika, that's a terrible idea."

Verosika's eye twitched. "Do you have a problem, Josh? Huh? Do you have a problem with my life decisions?"

Josh rolled his eyes. "Look, I can't tell you what to do, Lucifer knows I can't, but think for a second. You're taking the boy to hell, HELL, this place will literally eat him alive if he leaves you."

"I know, that's why I’ve planned how to keep him safe and protected from everything, until he is old enough to defend himself." she began to explain the popstar succubus. "And that's why you and the others will have to behave, since until that moment arrives, he will be with me as long as possible, as I told you before, things will change around here for a while, now if you'll excuse me, I'll go organize what’s missing before your arrival." said Verosika starting to leave the room.

It would seem that this would be the end of the conversation, that this would be enough to convince the incubi, but for Josh it was not like that, just when Verosika was in the doorway he spoke.

"Oh yeah? Fuck it, don't think you can turn this into a nursery and tell us to 'behave', just because you took pity on a pathetic crippled kid."

*BAM!*

That was the sound of Verosika's hand hitting the door frame and part of the wall, and the most terrifying thing for everyone present was that her fingers were digging into the wall, as if it were made of butter, while much of It was cracked, those present could see long and numerous cracks extending throughout the wall.

Verosika remained still for a few long seconds before turning a little to look at Josh, enough so that from her perspective, he saw half of her face and a single eye, who was terrified to see that gold and black eye. of his boss, literally shining with his own light and pure fury, giving the incubi a look like the one an executioner would have, with an overwhelming aura of threat and terror, but also hate pure and contained, it permeated the place.

"What did you just say?" Verosika said slowly and calmly, like the calm before the impending storm, as she watched several cracks stretched along the wall, from where she had buried her hand.

His eyes still had that terrifying and sinister glow as he grabbed his employee by the collar of his shirt and held him at eye level. Everything had happened so quickly that those present barely caught Verosika's movement, they only saw a red blur.

"Say that again, prick. I dare you. I FUCKING DARE YOU TO TALK SHIT ABOUT ISAAC ONE MORE DAMN TIME!"

Josh responded by letting out a scream, that was all he could do as he was overwhelmed with terror.

Verosika frowned and pushed him away. "Tch…Fucking pathetic…" she nearly spat. "He's COMING TO LIVE WITH ME. whether you like it or not! And if you do shit to him, then that thing? That thing will be cooking on a stove!" She pointed to Josh's groin area and he winced. Verosika frowned at him for a few more seconds before looking at the others. "Do any of the other bitches have a problem with that?!"

The rest of her gang quickly denied any problem with little Isaac coming to live in hell.

The succubus sneered. "That’s what I thought." And with that, she turned and started to walk away from them, but not before stopping for a moment, seeing the damage she done to the wall.

Verosika looked at her hand briefly, expecting to see her damaged skin and broken nails, but aside from her torn glove, there was only a little bit of dirt, but not even any pain, which made her raise an eyebrow in curiosity and surprise. .

'Interesting...' was the intrusive thought, but she didn't think much of it, she brushed the dirt off her hand, before looking back at her group, more specifically Josh.

"And fix this damn wall!" she said before leaving the place.

*End of flashback*

From that moment it was not difficult for the crew to commit to Verosika's order. When they were near Isaac, they would have to maintain a certain composure, but outside of the boy's presence they could continue doing whatever they wanted.

In the end, Verosika allowed the hospital staff to run any tests she wanted on Isaac, as long as it wasn't intrusive, uncomfortable, or harmful to Isaac in the least, otherwise those tests would stop dead in their tracks. She allowed this so they wouldn't tell the police what happened to Isaac. This could be considered insane, but since her tormentor is dead, Verosika saw no reason to involve the authorities.

Of course, the hospital staff simply didn't agree not to involve the authorities, so Verosika half lied, saying that she would carry out all legal processes with people she trusted. And although she was not going to involve the authorities, since the possibility of Isaac being taken from her is high, and she would never allow it, she in the end planned to hire the services of certain people to take care of Isaac's mother.

Everything related to taking care of Isaac's health had been one of the most difficult things Verosika has had to face in life, but not the only thing.

The political, demographic, and geographic landscape of Hell has been in total chaos these past few weeks. Ok, not that those areas were a field of roses, but lately there was so much turmoil that even the most apolitical were aware of it and were screwed like everyone else in different ways.

Which is not for less because The Ring of Envy, one of the pillars of hell, had disappeared without leaving any trace.

At first Verosika didn't pay attention to the matter, mainly because it sounded so crazy and unreal that it wasn't worth her time and she had a broken boy to focus on, more important than fake news, but as time went by, and more and more people talked about it, Verosika found it more difficult to ignore.

It then became totally impossible for her, when panic seized much of hell, and riots became more violent than ever before. It didn't help not getting any response from the higher ups in hell, for the first 2 weeks, but the thing was clear, of what had been The Circle of Envy, now there was only a wasteland of infinite size, which was glitched and distorted, a now uninhabitable place.

It was not until the beginning of week 3 that Lucifer himself gave his official statement.

"The Circle of Envy is no more." Those were the words of the master and lord of the underworld.

The worst thing was not that he confirmed it, no the worst was that he didn't even have an answer, like how a complete circle of hell had disappeared without leaving any trace. There was no explanation of why Envy became in Glicheated Wasteland, but one thing was clear: Lucifer and the high command were investing all their effort and energy to find out what had happened.

Needless to say, many saw this as a sign of the end of time, that God got fed up with everything, and began to erase the reality that he himself created, starting with the ring of envy.

And of course, the theories were everywhere. Be that as it may, many had friends, family, businesses, treasures and much, much more within that circle, and now it had disappeared with no indication of where it all went. No one could say for sure WHAT had happened to it, all they knew was that the other circles were more than a little freaked out, afraid that theirs would be next.

Verosika had those concerns as well, but she did her best to squash them down. She was pulled from her thoughts when Isaac proudly handed her another picture he drew.

"Oh, yeah, that's really nice, sweetie." She cooed, taking it and looking it over. "Ah. It's that woman again, the angel lady." Isaac nodded his head. "Now uh... who is she exactly...?"

Isaac tilted his head to the side, trying to work out how best to explain it to her. Since he couldn't speak, he began to look for the drawings to communicate with her, using the images and the letters.

Verosika found it difficult at first, but she got into it quickly, and now was understanding a lot of what he was trying to say. Verosika carefully analyzed the image, seeing the figure of the red angel, despite being a drawing made by a child, it was of decent quality. The bells were ringing in her head, the color red, that the angel was a woman, that she was fighting with Isaac's mother, and suddenly Verosika’s mind clicked.

‘It was... It was ME! He saw me in my succubus form! And he thought my succubus form was an ANGEL!’ She said in her mind, and began to have an internal nervous breakdown, visibly sweating a little while maintaining a wide (perhaps too wide) smile for the little one of hers. 'This isn’t a surprise, but it's especially touching... and promising' was a fleeting and strange thought that she had, which she dismissed as quickly as it came to her head.

"Ah. I…I see. So…you saw a red angel come and save you from your mother before I found you…" she said softly. Isaac nodded, smiling brightly, his big adorable eyes twinkling slightly. The succubus felt her heart warm at the same time that she felt a deep fear in her stomach. If he had seen her, and if he thought she was an angel, it only worried her even more about how he would react if he knew the truth about her... She was very much the kind of thing he was. A demon that was meant to come and get innocent children and was never meant to be seen as saviors.

What if he felt betrayed when he found out the truth? What if he began to fear her? She didn't think her heart could bear to lose this small dose of love that she had obtained. Isaac was like a little gift that she had been given by fate itself, and she didn't want to lose that gift.

Verosika relaxed, the succubus knew that sooner rather than later, she was going to have to reveal it to him, and she had already planned to reveal it to him today, because dragging it out more than necessary could only bring more problems in the long run. She already had everything prepared for her and Tex to reveal their true form to Isaac, to what she was going to say to how to reveal his form.

But even so, Verosika couldn't avoid that overwhelming fear that Isaac would react extremely badly, even with everything planned this was still a risky bet where the numbers were not very in her favor. The biggest problem wasn’t that the boy rejected her, that was something extremely horrible, but for Verosika the worst thing was that revealing this truth to Isaac could cause him terrible damage to his already battered psyche.

That was what she feared the most, the poor boy had already been hurt enough, and Verosika would be the one to make him suffer the most. His savior was a demon. That was going to be a very harrowing experience for him, and he would have no idea what her true intentions are. Would he think she just saved him so she could do something terrible to him later? Oh, she prayed that wasn't the case...

She let out a soft sigh and leaned her elbows against the bed with a smile. "You're such a good little artist..." She murmured softly.

Isaac beamed at the praise, and he set to drawing another picture.

Verosika watched him patiently as he worked.

He held up another photo featuring the two of them. This time around, it was a photo of the two of them holding hands in a big heart shape. Verosika idly noted that it was the kind of drawing a child would make of themself and their parents. It was really cute. She totally didn't tear up a bit. Nobody ever could accuse her of that shit.

Verosika averted her gaze to see the other drawings the boy had made, and only that, not to hide and dry a tear she didn't have.

Despite being a little boy, Isaac was already organized. He divided his drawings into three categories, something like that, they really were in 3 piles, and she was the one who organized it but he was still a little boy, so Verosika wouldn't ask much of him.

The ones in the first category were the varied drawings, from drawings of the room, hospital staff, the sky, cars, and people that he saw through the window, they were varied and without any particular theme.

The other category of drawings was more special, and it brought a smile to the face of the disguised succubus. Mainly her and the "red angel", both interacting with Isaac, either saving him or protecting him from monsters, in the case of the Red Angel, or Verosika taking care of him, comforting him or singing to him.

But it wasn’t the only thing, there were also drawings of Tex, who came to visit the boy from time to time as well as the hospital staff with whom Isaac was less afraid of. Also of two cats and two dogs. Verosika still wasn't entirely sure, but if she had to bet, she guessed they were the boy's pets. What happened to them was still a mystery, but if the succubus had to theorize, she assumed that they did not have a good ending. At least Isaac remembered them fondly, and kept them alive in his memory, no doubt they must have been very important to the boy if that were the case.

Then there were drawings of different creatures of very varied colors and of different appearance. Some vaguely resemble babies, others like flies, others like worms among many more. Verosika really wasn't sure what they meant at all, even though they were drawn in a friendly way, it was rare for a child to draw things like that.

And finally, the... basement category.

Both categories, this one and the previous one, were based on the same place: The Basement, but while the previous one was about the good though weird things found there; this one was the exact opposite; a collection of drawings where Isaac embodied all kinds of horrors and nightmares.

Deformed monsters, murderous Fetuses, dismembered human, and animal bodies, which confirmed to Verosika what happened to Isaac's pets, sometimes they were just one or two pieces, or an unholy mix of everything at once. That and much more, but of course his mother, represented in several forms, all of them disgusting, horrible and uglier.

‘Very appropriate for a human like her.’ was Verosika's thought, but undoubtedly the worst of all, the one that terrified Verosika the most, were the drawings where Isaac faced Satan, where either he wins or is killed by the devil. 'Like I'd ever let that happen to Isaac.' she said in her mind.

'We'll see.' Her mind responded with another intrusive thought.

Those drawings were the ones that terrified Verosika the most, regarding how he would react to her when he saw her true form.

It was terrifying, and mortifying, and Verosika, for a child to be so mentally damaged, to create what she could only call a complete personal hell, so detailed, was proof of Isaac's vivid and marred imagination.

He didn’t find it so strange that he wakes up screaming, or that he has panic attacks. In fact, that he hasn't completely broken, and has the ability to smile and be happy is the real surprise, Verosika is glad to have arrived in Isaac's life on time.

Interestingly, in addition to Satan, there were representations of other demons and similar entities, a demon named Azazel, Lilith (or at least a really bizarre version of her) and demon babies. The funny thing is that these were in the "Good Basement” category.

Isaac's representations of angels, although these were faceless humanoids, the implications of demons and nightmares had a detailed face, but angels don't, it's just another thing to check on a long list of signs of severe childish trauma.

Of course, for Verosika the angels and everything that had to do with heaven, were always something bad. Beginning with the annual exterminations, and because according to third parties who met them in person, they were all arrogant with their heads so stuck in the ass, so they were in a negative light, or non-existent in a certain way, was something that makes the succubus happy.

But that a human child does not draw the angels with a face? Verosika should think of that as a minor detail, but considering the whole context, that just worried her.

She sat and smiled as he happily showed off his drawings, making her best guess as to what each one was and making the effort to guess why he put them in each pile. Isaac would beam when she got it right, while shaking his head and miming a correction when she was wrong. Soon enough, she had seen all his drawings, and he sat and smiled up at her warmly.

Verosika smiled back, then let out a soft sigh and leaned forward on the bed, hands resting on her chin as her elbows propped themselves up on the bed. "Those are really nice drawings sweetie, you're a great little artist." She cooed. Isaac beamed at the praise. She let out a sigh. "Isaac... I've been wondering... Are you... You're scared... aren't you? After all you've been through... You're happy and smiling, but... aren't you suffering from it...?"

Isaac's smile faded and he looked down at the bed, clutching at his bedsheet.

Verosika winced. "Hey... Hey, I'm sorry, you don't have to-" Isaac shook his head, grabbed another piece of paper, and began to draw. What was he drawing? His nightmares.

Verosika, while regretting a little to ask that, saw what Isaac drew quickly. First on both sides, by the time he finished another one quickly, and when he finished correcting them, then he showed them to Verosika.

The first was a drawing of him, in fetal position, surrounded by various deformed and terrifying creatures, Verosika managed to recognize several of them, and remember the name of some of them.

Show, Gemini, Mulligan, among others, were those that the disguised demon could recognize, because she saw them recurrently in Isaac's drawings.

And of course, rising above all of them, like a huge mountain of deformed meat, she was in one of her many ways: Isaac's mother. The drawing had written at the top the phrase "they will always come for me."

Verosika signed a mixture of huge anger and sadness, because while still dead, the dog did not leave Isaac alone.

On the other hand, this was expected, his traumas were not going to disappear only in the course of two weeks, but still those sights were something that Verosika could not avoid.

She looked at the other drawing and this was very different. It was Isaac, only in this case, instead of being surrounded by horrors, it was surrounded by a ray of light, looking up, or more specifically to someone who floated above him, with a smile.

An angel, and not the faceless angels, but to Verosika (in their human form), which was surrounded by musical notes, with serrated eyes and a peaceful smile and extended arms, presumably by descending to hug Isaac.

At the feet of Isaac, the phrase was written: "You always see for me, and sometimes save me."

Verosika's eyes widened at that, and smiled softly, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "Oh, you are just TOO SWEET!" She cooed, pulling the boy into a tight embrace and gently rubbing the back of the little boy's head.

Isaac leaned into the embrace and closed his eyes with a content sigh, resting his tiny head against Verosika's chest. The succubus giggled softly and leaned down to press a kiss against the top of the little boy's head. He squeaked softly in happiness.

After several minutes, she pulled away. "I promise you, Isaac... I'll do my best to live up to the vision of me you have in your head... I'm not perfect, but I do know one thing, and it's that I will be as close to it as I possibly can just for you." She booped his nose.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of a ringing cell phone; it was Verosika’s, who quickly silenced the phone, and was about to ignore the message, when she saw that the sender was Vortex, indicating that he was already reaching her position.

Seeing this, Verosika sighed, the time to tell Isaac the truth, at least the part of showing Him's as the real form of her was doing.

She could feel the pressure of fear in her chest, so she hugs Isaac closer, something that the boy loved. It was something scary, even more after seeing the drawings, and as he saw her.

But Verosika also knew that she could not continue with him, without telling him the truth, and this was something that had to be done sooner rather than later. She knew she couldn’t hide the truth, and the lie would explode in his face.

She sighed, hoping she wasn't making a big mistake, and awaited the arrival of Vortex who would also show Isaac his true form.

“Soooo... Isaac... Hypothetically... What would your reaction be if you found out that the red angel was actually a succubus from the...the bad place, would that make you like her any less?"

Isaac took a piece of paper and wrote

"Hippopotamus, where is a hippopotamus?"

Verosika blinked, and she would have laughed out loud, if it wasn't for the serious matter she was in, that didn't stop the succubus from letting out a light, soft laugh.

"he he, no honey, it doesn't have to do with hippos, it's HYPOTHETICALLY, and it's a word used to describe a situation that isn't necessarily real." Verosika explained, and Isaac seemed to get the message as he gave her a thumbs up as a sign.

Isaac blinked and tilted his head to the side. He gave it some thought. So... He’s been TOLD that all the stuff from hell was bad, but... if the red angel WAS from hell, she definitely wasn't bad, because she saved him and made sure he ended up with Miss Verosika. So she had to be good, right?

Maybe heaven got some stuff wrong and put the wrong people in the wrong places? Well, this WAS a hypothetical scenario after all, but he thought he had his answer. He grabbed some paper and wrote something down before showing it to her.

It said 'i dont kar, shi savd me shes nise i luv her evin if she is frum heck’ He censored the word hell because he was worried he'd get in trouble. Isaac was always taught that hell and everything in it was a place of horrible things, where the wicked would suffer forever.

Where the prostitutes, gluttons, wrathful, envious, greedy, liars and others who have abandoned or have been abandoned by God; also, the home of demons. So, it would seem obvious that if the Red Angel were a demon, Isaac would have to hate her.

But Isaac had faced the horrors of the basement for years, having for his only company and support his Familiars, who supported and comforted him, and many of his family and friends were demons. So, in the hypothetical case that the red angel turned out to be a demon, Isaac would not have many reasons to hate her; much less when he himself was a demon. He was the devil, and that is why his parents fought and separated.

That is why he was condemned to hell, for having caused his parents so much suffering and for having destroyed his family.

Or that's what his mother told him.

But he didn't want to be evil, he didn't want to hurt anyone, and according to his logic, if even condemned to hell, he doesn't want to do evil, that means that maybe there are others like him there.

Verosika asked the boy, with remarkable concern and fear.
Isaac did not understand what he meant with that, but he worried him, partly for what could happen to him, and partly so he could happen to the kind and beautiful woman who was cared for.

Even so, he nodded with his head, whatever she wanted to tell him, was sure that while she was there, he was not going to be hurt.

This relieves notably to Verosika, not quite and that even could see him, but at least now it seemed that whatever she wanted to tell her, it would be less difficult to speak it.

And that's how a few minutes passed until someone knocked on the door. After Verosika told him he could come in, Tex entered the room. And when she saw her bodyguard ... Verosika was horrified.

"What happened to you!?" She exclaimed upon seeing Vortex, and inadvertently startled Isaac by the sudden outburst.

Tex had a few bandages and gauze in his arms, legs, and some in the torso and face.

"I had some problems with a gang before leaving the he... I mean, leaving my girlfriend at her place, and I went through a bad neighborhood. They wanted to rob me and they caught me distracted, but I managed to fix it easily. Although they did manage to land a few hits on me, nothing serious, so use the first aid kit before you come." Vortex explained, managing to change his words, remembering that the little fella was listening to him too.

"But why didn't you tell me? I would have canceled everything, at least until tomorrow." Verosika asked him with concern, seeing him beaten like this.

"You told me that this was very important, that I couldn't expect one more day, and that no matter what, I had to come." Vortex reminded Verosika of her words, the succubus felt embarrassed for a moment, because she knew how diligent Tex was with work and with Isaac's affairs, and she realized that she should have told him that he could make an exception in cases like that

"You still had to tell me that that happened to you, but I admit it was also my fault. Tell me how bad you are?" asked Verosika.

"Eh, nothing serious, just some bruises, and cuts." The Hellhound responded, remaining neutral.
"And what happened to them, the ones that attacked you I mean, did you run away from them?" Verosika asked, wanting to know how Tex managed to get rid of his attackers.

"No, I faced them, and I beat them." the hellhound replied proudly.

"And how many were there?"

"There were like 14 armed guys."

"What!? 14!? And you beat them by yourself?! That's impossible" said Verosika, not believing what she was hearing.

"But it's true, I managed to beat all of them, just with my hands."

"Tex, I know you're strong, but you can't tell me you faced 14 armed guys by yourself, and beat them all, you'd have to be at least half as strong as an overlord, or be very lucky."

"But it's true, and now that you mentioned it, if I was lucky, some of them had firearms, but the majority either missed or couldn't fire because their weapons jammed." Vortex said surprised and relieved at the same time.

"Were you really that lucky?" Verosika asked, surprised by that.

"Yes, from there they went to hitting with anything they could grab, but I managed to fight them, leaving everyone unconscious with one punch each."

"Is that true? With just one punch?" the succubus asked, astonished, divided, on the one hand what Tex was saying sounded too fantastic, but on the other hand the Hellhound really was one of the few honest people she had met.

"Yeah, they just bruised me a bit in the end. Hey, I've been having some luck lately."

While Verosika was torn between being disgusted with herself and Tex for this, and being happy and touched by what the hellhound did, Isaac was clearer on his feelings: pure horror, sadness...and rage.

He was concentrating on drawing, when suddenly Verosika screamed and scared him, and she saw what happened.

Tex was the nicest kindest person he knew, after Verosika, and even though he didn't fully understand, knowing that he was hurt by bad people, and left in that state. He could feel how the anger towards those who hurt the pleasant giant filled him for brief moments, and without anyone noticing, the glass of water on Isaac's table began to heat up to the point that it began to boil, as well as some things began to shake a bit.

But everything stopped when the boy heard Vortex say that he won, so that only sadness, horror, and happiness remained, because although he was victorious, and defeated the bad guys, as if he were a hero that he used to see, in the end he ended up hurt.

Isaac really wanted to find a way to ease Tex's pain, but the only solution that came to mind was that when he was in pain, and Verosika kissed him when he was hurt, or the people at the hospital had to do something to him that to cure him, like when they removed all the tubes and wires, or pricked him with needles to vaccinate him. That hurt, but the beautiful lady made him feel better humming that favorite song, or giving him a kiss. Sometimes on the forehead, or sometimes in the area where he feels pain.

Isaac wished he could do that himself, give Vortex healing kisses to make him feel better.

That’s it!

Verosika and Vortex were talking, when suddenly they heard two particular sounds. The first was a familiar "poof" and the second sound was the strangest.

"Prrrruurreeeee!"

It was like a mix of a toy squeal, a pigeon cooing, and a cat purring; all fused into one strange, but pleasant sound.

They turned to see Isaac and saw what was floating in front of him. He was a very small creature, the size of a newborn, in fact he vaguely resembled a baby, a toy baby, or rather, the caricature of a toy baby, but less disturbing. With its ruby red skin with a texture similar to rubber, but more alive, without legs, it only had a stump, it was what was from the waist down, black eyes, and tiny arms and hands, and completely black eyes, and a smile. It was the strangest thing the succubus and the hellhound had ever seen... but also VERY adorable.

"Isaac... what... who is that?" Verosika asked.

Isaac searched the piles of drawings that he had, from what both disguised demons saw, they were the Items, and after searching, he took out a sheet. They both saw it, it was a drawing of the same creature, which was written on it.

"Little C.H.A.D."

and between parentheses under the name could be read.

(Give Kisses)

Vortex blinked. "Wait, what?"

Before he could react, the creature suddenly pounced and pressed his lips to his cheek for several seconds, giving him a kiss that he detected had the smell of candy, before pulling away. The Hellhound blinked owlishly at the unexpected action, then looked up at the creature.

"Uh... thanks...?" he said awkwardly. Suddenly, he was surrounded by a red glow, which only lasted for a second.

"Uh...Vortex...do you...feel different there?" Verosika asked.

"Huh? I feel...just...fine...?" he looked at the bandages surrounding him and let out a gasp before ripping them off to reveal all of his wounds were nowhere to be found. "Wow! Unbelievable! Man, what can't the little guy do?! He's really amazing!"

Isaac smiled at the compliment and clapped his hands, happy to see that it had worked.

Verosika laughed and gently rubbed his head. "Good job, honey. You're full of surprises, aren't you? Now, let's remember to thank Little Chad, too." She gave the little creature a pat on the head.

"Prrriiieee!" Little Chad let out a high-pitched squealing noise, enjoying the show of affection, then went into Isaac's arms.

Vortex checked his entire body, everything seemed to be going well, until he moved his left shoulder. "Ouch!" Vortex exclaimed when he felt that he was still hurt.

"Is Tex alright?" Verosika asked a little worried at hearing the hellhound, a concern shared by Isaac.

"It's just my shoulder, it still hurts"

Although the little red thing did an incredible job almost entirely, it seemed that a single kiss was not enough to reverse all the damage. Both Isaac and Little Chad realized this, and with just one look from the former, the red creature knew what to do.

"* muack *" He put both hands on his mouth, to give an air kiss, and to the surprise of the succubus and the hellhound in front of the creature a heart quickly materialized, but not a real one. The materialized object was a red heart, whose main characteristic was that it beat like a heart, while it lit up with a red light to the rhythm of the beats.

Isaac looked at the item with a smile, before picking it up to offer it to Vortex.

The disguised Hellhound took the object with curiosity and amazement, it was the strangest thing anyone had ever given him, and then he remembered what happened to his eye, and he waited for it to disappear as it did with the eye. For a brief moment, he was afraid, since even though his new eye was incredible, having his heart replaced by this object was scary, but after a while the object was still in his hand.

The disguised hellhound looked confused at Isaac, who in turn also looked at him confused, until he realized it and pointed to his own mouth so that he could eat it.

Vortex hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he decided to do it. He held the object despite throbbing, having a texture like marshmallow and jelly bean, and smelled like berries. When he put it in his mouth and chewed it, he found that it tasted sweet and similar to red berries, as well as a smooth texture, and when he swallowed it, he felt the effect instantly. All the minor ailments that remained were completely gone, now he felt even better than before facing those criminals.

The hellhound grinned. "Well, how do ya like that! You're a real miracle worker, aren't cha, kid?" Then he blinked. "Huh. Come to think of it though... Can't you have that little guy heal you too, so you don't have to hang around the hospital anymore?"

Isaac winced and wrote down on a piece of paper. Verosika looked at it and winced sadly. There, on the paper, was his explanation...

1. dont disirv it

2. dont wana leev bcuz mis vroska wil be gawn to

"Oh, Isaac... I'm not going to stop seeing you just because you get discharged from the hospital... And you not deserving to be healed? Well, that's just plain wrong... You do deserve it; you don't need to keep punishing yourself like this..." Verosika hugs Isaac immediately with force, although ensuring not enough to hurt him, totally saddened by the situation, and with some tears peeling through the corners of his eyes.

She already knew that Isaac was not very mentally, but that being so young he despises himself in such a way, that she is denied to heal even having the cure literally in her hands, not only because it is a matter that she abandons it, but that he thinks he does not deserve it, it was something that breaks his heart to the succubus.

The sadness, and also the rage and the pain were what filled the broken heart of Verosika, the succubus never in her life believed that she would hate someone more than she hated Blitzo, the one who had the ability to ruin everything he got involved in, but here and now, Verosika was completely sure that Isaac's former mother had succeeded in spades.

And Vortex did not stay behind either, he shared both the sadness and anger, he remembers what it was to be in the hell's reception system, although seeing other hellhounds who are was not impossible, that some of them were as mentally damaged, as to believe that he did not deserve to be helped, it was something that rarely looked.

In general, these hellhounds that were "trained" (read it: tortured until they break), to be obedient and loyal to the extreme, to the point that failing their "masters' ' was an atrocious act. These Hellhounds were rarely returned to the reception system, but usually because their master died or fell from them, but even the cruelest were pragmatic and would not waste a good labor. And it was a situation that no one knew how to deal with, or that few cared to deal with, not even his own girlfriend could completely fix that.

Remembering that situation filled Vortex with disgust and anger, and seeing that a mother did that to her own son, that she broke him both physically and mentally, until the poor boy ended up like that, was a frightful and abominable vision, as well as heartbreaking.

He would say this is worse, since Isaac had the cure in his own hands, for that great pain, but he refused to use it because he did not believe he deserved to be healthy and happy, but the fear of abandonment

Both Verosika and Vortex wanted to find Isaac's mother, to get answers and to put her through immeasurable pain. But unfortunately, they have not been able to carry that still, between serving Isaac and their respective work, as well as the preparation of the arrival of Isaac, both Verosika and Vortex have been busy.

Not to mention the whole issue that the circle of envy disappeared.

'Not that that's needed anymore.' was the thought that suddenly came to her mind, but she once again dismissed it. Verosika squeezed him a little tighter. "Now listen to me, little mister..." She said, trying not to sound angry or upset. "I want you to tell Little Chad to heal you, I want him to get rid of as many of those injuries as possible... Can you do that for me?"

Isaac tilted his head. He had to obey now. He couldn't say no to the woman that had taken such good care of him. He turned to look at Little Chad, who tilted his head and let out a hopeful series of chirps. Isaac nodded his head, and Little Chad gleefully did a series of flips in the air.

Verosika smiled at the adorable sight, and then Little Chad flew past her and began to smother Isaac in kisses, getting a soft squeaky giggle from the boy. It was a cute sound. She smiled and put her hands on her hips as she waited for the familiar to finish his work.

Soon enough, Little Chad pulled away.

Verosika patted his head. "Good job. Thank you." Little Chad beamed at the praise. "Do you feel better now, Isaac?"

Seeing Little Chad, Verosika made a mental note to see in detail the drawings of the boy, more than anything the category of the items, later, something of the utmost importance that she could not forget, since from what she had seen so far, it seemed that this pile was a list of powers and abilities. of Isaac, but before that, there were 2 more urgent matters to deal with.

"Now Isaac, I have to tell you two very important things, and I want you to hear them clearly" Verosika said to the boy to get her attention, which he did.

Once having Isaac's full attention, she began to speak.

"First and most important: you matter, I know we've only known each other for 3 weeks, but only a couple of days has been enough for me to know that, despite what you went through, you're still a sweet, imaginative, very cute child, and that you deserve all the love and affection in the world, no matter what that monster that tortured you said, you deserve to be healthy, and you deserve to be happy, do you understand?" she said firmly, but at the same time soft and with her voice, as well as her words, loaded with all the determination, security and affection that could be, while she looked at Isaac with a look full of maternal warmth, and determination that was not the discussion that took place.

"She tells the truth kiddo, anyone can see that after all the sh- I mean, after all the storm you went through for no reason, you deserve that and more." Vortex contributed his part, he wasn't sure if he should intervene or not, but he'll be damned if he just remains silent, and doesn't contribute anything to help who returned his eye, and healed him without asking for anything in return.

Isaac looked at her, his face filled with doubt, clearly confused by the paradigm shift he was facing, and that he didn't even know how to deal with. On the one hand, he wasn't sure if it was true, if he truly deserves forgiveness and happiness, after what he did to his family, but on the other, he did not want to contradict the woman who had only shown love and affection, especially because part of him also wanted it. So, still uncertain, he nodded affirmatively.

Verosika smiled at this, she still saw that the boy had doubts, so she would make sure to shower him with as much love and affection as possible, enough for him not to doubt again. She knew that this was not over, and that the path to heal Isaac's mind was still long, but she would gladly walk that path, and she was already advancing.

"Okay, with that out, at least for now, let's move on to the next thing, so Vortex, make sure the door is locked, and get ready since it's... The Moment of Truth." Verosika said to her bodyguard, who I get what she meant, so he made sure to close the door, and got ready.

Once that was done, he raised his thumb to her, to indicate that everything was ready.

"Very well Isaac, the second thing I want to tell you, is what we discussed a while ago, it is the secret that I have been keeping from you, and it is time that you know everything about it, remember what I told you, whatever happens, you have to know that there is no bad intention on my part towards you" she said as she got ready, and Isaac stared at her expectantly of what would happen.

Vortex also prepared himself mentally and physically for what was to come. He really hoped the boy wouldn't despise him, not just because he was a demon from hell, although that last part would be omitted, but because he was a hellhound, the lowest of the low in the hierarchy, just above him. the imps, and that only sometimes.

The succubus took a deep breath, then turned to the hellhound and nodded. Vortex nodded back, and then the two of them focused for a brief moment, before, in their place, stood two figures: A large bulky dog, and... The... The... The...

Isaac's eyes widened at the familiar figure before him.

‘It was her...!’

‘ was the red angel...!’

‘Miss Verosika was the red angel all the time!’

‘But... No... She wasn't quite an angel... She had bat wings, and her tail was all pointy, and she had horns…’

‘So... The red angel was actually a demon all along? Isaac was surprised, but not upset. He himself was destined to go to hell, after all, so there was no problem with befriending some demons!’
Verosika and Vortex were a bit surprised by Isaac's behavior, they expected screaming, crying, or maybe something scary.

but the boy, although he seemed surprised, and also somewhat discouraged, took the news quite calmly and positively.

maybe much more than he should.

"Isaac...is everything alright? aren't you scared?" Verosika asked a bit worried, although she was glad that Isaac didn't have a mental breakdown right now, or that he disowned her, that he took the news so

the boy simply shook his head, with a rather jarring serenity, and a palpable sadness.

"Okay, this wasn't what he expected, and it's not that I'm complaining. But why aren't you scared or even angry."

Before this, Isaac took a piece of paper, and began to write, and he still hadn't finished writing, when Verosika was alarmed, when tears began to come out of Isaac's eyes.

He took several minutes to write, stopping from time to time to wipe his eyes, he finished writing, and handed the paper to the succubus to read.

...and when she did, Verosika's heart broke.

"Because I deserve to be in hell, I'm the devil, I hurt my family, my parents, I made them separate, they hated each other, it's all my fault, and you come to take me for that, because I'm a monster, may eternal punishment pray to me."

That was what was written, with the typical spelling and handwriting of a child his age, but still legible.
She had no idea what to say to that. All she could do was kneel down and pull him into a hug. She was beginning to tear up... And that meant Vortex had to step up. He let out a sigh. "Kid. Don't you think that kinda stuff about yourself."

Isaac and Verosika looked at him.

"If a family splits up, then it's NEVER the kid's fault. EVER. Family splits up? It's always because the parents are having problems. Maybe one of them's no good. Maybe they just fall out of love. But you can't let yourself think that just because you were born, they split up."

Verosika smiled at him. He continued.

"I was adopted at a young age, and my folks split up too. And I used to think the same kinda thing you are right now. Thought it was all because of me. But y'know something? My mom sat me down, and she told me that there were problems long before I was taken in. Sometimes they'll tell you it's your fault, but they're only saying that because they don't wanna take responsibility for their own issues."
Isaac was surprised by the big dog's words, and although they didn't completely convince him, they did cause conflict in the boy.

Verosika stopped hugging Isaac, then stared at him, tears still in her eyes, and she spoke to him seriously. "Isaac, I'm not here for your soul, I'm not here to punish you, or drag you to hell, for what you deserve, what that woman told you, whatever she told you was a lie, I've known it. Several people in my life, even Lucifer himself once, and listen to this: you don't deserve hell, nor all the pain that monster caused you."

Isaac was stunned, and even more in a mental conflict, everything he believed until now, as something 100% sure now no longer seemed to be, before she could express anything, Verosika continued.

"I didn't save you because I came for your soul, or as part of some diabolical punishment or plague, no, I did it because you were a child suffering such excruciating and undeserved torment, and I have stayed by your side because you are someone who deserves to be loved, protected and cared for, a little star and a wonderful child, who did not deserve anything that happened, and the time I have spent with you has shown it.

At this moment the young Isaac couldn't take it anymore and began to cry, totally confused, scared and not knowing what to believe now.

Verosika didn't say anything, she just kept hugging him, trying to give him all the love she could. She saw that Little Chad hugged the boy as well, letting out a soft little "prrrri", trying to comfort Isaac.

Vortex reached over as well and rested his paw on the boy's head, rubbing it gently to add his own form of condolences. Isaac sobbed into Verosika's chest as she gently rubbed her small, fragile back. The succubus smiled gratefully at the hellhound, who shrugged with a small smile.

This went on for several minutes before Isaac finally calmed down. Verosika gently pulled his head away from her body to find that he was fast asleep. She laughed softly and placed a kiss on his forehead, leaving a black mark on the spot.

She carefully took him into his arms and cradled him like a baby, gently rocking him back and forth to keep him as calm and peaceful as possible. Isaac turned in her embrace and nuzzled her tiny face into her dress before innocently sucking his thumb as she clutched Little Chad like a Teddy Bear.

Touched by the sight of Isaac and his little friend, Verosika smiled, seeing the sleeping boy, before placing him on the bed. She frowned as she looked around her, saw The Basement Pile and remembered what he had written on her drawing.

"they always come for me"

She frowned, he needed to rest, and Verosika hoped that this time she wouldn't have to face any of her nightmares, and if that happened, she hoped that she would be able to reach his dreams quickly, just as he showed her in the other drawing.

Although she hoped that now that she had told him the truth, and her reaction to that information, Verosika doubted if Isaac would continue to see her in the same way.

They put on their disguises and went out to discuss what had happened and how they would proceed.

"Fuck... I can't believe it" she said with a thousand meter gaze, remembering the whole situation.

"Me neither, this is worse than we thought." Vortex responded.

"I knew I wasn't well, I knew I had terrible mental injuries, but… at THIS level?" Verosika said as she plopped down on one of the aisle seats.

"We knew he was broken, but enough to believe that he deserves to be in hell? And for him to accept it so well? It's…I can't describe it." Vortex said as he sat next to her, also affected by the whole situation.

Verosika went from having a look of surprise and sadness, to a look of pure unadulterated rage as she clenched her fists tightly, while clenching her teeth just as hard, while angry and sad tears ran down her cheeks ruining even more. her makeup.

"I'm going to find that bitch, and I'm going to make her suffer a billion times for everything she did to him!" she nearly screamed in fury, holding herself back only because Isaac was on the other side of the door, and he needed to rest.

When she did this, an aura that looked like blood-red fire covered her, as her appearance wavered between her human disguise and her real form, the lights flickered and the area around them shook.

Vortex looked at her, with some fear and surprise, but also sharing the same anger and at the same time her sadness.

Verosika looked at her hands and saw how she blinked a little confused by what was happening, so she forced herself to calm down, and when her disguise stopped blinking, she looked around her. Luckily no one was there near them. She breathed out and inhaled a few more times to completely calm down, and once the anger passed, only sadness remained.

She began to sob again in a low voice because of the situation, or more specifically because of Isaac. She didn't know how it was possible that something so horrible could happen to him and leave him in that state. She knew she wouldn't react all that well to the revelation, but of all the bad reactions she expected, she didn't anticipate this reaction from Isaac, nor did she discover that her mind was even more damaged than she knew. She believed that in these weeks she had already seen all the damage caused by that monster to the little boy's mind, but it seems that those wounds were deeper and more terrible than what was seen with the naked eye.

Vortex was in a similar situation, but to a lesser degree. Although he wasn't crying like Verosika, he was certainly on the verge as well, the tears falling from his eyes giving it away.

After a while, they both managed to assimilate the situation, the sadness did not disappear, but if it was reduced enough for both of them to be able to analyze what they had learned, maybe they could help the poor boy.

At the moment, what they knew was that Isaac had a family, and whatever happened to them, it was something very bad, and apparently only he and his mother were left, who was a crazy religious woman who tortured and killed him, blamed for everything

Both Vortex and Verosika felt a terrible disgust, as well as anger towards that woman, who with what they have seen, could dilute that she was like that before, a mother who when she could not blame and abuse her spouse, blamed and abused her son of hers, unable to recognize her own faults. The hatred they felt from before was strengthened by the feeling of familiarity, that was something typical of seeing in hell. And thanks to that, now Isaac also blamed himself, to the point that he believed that he himself was the devil and deserved not only death, but hell.

"So... what's the plan, boss? What are we going to do with Isaac?" Vortex asked, wanting to hear a plan, anything, to know how to help the boy.

Verosika thought about it for a moment. "Well, for now all I can think of is giving him as much love and care as possible, after that? I'm not so sure, I don't know what to do." Verosika admitted she had no idea how to deal with this situation. "I didn't expect him to be so bad... I don't know what to do to help him." Verosika said desperately.

"You don't need much, all you need is common sense, and giving him love, compassion, and care...and therapy." Vortex told her.

"Yeah, I guess that could work, how do you know so much about it?" Verosika asked, surprised that Vortex, despite not having a son, knew so much.

"I’m not an expert, but I know what not to do, and my plan is not ideal. In fact it’s pretty generic, but at least you’ll give him what he was denied for so long, and what he so badly needs."

"Well, that helps a lot, thanks."

"Ummm, tomorrow you’ll be discharged, right?" Vortex asked, to which Verosika nodded.

"According to the doctor, yes, tomorrow he can leave the hospital, why?"

"Well, how about you take him out to do something simple tomorrow, maybe eat ice cream? I doubt he even knows what that is."

"That sounds excellent!" She clapped her hands together with a beaming smile. "Just the two of us spending a day together! You're a genius, Vortex, c'mere, gimme a hug!" She pulled the hellhound into an embrace, and he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, you're not usually this affectionate, boss." He chuckled. "Thought you wanted to keep it strictly business."

"Meh. You've earned the right to be called a friend at this point. You've helped Isaac a lot." Verosika replied, breaking the hug.

"Aw, ya think so? Heh... Yeah, me and my girlfriend were actually talking about having pups in the future. Kinda got that dad instinct goin' in me, y'know?"

"Oh, right, your girlfriend. Huh. We'll have to introduce her to Isaac too..."

Vortex was surprised at that. "Really, boss? You're comfortable with me bringing my girl to meet him?"

Verosika considered the hellhound's words for a moment, and then answered. "Actually, I plan to meet her first, both for me to be sure, and to let her know about the situation with Isaac, but considering who you are, I can trust that you're a good judge of character, and that she's as decent as you are. "

Vortex's tail would have wagged if he had been in his hellhound form at the time.

"Oh you bet she is, she's the best girl you'll ever meet in your life! Seriously hard to find decent folks down where we come from... Seems like everywhere you go there's some druggie or some mafia punk or some crazy guy waiting to gut ya..."

Verosika scowled. "Ugh... Don't remind me..." She had more or less sworn off romance altogether at this point after all of her partners had done nothing but disappoint her, from Blitzo to that stupid fish Chaz right down to that bitchy news reporter she had a one-night stand with. It seemed she was only ever going to attract assholes, so why bother? "You're one lucky hound, Tex. You managed to catch a real winner of a girl."

Vortex smiled at the compliment. "Thank you boss, I hope you can fine someone the same or better at some point."

"I doubt it, but thank you, it means a lot." Verosika said, touched by that, but in reality, she saw everything as too difficult, bordering on the impossible. She would not only have to find a person who was decent, but one who wanted to have a child, and not just any child, but one that required as much care and love as Isaac did. The odds of finding someone like that in hell are so high, it's easier to beat Lucifer in a game of chance, or defeat Asmodeus in bed.

Verosika looked at Vortex for a moment, he was the closest person she knew, who met all the characteristics. In another reality, in which he didn't have a girlfriend, and she wasn't so upset, maybe she would have made him her boyfriend, but Vortex already has a partner, and Verosika won't even bother to consider proposing a polyamory.

‘Well, I guess for now it's going to be Isaac and me, and that actually sounds pretty good.’ she thought to herself with a smile. She rather liked the idea of being a single mom. Just her and her little one spending time together and bonding with little to get in the way... And she even had her designated babysitter right there in the form of Vortex, though it was also possible that she could get some of her posse to look after him too.

Isaac's story had visibly touched the hearts of at least a couple of them, even if Josh was still being a giant sack of dicks about it. She would have to keep Isaac away from him as much as possible because it was clear as day, he wasn't going to like him.

She looked back at the room. "Well... He had Little Chad heal him up, so... we should probably check with the doctors to see if there's anything left over that we should worry about, right?"

"Sounds like a great idea, we can do that, and if there's nothing wrong, which I don't think thanks to Little Chad, we can take him away tomorrow."

"Well, let's let him rest for now, he needs it, I'm going to check again if everything is ready for Isaac's arrival at his new home" Verosika said as she took out the phone and sent some messages to her crew and the employees of her mansion.

"Actually, that was another thing I wanted to ask you, are you sure that taking it to hell is a correct idea? Is there no way to leave it in a safe place here on earth? Like your vacation home?" asked Vortex.

Verosika put the phone down for a moment and looked at it, before sighing in disappointment. "*sigh* The truth is that no, I've already thought about it, but I can't stay outside of hell for long, and even if I can leave him in that house, Isaac can't and doesn't want to be separated from me for long. My job is very demanding, and there will be days when I won't be able to see him. If I leave him on earth those days will turn into months, and we both know how bad that would be for him."

"Yeah, sounds logical," Vortex nodded.

"It's not that I want to take it, if I had a chance to stay on earth as long as I want, I wouldn't take him with me to hell, but we have no other choice"

"I understand, but it's just that I don't find it entirely comfortable taking him to such a dangerous place," Vortex said, disgusted with the situation.

"I'm less than comfortable, believe me, but don't worry, I've prepared everything so that Isaac's stay is as safe as possible, at least inside my house." Verosika said.

"And out of your house?" Vortex asked, wanting to know an answer.

"That's what you’re for, the hellhound that is capable of defeating 14 armed men at the same time" she told him with a smile that was shared by Vortex.

"Hey, I guess so, that would work."

"Ok let's get going then."

And so, the next day came, and Isaac was clear to go. He looked up at Verosika as she entered the room, eyes sparkling brightly as he reached up for her with his tiny arms. The succubus giggled and reached down to scoop him up in her arms.

"Aww, you miss me?" She cooed. She hadn't been gone too terribly long, but she didn't blame him for being antsy... She held the boy close, and let out a soft 'Awww...' as he rested his tiny head against her shoulder. "You are SUCH a little cuddler..."

Isaac let out a squeak in response and nestled in even closer to his caretaker, who giggled and gently rubbed his head.

"So, are you ready to come and check out your new home?" She asked.

Isaac blinked, then pointed down at the ground before miming the actions of a man burning, eyes wide and flailing about in a rather adorably comedic manner.

Verosika giggled. “Yes, it is in hell, but it's not quite the kind of place you're probably expecting it to be." Suddenly, Verosika widened her eyes realizing what she just said. "W-Wait... how did you know where you and I are going?" Verosika was shocked that Isaac knew they were going to hell, and angry with herself for confirming it. She watched as Isaac took a piece of paper, and began to write the answer.

'Cuz u told me. Ur the red angel, said u were succabus, succabuses com frum hell, u gotta liv in hell.' Was the response he wrote.

Verosika sighed and laughed softly to herself. "I guess it was pretty obvious in hindsight, wasn't it?" She sighed.

Isaac nodded his head.

She smiled. "Well... I'm glad you're at peace with it... Come here..." She reached over and gently scooped him out of the bed, holding him up to her shoulder and gently patting his back in a soothing manner.

Without Verosika noticing, Isaac wasn't smiling, but rather he was frowning, he wasn't fully enjoying contact with her, but not because there was something wrong with her but with himself.

Unbeknownst to the succubus, Isaac was having a conflagration inside of her. He could hear those voices full of hate and despair, whispering to him.

"Everything is a lie... you have nothing left..."

"You don't deserve to be happy...your punishment will continue."

"She is lying to you...she will betray you...she will torture you."

"You know that's true... she's taking you to hell after all..."

Over and over again, he could hear them, sometimes a whisper, sometimes a thunderous scream. But those were not the only voices, others less aggressive, kinder but full of doubt, both his and others, filled his mind.

"That's not true... there is hope."

"Everything may be different...let's not give up."

"She's not evil...she's not like they told you."

"The devil may love... may be good."

Isaac suddenly felt Verosika tense in his embrace and shudder.

She closed her eyes and sighed softly, giving the boy a gentle squeeze. "Isaac... I know you can hear the kind voices in your head... Listen to them, and only them. They are the ones who are right. They're not as loud, but they are much stronger." She booped his nose. "I can manipulate minds to a certain extent... And I can peek inside people's heads to get a sense for what they're feeling... That's what I just did with you... Does that make you uncomfortable? Some people find it a bit intrusive..."

Isaac looked at her, and nodded fearfully.

Verosika then thought for a moment before replying kindly. "So next time I'll ask you, okay?" she asked, to which Isaac nodded with a tiny smile.

Little did the boy know that everything Verosika told him was a lie...half. As a Succubus, Verosika naturally had the ability to feel and manipulate emotions directly and indirectly, being those of love, happiness and above all lust with which she had the most affinity, in addition to also feeling intentions, but she definitely could NOT read thoughts, or hear what other people were thinking.

Emotions like sadness, anger etc, although Verosika could also feel them, it was more subdued and lighter, and only if she decided to focus on her. Except for exceptional cases where these emotions come from beings with power and magic, whose emotions are manifested in an almost physical way, and therefore more intense, and can be felt from a distance.

That's why Versosika shuddered and numbed, when she suddenly felt Isaac's emotions and thoughts. She was surprised, because she didn't expect to experience both impossible things at the same time when she hugged the boy. She had to use all of her willpower and clear her head in record time to keep from dropping the little boy to the ground, or crushing him in a powerful hug. She could then analyze in detail what she heard coming directly from Isaac's head, but for now she needed to comfort the boy and indicate what thoughts he should listen to.

"Great! Leaving that aside, I have to make something clear to you: I'm not taking you to hell with me because you deserve it, someone like you never deserves it, but I do it because I have no other alternative."

Isaac looked at her confused, and she didn't need to see her mind to know why, so she thought for a moment about how to explain the situation to the boy.

"See... I was born in hell... It's where I'm supposed to be... And because of that... I have to stay there most of the time, because if I don't, I could kinda...Make some really strong people really mad at me?" She tried awkwardly. Isaac tilted his head to the side. She sighed. "It's the law." She admitted. "I stay up here too long, I could... um... go to jail for the rest of my life." She chose not to mention the fact that they would probably just execute Isaac, but didn't say anything.

Instead he began to make a quick drawing, which despite being simple, but understandable, in which you could see Verosika stuck in a cage, frowning and a tear running down her cheek. He then pointed to the drawing, asking if this was what she meant, to which Verosika nodded.

"Yes, exactly that, you understand now" she confirmed, which made Isaac look at the drawing.

"And if that happens, I couldn't be with you anymore, that's why I'm taking you there, not because you deserve it, but because I really don't have any other alternative. If it were up to me, you would go to live in the best and most beautiful part of sky, because that is what a beautiful star like you deserves" she said while she kissed his head and hugged Isaac, who gasped and clapped his tiny hands over his mouth, tearing up when he heard those words. Verosika giggled softly and held him up against her shoulder so she could rest her cheek on the top of his tiny head and nuzzle it gently.

"Yep, that's right... You're a little star..." She murmured softly.

Isaac buried his face in the crook of her neck and began to quietly sob, the action only noticeable due to the way his shoulders rose and fell. Verosika had gotten very good at recognizing the child's body language.

"Awww, Isaac, it's okay..." She murmured softly. "Don't cry, this is a happy time..." She felt Isaac nodding against her neck and she immediately understood. "Aww, are you crying because you're so happy, sweetie?" Another nod was his answer. Verosika just smiled at this, to see how happy him is to receive such a compliment like that.

After a while, they prepared everything to leave, the first thing being Isaac's clothes. It was something simple but cute, brown pants, with red shoes and white socks, and a white shirt.

Isaac looked down at the outfit he was given and let out a squeak of delight. He was finally wearing clothes again! He no longer felt cold and exposed!

Verosika smiled sadly. It was nice to see the boy so happy, but... she hated that something as simple as clothing could make him this happy… She sighed and gently picked him up. She would have held his hand and led him along, but the sad thing was that he was so tiny he simply couldn't reach to grab her hand. It was so easy for one to mistake the boy for a newborn baby the way he looked.

She smiled and booped his nose lightly. "Wanna know what I'm looking forward to?" Isaac tilted his head. "Seeing you in those cute little pajama outfits I bought you and Little Chad~!" Verosika was excited to see him and the little red one, in one of the animal pajamas, she got several, being the cats and dogs the main ones, given the boy's taste for them, but she also got some themed ones. imps.

Isaac surprisingly seemed quite confused and picked up a piece of paper to write on.

"What is pajamas?"

Verosika read this and was about to tell him when she stopped to think about it. "You know what? Let it be a surprise for later, for now we just need Vortex to arrive, to leave." she told Isaac.

Suddenly she realized that Little Chad was missing.

"Isaac, where is Little Chad?"

Isaac looked at Verosika in confusion, before extending his small arm in front of hers.

*Poof* "priiiieeeeee!" And just like that, a small explosion of smoke, Little Chad with glee.

"Hello again little thing" Verosika greeted the little being stroking its head, to which the little red creature responded with her characteristic sound, liking the gesture. "Okay, Isaac and Little Chad I have something important so listen carefully" Verosika announced gaining their full attention, once she checked this she continued. "I want you to do something important, and that is to be together as long as possible" she told them.

Little Chad and Isaac looked at each other, and then at Verosika, who decided to explain why.

"The reason why I want you to do this is because you’re very young, and I can't always be by your side taking care of you, so I want you to be with him, with that ability that he has to heal, without a doubt it’s necessary to have him by your side." she said seriously but calmly.

Seeing that neither of them answered, they listened carefully.

"That's why, and the fact that the two of them look adorable together" she said, caressing both of their heads.

"he he he he" "prrriiiieee" Isaac and Little Chad laughed.

"So, can you guys do that for me?" she asked.

Isaac nodded.

"prrrriiieee!" exclaimed in an apparently affirmative way Little Chad.

"Very good, or and Isaac, how many of these 'friends' do you have?"

Isaac considered for a moment and then shrugged, not knowing the answer, so Verosika asked.

"Are there many, much more than 10? 20?" she asked.

Isaac thought for a moment how to respond, and then he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something, Verosika looked at him and saw that the boy had not written a number, but only 2 words that made her eyes widen.

"Wow... is this true?" Verosika asked, pointing to the paper, to which Isaac nodded. She asked all this to the boy, because she wanted them to be with Isaac at all times, when she was not with him, as well as Little Chad, but she needed to know that she could do each one and how many they were. But seeing what Isaac put on the paper, it seemed that the plan was unfeasible, at least the way the succubus thought.

"This is not possible... Perhaps it’s more than he can count, and that is why he wrote that" although she doubted that it was as large a number as the boy indicated directly, if they were more than the boy can count , then she would have to plan the situation better. "Ummm, well we'll deal with this topic later, for now you and Little Chad stay together, and then we'll see who your other friends are, what do you think?"

Isaac and Little Chad nodded.

"Okay, now let's finish fixing everything, and wait for Vortex to arrive."

While they waited, she made sure they didn't leave anything in the room, it was the only thing left for her to do since all the other procedures, like getting the go-ahead from the doctors had already been done and given, and in the end Isaac the only thing he had, apart from his new clothes, were his drawings and drawing material, so organizing everything was easy.

They heard the door of the room open, and recognized the bodyguard entering, Isaac greeted him with great joy, and stroked his head.

"Hello to you too, little man." he said affectionately, before turning his gaze to Verosika. "Well, is everything ready? Can we go now?" the Hellhound asked and Verosika nodded. "Okay, let's go," he said as he watched Verosika pick up Isaac.

They said goodbye to the medical staff, before leaving, and then got into the car. Vortex decided to just be the designated driver today, while Verosika sat with Isaac, holding Little Chad in her arms, in the back.

He knew that this was his day for both of them, and he didn't want to invade it. He also needed to concentrate since they weren't in the hospital anymore, so he couldn't be so relaxed, and he had to be more attentive to the dangers of the outside world. Only now, instead of it just being something he did for work, he now had a much more intense motivation. As he drove, he looked away when he could to see Isaac and Verosika.

The boy's face filled with genuine astonishment at the world outside the car window, with his little red friend letting out his trademark little squeals with everything he and the boy saw. It had been so long since he had seen the outside world…he had spent so many days locked in his room while he was chained to a wall, plus years of fighting nightmares and monsters in the basement. So much so that he had almost forgotten what the outside looked like... It was so... pretty...

The car stopped and Isaac got out of the car with Little Chad close to him. He could see that it was a pink and white store, with a sign made up of drawings of objects and letters, which the boy couldn't quite understand, but the mix of colors made it look very nice and striking. And it is that what he was seeing was an ice cream parlor.

"So, Isaac, do you know what flavor you're going to want?" Verosika asked with a smile as they got out of the car.

And in response Isaac just cocked his head in confusion.

Verosika, seeing this, decided to be more specific. "Ice cream honey, what flavor of ice cream would you like?" she asked softly, but that did nothing to allay Isaac's confusion, who took the sketchpad from her and began to write.

"Scream? Do your screams have different flavors?"

Verosika blinked like an owl at that, then bit back a laugh at the innocent incongruity. "Um...N-No, no, it's not a SCREAM, it's ICE CREAM. It's like...frozen milk, I guess, except it has a bunch of different flavors. Like um...vanilla...Chocolate. Strawberries... Pistachio, but uh... I don't recommend pistachio... or mint, for that matter, it tastes like medicine..."

"I like mint." Vortex spoke.

"Ew, really? Your taste buds are broken, I'll pay the surgery fee to fix them." Verosika said with a grimace.

"Oh, it's an acquired taste, and it tastes better than it looks, give a chance." Tex said as he looked inside the ice cream parlor, making sure there was no problem. Once this was done, he opened the door for Isaac and Versosika to enter.

The boy was quite amazed at how clean, bright and colorful everything was. It was so pretty, and made him smile.

Verosika smirked, happy to see the boy acting like... well... a boy. She knew that the ice cream parlor was a magical place for young children, but to see how captivated he was by the flavors on display was an extremely moving sight. She picked him up and hugged him, reading him the different flavors of ice cream to help him choose the flavor he wanted. A minute goes by, then two, then 3, then four.

"So, have you chosen which flavor you're going to want, Isaac?" Verosika asked, somewhat surprised by the boy's indecision.

But Isaac didn't seem to know which flavor to choose, he didn't even know how he should choose.

Seeing this, Verosika decides to choose for him this time, since she seems to have no idea what he does. When the revelation hit her.

'He doesn't even know what to do, because he has never eaten ice cream, nor does he know what it is, this will be the first time he has eaten one.'

Seeing this, Verosika chose Vanilla, an excellent flavor for how simple it was, for Isaac's first time eating ice cream. It was very much the gateway flavor. She pointed it out to him, and he nodded his head with a smile. She herself went with a strawberry frozen yogurt. She'd treat herself a bit, but she had to be conscious of her figure after all.

Soon enough, she and Isaac sat down at one of the tables, each holding their respective cones. Verosika repressed her base instinct to lick her ice cream in the most seductive manner she possibly could, wanting to set a good example for the child. She watched him take his first lick, and saw the way his eyes lit up.

Then Isaac gave Little Chad a taste, who after licking the ice cream, let out a "prie" full of excitement and joy, while waving his floating hands.

Verosika enjoyed the boy's face of emotion and happiness, seeing how he lit up for trying ice cream for the first time was wonderful.

...until she saw what Isaac going to do, and remembered something that alarmed her.

"Isaac wait!" By then it was too late. Isaac had taken a big bite of his ice cream and swallowed it quickly.

"Oooooouch!" Cue Isaac let out a groan of agony because he had his brain frozen.

Verosika winced, and then pulled him in close, sitting him on her lap and gently rubbing his temples with her fingers, while Little Chad looked at the boy with concern and hugged him.. "Sorry, sweetie, you can't take big bites like that, ice cream is meant to be eaten nice and slow." She said softly.

Isaac squeeed in response and she giggled.

"It's okay, it wears off soon, don't worry."

After a few moments, Isaac managed to recover.

"Do you feel better?" Verosika asked gently, to which Isaac nodded. "Fine, let me apologize to you" Verosika said to which Isaac looked at her confused, because he didn't understand why she was apologizing, something that he succubus caught. "I forgot that this was your first time eating ice cream, and I forgot to mention something so important, and you got hurt because of it"

Isaac tilted his head, and she smirked and gently patted his tiny head. Isaac leaned into the touch like an affectionate cat, and she giggled.

"Aww, you're too cute to be sitting there all by yourself, c'mere, come sit on my lap..." She gathered him up in her arms and sat him down gently atop her lap as he continued to eat his ice cream. Verosika taught Isaac how to pace, while telling him about the rest of the flavors, as well as what toppings he could put on his ice cream.

Isaac listened fascinated while he ate his ice cream.

"So, tell me, do you want to add some of the toppings to your ice cream now? Or do you prefer to wait until the next time we come?"

Isaac thought about it, and in the end he shrugged his shoulders, seeing this Verosika responded calmly.

"Well, don't worry, let's go easy, for now enjoy your ice cream as it is, do you like it by the way?" Verosika asked, to which Isaac nodded happily enthusiastically. "Very good!" she said with great joy to see the boy happy.

She gave him a gentle squeeze and smiled warmly, and he nestled into her hold happily. She watched with a warm smile as she watched him eat his ice cream cone, taking a lick of hers every so often to make sure it didn't melt.

Soon enough, they were finished with their cones. Verosika paid with her credit card, and then walked back out the door with Isaac held snugly in her arms.

"Uh-oh, looks like someone's got a little mess on their face." Verosika giggled before pulling a handkerchief from her skirt pocket and gently cleaning him off.

Isaac smiled as he calmly allowed himself to be cleaned off. It felt nice to have someone fuss over him like this...

He, Verosika, and Vortex were about to get in the car when…

*Hoooowwwl!*

"Huh? Vortex, did you just…howl? Why?" Verosika asked, looking at his bodyguard, hearing that powerful howl. She expected to see him with an excited face, only to see him confused.

"It wasn't me, boss." He spoke.

"Oh, come on, you're the only Hellhound here, tell me, what made you so excited to do that?" the succubus asked in disbelief.

"I’m telling the truth, it wasn't me."

"So, who was-?" Verosika asked, looking around her and stopping her question when she saw that Isaac wasn't by her side.

Isaac? With a growing sense of fear, she searched everywhere, but she couldn't find him, which only made things worse.

"Isaac!? ISAAC!?" She looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Boss, what's up?" Vortex asked, concerned.

"It's Isaac, I can't find him!" he said desperately, filling her voice, and continuing to search for him.

"What?! What happened!? How did you lose him?!" the hellhound asked, confused and also with a growing fear growing inside him, seeing that he couldn't find Isaac either.

"I didn't know, he was next to me and-"

"prrriiiiiii!"

She stopped when she heard that characteristic sound, and directed her gaze to where the shriek came from. "Wait, there it is!" Verosika pointed out, seeing the boy at the entrance of a nearby alley, almost a block from where she and Vortex were, with Little Chad. "Isaac!" she called out to the boy, wondering how in a matter of seconds, the boy got there so fast.

But Isaac, instead of going with her, the boy stood at the mouth of the alley, watching with curiosity and analysis at the same time.

"Isaac! What are you doing? Come here!" Verosika yelled trying to get the boy's attention, but it was useless.

Isaac just turned to look at Verosika and Vortex, and instead of going back to them, he just pointed to something in the alley that he had seen, and waved for them to come to his position before entering.

Verosika tilted her head curiously, and took stock of the situation. Isaac didn't seem scared or anything, and there didn't seem to be any commotion in the alley... Did he find a kitten or something...? She followed him to see what she was looking at... And she was shocked by what she saw. "C-Cherubs? What are the cherubs doing here in the human world…?" She muttered to herself.

Verosika saw, in what appeared to be an old rickety van, what were undoubtedly three cherubs, one resembling a child and two resembling lambs.

'Unexpected is an understatement to describe this.' was Verosika's thought.

The three little angels seemed to be arguing among themselves, without apparently having yet detected the boy who was a few steps away from them. Unaware of the new onlookers, they continued their discussion, and low enough that they were heard by anyone within the alley, but low enough that they were undetected from within.

"I still can't believe it! How could this happen to us!?" exclaimed with sadness and anger the most aesthetically human cherub of all, who upon seeing him, brought a strange feeling.

"It wasn't our fault, and they still kicked us out!" said the cherub lamb with yellow fur.

"Yes, but maybe not all is lost, maybe we have hope, at least we got a place to take refuge" said the blue and white sheep cherub.

"Collin, I know what you're trying to do… but now is not the time." said the childish-looking cherub named Collin.

"But I’m only trying to see the bright side, Cletus." said this to the human cherub named Cletus.

"What bright side?! WE’VE BEEN KICKED OUT! THERE IS NO BRIGHT SIDE!" exclaimed with anger, but also pain, the yellow female cherub lamb to Collin.

"I KNOW Keenie! I- I just want it to hurt less somehow, that's all" Collin replied back, first with anger, but then with sadness.

Verosika blinked at that. Kicked out? Kicked out of heaven? That was something that could happen?! What had these three little cherubs done to get kicked out of their home?! She idly thought to herself how completely doomed the princess' plans of rehabilitation were if heaven could just kick people out, no way anyone was staying clean for the rest of eternity...

She blinked when she noticed Isaac approaching them. "Uh... Isaac..." She called out uncertainly. Isaac turned to look back at her, head tilted to the side curiously. "Be careful around strangers, sweetie, c'mere..." She gathered the boy up in her arms.

Isaac squeaked in mild protest, gesturing to the three cherubs before clasping his hands together and giving Verosika a pleading expression, unintentionally giving her the single cutest facial expression she had ever seen in her entire life.

Verosika could hardly resist that look, so she had to use all her willpower to do it, and taking advantage of the fact that the cherubs didn't notice them, she hid with Isaac in her arms, behind a nearby container together and signaled to Vortex to come. for him to do the same.

"Are my nose and my eyes deceiving me? Or are they cherubs?" Vortex asked Verosika in a low voice.

"No, your sense of smell and vision are fine, those are real cherubs, and apparently banished from heaven" Verosika replied to the disguised hellhound.

"But how? What did they do?"

"How am I supposed to know? I know as much as you do right now." Verosika said. "Perhaps they’re bloodthirsty psychopaths?"

"Pfff, do they really look like bloodthirsty psychopaths to you? Have you seen them?" asked Votex incredulously.

"Vortex I think that neither you nor I should trust appearances at this point, much less something that came from heaven, or do I have to remind you what it looked like and who healed your eye?" She looked at him, embodying an eyebrow.

"Okay, fair point." he admitted, a little embarrassed.

"We don't know what they can or can't do, so we just have to watch them."

Vortex looked like he was going to say something else, but instead he put on a confused look and asked. "Hey boss... where did you get that horrible doll from? And why are you hugging it?"

Verosika didn't understand what he meant, until she looked into his arms, and almost screamed in fright. Instead of Isaac and Little Chad, there was some kind of rag doll, or what used to be a very ugly hand-stitched rag doll, with just a head and a body that reminded her of a ghost. Though it wasn't the ugliness of the doll that almost made her scream, but the fact that suddenly, she realized that Isaac wasn't in her arms, and in her place was that thing.

Still, that didn't stop her from letting go of the rag doll, only for her and Vortex to be surprised to see the doll floating in the air.

And once the surprise of this event had passed, she found herself in the same situation as before, looking for Isaac, only in this case she found him quickly, heading towards where the cherubs were, with her red companion in his arms.

The boy walked calmly, and the purple one seemed to be the first to notice him. He tensed a bit, then perked up and waved, a forced smile on his face. "Oh…Um…Hey kid, sorry, it's…not really a good time, we're like…having an argument…"

"Ugh! Collin, don't worry. This child could be lost, separated from his mother! We should try to help him!" The woman spoke.

"Wait a second, something's not right here." The childish spoke, looking at Isaac closely, and suddenly his eyes widened in surprise. “Thi- Thi- This is not possible! Am I going crazy?" Cletus exclaimed in disbelief, before turning to his fallen companions "...You two feel that, don't you?"

Keenie and Collin, upon hearing what the Putto said, decided to do the same, and analyze the boy in detail, getting the same surprise as the childish-looking cherub.

"No, I'm sorry too, his soul is both!...demonic and angelic!...but...definitely from Earth too, all at the same time...?" The woman seemed confused and could not be like the rest of her companions.

The three cherubs looked at the boy with surprise, apprehension and some fear.

Collin sighed. "Listen, buddy, we don't know exactly what's going on or what you want, but we really don't want any more trouble with the guys down there, okay?" he said with a tone that combined calm and pleading.

The more childish looking cherub then exclaimed, with a tone that mixed sadness and anger in a dim but clear way. "We just had three demons ruin our lives!"

For his part, Isaac could only tilt his head in confusion. Since they left the ice cream shop, one of their items had been activated, Tooth of the Dog indicated that there was something important, but hidden nearby, and his compass indicated where it was, which was right in an alley relatively close to where he was. And luckily, since he didn't have to use his bombs to blow up all the walls, to find him, as he did in the basement, at least on this occasion. And really Isaac did not know that he was going to find a hidden secret in the city, nor that he could find it in the city.

So, he was greatly surprised to find 3 unique looking angels, because one looked like a child like him, and the other two were lambs, which were the same height, talking to each other. He didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but given their appearance, and the mood they had, it seemed that they had had a bad day, something that made Isaac feel a little sad.

Although he didn't fully understand what they were talking about, what he could understand was that the most human looking one was called Cletus, the boy blue and white lamb was Collin and the girl yellow lamb was Keenie.

He tried to face himself the first time to hear better, but his mother grabbed him, and despite the fact that he tried to plead with her eyes, she resisted and hid together with Mr. Vortex behind a garbage container. Isaac was now more confused than before, why was she acting like that? Were those three dangerous?

Well, Verosika may have been a demon, but she hadn't done anything wrong! Instead, she saved him, and she's been nothing but nice to him, same to Vortex. So why should they be afraid of angels? Also, because they didn't allow him to get close to them, she kept him in such a firm grip, but without hurting him, that the boy had to use Stitches to get out.

Why was she afraid that Isaac would get hurt? No, they seemed to be dangerous to him. Of course, it wasn't the first time that Isaac dealt with angels who wanted to kill and harm him. But those were the angels of the Angel Room, and unless the boy attacked them with a bomb, they didn't attack him back. There were also those fetuses with wings that looked like angels, that Isaac found in the basement rooms, especially in the cathedral, that were directly hostile, but Isaac doubted that those were real angels.

In addition, Isaac had many Familiars and Friends, who were angels, who helped him and accompanied him, so there should be no danger. It is clear that these angels here were not similar to the ones he found in the basement. To begin with they had faces, clothes, they spoke, and two of them looked like lambs, it must be because they were from the city and here the angels were different?

It wasn't clear to Isaac, but everything pointed to it, but still Isaac wanted to talk, or rather write, to them. The boy supposed that if he didn't attack them first, they wouldn't have reason to attack him or fear him, right? Well, Isaac seems to have been right, at least in part, since they didn't attack him as soon as they saw him, and from what he understood to say to Keenie, they wanted to help him, because he thought he was lost, and was looking for his mother.

Isaac frowned at this, remembering his mother, he really did not want to find her, she would kill him if she saw him again! But before being able to communicate that to them, the one with the most human aspect, Cletus if Isaac was not mistaken, looked at him carefully, analyzing with his eyes, the boy wondered if there was something on his face, before seeing how the angel acted more and more and more surprised.

As a pretender, both he and the other angels began to get scared, which also alerted Isaac a bit and he feared that they would attack him, for some reason that the boy did not know, but the three seemed more scared, and wanted to avoid any conflict, so they told Isaac. And the boy couldn't understand why they acted like that, they said something about angelic, demonic... and Earth? which Isaac could not understand. Maybe they are referring to his item “Terra”? He is not sure.

Isaac looked at Verosika and returned to her, who picked him up in her arms. The boy pointed to where the cherubs were, with a look full of confusion, although there were no words, Verosika managed to interpret as: what's wrong with them?

She let out a sigh. "Isaac, those three… they could really hurt me and Vortex if they have holy weapons…"

Hearing this, Isaac's eyes widened in terror, and he wrote quickly. "Hurt you? but why? you haven't done anything wrong!" although Verosika had already confirmed to Isaac what he suspected, that he was afraid that he would hurt her, but Verosika had been good all this time, they had no reason to hurt her.

He wrote that last thought, and Verosika read it, she winced and avoided talking about how she did compromise things, to put it VERY mildly, and decided to go another route, which was still the truth. "I know, but I don't want to take any chances..."

Isaac frowned and pointed in the direction of the angels, then drew a cross over where his heart was.

Understanding the message Verosika was conflicted. "I know they're clearly in pain, but... But... I... Okay... Okay, I'll talk to them... Just... from a reasonable distance..." She turned to Vortex, but Verosika didn't need to say anything, when the disguised hellhound interrupted her, as he took Isaac from her and carried him in his arms.

"You don't need to say a word boss, I've got your back if something goes wrong." he said with a smile, Verosika smiled back, then she took a deep breath before going to the alley where the cherubs were.

‘Now... how to start this conversation...?’ that was the question that was on Verosika's mind. 'Wait... They said that three demons ruined their lives...' she said in her mind 'Maybe... that wouldn't be too much of a coincidence.'

The cherubs, who had been watching Verosika ever since Isaac came to her. They looked at her expectantly and distrustful since they knew it was really her.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying to Isaac here… her lives were ruined by three demons right?" Verosika asked, to make sure she had the information straight.

"Yes, three of your kind" said with venom and anger in her voice the yellow cherub lamb.

Verosika remained calm, although on another occasion she would have responded with the same aggressiveness, or a "fuck you" to the cherub, but given the situation, she wanted answers, that Isaac wanted to help them, and that he was also observing everything, she knew she would contain for now. "Ok, those three weren't imps by any chance, were they? And one of them is taller than the other two, narrow pointy face, black striped horns, white spot around his eye and that voice, that makes you want to nail yourself scissors in the ears?

Hearing this all 3 widened their eyes in surprise, glancing at each other briefly before the child-like cherub stepped forward, or the equivalent for someone who floats.

"Yeah... how did you know? Do you know them?" he asked suspiciously.

At this, it was Verosika's turn to make a face of pure disgust. "Yes...unfortunately I know them, at least I know their boss very well" she said with contempt and disgust in her voice.

Seeing this unexpected reaction on her part, the 3 cherubs were even more surprised, and their dislike for Verosika decreased, and was replaced by confusion.

"And exactly how do you know him?" Collin asked Verozika who with even more anger and disgust.

"I met that son of a-!" Suddenly she stopped, and turned her gaze to where Isaac was, who was looking and apparently listening to everything, so she then turned to the cherubs, inhaled and exhaled to calm down, and responded again, this time visibly calmer, but still very upset. "Look, I can't go into details, without saying a lot of profanity and words that I really don't want Isaac to hear, so for now I will tell you that he is my ex, it is also the worst mistake and misfortune of my life... and from anyone's life really." she said, she replied.

The three little angels looked at each other and then at her with bowed heads.

Verosika sighed, on the one hand she wanted to omit that story, at least until later, when Isaac was not present, and it would be easier for her to tell it, without containing the tide of swears, which used to come out of the succubus's mouth, every time she told it in detail. But on the other hand, Verosika wanted to know how these three ended up getting fucked by her ex, and how she managed to get the 3 expelled from heaven, plus Isaac wanted to help them. So, she prepared to tell them more in detail about the situation.

"That guy stole my credit card and abandoned me in my hotel room, then spent thousands of dollars from my bank account on horse riding lessons, forced me to chase him, covered me in mud, publicly humiliated me and... UGH..." She clenched her fists, it was an effort for Verosika not to unleash a tide of insults towards the imp, and this was the best way to restrain herself from doing it. "He makes EVERYONE's life worse when he gets involved with them, and he doesn't even give a reason why he is the way he is, he's always hiding things from others and he puts me up against the wall! If you're going to hurt my life, my funds and my reputation, at least give me the decency to explain WHY!" She closed her eyes and took a breath. "Sorry, sorry, I'm so frustrated with him…and it's really hard NOT to swear, so what did the idiot do to you guys?"

Cletus puffed out her chest. "We came here to convince a man that suicide wasn't the answer, and those three cretins came up and sabotaged our work every time by taking everything good in the word and turning it all upside down."

"Why did they want him to kill himself so badly?" Collin twisted his hooves nervously.

"Because his business is killing people on earth and he was probably too lazy to pull the trigger himself," Verosika sneered, her eyes narrowing as she frowned.

"He HAS NO RIGHT to come here and take people's lives and deny them his choice!" Keenie said, outraged.

"Tch... That's not even the worst part. One of his policies is 'Kids Die Free!' I literally wanted to wring his skinny little pencil neck when I saw that!" Verosika nearly snarled, maintaining her composure as best he could to avoid scaring Isaac. Although before she couldn't care less about children, and by extension that I.M.P policy, now that she had Isaac in her life, and knowing all that he suffered, made for Verosika the idea of seeing an innocent child being hurt, her blood boiled.

And that her ex, one of the people Mayday hates the most, murdered children for free, made her whole being filled with a murderous rage. Especially if said child was Isaac, the mere idea that Blitzo would kill the boy, was something she hadn't thought clearly until now, turned her stomach into a mixture of fear, disgust, and rage.

And seeing the faces of the 3 cherubs, it seemed that the feeling for the idea was mutual. The faces of the 3 angelic beings were distorted by a mixture of shock, horror and anger, at different levels of intensity for each cherub, from what Verosika had told them.

"That...That son of a BISCUIT EATER! Eep, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to use such strong language..." Keenie spoke, and Verosika snorted into her hand.

"Oooh, I can think of some stronger things to say about him, buuuut I know how you angel types are about naughty words, and I wanna be a good example for the little one, soooo I'll restrain myself for the time being."

Cletus tilted his head. "Huh. Well. That's awfully strange. I mean, you're one of those succubus types, aren't cha? Kinda figured... Y'know... Bein' a bad influence is what you're all about, no offense."

Verosika snickered. "Weeeeell, you're not wrong, buuuut we prefer to keep that sort of thing to adults, thank you very much."

After saying that, Verosika paused, and pondered for a bit.

"Ok, to be honest, not many care what happens or doesn't happen with children, even if it's their own children, but there are many who do, including me." She answered.

The three cherubs looked at each other, confused but more impressed by the unexpected behavior of the succubus. At first, they thought that it would be the same as those imps that ruined her life, but since they started talking to her, everything they have been learning up to now, both about her and the underworld, as well as those three imps, has been one revelation after another.

By this point the image they had of hell and its inhabitants was beginning to be no longer as clear as before. Of course, they suspected that the disguised succubus could be lying, but for the moment, none of the three fallen angels saw what benefit she would have with that, besides that her attitude and behaviors had been genuine until now.

If she was trying to deceive them in any way, they didn't have any proof at the moment, so they decided that continuing to chat would be the right thing to do.

After saying that, she thought for a moment before asking. "Come to think of it, you guys mentioned getting kicked out of heaven and my idiot ex was involved, how did he manage to ruin you guys like that?" Verosika asked, wanting to know how Blitzo managed to fail not one but 3 cherubs.

"Well, it was... We wanted Lyle to live, they wanted him to die, we tried to show him the beauty of life, they turned it into something terrible, and then... we kind of lost our temper with them." a little…" Collin said quietly.

"It got out of control, tried to shoot them with our bows…" Cletus grimaced.

"And then we accidentally shot a string, and that sent a piano flying, and it crushed Lyle to death…" Keenie said with a sigh.

"And the old feather dusters upstairs were stricter than they should have been." Verosika nodded.

"Don't refer to them like that!" Kennie replied before pausing "...but yeah, that happened."

For Verosika, the information they gave her made no sense, although the death of this 'Kyle' was something bad, and TECHNICALLY it was the fault of the 3 of them, in reality the real culprit was Blitzo's idiot and his group.

"Wait, what you told me... it doesn't add up." Verosika told them, drawing the attention of all three.

"But it’s the truth!" Cletus exclaimed, somewhat indignant that she insinuated that they were lying, he may have fallen, but that did not make him or his companions liars.

"Yes, and it's because it's true, it doesn't make sense." she responded, greatly confusing them, to which the Succubus proceeded to explain. "Okay, if you failed to prevent the death of this guy Kyle, and yes, that was technically your fault, but kicking someone out of heaven on a technicality, that's what doesn't add up to me." she answered the cherubim, and without waiting for an answer she continued. "Was it a direct order from God?"

"We wish it had been a direct order from God, it would have been an honor... although since we failed, it's a good thing it wasn't the case since we would have failed him." Cletus said excitedly, only to be saddened by the memory of his failure, and fearful as he wondered what his punishment would have been in that case.

Seeing him like this, Verosika shuddered a little, for some reason, seeing the most human of the three cherubs scared and then sad, was unpleasantly familiar, but she decided to continue asking. "Then there must be something else, were you secretly plotting something against Heaven? Did you traffic in angelic weapons and artifacts? Did you plan an attack against God? Or was it a direct order from God?" Verosika asked.

"No! No! No! We would NEVER do anything like that! What makes you think that!?" Keenie asked between angry and surprised that the succubus theorized all that.

"Calm down, I'm asking because from what you’ve told me so far, being punished for a technicality is... low... VERY low, something I thought only happened on earth and hell, and it costs me a little to assimilate that. Let's see, I've hated heaven and its inhabitants, like most in hell, but even so I thought that heaven itself would be much better than that, that's why I ask if you did something else, why which is cruel and senseless, it's as if they had been wanting to get you three out of heaven for a long time, and they took the first opportunity that presented itself to expel you."

The three of them looked at each other quite surprised by the succubus's reasoning, they hadn't really stopped to think about it that way, but now that they had thought about it in detail, her words made some sense. Especially for Cletus, because he had the idea of creating C.H.E.R.U.B. He always received strong opposition from those around them.

Although the inhabitants of heaven were not explicitly prohibited from interfering with earthly affairs, and it had been done on more than one occasion, it was something frowned upon to do so, except in a few cases.

Cletus, since he was young, always wanted to help and do good, like any other angel, but heaven was THE paradise, so there were really no serious problems. Then the idea of helping mortals occurred to him, he had seen what life was like on earth, so he created an organization, based on regularly helping mortals, at the request of souls in heaven, it was in theory something that should exist even before he was born. The land had many problems, although it was true that things had improved for a while, there was still a lot to do.

And if divine intervention could help resolve sayings, why not do it? Actually, neither of his 2 companions received an answer when they presented the idea for the first time to the high command of the cherubs.

At first opposition to the idea was passive, but as Cletus persisted, passive aggressiveness became the norm, even after he created the organization on his own. Cletus, Keenie, and Collin were never given a valid reason why, having the resources to help, Heaven never did anything, except in rare exceptions.

Neither before nor after they were kicked out was there a clear answer, they were just getting vague and inconsistent responses at best. And at worst? With quite classist overtones, now that they remembered in detail. As if a large part of heaven considered a large part of the inhabitants of the earth unworthy just for existing, except for the souls that did manage to enter heaven.

And it seemed that by wanting to help them, and getting down to work, going beyond words and good wishes, to do something genuine, they too were unworthy and despicable. They never thought about that in detail until now, but the signs were there, they were subtle, Deerie being the biggest example of all, given how excited she was when she announced her expulsion. Although deep down she didn't know if it was that, or the fact that she wanted to keep what Cletus and her group had created.

Although the latter was unlikely, given how the people of heaven had reacted and had treated them all this time, for the idea of helping the people of earth, using the resources and tools of heaven.

Cletus, Collin and Keenie thought about it, and the more they did it the more they realized it. All the passive aggressiveness, or outright rejection, of the idea, but not only their companions, but their own families, who in the best of cases, treated everything as a passing stage.

Collin buried his face in his hooves and began to cry. Keenie also began to cry. And Cletus? Well…he fell to his knees, his expression completely broken. "They... They don't care about the people down here... They NEVER cared about them..." he breathed.

‘Is Heaven still the same? What a novelty.’ Verosika had to feel bad for the poor things for that. It seemed like they really wanted to make a difference, to do genuine good for the human race, but they were oppressed by the people floating above them to the point where that became impossible.

Seeing the three of them broken like this, with sadness emanating from them, for having been punished so terribly, just for wanting to make this world a better place, and the whole situation, was something that broke her heart, especially when she saw to Cletus beginning to cry like a small child. And she finally understood why it hurt her in a special way to see Cletus like this: why the Childish-Aspect Cherub reminded her a lot of Isaac in appearance, and now also in story.

Verosika and Vortex stepped forward, the former ready to give the three cherubs a hug, the latter to offer comfort to them, but Isaac beat them both...

Cletus felt that someone almost his height, and he was surprised to see the boy from before, Isaac if he did not remember, that with tears running down his face, he hugged him, in a clear attempt to comfort him, and he was not only hugging him, but he was humming a song that Cletus or his companions didn't know, but seemed to sound pretty good.

And even more surprising, when the boy saw that Cletus wasn't crying anymore, he proceeded to do the same with Keenie and Collin, who were just as surprised as Cletus by the acts. Surprised and very moved. Although not as much as Verosika and Vortex, they were surprised and moved by the boy's act,

But of the two Verosika was the one who felt the most surprised and moved, especially when Isaac began to hum. She knew that song and it was the same one that she sang to him the first time.

Seeing that Isaac used her to ease someone else's pain, Verosika simply melted her heart, and made her cry with joy, knowing that she was the one who inspired him to do something so beautiful for someone.

Isaac didn't know much about what was going on, and he didn't understand much of what Verosika and the 3 angel children were talking about. But from what he knew is that the 3 angels failed to protect someone's life, because of 3 demons, and it seemed that Verosika knew one of those 3, and she didn't like him very much. Although Isaac couldn't fully understand why, it seems that that demon did a lot of bad things to her.

But what he did understand, and it impacted him, is that for failing, heaven punished the 3 of them and expelled them.

Isaac was very shocked by that, the only other angel he knew was Satan, and that was because he was evil and had defied God or something similar, it was not clear to him. At first, he believed that it was for failing that they had been expelled, Verosika had asked if protecting this Kyle was a direct order from God, to which the 3 angels denied it.

Then Verosika asked something else, and proposed that heaven did not like that they help the people of earth, and they did not believe in the goal of the 3 angel children. For which they were punished, for wanting to do good to the people here, that is why heaven and God left them aside.

And that's what made him start crying, because he knew what that felt like, being disowned, abandoned and punished by God and his family. Seeing the cherub, who looked the most like a child, fall to the ground on his knees and begin to cry, a memory came to the child's mind.

When he was trapped in the basement, Isaac would sometimes come to an area called "Downpour" where there was a mirror, in which he saw himself many times. And seeing the angel child fall to his knees and cry, full of pain, sadness and dirt, he saw himself as many times he saw himself in the mirror of Downpour.

So, he started to cry when he remembered that, but he felt that he had to do something else, he wanted to help him, to make him feel better. Then he remembered everything that Verosika did for him, every time he was scared or sad, especially the songs that he used to sing to her, the first one being the most special.

So it made sense for him to use it so the angels would stop being sad. And it had worked, given how they were all holding each other at the moment.

For their part, Cletus, Collin, and Keenie were still quite shocked by the whole situation. They really didn't expect what seemed to be a hybrid, a succubus and a hellhound to not only understand their situation, but to comfort them. It was so surreal, they had to pinch themselves to know they weren't dreaming.

Keenie was the first one to pull herself together, as her two co-workers continued to sob miserably. "Th-Thanks for... this... I'm... I never expected that... that demons would want to help us..." She said softly. Verosika smirked and nodded her head.

"Hey, you're a victim of those control freaks, and the concept of the misfortune made flesh that is my ex, that means you're a friend of mine. Nothing gets under my skin more than people who float above everyone else and drag the working class down, or that they are a victim of Blitzo." She let out a sigh and shook her head. "In a way, you're lucky kicking you out is ALL they can get away with up there, there's some guys down in hell that'll do so, SO much worse than that if you cross them..."

"What do you mean exactly?" Collin asked, having recovered.

Verosika, while making a face, recalled some stories of how the mafias, in particular the Ring of Greed, made those who failed, or those who wanted to get out of their way in one way or another. "Trust me, you don't want to know the details, nor is it necessary," she paused before continuing. "I will only tell you that many like the mafias, especially those of the ring of greed, do not care if you are family or not, if you are a nuisance, even if you have the most altruistic intentions, they will get rid of you." Verosika sighed sadly as she began to remember.

"I still remember the story I heard a few years ago, of a mother who wanted to protect her son from that world. She was an imp, but they said she was a sweet, kind and charming woman, but she was also the wife of the leader of the mafia, I don't remember the names, but I do remember that he didn't care that this woman was his wife, or the mother of his child" Verosika sighed because it was difficult for her to tell that story. "And one day she was no more, she was never seen again, I don't know what her husband did to her, but I just hope that at least being his wife, it was quick and painless," the story ended.

This was a story that she had heard many years ago, and though Verosika didn't pay much attention to it, she didn't give it much value. Although to be fair it was from people she didn't know, and that might be a vile lie, since there's no such thing as a good father or mother in hell (at least she's never met one), she couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the nameless imp.

She recalled that story, digging it up from the depths of her memories. And now that she had Isaac in her life, after everything she had lived through and learned, that story hit her in a very different and very hard way, because now that Verosika knows that these things really happen, and what it is to have a son around you want to protect, I might empathize with that nameless imp mother.

"And her son?" asked Cletus, who stopped being hugged by Isaac, but was still holding his hand, and looking at Verosika like the child, attentive to the story she was telling.

Verosika thought for a moment trying to remember something about the boy, but she couldn't really remember any details. "I don't remember exactly, but what he lived through, although under the command of his father, but I'm not sure what happened to him afterwards" she said trying to remember.

"And how do you know that story boss?" Vortex asked, genuinely curious as to how she found out about that story.

"From a very old ex of mine, according to work with the family, but I don't really remember beyond what I told." She snorted and crossed her arms over her bust. "He was a scumbag anyway, and he was also way too big for his britches." She would NEVER forget how terrible Chaz was in bed, it took a LOT to make a succubus actively NOT want to partake in lewd acts with you. She exhaled through her nostrils and shrugged her shoulders. "But... Yeah... No matter how bad it is up there, it could always be worse. Just try and remember that..." She said softly. Cletus, Keenie, and Collin all exchanged glances, frowning sadly.

"There has to be SOME good down there though, right? I mean... You guys are... Well... You guys are awesome..." Collin admitted softly.

Verosika beamed at that. "Heh. Thanks, glad you feel that way. ...You want to see good in hell, you should meet the princess."

Upon hearing this, the cherubs opened their eyes in shock.

"Wait, princess? Like the Princess of Hell? Lucifer's daughter? Did Lucifer have a daughter?" Collin asks, confused.

"Yes herself"

"But I don't understand, what do you have to do with her? Isn't she supposed to be the epitome of evil, cruelty, sadism or something like that?" Keenie asked, as confused as her and Isaac's classmates.

That confusion only increased when Verosika and Vortex started laughing.

"She?! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, Charlie being the epitome of evil, HA! Lucifer wishes Charlie was at least half of that" Verosika said wiping away a tear.

"What exactly are you talking about? Isn't she supposed to be evil?" asks Cletus trying to rack his brains, because not only did they not just find out that Lucifer had offspring, but apparently Verosika suggested that she was not evil.

"Evil? Yeah right, the closest thing to 'evil' she's ever been known to do, being bisexual, having a girlfriend, and beating up a horrible, disgusting woman, who anchors the news," Vortex said in quotes. "And none of that is considered a bad thing for the banners of hell, and earth in present times. Hell, the latter can even be considered something positive, Katie is a despicable being, who has been deserving of a beating for a long time" Verosika said happily, remembering how the princess gave Katie Killjoy a beating without barely ruffling her hair. That day the succubus was happy to see on television how that bitch received what she deserved. "But putting that aside, she's a sweet and charming person, albeit quite naive, given the project she's started." Verosika continued to recall the princess project, and while she scoffed at the idea almost as much as anyone else, she now saw the princess project in a better light.

It's a shame that given what Verosika learned with the whole cherub thing, that project is apparently doomed to fail.

"What project exactly?" Cletus asked to see that he was planning the supposed antichrist.

"Oh, it's a hotel to redeem sinners, called the Hazbin Hotel."

"Wait, wasn't that Happy Hotel?" asked Vortex.

"Yes, but I think they changed it at the last minute," Verosika said, not very sure.

"But isn't she supposed to be the antichrist? Excuse me, but it's hard to believe that the daughter of the king of hell, who is supposed to be the opposite of Christ, is really what you say" Collin said, not being able to believe everything what Verosika was saying about Charlie.

"Yes, and Lucifer was the son of god, and you see how all that ended" Verosika said, rolling her eyes.

"Touch" Collin said upon hearing that.

"It is said 'Touche', also a piece of advice, do not mention the name of Christ to someone from hell."

"Why? Just the mention of his name fills you with fear?" Keenie asked.

"Uh, no. His name fills some of them with a homicidal rage, especially when it comes to the sinners who committed all kinds of heinous acts in his name, or lived a life of oppression and repression, denying themselves all kinds of pleasure and happiness, because they were made to believe that they would win heaven that way, only for the majority to end up in hell, the greatest scam of humanity is how this whole matter is known."

‘Ouch.’ is the only thing Cletus and Keenie could think, hearing what Verosika said, while they could feel Isaac's hands squeeze theirs. "Thank you little one" Cletus and Keenie spoke, sincerely thanking Isaac for the support he gave them. After all the three of them had been through, there may be a soul like Isaac, willing to support them even when they barely knew him. Even more so when his soul was a strange fusion of angelic, demonic and earthly, they would have to ask the succubus for an explanation regarding this issue.

But before either of them could ask, something else happened-

"Aaaagh!" all 3 exclaimed in pain at the same time.

This caught the attention of the human and the 2 demons, all to look at the 3 angels, and they could see something that was happening to them.

The light that covered them, as well as that of their halos, began to flicker, as if they were damaged bulbs. While they could only let out moans of pain, with Collin, being the only one who was flying, suddenly landing on the ground, while Keenie and Cletus fell to their knees, it seemed that the pain was such that they could barely stand up.

"Uh... what's wrong with you guys?" Verosika asked, unsure of what she was seeing, but alarmed by the 3 of them, with Isaac looking in horror at the scene and then at the succubus and the hellhound, in search of an answer, which none.

They lasted like this for a few moments, before returning to normal, with the three of them floating in the air again, or at least they tried to before falling softly on the floor, looking somewhat exhausted but standing.

Cletus was the one who was the first to recover, and give an answer. "It's the light of heaven, from what I read, when an angel falls or is expelled, he or she loses their connection to heaven, and over time to the holy light, and thus their powers, it's painful, and when they eventually completely lose connection, we..." Cletus tried to explain but had a hard time saying the next part, because it filled him with great fear.

"One of two, either we will die, which would be the most probable, or we will become demons, which would be a death sentence." Collin finished, sharing the same level of fear and horror as Cletus and Keenie.

"And as when it remains for that to happen." Verosika asked worried about the 3 of them.

"We don't know, but it's getting more and more frequent, so we might have a week at most before... before..." she couldn't finish the sentence, just crying.

After all, being expelled was already bad, but knowing that they were going to become demons or die, neither option sounded good.

"But being a devil isn't that bad, at least not if you know the right people." He tried to comfort Verosika only to have a sobbing Cletus answer him.

"Don't you understand? If we become demons, then the exterminators will come for us, with more enthusiasm than for any other, there will be no place where we can hide from them, becoming a demon for someone from heaven, is a literal death sentence.” said the cherub.

This horrified Verosika and Vortex to a great extent, but especially Isaac.

Isaac shook his head from side to side rapidly, refusing to accept that. He grabbed Cletus by the hands and started trying to pull him along with him. Cletus was confused, but Verosika caught on to what Isaac was trying to do. She smirked.

"Well, well, it seems Isaac's decided that you're gonna come and stay with us." She said simply. The three former cherubs looked at her with wide eyes.

"W-Wait, just like that?! You'll just... take us in?!" Collin exclaimed in sheer disbelief.

"You just met us; you're already helping us this much?!" Keenie asked.

Verosika shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, there's a ton of bad eggs down there, but we're not all a bunch of scumbags. Just like how not all you little feather dusters are a bunch of stuck-up, pompous abusers of power."

The 3 angels were moved and impressed beyond all measure by the acts of these 3, more than all by the acts of Isaac and Verosika's proposal.

"We're really grateful... but we have to decline the offer," Collin said.

"That because?" asks an incredulous Verosika. "Is it because we're demons? Dude, if that's it, we assure you that we don't have any macabre plan or anything."

"No, no, it's not that it's just that if they do that, when we finally turn, we'll become a target." Collin began to explain.

"And it might be a little reckless to say this, when we barely know each other, but if their words are genuine, they would be a good person who would be in grave danger," Keenie explained heavily.

"And we can't let someone like you put yourself in danger for us, that would be the opposite of why we created C.H.E.R.U.B, it wouldn't be right." Cletus said, sharing the sentiment.

"And how are you so sure that in the end that's what will happen? Do you have any proof? Beyond what they read and what they told you?" Verosika asked.

Hearing this, the cherubs hesitated a bit, and Cletus responded.

"We really don't have proof, but we can't risk it, when our light goes out, and we lose all that we have left of sacred magic, if we don't die then they will be with the exorcists knocking on the doors sooner or later, and we don't want anything to happen to you or the little one."

Verosika knew that they had reached an impasse, although what they told the 3 in heaven could be a lie, if it turns out to be true, she, Isaac and everyone else would be in great danger. She was going to say something, until she felt someone pull her shirt. "Huh?"

She looked down, and saw that Isaac wanted to show her something that he had written something in her notebook.

"I have an idea to help them, but I need a bigger place"

Verosika looked at what Isaac wrote. "Honey, what do you mean?" asked the succubus.

"I know how to help them, but I need a bigger place, this is very small" Isaac wrote again.

It took her a while to understand how Isaac would help the three, but soon Verosika's mind clicked, and she realized that he, like him, could help them. Oor well, at least he had more or less an idea: using his items.

Verosika wanted to ask a lot of things, the main one being how she would use her items, and why she needs a bigger space, but decided that he would find out as he went.

"Okay, listen, there's a solution...I think." she announced herself, calling everyone's attention.

"Wait, solution? Which one?" Keenie asked.

"Apparently for her problem with the whole thing, regarding the holy light... or so I think."

"What exactly are you talking about, miss?" Collin asked, as confused as the rest.

"Well, it's not my idea, but Isaac's, he's the one with the plan" Verosika said trying to explain as best she could, but the 3 angels looked clearly confused. She just sighed, but she didn't say anything, she understood why they were confused, and in part she was a little confused too. "Look, I can't explain it, because you have to see it to believe it, but for now, let's get in my car, and find a big place, preferably away from prying eyes."

"But-" Cletus tried to protest but Vortex cut him off.

"No 'buts', you heard the boss, get in the car, because the little one has the solution" he said firmly, but kindly.

The 3 cherubs had no energy to argue, and if they got into the car of 2 demons, and whatever this Isaac was, even in an unknown and secluded place, it could have been the biggest stupid thing ever imagined. At this point, apart from not having any other options, the three of them had shown in a short time to be more trustworthy than most of the people they had met up to now, including many from heaven.

The 3 of them looked at each other before accepting, and they walked away, because they were too tired to use their wings, and they got into Verosika's car, occupying the back seat next to Isaac. Collin in the right window, Cletus in the right window. Isaac and Keenie's side between the 2 aforementioned cherubs, while Vortex was driving and Verosika was the co-driver.

After searching for a place on the cell phone for a while, and finding an abandoned industrial complex, not far from the location, they started the car and headed there.

While Vortex was driving, both he and Verosika had the same idea. How would Isaac help them not to lose this "sacred light"? Did he really have something in his repertoire to help them with that? How big was his repertoire?

She ruled out that he was going to use that watch, because if that were the case, why does he need a spacious place for that? Whatever Isaac was planning, she and the others would find out soon enough, for now, there were other questions she could ask while they got to the place.

Seeing through the rearview mirror, how Isaac wrote and erased in his notebook, if Verosika had to bet, surely, he was finishing polishing the details of the solution for the cherubs, while Cletus and Keenie watched what the boy was doing, apparently not understanding at all because of the confused looks, and Collin was looking out the window.

"So how did you 3 get dirty in that rickety van?" Verosika asked, calling the attention of the 3, while Isaac continued writing in his notebook.

The cherubs took a while to respond, until Cletus, whom Verosika understood was the de facto leader of the 3, began to explain.

"Well, you see, after we were expelled, we didn't have anywhere to go, and after a lot of touring the city, the van was our best option in the end, it had no wheels, the windows were broken, it smelled strange, but in the end At least it was warm and protected from the rain"

"But why being in a rickety van in an alley of all places? Wouldn't it have been preferable... I don't know, an abandoned house, or a church? I'm sure you guys would have welcomed them" Verosika questioned him, a bit confused.

"Well, yes in theory yes, but we weren't very sure how to get in contact with mortals, also in reality if we found an abandoned church... or rather the church called us without us noticing." Cletus said.

This caused Verosika to raise an eyebrow and ask. "Wait, how come the church called you without you noticing? The priest saw you and asked you to come?"

But Keenie quickly corrected her. "No, it's not that, the church was abandoned, for what seemed like decades... and in the end it was obvious why" explained the lamb in yellow, and her blue partner continued.

"We felt attracted, by some kind of force, and we ignored all the signs that it was not a simple abandoned temple"

"The time we spent there, we were always bitter, full of hatred, and... a powerful envy, to those responsible for this, that they could return to their homes with their loved ones, to continue being happy, while we were trapped in that place, those feelings were present, in an unnatural way" continued Cletus.

"And how did they know that this was a supernatural place, and not the situation they went through?" asked the succubus.

"We didn't know until a few weeks ago, there were screams all over the church, we don't know how, but it just started to collapse and suddenly, those feelings were gone, they were still there, but now in a lesser degree, and we escaped before the church The earth will swallow it and it will explode."

Verosika, now very interested, turned to see them. "Did they really go through that?" she asked with wide eyes.

"We know it sounds crazy but it's the truth. After that we wandered until we got to that van, and we ate what the restaurants threw away, that wasn't so expired, until you found us" Collin explained.

Verosika looked at them in amazement, and after thinking about it for a while, she answered. "No, I believe you, the same thing happened to us, and to other people around the world."

Cletus, Collin and Keenie looked at her curiously, urging her to continue.

She let out a sigh. "Sooo... Long and short of it is, Isaac's house sank into a hellhole shortly after I found him. I dunno what exactly caused it, but I'm pretty sure Isaac had SOMETHING to do with it..."

The three cherubs looked at the boy with tilted heads.

"That little guy?" Keenie asked.

"Where would he get that much power though?" Collin asked.

"Why, he'd have to be... He'd have to have power on par with one of the lord's children!" Cletus exclaimed.

Verosika, seeing that the cherubs misinterpreted her word, corrected the three. "No, you misunderstood, when I said that Isaac had SOMETHING to do with it, he meant that he was related, not that he was directly responsible for it."

"And what kind of relationship do you think Isaac would have with that, do you have any idea?" Keenie asked

Verosika took a moment to answer, as if she was thinking, but in the end she answered. "...Victim..." she said, narrowing her eyes, in a calmly funereal manner, devoid of any joy or energy, but the presence of anger, despair, sadness was powerful, but silent and discreetly present, although with a certain glimpse Certainly, it was all that could be detected in that single word.

The 3 cherubs shuddered, both by the way Verosika responded, and by the answer itself, they looked better at Isaac, who seemed not to be paying attention and continued writing and erasing things in his notebook, and when doing that the 3 saw that he still had some bandages and bandages, as well as a scar on his neck.

If they had listened better, they would have paid attention to the doubt in Verosika's voice, and it is that a part of her doubted that Isaac was only the victim of the monsters that tortured him so horribly, it was definitely one, but after seeing everything What Isaac had been able to do so far, and what he was going to do for the cherubs, she suspected there was more to it than just horrible torture, but she had no answer at the moment. Although Isaac's drawings had given some information about the past, so far they hadn't been much help. In addition, she still had to review the other drawings in detail.

After seeing Isaac, Collin and with great difficulty he asked.

"W-wh-what exactly do you mean?"

"That's something I prefer to tell you later, preferably when Isaac isn't around, since I don't want him to relive those memories, he already has enough with the nightmares he has to face" she replied, causing the cherubs to be surprised and horrified in parts. the same, but they decided not to inquire further into the subject, until Verosika decided to tell them about the situation, since it seemed that it was an extremely delicate subject.

After a while the car arrived at its destination, which seemed to be a factory that was abandoned a long time ago, the rust and the vegetation claiming different parts of the structure was proof of this. Vortex was the first to get out of the car, and after checking that there was not a soul nearby, he opened the door for Verosika, the cherubs and Isaac to get out.

Entering was not difficult at all, since the gate was open, and allowed access to the abandoned facility. They entered with Verosika carrying Isaac in his arms, and in turn he carried Little Chad and his notebook in each arm, while the cherubs closely followed them.

They came to a large, empty building, it seemed to have been a warehouse of some kind a long time ago.

Vortex looked to see if there was no one inside or if there was something dangerous, since there was no door, and when he verified that there was no one, he gave the go-ahead to Verosika, who brought Isaac closer so that he could see the warehouse himself.

"Okay, what does it say it's good for... whatever you've got planned?" she asked, to which Isaac raised his thumb while giving her a smile, Verosika put it down and before leaving, the boy handed her the notebook and Little Chad to her, who greeted her with a small "Priiii" when he saw her.

"Ok, remind me why we came here instead of going to a hotel?" Vortex asked, approaching her, while Isaac walked around the place.

"For a lot of reasons, the main one being that I'm not sure what Isaac is going to do, and I'm not sure if they end up burning something or not, besides" then she moved closer to Vortex and whispered to him softly. "If what he's doing turns out to be too painful and they start screaming, no one here will listen."

The three cherubs looked at her, sensing that she was talking about them, and tilted their heads curiously. She simply nodded in their direction, then turned to Isaac as he seemed to be taking a close look at the place, ready to do whatever he was planning.

It took him a couple of minutes to finish what looked like he was preparing, and when he did, he nodded in satisfaction.

After that, the 5 looked at Isaac, who went to a part of the warehouse and spread his hands in front of him, the cherubs were curious what he was trying to do, but they didn't have time to ask, just a few moments later, a smoke explosion occurred in front of him, surprising them.

The cherubs went from surprised and confused, to stunned, as a stone pedestal appeared in front of Isaac, and floating unnaturally was what left them in shock, as did Verosika and Vortex still. than to a lesser extent. It was a ball of golden light, which seemed solid as it was partially wrapped by some kind of sky-blue silk cloth, and the most striking detail was the pair of pure white angel wings, which sprouted from the sphere. of light and fluttered gently, but the most surprising detail of all, which astonished the demons so much, and shocked the cherubs, was the power that emanated from what Isaac materialized in front of them, it was divine energy in its purest form.

Before anyone could say anything, they all saw Isaac extend his hands in front of him, more specifically in front of the pedestal with his own, and another explosion of smoke occurred, and another item appeared. This item, while less amazing in appearance, was still just as amazing in that it was an angelic halo, and not just in appearance if the energy emanating from the item was any indication.

The 3 cherubs were too shocked and confused to speak, and the 2 costumed demons were in a similar state, only unlike Vortex, Verosika was going through Isaac's notes that were in the notebook, though she didn't understand much.

Isaac did the same thing again, but this time what looked like 3 pedestals appeared, but with the same element it changed color, it was the infinity symbol, at least an almost 3-pointed triangular version of said symbol, which only differed in the color, one golden yellow, one blood red, and one sky blue, and they all seemed to be made of solid light.

What they could notice is that all the pedestals were aligned in an "L" shape, with all the objects floating.

After that, in Isaac's hand, an object materialized from a smaller smoke explosion, they couldn't quite see it, but it seemed to be a metal ball, nothing special beyond a couple of black circles, one attached to the other giving the appearance of the classic infinity symbol. Isaac concentrated for a moment, closing his eyes and then opening them, lifting the sphere, and as he did so several explosions of smoke appeared in a 3 x 3 order in the L of elements, 3 to the right and 3 below.

When they ceased, 3 copies of each object complete with pedestal had appeared, now having a total of 12 items.

Nobody said anything, because nobody understood what was happening, although they were amazed, they looked at what Isaac had done.

"What did he do? ...and why?" Cletus asked, both amazed and very confused, as were his fellow cherubs. Amazed that the boy summoned not just one, but several objects containing holy energy, but multiplied them, creating identical copies not only in form, but in divine essence.

“Isaac, are you okay?” asked the worried succubus, seeing the boy who seemed very tired, he just nodded.

After catching his breath, he went over to where Cletus was and tugged on his arm, and Cletus let out a slight "woah" as Isaac led him to one of the pedestals, specifically the one with the blue infinity symbol on it.

Cletus looked at the strange floating object, somewhat confused, he didn't know exactly what he had to do. "Wait, you want me to grab it, right?" he asked, to which Isaac nodded with a smile. Cletus reached out his hand with some hesitation, and at last took the object from its pedestal, as he held it, he could feel that it was hard and soft in texture, as well as warm, and holding it did something inside of it. feeling restless, anxious, excited but in a positive way.

Suddenly the object shone for a moment and vanished, confusing the cherub.

"Huh? Where- WOW!" Cletus began before exclaiming in surprise as he felt a surge of energy within him, as if the inside of his entire being had risen in power, the only feeling he could compare it to was a powerful feeling of inspiration and happiness, as well as accomplishment, similar to the one he had when he first came up with the idea of creating CHERUB.

In addition to that feeling, he could feel that the divine energy was filling him completely again, it felt like before he and his family were expelled from heaven. And although overwhelmed by the sudden sensation, he could hear, like the others, a kind of chorus that came from everywhere, all for a few moments. He could hear the gasps of his fellow cherubs, although he did not understand why. .

"Look," Collin said pointing over Cletus' head, and the putto looked to see what his fellow lamb was pointing at and was surprised to see what appeared to be some sort of signboard hovering above him and Isaac.

On the poster in large letters, you could read: "The Soul" and below you could read the phrase "I Am All".

The signal disappeared for about a second afterward.

"The Soul? 'I am All'? What does it mean- huh? woah-” Cletus began to ask only to stop when he looked at himself, and got another surprise, although it was less since he saw that he was now covered in a blue aura, something that his fellow cherubs also noticed

"Cletus? Are you okay?" Keenie asked somewhere between fearful and curious.

"I…yeah, I feel great, better than I've felt in a long time."

She looked at Isaac and he had a bright smile of happiness and Pride, seeing Cletus say that, went to Collin and Keenie, and did the same as with Cletus putting each of them in front of them, he put Keenie in front of the red symbol, and Collin in front of the yellow symbol, the cherubs facing each other. they wondered for a moment why he didn't give the yellow sheep the yellow symbol, but they paid no attention to it.

Keenie grabbed the red symbol, and the exact same thing happened to her, only unknown to her, he didn't feel it. Same as the cherub baby, for she could feel her body better than ever.

"This is amazing!" she gasped as she felt the power filling her.

With Cletus, it looked like a sign above her, in large letters you could read: "The Body" and below it could be read the phrase "I Feel All."

"The Body?" she said confused, a sentiment shared by everyone except Isaac.

"Woah! Keenie look at your arms!" Cletus exclaimed, surprised to see his angelic companion.

She looked at herself, and let out a 'gasp', since indeed, just like Cletus she had a visible change, only instead of being a blue aura, her arms looked bigger and more muscular, and she could feel that his whole body was the same. "This is both weird and amazing, I feel like I can split rocks with my bare hands!" she said excitedly.

Looking at this, Collin began to think out loud. "This sounds familiar, if Cletus has The Soul and Keenie has The Body, then it must be The Mind!" Collin said, grabbing the symbol.

In his case, the blue lamb could feel the change, the divine energy filling his body and soul once more, but the most notable change he could feel was in his head, he could feel his mind transform, and his perception of reality and surroundings. Though the change was also so new that he could feel his mind go hazy and his head go numb.

"Wow, this is... very unexpected and interesting..." he said as he looked up, to see what the sign said.

"The Mind" and below it could read "I Know All"

Collin looked at those around him, and noticed how his companions and the 2 disguised devils looked at him strangely.

"Um...Collin feeling alright?" Cletus asked.

"I feel a little numb from the neck up"

"Well…your head will look…weird" Keenie said.

At that Verosika took out a mirror from her bag. "Here" she said as she handed the hand mirror to Collin, who upon seeing the change the object made to him, his eyes widened in shock.

Now his head was triple its previous size, with visible veins.

"This seems..." Verosika began.

"Awful?" Collin asked.

"I was going to say painful, but if you can add that" she said rather awkwardly.

"I suppose so... although in the end it is logical considering the changes in my teammates," he said.

After a moment of silence, Cletus approached Collin.

"Do you want to change? It seems that it is awkward." he asked his partner

"Yes, a little, but are you sure? And can it be done?" he asked, to which they all turned to look at Isaac, who looked at them all in confusion for a second, before realizing that the question was for him.

To which he approached Verosika, who handed hrt the notebook to write down the answer. "Of course!" was what he wrote.

"And how do we do it?" Cletus asked, to which Isaac wrote.

"Just focus on the item, reach out and think about taking it away.

After reading that, both Cletus and Collin started to do it, and although it was difficult at first because of the newness of the situation, in the end the object, or item as called Isaac, it appeared floating in the hands of each one of them, and as they did so they could feel the power leaving them, and they felt weak and incomplete again.

Cletus quickly took the symbol from Collin, which he now knew was "The Mind ", and the blue lamb coincided with The Soul, and the change occurred in the same way as before. And while Collin lost his huge head and gained the blue aura, as for Cletus, those present were surprised, since they didn't see that his head grew like that of the blue lamb.

"Huh? this is weird, why didn't you grow your head?" Collin asked.

"Didn't it?" Cletus asked, confused, because he could feel the change The Mind made in his body, and was surprised that Keenie claimed that He had no physical change.

Collin handed Cletus the mirror that Verosika gave him, and Cletus was surprised, because although he had been physically changed, this change had been almost minor, since the only thing that was seen were pronounced veins, and that was all..

"This doesn't make sense, not that I'm complaining, but why isn't my head bigger?" He said as confused as the others, especially Collin. "

I guess it's because you were stubborn enough before, and it was physically impossible." Verosika said, eliciting a series of laughs from everyone except Isaac, causing Cletus to look at her with a look that made it clear how little he appreciated those words.

"Ha ha ha, that's SO funny." he said sarcastically.

"Well, she has a point." Keenie said.

"Really? My head isn't that big!...is it?" He exclaimed a bit indignant.

“Actually, I meant that you're stubborn, after all, it was your idea to carry out your project, and even if those in heaven are opposed you, you carried it out… but yeah, your head is literally big too." Verosika clarified.

This caused another wave of laughter, but in this case, After laughing, they decided to move on to the next items, which were the halo and the strange ball of light with wings.

When they grabbed the angelic halo, the only change they felt was that the power in them increased. They felt stronger, faster, smarter, more everything. This time, the only change is that their previous halos, which were cracked and dull, were replaced by the gold halo they grabbed

"The Halo" "All Stat Up"

As it was pretty explanatory, they didn't pay much attention to that detail, since they were more than Not at all surprised by how their halos had changed, such an important and essential part for them, and now that they were bigger and golden in color, it brought them happiness to recover and apparently improve their halos, they felt more and more complete.

And finally, there was the last item, the most striking of the 3, they hesitated for a moment, both because of the appearance and the power that emanated from the object, the same as the previous ones because there was not a hint of infernal power, or something that indicated that this was a hoax, and that was what made them doubt.

What if they were making a pact with the devil without realizing it? What if this was all a hoax?

They looked at each other, and after a while they nodded. If this was all part of Lucifer's plan, they would congratulate him for fooling them so perfectly. So, they set out to take the object, it was somewhat difficult, since how do you grab a ball of lus with a wing and cloth?

They grabbed the ball of light between their hands and it disappeared after a while. Nothing happened at first, before the sign that appeared with the other objects appeared above them.

"Revelation" and below it said "Awaken your faith."

Seeing no change, as did the others, he confused them all, both the cherubs and the demons, except for Isaac who only looked expectant.

Then suddenly something happened that astounded everyone beyond measure. The 3 cherubs began to glow with an increasingly intense golden color, they could feel the power slowly growing in them, before feeling it explode inside of them. Something that was literally on the outside, as they exploded in a fusion cloud of smoke and ball of light so intense, that Vortex covered his eyes from the intense glow, just like Isaac, although Verosika with her glasses on didn't need it, but she stepped back a bit like his bodyguard, sensing the enormous divine energy.

It was something fast and intense, because when the cloud and the smoke dissipated, they saw the result of the boy's plan. And while Isaac laughed and jumped with excitement, Verosika and Vortex gasped, and their eyes widened at what they saw, and the confusion was added when they looked up and saw the sign that appeared above the 3 cherubs.

For their part, the reaction of the three cherubs was similar, they were in mutual astonishment at the changes, not only internal that they felt, but also physical.

The wings were small before, now they were so big that they made the wings they had before look like those of an insignificant mosquito, but now they could easily wrap themselves or another person their size with them.

The cloth that used to wrap the ball of light now wrapped around her breasts, cascading over her shoulders, past her feet, and seemed to have not only merged with her garments, which were now pristine and clean, like the cherubs themselves, but instead changed color to match. The most striking were the eyes, although the pupils and iris remained unchanged, in addition to glowing, the sclera now lit up with a golden colored energy.

They could also notice how the physical changes that The Body and The Mind gave Collin and Keenie disappeared, leaving them as they were before, at least externally, because they could still feel those items.

And finally, the 3 were enveloped in an aura of gold.

Meanwhile, they felt that they possessed a power that they never thought possible, an enormous amount of sacred energy that emanated from within them. The only way they could describe it, was like a fraction of an infinite fire that never goes out, and that was now inside them.

They looked at each other in astonishment before looking up, and being EVEN MORE astonished beyond the word, to see what the sign said, which only had one word in very large letters.

"SERAPHIM"

Isaac jumped up and down a few times before clapping his tiny hands together. It worked! It really worked! The three cherubs were going to be fine! He had done a good thing for someone from heaven! He felt that he was finally a good boy! Surely with this, he would show Heaven that he and the others were worthy.

The three cherubs exchanged glances.

"Holy guacamole..." was all Cletus could say.

"We have... ASCENDED!" Keenie exclaimed.

"So…you got a promotion?" Verosika asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh. Congratulations… I think." Vortex said with a shrug.

Both demons did not fully understand the situation, they believed that all the astonishment of the cherubs was because they had transformed, but it turns out that being promoted was more shocking, and that confused both of them.

Noting the unawareness, on the part of the demons, the cherubs let go of massive surprise and shock, at least enough for Cletus to look at them and ask the two of them.

"Wait, promoted? We weren't 'promoted', we were Ascended!"

"And to Seraphim! We were promoted to Seraphim of all ranks!" Keenie exclaimed with her voice still filled with disbelief and astonishment.

"We are now angels of the Third Sphere, do... Do you have any idea what that means?" Collin asked the hellhound and succubus in disguise.

Verosika and Vortex looked at each other and then at the cherubs, shrugging in confusion.

"No offense, but we don't really know how things work up there, beyond the annual purge." Verosika said

The cherubs upon hearing this, the 3 cherubs, or rather "seraphs", looked at each other for what should be the millionth time in the day.

"So... who explains it to them?" Cletus asked his companions.

"I guess...it will have to be you, Keenie and I still need some time." said Collin, who, like Keenie, hadn't gotten over the situation.

Cletus floated towards the demons ready to explain the situation, he was still assimilating the huge surprise and disbelief that the whole matter of having been Ascended to Seraphim meant. He inhaled and began to speak.

"First you have to understand how the hierarchy of angels works, we are supposed to be 9 orders, distributed in the spheres, being those of the First Sphere the lowest category, and the angels of the Third Sphere the highest, and not for Less, since they are those who directly serve God, and those who are above the rest, has been understood up to now?" Cletus asked Verosika and Vortex.

They nodded, so the Seraphim continued.

"Well, the long and short of it is... We... kind of ARE promoted... Like... So high up that...basically there's only two entities that are above us, one of which is God himself." The cherub explained.

That left Verosika and Vortex stunned silent for a few seconds.

"...You-You're-Wha-" Verosika sputtered, for her mind was working overtime to the millionth power, trying to process the news and the implications.

"...Daaaang..." Vortex would have said 'damn', but he was careful to watch his language in front of the child, And the truth was all he could say..

"We'd basically be there to cheer the lord on as he does his great work, in addition to being his confidants among other things, but... I dunno if we'll be able to do THAT now, since we're exiled," Collin explained.

"Collin is right, we're still banished, but we're definitely way stronger than any old exterminator!" Keenie remarked. "And we owe it all to this little fella!" said the angelic lamb full of joy and happiness, as well as gratitude towards the little boy.

"Yeah, Keenie's right…thank…him," Cletus said, trailing off slowly, as his face turned analytical, and then he turned to a look of realization.

While the cherubs were explaining the situation, Verosika was more and more in shock, for every word they said, it was a bomb that they threw at the succubus.

She already knew that little Isaac was a box of incredible surprises, and when he said to help the 3 expelled cherubs, she didn't know what to really expect from Isaac, although the most insane thing that occurred to her that he would do, would be to mix Somehow Little Chad's powers, with his hourglass, or something, but take 3 fallen angels, and raise them so much, that the only one who has more authority than them is God himself?

To say that this was surprising was the wrong thing to do. It would be surprising if any of her exes, idiots they were and still are, are still alive despite how despicable they are, but this? this that Isaac had done? This was something that went beyond being simply amazing, it was something that left Verosika almost completely speechless; especially because of the huge implications.

She only had one thing to say.

"But...How!?" both Cletus and Verosika exclaimed at the same time, looking at each other in surprise at such perfect timing.

"Okay, obviously we both have questions, some that urgently need answers, so let your Cletus begin," she offered, to which the angel began as everyone's attention focused on him.

"Okay, we've been Ascended. I'll ask the most important and obvious question: how did this guy, Isaac, get to ascend us?"

"I..." Verosika started only to stop, since she didn't really have an answer for that.

"Cletus is right, no angel has been promoted like us in eons, sure, some angels can be promoted by another, but the only one who can promote an angel to Seraphim, or any other from the Third Sphere is..." Collin continued but stopped.

"Him" Keenie finished for her partner, and despite how vague he was, everyone except Isaac understood who the angelic lamb was talking about, which caused everyone who did understand to open their eyes in shock, especially the angels.

"Or so we thought, and that's why it doesn't make sense, the only way Isaac could ascend to us, is if he was-" Cletus started only to be interrupted by Verosika.

"Let's see, wait a minute, I know what you're going to say, and let's not rush" she said quickly.

"But don't you understand that we would be in the presence of-" Collin tried to say, but Verosika interrupted.

"Ok, listen to me, I take back what I said earlier," said the pop-star succubus, seeing where this was going. "Before jumping to hasty conclusions, and starting to say and do something stupid, by just a long shot." Verosika interrupted the angel, to prevent him from saying everyone who wasn't Isaac knew he was going to say, and for many reasons, all VERY good reasons.

"But-" Keenie was going to speak, but was interrupted, only this time it was Cletus, who raised his arm in front of her.

"No, let her continue, maybe she's right" said the angel, Keenie was going to insist, but decided to keep quiet when she saw the look that the childish angel gave her.

Seeing that she could continue, Verosika continued. "Look, the situation is this, I know you want answers, and so do I. Believe me when I tell you that I am as surprised as you are, but believe me when I tell you that he is not who he thinks."

This last one was a half lie, she actually DID NOT WANT to believe in it, because if that were the case, the whole matter had been complicated at cosmic levels.

"And although there may be answers, believe me when I tell you that we can NOT ask you directly, if you want an answer I will give it to you, or at least everything I know, BUT as I said before, it will be when Isaac is not present, and that is final." Verosika said and despite the fact that the Seraphim wanted an answer, in the end they decided to accept the terms.

"Okay, we get it, let's do that, but we really need an explanation of...all of this" Cletus said pointing to himself, as well as his companions.

"Very good," Verosika said smiling, "for now, although we have questions, I think it's obvious that you should thank Isaac for, well, saving your lives, but nothing exaggerated." said the succubus and they all looked at Isaac who was looking at the whole thing, curious but also with a small smile.

Isaac for his part was still very happy for having helped the angels, he did not understand much of what they said, but from what he knew, their biggest problem is that God had abandoned them, and without the power of heaven they they would die Isaac couldn't let them suffer, so he decided to share some of the cool stuff he found in the basement, just like he did with Mr Tex, but since they were angels, then he had to give them the items he found in the Angel Room.

It was more difficult than he thought, not because he didn't have one, but it seemed that he had all the things that he used to find in the treasure rooms, the difficult thing was knowing which one to give to each one, but after thinking about it, he decided that the best thing is that he would give each one a Halo, a Revelation, and to each one he would give The Mind, The Body and The Soul, after doubling them, so that each one would have one of each, and he will not run out of his own.

And it worked! It really worked! And now they looked more angelic than before! Although things got a little confusing, because they looked very surprised, Isaac thought it was strange, and then they started talking with Miss Verosika, but he couldn't pay attention, because while they talked, he kept the stuff that was left.

Isaac noticed that now the objects worked and looked a little different than before, although he didn't understand why. By the time he finished, he returned to the conversation, all he could hear was Miss Verosika telling the angels that they had to thank him.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Cletus eagerly pulled Isaac in close, wrapping an arm around him, and rubbed the top of his head with a grin. "Boy, I can't thank ya enough, little fella! You really pulled us out of the fire there... We'd be in a real pickle if it wasn't for you!"

Collin was next. "That's right... Thank you, Isaac. We owe you, our lives." He said sincerely, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Isaac smiled, but was quickly pulled from the touch of the two male cherubs when an enthusiastic Keenie snatched him up off the ground and into her arms, squeezing him tight and spinning him around, practically manic with glee and relief.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Said Keenie full of happiness and emotion, while Isaac was lifted into the air by her in her arms, in a strong but gentle hug, trying to convey all her gratitude to the little boy, who didn't save her life and that of her fellow angels, but also promoted them.

Whether or not Isaac the father, both Keenie and the others, will be in eternal gratitude to the little cutie.

At that moment, as she hugged him, Keenie noticed how extremely light Isaac was, to the point that she felt that she was carrying a sack of feathers more than a living being, she knew that she was much stronger now, thanks to Isaac's gift, but this didn't make sense, the boy's weight felt almost non-existent, and she suspected it wasn't just because of the extra strength "The Body" gave her, she would have to ask Verosika about that later.

Isaac was surprised at first by the sudden show of affection, but then he began to laugh with happiness at the show of gratitude from the angelic sheep, feeling the love, the happiness, as well as the softness of her fur and clothes. So, Isaac's only response was a laugh filled with a joy equal to Keenie's, and the hug in return.

Verosika and Vortex watched the whole situation move, but Verosika couldn't help but think about all that it implied, there was so much to discuss and ask, but she couldn't do it directly, without causing Isaac a mental breakdown, from having to relive the worst. moment of his life.

And that was frustrating, now more than ever because of what she saw Isaac was capable of.

Verosika was never philanthropist, charitable, or even qualified as a decent person or anything like that to her, not for nothing was she a succubus born and raised in hell, but that didn't stop her from feeling happy and proud to see how the boy helped others, not only at her expense, but also inspired by her.

'I wonder if that's why the princess is the way she is and she does what she does.' Verosika thought in her mind, and if that was the case, the succubus would not only understand her, but would genuinely respect her, not only for her being the daughter of the king and queen of hell.

Even so, Verosika had to have a very serious conversation with Isaac, although what she did was right, and it was something truly noble, giving any stranger objects of great power, which turned them into divine beings, was something that had to be stopped.

I'll have to talk it over with him in the car, back to hell.

Thinking about this, she realized another detail, and that is that she was no longer alone with Isaac, she now had 3 new members in the crew, and she said that the members were 3 angelic beings brimming with divine power.

To say that she would attract attention would be an understatement, she watched as, after a while, Keenie gently lowered Isaac to the ground, as she returned to her group. So, she decided that it was better for her to deal with those 2 problems now.

She went to where Isaac was with the angels, and she lifted the child up in his arms, to face him. "Ok Isaac, I have to tell you something and it's serious, so pay attention"

Saying this, Isaa looked at her carefully as she began to speak.

"Although I'm very proud and amazed at what you're capable of, keep in mind that you can't do that with, we were lucky that the three of them had no bad intentions against us, but who knows what would happen if it wasn't the case ". Verosika said, referring to the now seraphim.

Isaac inclined his head and took the notepad from him, then wrote on it before displaying a message.

"But what if others need help? Is it wrong to help them?"

Verosika thought about it for a moment, before answering. "Well, no, it's not bad to help someone who needs help, just be careful... If we ever get separated for any reason, always remember to be careful, you never know what someone's intentions might be until it's too late, That's why you shouldn't give your... Cool Stuff to just anyone."

"So, what can I do?" wrote Isaac.

"I guess it's not mandatory to give your items to help others, so you can still use them if you need to."

"I don't give my items to strangers, but can I use them?"

Verosika sighed and smiled fondly. "Yeah, I guess that was pretty clear."

Isaac smiled when she received the message from her. "It's ok, I'll do it!"

"Very good honey. Now as for you 3" he said looking at the 3 cherubs, "we have a little problem, and to put it bluntly, you are literally overflowing with pure holy power, where we are going would draw attention, almost as much as seeing Lucifer himself walking the streets."

"And why exactly is that a problem?" Keenie asked.

"That can attract unwanted attention,” said the disguised succubus.

"And that could put Isaac in danger" Cletus deduced to which Verosika nodded.

"But don't worry, we are stronger than ever, thanks to your wonderful gifts we are now seraphim! There really is little that can stand up to us." Keenie told them.

"Yes, but first, don't let it go to your head, you also don't know the limits of that power, not even if you really are a seraph or not, if we are getting confused." she replied.

"She's right Keenie, at the moment we can't be sure, although if we had more information about it..." Cletus replied to her, then looked at Verosika who quickly replied.

"And even if they were seraphs, that doesn't make the problem any less. Besides, we already talked about this before, I'll give you all the answers I can, but it will be later, when Isaac is not around."

"So, what do we do?"

"I don't know, can't you... I don't know, reduce it or something?" asked Verosika with some doubt.

"Regulate it?" Collin asked, and like Keenie and Cletus, the angels thought for a while, and Cletus was the one who answered.

"We could try." and immediately afterwards, he concentrated on the objects inside him. He could feel the power that emanated from them, and he could feel that it was something similar to summoning his crossbow, only instead of attracting it, what he decided was to "decrease" it by concentrating and using his thought.

The others watched as little by little, as almost all the angelic features disappeared, while Cletus slowly lowered to the ground. They also felt how his power disappeared until it almost disappeared, being almost completely invisible.

By the time he finished, all that was left was the scarf, which was floating around him, and now that Cletus saw it more clearly, it felt not just like clothing, but something else, and he checked it when he thought about moving it, and he was surprised to see that he could move it at will, as if it were some kinds of extra arms.

"Woah" he said upon discovering what he was capable of, he decided to wrap it around his neck and shoulders.

His fellow angels saw what he did, imitated him, and in a matter of minutes they were in the same position.

"How do you feel?" Verosika asked curiously.

""Well, a little numb, but nothing like before" Collin said as you wrapped his bow as a tie, using his mind.

"Yeah, the power is still there, but more peaceful... so to speak" Keenie said while doing the same thing, only in this case, hers was a huge bow tie on her back.

"Well, at least that way they don't draw unwanted attention, they could go through hell completely unnoticed." Verosika said.

"Yes, but since our wings are also hidden, we will have to use our legs more often." Cletus complained.

"Yeah, like everyone else, but don't worry, walking is good exercise, and those will suit you," said Vortex. "Well, when you're at my house, you can use your wings, and we can also go to remote places, both in hell and on earth, to practice flying, among other things, is that okay?" Verosika proposed, to which all three enthusiastically attended. "Fine," she said smiling, as she picked up Isaac, who in turn had Little Chad and his notebook in his hands. "Now let's go back to the car, the faster we get back, the faster we can clear some things up." Verosika said, it wasn't an order, but surely everyone obeyed it as such.

So, without wasting time everyone got into the car, and left the place. All without realizing security cameras, which recorded the entire situation from start to finish.

Isaac sat quietly in Verosika's lap, looking out the window with a smile, happily enjoying the sights that had been denied him for so long. time. He liked being in the city, it was a very nice place, he raised Little Chad so that the little thing could see the landscape better, which he let out a fascinated "Priiiie".

On her side, Verosika was looking at Isaac, who was still enthralled and fascinated with his friend, by the world beyond the window, although this particular city was not a big or outstanding place, for him it was clear that it was a new world. and fascinating. Which didn't make much sense in Verosika's mind, since he, despite how young he is, shouldn't be so fascinated by the place, so he attributed it to being locked up.

Verosika wondered how long he was trapped. This was another question to be added to the long, long, long list of questions that need answers. The succubus looked at the little boy and the little friend of his again, and saw how fascinated and happy they were, how much fun Isaac was having, despite the fact that he was just looking out the window.

'Did you know? The answers will come, for now, I'll enjoy taking care of this little one, he deserves to be happy after all the shit that happened.' she thought, as she hugged him and patted his head with the intention of bringing him closer to the window.

Although she stopped when she did this, because when she caressed his head she noticed something, and that is that the boy's head was a little rougher than before, so she saw better, and she realized that the boy was beginning to grow hair, it was small and almost imperceptible, but it looked a light whitish blonde. She smiled happily, even though Isaac was very cute and cuddly even when he was bald, with hair he would undoubtedly look even better, and Verosika expected him to have long and abundant hair, the number of hairstyles that would make Isaac even cuter was almost infinite.

Once he finished thinking that, she raised him up, so that he could see the landscape better, allowing Isaac and his companion to be near the window, and the effect was almost immediate, since the child could now see better, and therefore was more fascinated.

Everything was amazing to Isaac, and that was greatly distressing to the succubus. Such simple sights, and he was acting like he was in a magical land filled with candy and toys. Still, she fought the urge to frown and just pointed out various sights as they went by. From the garbage fast food places she had a soft spot for to the bowling alley to the places she told him she NEVER wanted him anywhere near despite the pretty flashing colors, such as casinos, or places where people wear little clothing, other than the beach or pool, she told him about the world he had missed out on.

Isaac paid attention to it all, giving a nod or an "uh huh" when it came to directions, and acting amazed and fascinated by the sights he saw around the car.

Verosika then realized something wonderful, and that is that, now that her musical tour was over, she could take a vacation to show Isaac the world, from the best and different parts of the world. Although there was the problem that since she just finished the tour, her time on earth, before she got into trouble, had already run out and she had to go back, so she would have to spend time in hell before being able to go out into the world.

But that was not an impediment, since Isaac first has to see and get used to her new home, while this happens, she could show him the most beautiful and healthy places in hell. Places where a kid his age can have fun without getting hurt, mentally scarred or the like, like that awful park in LooLoo Land.

She grimaced at the mere thought of bringing him to that dump. Her own mother had taken her there as a little girl and they had both wound up coming home covered in various different injuries from the trashy rides, and she heard they got some new clown mascot, and honestly, just straight up fuck clowns, she hated the creepy bastards, with their make-up plastered faces and their obviously fake grins and their big stupid red noses that she just wanted to punch as hard as she could until it was nothing but a red smear...

Was this because Blitzo was a clown when they were dating? Most likely.

She stepped out of the car, carrying Isaac in her arms, as her companions piled out of the car, and looked around to make sure no one was watching before ducking into a nearby alleyway. The hellhound and cherubs followed, then the three former heaven denizens looked around before turning to Verosika, who placed a palm against the wall in front of her and focused her energy...

And soon enough, a swirling red vortex opened up.

While Vortex stayed in the car, Cletus and his companions were going to get out of the car, but the succubus told her to stay inside.

Verosika looked around where they were, inspecting the zone, to make sure no one was watching. The place was a zone on the outskirts of the city, an open field with nothing but desert land, where there were only a few plants, dirt, rocks and little else.

From the car, the three Skydwellers looked around before turning to Verosika, who pulled out a kind of crystal.

Then she pointed it in front of her and as soon as she did that, a laze shot out and a few meters away, there was a portal with the appearance of several joined rhombuses, revealed what looked like a city on the other side.

Isaac looked at the the portal with surprise and amazement, a sentiment shared in part by the angels, although to a lesser extent than the boy, because they already knew that the inhabitants of hell visited earth, but it's how they do it, it's still impressive. Isaac had already gone through portals before, it was not something so new, since he had "Card Reading", which gave him the option.

although it wasn't exactly similar to what he had, and that made him surprised.

Verosika then entered the portal with Isaac, and shortly after Vortex and the angels, along with the car, before closing the portal. "Well Isaac... welcome… this is hell." Verosika said as he walked through the portal, showing Isaac around the city... confusing him greatly in the process.

Isaac looked around, and then scratched his head when he saw the place where they were, and wrote in his notebook.

"Is this hell?"

Verosika giggled into her hand. "I know, I know, it's not quite what you were expecting. There's not as much fire and brimstone as the bible leads you to believe, and we don't exactly torture the sinners here for all eternity like you might be expecting."

"Unless they get themselves in over their head." Vortex chuckled.

"Yes, yes, so try and be careful who you associate with, you four." Verosika warned Isaac and the three cherubs.

"We'll be on our guard, Miss Verosika ma'am!" Cletus responded with a salute.

"Very good. Well, we can take off this costumes now." saying this Verosika put Isaac briefly on the ground "Stay here a moment," she said before her and Vortex, before being briefly engulfed in blue fire, revealing their true appearances, somewhat impressing the angels in the process, by how different they looked, but not that much.

Unlike Isaac, who still wasn't quite used to it, but seeing Verosika in her true form, she still seemed impressive to him, although she couldn't help that she still seemed very pretty. Suddenly he thought of Mr. Vortex and was curious what his appearance was, and the only thing he remembers is that he was a creature with hair, because the first time he saw his true forms, Isaac was distracted by Verosika being the "Angel" Red, and he see that the Red "Angel" was a demon.

So, when he decided to look, and when he saw him, he let out a small gasp of surprise.

The others only caught a glimpse of Isaac gasping in surprise, followed by a childish gasp of excitement, before running towards Vortex, whose sudden action caught him by surprise.

He could see Isaac jumping with excitement, but besides that with his arms outstretched towards him, full of emotion and happiness.

At this point Vortex was even more confused by Isaac's reaction, even more so when the grip entered the boy, and he hugged Vortex while stroking his head the best he could, due to his size. The hellhound blinked owlishly, then chuckled and returned the affection with a friendly head pat. "Ah, looks like the little guy likes dogs, eh?"

Isaac nodded his head.

"He likes dogs, cats, birds, rabbits... Just about any animal really." Verosika chuckles in amusement.

"Heh, from the looks of it... I'm pretty sure cats and dogs are his favorites." said Vortex.

"And how are you so sure?" Keenie asked.

Vortex didn't answer, because he was impressed with the pure love, appreciation, adoration, happiness that emanated from the little boy he held in his arms, all directed at him. And what impressed him was that he could literally feel the boy's feelings, like someone feeling the heat of a campfire, and this was something Hellhound had rarely felt, the closest thing to Isaac's feelings was his girlfriend.

Who in a different way loved him with the same intensity and vice versa.

Everything was so intense, sincere and wholesome that Vortex could only smile and wag his tail happily, while he smiled and stuck out his tongue, in a show of happiness that took Verosika by surprise, since it was the first time she had seen the hellhound so happy.

For her part, the seraphim found the scene very heartwarming, as well as surprising. Who would have thought that the first thing they would see her arrive in hell would be an interaction as beautiful as this?

Unfortunately, the scene was promptly ruined by a passing imp, who barked out a laugh at the sight. "HA! LOOKIT THAT DROOLING DUMBASS' STUPID FACE! WANT A BISCUIT YA FA-"

Verosika promptly shut him up by ripping a stop sign out of the ground and using it as a bludgeoning weapon to smash him upside the head, eyes narrowed in rage and teeth gritted. "Should've kept your DAMN mouth shut." She seethed.

After saying that, she hit the imp with such force that she sent it flying far away. away at such speed, that if it weren't for the brake, but because he smashed like a cannonball into a building, he would have been out of sight. She sighed, then searched for a place to dispose of the now dented and crooked sign, spotting a nearby trash can where she dumped it.

She was about to return to his group, when she saw that something else or someone was violently thrown into the garbage can, the subject stood up trembling violently, with green skin, gray clothes, metal mask and red hair, clown hairstyle.

He came out of the dump holding the traffic sign that Verosika had discarded, for a moment Verosika prepared to fight, when another sinner appeared, dressed in black with his face covered, and red googles, and brought some kind of sword with ones and zeros. And apparently the same guy who threw the clown into the dump, given how he started to fight him quickly, exchanging blows and clashing their weapons, with mastery, even if the clown's weapon was just a traffic signal.

At one point, the sinner with the red goggles pounced on the sinful clown, throwing himself into the garbage can, which because of the blows began to roll down the street until it was out of sight, leaving as quickly and suddenly as they arrived, and Verosika could only think that even for hell, those guys looked weird.

Verosika downplayed the event, and returned to his group, and saw their expressions of astonishment and utter shock, on the faces of Vortex and the seraphim.

"I didn't know she could do that," Collin told Vortex.

"Me Neither" he said, just as surprised as the seraphs, and wondering why his boss hired him, if she's capable of hitting an Imp into the stratosphere.

Isaac blinked like an owl, then clapped his hands to encourage her, given what he'd been through, he was more than used to this kind of violence, which helped protect him from it, so this really wasn't anything new to him. However, it was the farthest and fastest he had ever sent an enemy, and she did it without any synergy! He thought Miss Verosika looked SO cool while she did it too!

Verosika for her part smiled amused and flattered by the group's actions, especially Isaac's. Although she would have to talk to him, using violence to protect yourself is fine, especially in a place like hell, for him to use it, the first option, mainly because it could end up upsetting the wrong person. And while the succubus knew that Isaac was special, she didn't know the real extent of the boy's power yet.

On top of that, she doesn't want Isaac to become an asshole addicted to violence, like most wrath residents, of course she wants him to be strong and learn to defend himself, but she didn't want him to be like those rednecks. She had made the mistake of dating one of them. ...Never, EVER again...

She took the boy back from Vortex, hugging him close and gently tickling under his chin like one would a cat. He kind of reminded her of a cat, actually, he was small and quiet and extremely cuddly, and he had those big eyes too.

Cletus then walked over to her and tugged on her clothing to get her attention, which worked. "So what do we do now?" asked the seraph.

"Well, we have to go up to a meeting in the building here, a few floors up to organize some things and-" Suddenly, Verosika was interrupted as she heard her phone ring as she received a message on the phone. She took it out of her pocket and read the content. "Oh...It seems not anymore, the meeting has been canceled, something about a fight between a couple of freaks who left the offices destroyed and a pile of corpses, so while they do the cleaning and repairs, I am free. Great! This allows us to go straight to my house without any hassle. So come on, let's get back to the car."

Without arguing, they all entered the vehicle again, leaving the parking lot, passing through the guardhouses on the sides of the exit, which was a gate that looked elegant as if reinforced in its design, guarded by two demons that looked similar to the gate, fierce, large and well-armed and corpulent, more similar to soldiers in everything except the uniform, than to guards in a parking lot.

They had to hire men like that to take care of the cars, after all it was THE HELL, and the place where famous people like her used to go, so this level of security was needed, or else you would be robbed or worse. Still, that didn't stop someone suicidal enough, lucky enough, determined enough, or sent flying in from somewhere else to jump in from time to time.

Isaac and the 3 angels looked in amazement and a little intimidated at the corpulent and armed demons, although it seemed that they could squeeze them like oranges with their hands. Or at least it would have been like that for the 3 angels, before Isaac gave them their gifts.

For their part, the demons that guarded the entrance only gave them a quick glance, curious about the appearance of the 4 children, but in the end, they returned to their own, as soon as Verosika caught their attention.

"Thanks, here's my ID and this is for you guys"s he handed them both a check each as a tip, and with a smile, both at the payment and at recognizing her, they opened the heavy gate, allowing Verosika and the group to leave.

After leaving the parking lot, Verosika put Isaac in the back next to the angels, and then she checked the news from the Pride Ring, she looked for the route less traveled, not because it would be faster, at most it would be the opposite, but it would be the least prone to an accident, turf war, mugging or some other disaster, and when she found it she indicated it to Vortex to go that way.

At another time this wouldn't have mattered much to Verosika, of course she wouldn't actively look for danger, but she wouldn't mind taking risks, but now that she had Isaac and 3 others, she preferred to play it safe a little more than before. In any case, in addition to Vortex, she had some weapons in the car, reserved for whatever denizen of Hell she thought was her lucky day.

When they set off, and while they reached their destination, Isaac and the angels looked out the window at the entire scene, with shared feelings, since the four of them felt resignation and sadness to a lesser extent, but also amazement, relief, and hope. Resignation and sadness, because they are in hell, despite everything they did to avoid being here, and even though things are not half as horrible and disturbing as what they had told him.

Even in the message that they were in a place where only moral failures, those condemned for eternity, the worst of the worst, years and years of propaganda, provoked feelings, which were not going to go away in a short time.

Deep inside Isaac, a voice full of hate and despondency told him that he was finally where he belongs, like the filthy and impure being that he is.

As for astonishment and relief, they were because of how hell looked, of course, it was not an ideal place, it was noticeable that it was a dangerous place, but it was not the twisting place of fire and the screams of eternally condemned and tortured souls. In reality, at least as far as they had seen, it was a huge, glittering city, bustling and full of lights and glowing billboards.

Although when the angels took a closer look at what most of the posters said, they were very shocked, since the vast majority offered drugs, sex and the most harmless was junk food or a random product.

Isaac, being very small or because of the situation in general, didn't seem to notice, the seraphim wondered what Verosika would do to raise the child in a healthy way, in a place like this.

And while a part of Isaac had already surrendered and accepted his fate, another hoped that everything would be better from here on, despite how impossible it seemed, it was not the first time for the child that something impossible had been achieved.

For their part, the angels were in a similar situation, they really hoped they hadn't been mistaken, they hadn't been deceived, and that Verosika really is the decent person she appears to be, and that what awaits them is actually the opportunity to build a future. better.

As at the moment the route seemed safe as expected, Verosika decides to get distracted and look at the passengers in the back, they could see the astonishment on their faces, but also a feeling that she could not identify at first glance, she thought of talk to them but decided that it would be best to arrive first, and then talk to them separately.

Another thing she noticed was that while the angelic lambs, Collin and Keenie, were leaning out the window, the apparent leader of the group was sitting, hands clasped, thumbs twiddling, his face deep in thought, staring. to nothing, and momentarily diverting his gaze to look out the window, at Isaac or at her.

Verosika let out a soft breath and clenched her fists. She really hated the fact that good people had to suffer like this while the absolute scum of the earth always seemed to get away with their crimes, it was ALWAYS something that bothered her and was a major contributing factor to her drinking habits. Isaac and the three angels were all examples of this, they were all wholesome, lovable people who just wanted to help others and be cared for in return, and the world seemed to want to get them for it. She reminded him of some friends that she had lost...

Now that was 2 topics she hadn't touched or thought about in a long time.

Even though it had only been 3 weeks, it felt like 3 years since Verosika drank a single drop of alcohol, and anyone who knew her on a personal level, and not so personal, would be surprised by this fact, because her alcoholism It is well known, as well as the disasters that she came to cause on some occasions when she was drunk.

Nobody would believe that Verosika could go more than half a day without a drink, and that she would never stop drinking, in fact the succubus herself believed it.

Or at least until she met Isaac.

If there was a time in the life of the succubus, in which she most wanted to drink, it would undoubtedly be the first 2 weeks since Isaac came into her life. It was the most difficult moment of her life, a time not only of change, but of increasing stress, not only because of her work, in fact, thanks to the fact that they had recently finished the tour, she was almost free.

It was Isaac, or rather, what she was discovering as she delved deeper and deeper into the child's damaged mind, the horrors he lived through, the constant panic attacks, the nightmares, how he cried, writhed and urinated on himself, being attacked by demons and monsters that were not in another place that was not his mind..

As well as not knowing if he would survive without the machines, otherwise he would have a relapse, if his injuries had caused him worse physical damage, which had not been seen. And that too, was the only reason why Verosika no longer drank, because of him, she didn't want Isaac to see her drown her sorrows in alcohol, she didn't want him to believe that an escape for all her pain was drink.

And if Isaac tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol, or used any other drug to relieve the pain, considering everything the boy went through in his short life, trying to suppress all that trauma and pain would end up destroying Isaac completely. .

That is why it was imperative for Verosika to stop drinking, because if she didn't, he would most likely end up killing him by setting a bad example.

That's not to say it was easy for her, especially to stop so abruptly, but her extra motivation helped. Besides, she didn't want him to see her drunk, no child should see her mother like that, much less a childlike Isaac. Besides, she didn't know why, but something deep inside Verosika told her that if Isaac saw her drink, things would get even worse.

As for the friends that Verosika has lost, the road to fame is not easy, and she has had to sacrifice a lot, including people she had to put aside. That without counting some of those who died in the annual purges or at the hands of crime.

The worst part is that this was one of the other reasons for drinking, and that also caused her to partially or totally no longer remember the faces or voices of many of them, trying to ease the pain of loss, she has destroyed their memories. until almost completely forgetting them, and she can do little or nothing to recover them.

Still... Remembering them hurts... Especially the ones she had lost at the hands of that bastard Crimson... Oh how she wished she had the power to just go down there and wring that monster's scrawny little pencil neck until it popped off its tiny head...

Her friend had worked under the mafia leader as a maid. She had been treated poorly and walked all over by the predominantly male staff, and she had her suspicions that they had done some truly unspeakable things to her that she refused to talk about.

And then one day, she was missing. She didn't see her again, and while nothing was ever confirmed, she knew, she just KNEW she had done SOMETHING to offend that evil, twisted imp that resulted in him taking her to that little 'spot' of his. She'd gone down to verify for herself, and indeed, she'd found some of her friend's clothes floating in the water.

THAT was when she'd started drinking EVEN more. It didn't help that it had happened so soon after the bad breakup with Blitzo...

No, Verosika definitely had to teach him how to avoid those things. She might not be able to teach him how to avoid losing friends, or the pain of loss, but Verosika could definitely teach him that using pain-relieving drugs was not the way to go, as well as avoiding getting involved with horrible people romantically.

'Hmmm talking about drugs can come first, anything related to romance can come second, I doubt Isaac is going to have any experience with that anytime soon to need advice.' Verosika told herself in his mind and then she saw one of the angels in the rearview mirror. 'Although maybe one of them could use it,' she thought with a smile.

Before she could continue with her thoughts, Verosika saw how they were arriving at their destination. She perked up in her seat, realizing she had a lot of introductions to do. Her staff needed to know their new little master, after all, and also the trio that... huh... What WERE the three angelic beings going to be to her? Would they just be living in her house as guests? Maybe she could hire them on as staff, she was fairly short-handed...

Verosika saw her mansion, from the outside it was a mixture of beautiful architecture, with a mini fortress, something required for anyone in hell who can afford it. Although according to the one who sold her the house, the place where she was located was quiet and peaceful, and she would rarely encounter any trouble or catastrophe.

Verosika evidently didn't believe that real estate salesman, after all he is a real estate salesman. But since in the time that she has been living, there has not been any problem, she was surprised to find one of them who was telling the truth.

She let out a sigh and put her hands on her hips. "Home sweet home!" She cheered. "C'mon, kiddo, let's go and give you and your friends the grand tour!" She threw the door open with a dramatic flair and sauntered out, making her way to the front door and slamming it open. "I'm hoooooome~!" She called out... only to hear a groan. Looking over, she saw a well dressed imp lying on the floor, rubbing his nose. "Oh crap! Sorry, Skrell, didn't think you'd be that close to the door when I opened it!" She was quick to apologize to her head of staff.

“Don't worry my lady, I'm fine"she said, getting up, wiping his uniform with one hand while rubbing her nose with the other. When the pain quickly faded, and he saw that nothing was broken, he looked at her boss, and the imp noticed that apart from Vortex, there were 4 other new individuals, who looked in awe all the same size, apparently all of them children but with a different appearance,

2 of them were the most normal in the eyes of the imp, since they looked like lambs, a female and a male, at first glance, but what caught Skreell's attention the most were the other 2.

Skrell both looked very human with big eyes, the same small height, and although they both looked cute, they were also very different, one with a head and the other looked like a miniature version of Lucifer himself.

Both children were the most striking, each one for different reasons, the shaved boy is the one who called Skrell's attention the most, not only because of his appearance and the fact of being alive, as well as because of the strange aura that emanated from him, but because of who recognized him, he must be Isaac, the boy Mrs. Verosika told them about.

The other powerfully caught the attention of the imp, not only because he looked like a miniature version of the lord and master of hell, but also because he had no information about him as well as about the lambs, since Verosika had only told them that she would arrive with Isaac.

For their part, both Isaac and Cletus, Collin and Keenie were impressed by how the place looked, on the outside it looked very nice, but inside it was even more so, with an extremely elaborate and detailed decoration, white and gold stood out, along with the other colors, although it was not the same as the sky, it was still really impressive.

At least that's what the 3 seraphim thought, when Isaac was more impressed, because he had never seen such a big and beautiful place, the closest thing to that were the Rooms of the Angels that were in the basement, and partly The Cathedral, although less broken and without ugly things.

He was grateful that he was used to navigating big and complicated rooms, because finding his way around might have been a little bit confusing otherwise. He held onto Verosika's dress with his tiny fist as she carried him forward.

Skrell composed himself and let out a soft sigh. "Ah. So, this is Isaac, huh? Nice to finally meet you, kid. Miss Verosika told us so much about you, you know."

Isaac beamed, happy to know that Miss Verosika thought highly enough of him that she wanted to tell her friends about him. The boy looked with interest at the creature that gave him the greeting, because of the color and size, it looked a bit like a redder and smaller version of Miss Verosika, and it seemed as nice as she was.

When he was in the car he saw many similar creatures through the window, along with others that looked different, and while some were scary, others looked very pretty, he got to see children and even babies, and some reminded him of Lil Loki, because of the color and how cute they were. Isaac wondered if they could also shoot in four directions like or summon exploding flies like Loki, he will ask Miss Verosika later.

He reached out his tiny hand to Skrell in an attempt to shake it, and Verosika dropped to her knees seeing what she wanted. Skrell took his hand gently, making sure to treat the boy as gently as possible, and they shook hands slowly before he turned away from him with a smile and a nod.

When he shook his hand, the imp was surprised, because he could feel a strange sensation running through his body. It was like those few times he managed to shake hands with a powerful overlord, or some member of the royalty of hell, only he didn't know felt threatening or dangerous. No, it was rather something more calm, meek and pleasant, but he didn't think about it much, since he quickly got out of his surprise and told Isaac.

"Ah, he's a good boy. He has good manners. Definitely much better than me when he was his age." Skrell chuckled as he released his hand, nodding, well remembering his youth, always the rebellious type who put nerds in lockers. This boy seemed like a healthy little man, he doubted anyone around him would have to worry.

"Yeah, that's not much because it would be like saying that someone has more dialectic than Groot or Hodor." said Verosika jokingly.

"Oh, come on, lady, I wasn't that terrible either, at least not more than any child from hell." Skrell said.

"That's not what I've heard," she said tentatively. "Yes, it really would have been a great loss, but putting that aside, tell me, are all the employees here? I want Isaac to meet them all in person," Verosika asked.

"Ummm, last time I checked we were all there, but let me check in case someone inadvertently left." Skrell said while taking his phone, to verify that everyone was there, sending a message to the group chat. While he waited for the answer, he took a look at the extra unexpected guests, 2 lambs and 1 boy who was very similar to Lucifer, there was something that looked very familiar about them, but the imp couldn't figure out what. They felt… off, not demonic in nature, and not human either. It was weird.

After being under the curious gaze of the imp, Cletus decided to break the ice and approached. "Uh…Nice to meet you, buddy. My name is Cletus, and we are uh…" He turned to look at Verosika, silently asking her if he should keep the secret or not.

Verosika considered that if she entrusted his life to his staff, they could handle this information, but when she was about to tell Cletus that she could tell him no problem, she stopped and had an idea. "You can tell everyone the truth, but I recommend that you wait until later, when Isaac goes to sleep, when I tell you everything, I haven't told you about Isaac, I plan to gather everyone so that you can take advantage of telling them what you think?"

Cletus waited a moment, and then nodded. "Sounds like a good plan" he said with a smile, which was shared by Verosika.

"Well, they already answered, Miss Verosika, everyone is here in the mansion." Skrell caught their attention.

"Okay, now who did we get to first?" Verosika wondered.

Suddenly, a red and black blur rushed in, and another imp ran in, standing rigid and saluting like a soldier about to go to war. "I'm here! Hi Miss Verosika!" She dropped the salute and grinned widely. "Is he here?! Do I finally get to meet the little cutie?! Show him to me! What's his favorite food?! I have to cook it tonight!" She pleaded eagerly, hopping back and forth on her heels.

"Settle down, Ronia, yes, he's here, and you can meet him, but first you need to take it easy." Verosika said with a small chuckle.

Isaac thought about it for a moment but in the end, seeing that the imp had no bad intentions, he nodded. and with great emotion, and letting out an excited squeal, Ronia gave him a strong but soft hug.

Even though she wanted to give him a crushing hug because of how cute he was, Ronia had already scared him before, so she held back for now. While the female imp was still holding the child in her arms, they parted a bit and Isaac looked at Ronia better, now that he had her closer to her.

She was almost as tall as Skrell, but while the male imp was slimmer, Ronia was much chubbier, attire that consisted of a baby blue dress, heels, an apron with straight hair. In addition, another thing that she was able to notice is that while Skrell had a type of perfume, Ronia smelled in different ways, none bad on the contrary, although none that he could identify.

If Isaac had asked Verosika, she would have answered that Ronia smelled like cookies, pancakes, turkey, fried foods and other different dishes, only he didn't know because it had been a long time since he had eaten dog food, or in bad condition. status, or the Rainbow Cookie. Hospital food did not count, because it was mostly vegetables and diet bread.

*GRRRRRRR!*

Although Isaac's brain did not recognize Ronia's smell, his stomach did, a sound that was heard by everyone present, surprised by how loud it sounded.

Ronia let out a loud gasp and donned a smile that threatened to tear her face apart. "Ooh! Ooh ooh ooh, he's hungry, he's hungry, that means I get to cook, yes yes YES!" In a single blur of motion, Isaac was suddenly back in Verosika's arms and Ronia was no longer in the room, having scrambled to get to the kitchen to get started on Isaac's first meal.

"I actually have another very special friend that lives-works in here." She explained to Isaac as she opened the door. Ezna DID practically live in the library, but for some reason saying it out loud felt... rude? Well, either way, she opened the door. And predictably enough, the tiny but beautiful imp let out her signature frightened squeak when she entered and hid her face behind one of the books she was holding. "Don't be scared, it's me, Enza, and I came with some guests so you can meet them, but don't worry, they won't hurt you" Verosika said calmly.

Hearing this, Enza peeked a little above his book, still holding it as if it were a shield, to better see what Verosika was referring to, and there she saw four unknown individuals, apparently all children. She slowly pulled the book down beneath her face, feeling somewhat better about the situation. Children. Children were good. She could deal with children. They were... well... not AS scary as adults were... It was hard, but she could do it.

"H-Hi..." She squeaked out, looking down at the ground nervously, the book still held in her hands.

The silence lasted a while because they did not know who would answer first, but Collin decided to take the first step.

"Hi" He said as smoothly, calmly and friendly as possible, so as not to scare the imp... Even more, she was barely taller than him, and you could see that she was nervous. So he had to avoid scaring her, and it seemed like his plan was working, so he continued. "My name is Collin and these are my friends, this is Kennie" He pointed to the yellow lamb.

"Hello" she said, waving at her.

"He’s Cletus" he said, pointing to what Enza thought was a miniature version of Lucifer, something that made the imp a little nervous, but generated a lot of questions, as well as a sense of familiarity.

"Hi, I'm Cletus, and this..." He said pointing at the boy. "This is Isaac."

Ezna looked at Isaac, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh, it's you, it's little Isaac... I...I'm so sorry, I hope you don't think I'm being rude, I should be more welcoming to Miss Verosika's... Um... Um..." She stopped when she realized she wasn't sure WHAT Isaac was to Verosika, and this made her feel the need to apologize again. "Um... Sorry..." She looked down bashfully, hands clasped behind her back.

Isaac tilted his head in confusion, he really didn't understand why the tiny lady was apologizing to him. For some reason her behavior seemed very familiar, like, the boy knew she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn't tell where.

Meanwhile Verosika couldn't help but notice the parallels between Verosika and Isaac. Both equally quiet, equally shy, equally sensitive and even had the same height and everything. And that's not to mention that they both liked something related to paper, Enza reading and Isaac drawing.

She laughed softly into her hand, and Isaac and Ezna both looked at her with their heads tilted to the side, matching expressions of curiosity on their faces. Verosika snickered even harder when she saw that. "Oh my gosh you two, you're just too ADORABLE!" She exclaimed, picking Ezna up off the floor in one arm as the other held Isaac, hugging them both tightly.

Collin and Keenie watched the scene with a smile, the first one turned to see Cletus, but when he did, he looked strange, he had a face that mixed sadness and concern lightly behind a small smile.

"Something happens?" asked the blue Lamb in a low voice.

"I... I'll tell you later, let's not ruin the moment." he said quickly, Collin wanted to insist but decided to leave it at that, he agreed with Cletus not to ruin the moment that Miss Verosika was having with the boy and the imp.

The boy looked at Enza for a moment, and then at hers around her, looking at the large library, before grabbing her notebook and writing something down, then showing it to Ezna. "Can I come draw here sometime?"

Ezna tilted her head to the side. "Oh! O-Of course, y-you don't have to ask, y-you're the young master of the house after all..." She said softly, twiddling her thumbs and looking down at the floor. Isaac clapped his tiny hands together happily and excitedly, and she smiled at that.

Verosika cooed at the boy and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Aww, you're sweet, Ezna."

Ezna let out a squeak and looked away with a blush.

While this was happening Skrell received a message.

"Oh, it looks like Ronia already has the food ready," he announced.

"Okay, so let's go to the dining room, from there we just need to see Summer and Dia." Verosika said, putting Ezna in her chair.

"Oh they are there too helping Ronia to set the table" the imp informs the Succubus.

"Oh! Excellent! then with more reasons, see you later Ezna!" she said as she headed for the exit followed by Isaac, and the angels.

"Bye bye!"

"See you!"

"See you soon."

Keniee, Collin and Cletus said goodbye to her respectively, while Isaac said goodbye to her waving her hand.

A gesture imitated by Ezna, who with a small smile said goodbye to them.

As they walked down the hall, Verosika picked up Isaac, carrying him in her arms. "By the way Isaac, why did you ask Ezna if you could draw in the library?" the succubus interrogated the boy, curious about that request.

The child looked at her with concern before writing "Did I do wrong?"

"What? No! No! No! Nothing like that! I just... it seemed a bit curious to me, that's all." She quickly responded when she saw the boy's response, who upon receiving it, her face changed to one of relief before writing the response.

"I saw that she looked very lonely"

Verosika blinked at that and tilted her head. "Oh... She...She really did...?" She asked softly. Isaac nodded his head and looked back at the library with a sad frown, and she kicked herself for not seeing it with her own eyes. "I'll... have to make sure to visit her more often..."

"Gosh... Can't let the poor girl go without company, can we? Say, if there's a spot open for some help in the library, Collin here loves books! Used to work at a library before we started our business! Maybe he could lend her a hand!" Cletus offered. Collin blinked, then felt slightly bashful at both being put on the spot and Cletus' sudden praise.

Seeing Collin's expression, Cletus widened his eyes in understanding and quickly said "That's if you want, of course, it's not mandatory!" he told him.

"I'll think about it," Collin said.

"Excellent!"

After a few minutes they arrived at some large doors which revealed the dining room, a large table with a beautiful pink tablecloth with gold details, with matching chairs, and full of food, with an incredible appearance and aroma. The three former cherubs were in awe at the sight. It was befitting of heaven itself, and the aroma was only adding to it! They couldn't imagine what kind of meal the chef had cooked up for them to eat.

Ronia was hurriedly getting everything set up with a wide, toothy grin, clearly ecstatic that Isaac was going to be trying her cooking.

Suddenly, 2 very beautiful girls came out of a door, both dressed in maid uniforms, and with plates, glasses and cutlery in their hands, which they placed on the table. The 4 saw that one looked a bit like Verosika but with short black hair. The other girl had the appearance of a humanoid cat with light brick red fur and dark brick red hair, straight, long and abundant.

"Oh, just the ones I was missing, guys I present to you Summer and Dia, my newest employees" Verosika said pointing to the girls who upon hearing the succubus turned to greet her.

"Oh! Welcome back Miss Verosika! Just give us a second to finish preparing the table, and we will be with you soon." Dia said who with Summer finished arranging the cutlery, plates and glass, as well as helping Ronia to bring what was left.

Once that was done, they approached the group made up of Verozika, Skrell and the succubus's guests, who to the surprise of the girls, had 3 extra guests that they had to know and not just 1.

Dia was about to ask about the three unknown faces, but her girlfriend promptly interrupted the question by immediately getting excited at the sight of little Isaac. "Oh my gosh, he's soooo adorable, he looks like a brand new little baby, I love him...!" She cooed quietly at the boy, hands on her cheeks, eyes sparkling in pure delight.

Dia smirked in amusement. Her girlfriend was right, the boy WAS very cute. She should have known she'd react like this, she was obsessed with cute.

Verosika tried to tell Summer to go easy on Isaac, so that the same thing that happened to Ronia wouldn't happen to her, who ended up scaring him with her energetic attitude. Only to see how Isaac let out a gasp of happiness and very familiar surprise, while he extended his hands towards Summer with joy and excitement, implying that he apparently wanted her to carry him, something Summer did with joy.

And to her utter surprise, Isaac not only hugged her with an excited arm, but Summer felt the little boy begin to scratch her head. Not only was she surprised to feel that, but she could feel something else, something beautiful and warm coming from the boy, something that made her feel so happy that she began to purr. Something that was very surprising for those present, except for Isaac who laughed with happiness.

Verosika was puzzled for a few seconds, before it all clicked with her. Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip slightly as she remembered one of the stories Isaac had drawn for her while he was stuck in that hospital bed. He used to have a pet cat named Guppy that he was very close to. And the unhinged psycho that had hurt him had killed that cat in a fit of blind fury. Isaac's love for cats had never faded despite what happened to Guppy though, and he always showed glee when cats were involved. So being picked up and cuddled by an anthropomorphic cat girl was probably a dream come true for the poor thing.

Dia looked at the whole scene, until now there was only 1 person, apart from her, she was the one who had seen her girlfriend purr, which would be Verosika. Dia looked at said Succubus, tilted her head to the side, and gestured with her hand, pointing at the two, silently asking what was wrong.

Verosika frowned and mouthed "I'll explain later."

Dia saw the interaction between Summer and Isaac again, which was as surprising as it was touching, because seeing his girlfriend act that way was a very clear sign of femininity and joy, and also seeing Isaac so happy was something that made the maid succubus very happy.

Summer decided to attend to little Isaac, cooing him softly and gently scratching his back with her nails, being very careful not to accidentally cut him.

On Isaac's part the boy was very excited, at first when he entered the dining room, he was very impressed not only with the beauty of the place and how big it was, but even more with the enormous amount of food that was there, it was so different and varied, but above all it smelled very good, but soon his attention was distracted when 2 new people entered and surprised him.

Although they both dressed the same, both were girls, and both were very pretty, they were very different in appearance from one another. The first was a demon very similar to Miss Verosika, although she looked thinner and a bit shorter, as well as having short black hair, but the second one was the one that caught Isaac's attention the most, at first because she didn't look like any of the inhabitants he had seen so far, but there was something familiar about her, and the more he looked at her, the stronger she became. that feeling, and then got a better look at her appearance as she approached.

He was a little scared at first, but being close to her allowed him to see her much better, and that's when he saw her face, as well as her tail and ears. She was a kitten! A big one, with such soft fur and it smelled so good! She was like Mr Tex, only while he was a dog, she was a kitten, and that couldn't have moved Isaac more.

Especially when the kitten began to act happy to see him, she reminded him a lot of hers, friends of hers, cats of hers, Guppy, Tammy and Cricket, but especially the first one. Even she started purring when he hugged her and started scratching her head, in the area that Isaac knew all cats liked.

Summer was basically putty in the boy's hands at that moment, closing her eyes and leaning her head into his gentle touch with a soft giggle as she allowed him to gently scratch behind her ears. She ordinarily didn't let anyone besides Dia touch behind her ears if she could help it, but something about this boy was different. He was so... innocent, so pure and sweet, that it just felt right to allow him this rare privilege. And it certainly helped that he had little magic hands and knew just the right spot to scratch in. She took a seat in one of the chairs and continued to cuddle him against her shoulder as he petted her.

*Grrrrrrr*

This moment could have lasted for hours as far as Isaac and Summer were concerned, but the sound of his stomach managed to get the cat girl's attention.

"Oh! you're hungry!" she said surprised, so with enthusiasm and dedication, she decided to get up and accommodate Isaac in the chair, as well as prepare everything for him to eat comfortably. She sat him down in the chair that had a booster seat set up, then carefully organized the utensils for him, taking the time to explain what each one was for when he looked confused, not being used to using such things, as he listened to her with rapt attention and nodded along.

Verosika put a hand on her hip and smirked in bemusement. It seemed Isaac was making fast friends with the entire staff already. Good. She was so glad to see it. She smiled happily, seeing that, then went to the table, and sat next to Isaac, while Summer still happily attended to the boy. She was about to ask Isaac what she wanted, until she realized that of the ancient cherubs, who had remained

"What are you doing there? Why don't you take a seat?" she asked.

"Really?" Collin asked hopefully, as well as his classmates who, although they hadn't said anything, could be seen in their eyes.

"What? Did you think I brought you here so you could see how we ate? Of course not! Take a seat." she said as the cherubs took their place.

She noticed how they wanted to be as close as possible to the boy, so the three of them sat in front of him, with Cletus in the center, Keenie on the left and Collin on the right. The three cherubs looked around the room. It was nice that they were already considered so close to the point where they were allowed to eat at the same table as the head of the house and her trusted servants. Back in Heaven, it was custom to give the servants their own designated eating areas in their living quarters. This felt like... Well... a family meal, something they hadn't had in a very long time, Cletus especially due to his distant parents.

The newly ascended seraph thought more about the matter, something that he actually did a lot lately, thinking a lot and in detail about things, constantly reflecting, and realizing various things that he was unaware of before. In this case, how were relationships in Heaven, more specifically how were family relationships in Heaven. And the more he analyzed how the general scene was there, the more and more he was convinced that something was not going as well as he was led to believe.

He believed that it was normal for parents to be estranged was something normal ... and it was! It was quite common for parents to be distant from each other, with few or no interactions or displays of affection. Heaven was very regal and strict in following the rules and regulations, and being a puritan was still an extremely popular trend. Something that Cletus or any of his friends paid attention to, at least not until they met the healthy families in heaven and earth. You could tell that they were freer and looser in their way of living life and afterlifes, there was a quality and energy that in heaven, for some reason there wasn't.

It's only now that Cletus realized why. The newly ascended seraph thought more about the matter, something he actually did a lot lately, thinking a lot and in detail about things, constantly reflecting and realizing various things that he wasn't aware of before.

In this case, what relationships were like in Heaven, more specifically what family relationships were like in Heaven. And the more he analyzed what the big picture was like there, the more and more he became convinced that something was not going as well as he had been led to believe. He believed that it was normal for parents to distance themselves, it was normal ... and so it was.

It was quite common for parents to be distant from each other, with little or no interaction or display of affection, but that only applied to heaven. In heaven being very neat, puritanical, strict and straight are some of the foundations of society. Something that Cletus or any of his friends paid attention to, nothing like that, they were born and raised there, why would they see that as something to highlight?

But all that changed when he and his friends were banished and left to fend for themselves on earth.

Heaven was much harsher than he had realized, denying his people so many basic pleasures for the sake of maintaining their sense of order. Hell wasn't exactly IDEAL, but it was… free. Its inhabitants were allowed to love and be loved freely.

He remembered the two imps that were part of the group that had banished them, and how they had passionately kissed during their fight in the theater. He, like the others, saw this type of behavior as debauchery, almost everyone in heaven, saw how those in heaven and especially those in hell, as mere beasts driven by their impulses and little else.

Their freedom was not freedom, but dirty, harmful, deviant, corrupt and twisted debauchery for which they deserved to be seen as less than those who were in heaven, more those of hell than those of earth, because unlike the first , in the second if there was the opportunity of salvation and redemption.

But when Cletus was banished from heaven, this vision began to change. At the beginning, being together with his friends exiled and abandoned on earth, with no one to lend them a hand, his way of seeing the things of the 3 did not change much, in which case everything got worse, when hatred and recognition began to fester, and now Cletus noticed that it got worse in that church. But even so, when he looked beyond, he could see the healthier interactions between humans, little by little that changed.

It was noticeable that they were increasingly free in their way of living life and the afterlife, there was a quality and energy that in heaven, for some reason there was not.

Only now did Cletus realize why, and now Cletus discovered that the same thing happened in hell, though to a lesser extent. Ever since he met Verosika and Isaac, the vision he had of the 3 realms was broken, especially the one of hell.

Of course, many things that he told him and his friends about hell were true, that it was a chaotic place, where much of the scum of the earth ended up, and that they were given to their pleasures left and right, without any shame. Even while he was in the car he could see a lot of it, from signs announcing non-puritanical things, to explosions and collapsing buildings far in the distance.

But the mere existence of someone like Verosika and Isaac, as well as the other members of the mansion in which all of them were now, completely threw away the belief that hell was a black pit filled only with evil and irredeemable beings. Perhaps it was too early to accurately judge the intentions and true nature of each one of them, Cletus and his friends could easily be deceived, but if so, then he would have to congratulate them, for being so good at lying.

But from what he could see so far, that didn't seem to be the case. He needed more information, to ask more questions, even though he knew he had to wait until later to ask them.

"Boy, is something wrong?" a voice took him out of his thoughts.

"Eh what?" Cletus asked, a little confused, having been taken out of his thoughts by a voice that belonged to Verosika. "Uh... no, it's okay, why?"

"You haven't touched your food, you just stared at it without saying anything for like 4 minutes" she said.

Cletus looked down at his food, a plate made up of assorted meat, salad, and garnish, he didn't know when or how it got there. Cletus shook his head and put on a smile. "Oh, it's nothing, I was just thinking a few things, that's all."

Verosika didn't say anything, though she looked at him suspiciously before going back to what she was doing earlier, which was helping Isaac eat.

And that's not to mention the other pleasures of the flesh. Yes, it's true, it's not easy and mistakes can hurt a lot in one way or another, but with common sense nothing bad happens and everyone ends up happy.

Be that as it may, Verosika is glad that, against all odds, none of the three have reacted excessively negatively to Summer and Dia's displays of affection, beyond seeming uncomfortable. In fact, the succubus found it a bit, since it seemed more like the discomfort that a child would express, and not a puritan, the fact that one of them looks like a literal child helps.

Said child was the one that caught his attention the most of the 3, especially because of how quiet and thoughtful he had been lately. He seemed to be the leader of the bunch based on what she knew, and if he was the one that kickstarted their business of helping humanity see the good in the world, they it wasn't unreasonable to assume that he was most certainly the one most interested in seeing and learning of now concepts while the other two were most likely along for the ride.

She had to wonder about Collin and Keenie. Cletus was taking everything in, he was taking clear intrigue in the world around him, but the other two seemed more... skittish and uneasy. It was to be expected from divine beings condemned to hell, but she had to wonder just why Cletus was so much more interested than they were.

Were cherubs naturally a nervous bunch? They WERE heaven's equivalent on imps, meaning they likely weren't very high on the chopping block up there, so maybe they had the subconscious fear of being overwhelmed by someone more powerful even with their recent boost in power. The truth wouldn't be so strange for Verosika if that were the case, it was the most logical thing to do, even more so being in hell, and even when the Succubus had done everything possible not to seem like a threat.

It was also logical to think that Cletus, being the leader and founder of that organization to help humans, is the least nervous, and the most interested, Verosika wondered if it was like that naturally, or the gifts Isaac gave them for saving all 3 of them have something to do with it.

Isaac... She looked at the little miracle child she had saved with a warm smile. This boy was absolutely AMAZING. He'd healed Tex's long ruined eye. He'd caused three cherubs to ascend to near godhood. What else was this boy going to do?

How powerful was he? How would he stand up against some of the stronger entities of hell, like the overlords or the royal family? ...She immediately felt stressed out thinking about that, not liking the idea of Isaac dealing with such strong beings.

'Isaac...' Verosika thought and she looked at the little miraculous boy she had saved with a warm smile, as he ate happily, attended by Summer and Dia.

Would he ever face some of the strongest entities in hell, like the overlords or the royal family? ...She immediately felt stressed thinking about it, she didn't like the idea of Isaac dealing with such strong beings, and she hoped something like that would never have to happen to her, at least not with the heavyweights of hell.

He had already had enough pain and misery for several lifetimes, Isaac didn't really need to live through a scenario like that ever. In fact, Verosika hoped that no one in the higher ups of Hell would see what Isaac was capable of, and she would use him as a weapon in his power plays or something similar.

Verosika shuddered at the thought, but she knew that Isaac couldn't hide forever, she knew that sooner or later, Hell's elite would fix her gaze on Isaac. At least the Succubus consoled herself with the idea that, with how chaotic Hell was, the elites would not realize its power, even more so after Envy disappeared, Isaac would go unnoticed, at least during his childhood, his adulthood and adolescence it was not entirely clear if that would continue like this.

Besides, unless Isaac did something really big, she wouldn't stand out even using his powers in public. Of course, there was the matter of the angels, the ascension and what it meant that he had that capacity, because according to them 3, there was only one being capable of ascending the angels to that rank that they now had.

'What if Isaac turns out to be... Him?' Verosika asked herself... and she didn't like the possibility at all, there was so much wrong with that possibility. Besides, the possibility was too insane, and it could all be a big mix-up. The succubus preferred to think that it was just that, a confusion, and that he and Isaac had nothing to do with each other.

Although even so, questions like how much power does Isaac have? And how far can his power go? They were one of the many questions that did not allow us to completely rule out many possibilities, including THAT possibility.

She shivered slightly, but managed to hide it well enough, not wanting to worry her staff. She idly realized that there was a chance he WOULD come into contact with one of the overlords, and the one she considered the worst of all: Valentino.

After all, two of her staff were rented away from him, he'd want them back at some point, and Isaac had already bonded with Summer, so he wouldn't want to see her go back to someone as awful as he was...

Although in theory, Verosika shouldn't worry about Valentino or his men knocking on the door, looking for Summer and Dia, not while she was still paying the rent for both of them, and Verosika didn't want that, she didn't want to rent the two of them, she wanted to buy them to free them from the overlord, but unfortunately that pimp moth was not going to give up his most cherished "possessions" so easily, so the only option was to rent Dia and Summer, while she found a way to free them, unfortunately no luck.

Although the pop star succubus hoped to be able to free them soon, find a legal loophole, but her lawyers have not yet found a way, in which to forever rid Dia and Summer of the pimp.

Valentino will be a disgusting being, but at least he fulfills his agreement, and as long as she pays the rent for the 2 girls, he wouldn't take them, and it seems he was honest in that regard, because neither Dia nor Summer have returned to him. see since Verosika acquired them the infernal popstar didn't like to think of them that way, as disposable objects, but unfortunately it was the situation in which Valentino put them both, but at least on that side Verosika can rest easy, because if Valentino loves something as much as eroticism, it's money, and as long as she paid monthly, they were safe. Also the other inhabitants of the mansion, especially Isaac and the angels.

With how cute they are, Verosika doesn't even want to think about what Valentino would do if he saw them. Sure, Isaac seemed to be a jack-in-the-box, but it wasn't clear how powerful he was, nor how far that power went. The same for the angels that the boy "ascended", she is still not sure if the affirmations that they are so powerful, that only God is above them 3, could be a misinterpretation, and she was not willing to check any of that, making the 4 face an Overlord, even less one of the 3 V's, especially if said Overlord was Valentino.

He could only think of three others who were on his level, outside of anyone: Alastor, Vox and Velvet.

Verosika hated the idea of Isaac getting involved with any of them or someone similar, and if that was something she and her family could avoid, she would do everything she could to achieve it. She had to protect her loved ones with everything she had from all the scum and trash that existed here, no matter how hard he got.

She wouldn't lose anyone else.

She COULDN'T lose anyone else.

She couldn't take it, not again.

She analyzed the whole situation, and she saw that what she had proposed would be very difficult, she had basically committed herself to something, which would inevitably lead her to face at least some of the heavyweights of hell. But looking at the scene at the table, at all the smiling and happy people, from Los Angeles Collin and Derrie talking to Ronnia and Skrell, to Summer and Dia feeding a very happy Isaac, Verosika smiled, she knew one thing.

'That would be totally worth fighting for.' she thought to herself

'We'll see about that...’

‘But all here believe you.'

Verosika was a little surprised by that last intrusive thought, but she quickly realized that it was the doubts within her that had been spoken, so she ignored it. She tried to squash it down the best she could and get into the mindset that she could and would get this all taken care of... Anyone that tried to harm her or her family, she'd find a way to work around them, whether it was one of the three Vs, or Crimson, or even Lucifer himself.

‘Actually... Didn't Tex say once that his girlfriend was in a high-ranking position of power or something? Hmm... Maybe she could be a valuable ally against the darkest forces that hell had to offer...' Verosika thought, because if she really wanted to achieve that goal of protecting them all, she would need many more hands.

'Oh, if she only knew.' That thought came to Verosika's head and the succubus agreed, although Tex could speak a thousand and one wonders about his girlfriend, Verosika didn't really know her, so she couldn't be so sure that her bodyguard's girlfriend could be an ally or not, since that the succubus did not know who his girlfriend worked for. She could easily be in a high position, with someone Verosika wants to avoid at all costs.

The good thing is, the succubus trusted Vortex, and he really seemed like a good man and a good judge of character, so the chances of his girlfriend would be a person worthy of trust and a great ally, are very high.

'I have to talk to Vortex to schedule a meeting with his girlfriend as soon as possible' the succubus thought.

Before thinking about it further, 2 very familiar sounds caught her attention.

*Poof*

"Prrrieee!"

And there floating next to Isaac was the boy's little red friend, Little Chad, much to the surprise of most of those present, especially Summer and Dia, who were the closest to the smiling creature, who looked at them with interested eyes. her bright black eyes, and a smile.

Dia held her hand out towards the little creature, and he eagerly nuzzled into it, closing his eyes and letting out what sounded like a purr, causing Dia to giggle softly into her hand. "He's so CUTE!" She cooed, gently stroking Little Chad's tiny head as he reacted much like an affectionate kitten.

Summer reached over to give Little Chad a light scratch under the chin herself. "Yes. Not as cute as this little dear though." She looked back at Isaac with a smile.

"And what is this little cutie? ... and where are his arms?" Dia asked, looking at Verosika, waiting for the answer.

The Succubus was caught off guard by the last question, she looked at Little Chad more closely, as Isaac fed him and he responded with his characteristic excited sound, and there she saw something she hadn't noticed before, and it's which was true, it had no arms, just a pair of little floating hands. "He's Little Chad, and he's a... friend of Isaac's or Familiar, as for his arms... I don't know." was what she replied.

Before she could continue, those present saw how Little Chad put his hands to his mouth, and kissed the air, which caused the materialization of a heart, just like the one he gave to Vortex to heal him, leaving everyone more surprised than before.

"...Aww, that's adorable!" Dia cooed, hugging Little Chad close and nuzzling his face as he cuddled up against her and trilled happily.

"Hmm... That kinda looks like a divine spell." Keenie remarked with a tilted head.

"Yeah... I've seen some angels use it." Collin agreed.

"Have you really seen an angel using it?" asked Cletus, quite curious.

"Well... I think I did get to see a couple of times some angels wearing something similar, only the hearts would appear and then vanish instantly, but this one is still here." Collin replied.

Cletus took a closer look at the heart and at the creature, both Little Chad and the heart, both of which emitted an energy similar to divine, but was also different, as if there was something else mixed together, making it all feel very familiar. He quickly remembered that it was like the energy that the gifts Isaac gave them had, although with less intensity.

Cletus put his hand to the "scarf" he had, and then on his chest, feeling that energy, emitted, discrete latent but present both from the piece of cloth, and emanating within himself. He gave the little boy and his red friend a small, genuine smile. He was a strange kid, that was for certain. Most definitely demonic in nature, yet at the same time, so pure, almost to the point where he was heavenly.

He wondered how it worked.

Cletus looked closer, and he could feel something else in the boy, something in between, that he couldn't quite recognize, but he seemed familiar at the same time he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Over the course of dinner, while Isaac was being fed and pampered by Dia and Summer, his friend Little Chad was creating more hearts, and gave one to each person. Each one gave everyone a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that made them all appreciate the boy and his little friends just that little bit more. Isaac was like a beacon of light in a pitch-black void. Something that just managed to bring joy and love wherever he went.

'What did I do to deserve you?' Verosika thought as she smiled at him.

'You saved him, and gave him all the love you could, without expecting anything in return, except that he be safe and sound'

Verosika smiled at that thought, and it was true, she saved him from the hell in which he was unjustly, and had done nothing more than heal his physical and mental wounds, without expecting that there would be a benefit other than seeing Isaac healthy and happy, like a child as he should be. And the added benefit of being able to hold the cuddly little darling in her arms whenever she wanted and read him bedtime stories and sing him lullabies at night...

She never imagined being a mom would be something she'd actually be EXCITED about, but it was actually happening. She was eager to be a parent.

By now it was more than obvious to Verosika that she wanted to be Isaac's mother.

Despite the hell he had to live through, despite all the pain, misery, terror and torment, Isaac was such an incredible, kind, and cute human being, when he would have every reason to be cruel and evil. He could use those incredible abilities that he has for evil, but he still decided to remain someone benevolent.

3 weeks with him were enough for Verosika to love him so much that she wanted to make him her son.

There was just one problem: she wasn't sure if Isaac wanted to see her as a mother or not.

After all, the woman he had called mother all his life was a cruel, abusive monster of a woman that had done nothing but neglect him at best and hurt and abuse him on a bad day and actively tried to kill him at worst. She was worried that just the word 'mommy' had negative connotations for him. Verosika has seen enough of the boy's drawings, and seeing Isaac's mother depicted over and over again, as not one but several monsters of different and grotesque shapes, makes it quite clear to the succubus that the boy does not have a vision. positive of that word.

Therefore, as much as Verosika would like to officially be his mother, she cannot, much less wants to force Isaac, in any way, for him to see her as a mother.

The succubus doesn't like the situation at all, but she had no other choice.

'Damn that monster, even though she was dead she’s still a pain in my ass, when I find her, I'm going to-' It is here that Verosika widened her eyes in horror, remembering a detail. 'SHIT! I haven't found that bitch yet! She and Isaac could still meet again down here!' was what she mentally screamed, while she crushed the cutlery that she had in one hand, with such force that the metal object remained as if it were made of plasticine.

She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh to calm herself down. 'Okay... Okay, it's no big deal, I can hire someone to go and take care of her... I'm...sure I can find SOMEONE I can trust enough to take care of it... Hmm... I heard there was a new imp hitman, some little cowboy guy, he seems promising...'

Since previous efforts to find this woman had been unsuccessful, Verosika would need to hire the services of someone else, and that mercenary would surely be able to find this woman.

"Wow, you were hungry!" Summer said, snapping the succubus out of her thoughts.

She watched as Summer wiped Isaac's mouth with a napkin, who then proceeded to do the same to her red friend of hers, who had apparently been being fed by the child. Apparently, Isaac had eaten much more food than Verosika could consume for someone of the boy's age and size. She tilted her head to the side, wondering just why that was. He was such a skinny child; she had expected his little tummy to be unable to handle so much food at once. Did it have something to do with the boy's powers?

Or it could be because he was very hungry, and he hadn't eaten anything decent, for who knows how long. Perhaps it was a mix of both, given how he ate with enthusiasm, delight, and also some underlying speed, Ronia's food.

Perhaps the boy's strange abilities allowed or required him to eat more than a child his age would.

"Yaawwwwwn" Isaac at that moment let out a yawn.

Verosika blinked, then let out a soft chuckle. "Sounds like someone needs a nap." She said, rising to her feet and gently picking the boy up in her arms, hugging him against her shoulder and gently patting his back. He let out a tired squeak and rested his little head against her shoulder contently. "Well, it's time for you to go to sleep, honey" the succubus said while holding the child in her arms. "Let's brush our teeth and put on our pajamas, you'll look so cute!" Verosika said excitedly.

"Really? But he didn’t get time to try the dessert!" Ronia protested, a little disappointed.

"Yes, but he's already full." Verosika said.

"Awwww" the disappointed imp moaned.

"Now, now Ronia, there will be time for him to try that later, but you can still give the others dessert." Verosika said as she headed for the door, before stopping. "Oh! And remember everyone that we have a meeting later, so I'll see you in the living room, as soon as I finish putting Isaac to bed" she remembered succumbing to all of them and left with Isaac.

They went up the stairs and after a stop, where Verosika helped Isaac brush his teeth, they went to the boy's room, while Verosika explained some important things to him.

"Well Isaac, the red door at the end of the hall, is the door to my room, if an emergency occurs, or you really need me for something, you know where to find me, understood?" she asked the boy, who nodded. "Very good, you certainly learn very quickly!" she said while she gave him a hug.

She continued walking until they came to a very particular one. "And this is the door of your room."

The boy looked at the door in utter astonishment at what he had before him. The door itself seemed to be made of glass, and was very similar to the starry night sky, seen from a window, but what really astonished Isaac was that the door was not decorated with drawings or paintings of stars, but literally as if someone had taken a piece of the starry sky in all its splendor, with a galaxy in the center, and cut it out. star-shaped gate. With a dark blue frame, with a golden sun and a silver crescent moon at the feet of the sun, with the words "Isaac" engraved.

It was something very beautiful and amazing for Isaac.

Verosika smiled widely. "D'you like it? I saw the way you always looked out the window at the stars at night when it was time for me to leave, plus your drawings, and... well, honestly, they kind of remind me of you. Because they bring a ton of light into a dark room, see? Things are dark in my life... and you're lighting up the way."

Isaac was impressed and touched by the beautiful words that Verosika said, and he didn't know exactly what to say. And before he could answer, Verosika opened the door, so the boy could see the entire room, and when he visualized the room, Isaac let out a gasp of astonishment at what he was seeing.

When Verosika turned on the lights, Isaac was able to see everything in detail, and if he had been amazed before, now his jaw had dropped in shock. From the ceiling hung what caught his attention at first, which was what looked like a chandelier, but made with the planets of the solar system, including the Sun and Pluto, but the particular thing was, that both the planets and the sun did not seem to be made of plastic or something similar, besides that they were not connected by wires or something similar, but rather floated, with the planets floating around the sun, in a slow and relaxing dance, around the parent star, which makes the bulb brighter.

The ceiling was like the door, in the sense that it was an imitation of the night firmament, that is, a dark pink, blue, black sky with stars, and everything looks and moves as if it were a true vision of the cosmos, with what looked like galaxies in the background. The floor also seemed to be made of glass, with bright but static stars. The walls were the most normal, they were painted dark blue, with stars and planets whistled. The room was very big, almost double what Isaac's previous room was, that is, the one in the hospital.

It took Isaac a while to process everything, but when he did, a feeling of familiarity came over him, as if he had already seen something similar somewhere, but he didn't know where.

He quickly realized it.

This place looks like The Planetarium!

"So, what do you Think?" ask Verosika with a little smile when she saw Isaac's astonished face, his mouth open and his eyes shining. "Heh. I guess that means you're happy with it. Fine. I…thought you'd want some stars when there aren't really any here in hell, so…yeah, I pulled some strings and got a little fancy magic to work on it, so now your room is full of stars and planets. Oh! And they glow in the dark too, see?"

She flipped off the light switch and the entire room was illuminated with the calming glow of the surrounding celestial bodies, leaving just enough light for Isaac to feel comfortable even when the light was off. Since the room was now dimly lit, bathed in a dim light, strong enough so that the room is not completely dark, but dim enough not to disturb Isaac at all when he went to sleep. Verosika turned the light back on, and when the room lit up, Isaac could see that there was more going on that he hadn't noticed before.

There was a bed with sheets and a cosmos-themed frame, which matched the room, next to it there were 2 nightstands, and in one of them there was a particular gray ball that shone with intense silver light, and that floated in a small plate, as it rotated.

Isaac was slow to realize that it was some kind of full moon, but in miniature. In addition to that, there was also a small chair and a table, which were white in color, with many sheets and colored pencils, plus some drawings and that, and he quickly realized that these were his drawings. Next to it was a small bookcase in a corner, with some books. He also saw that on one of the walls next to his bed, there was the door.

Verosika walked over to the bed where she placed the boy, who immediately noticed how soft, fluffy, and comfortable he was, even when he was just sitting up.

As Isaac reveled in the comfort, Verosika opened the closet, and pulled something out.

"Mmmm which one would be appropriate? Hmmm oh! This one!" she said, taking something from inside the cupboard. "Hey Isaac, what do you think?" she asked, calling the boy's attention, who saw what Verosika wanted to show him. It was like her PJ, but black and white, and with cat paw markings and a tail.

Verosika handed it over to Isaac, so that he could see it better, the boy left the outfit aside, and took out his notebook to write something. It was at this moment that Verosika had noticed that the notebook, had not been in Isaac's hands before, but it had materialized, it was something that she looked at with interest, but she didn't give him time to analyze that in depth, since the boy showed her what he was writing.

"What is this?" asked the boy before the outfit was so familiar and different.

"This is a pajama, it’s used to sleep." she answered

"Like my PJ?" the boy wrote in response.

"Yeah, like you- wait, your PJ? Do you already have one of those?"

The boy didn't say anything, he just remained silent, and closed for a moment while he concentrated, and suddenly, an explosion of smoke appeared, a sky blue pajama floating on a pedestal next to the bed.

While verosika looked at the pajamas amazed and curious, Isaac wrote.

"This is my pj."

"Oh... and what is this PJ doing?" she asked a bit of uncertainty, given what she had seen Isaac's items do, Verosika and this was a new one, there were an infinite amount of different possibilities.

"It makes me feel cozy" Isaac wrote.

"Wait, it makes you feel cozy, that's all, doesn't it do anything else?" she said, a bit confused.

The boy stared at her a bit confused, and then wrote

"It also heals me and gives Soul Hearts"

This piece of information, although it was more in line with what Verosika expected an Isaac object to do, was no less surprising and confusing.

"Wait, it gives you hearts? I thought Little Chad was the only one that had the ability to give hearts?"

Isaac shook his head, and that was all Verosika needed to know, to understand that the little red creature wasn't the only one capable of giving Isaac hearts.

"Ok, so... which one do you prefer to sleep in, this pajama or the other one?"

Isaac looked at her confused, before writing.

"Pajamas? Is this pajamas?"

"Yes, that's his name, didn't you know that 'PJ' was a diminutive for pajamas?" she asked, to which the boy wrote.

"No, what's a diminutive?"

"Uh, Let's say it's a short form of calling an object or a person. In the case of pajamas it is 'PJ', And in the case of a person named Andrew, for example, 'Andy' would be short, Although not all names or things have a diminutive, like my name, Verosika, does not have one. Do you understand now?" Verosika explained.

Isaac began to write with concern on his face.

"Your name doesn't have a diminutive? Is that bad? Where can I get one?"

Verosika read and held back a laugh as she was touched by the boy's candidness and kindness. "No, no honey, that's not bad, and technically my name already has 2 diminutives, which would be 'Vero' or 'Sika', but nobody calls me that and they don't sound good, so it doesn't really matter." She replied and the answer seemed to calm the boy down. "But back on topic, what pajamas do you want to wear today?" she asked the boy. "Your usual pajamas?" she said pointing to the floating pajamas "Or a new one?" She asked the boy, her hopes a bit low, since she really wanted to see Isaac in one of the new pajamas she bought, but Verosika knew that humans are construction animals, especially children, even more so with things. that makes them feel comfortable or cozy, as is the case with Isaac.

Isaac must have noticed her desire, or Isaac just wanted to try something new, however, to Verosika's pleasant surprise and excitement, the boy chose the pajamas that she bought for him. So, after Verosika turned around, to give Isaac some privacy to change, the boy put on his pajamas and saw how they fit.

"Oooh~ you look so cute!" she exclaimed as she felt her heart melt when she saw the boy in the pajamas. "How does it feel? Is it comfortable for you?" she asked the boy, who after looking at himself nodded with a smile.

For Isaac it felt almost like his PJ, something soft and light, although he didn't feel how it healed him, or gave him Soul Hearts, but he still liked it, also he noticed that it had something on the neck, like a kind of hood.

"I'm glad. Oh! there's one more thing you need to see." she said as she walked over to him and pulled her hood over his shaved head, moving something in the pajamas at the small of Isaac's back. "Okay, now look at yourself" she said as she led him to a large full-length mirror in the room.

When Isaac looked in the mirror, he was shocked at what he saw. The hood had cat ears, and a matching tail, which were previously hidden, in black and white. The pajamas as a whole made him look like a cat. More specifically his former Guppy cat. This is when Isaac began to cry, and an alarmed Verosika rushed over to him, worried by the sudden situation.

"Oh no, no, no. What happened? What's wrong?" she questioned the worried demon that she might have done something very wrong, but to her surprise, she saw that the boy was smiling while he was crying, indicating that he was crying out of happiness.

Unbeknownst to her, he was partly sad, but also happy about the gift Verosika gave him.

She didn't seem to fully understand, something Isaac noticed from the worried and confused look the succubus gave him.

So, without saying anything he went to the table where his drawings were, and after rummaging through the papers, he found the drawing he was looking for, and then he handed it to Verosika.

She looked at the drawing, it was of a boy, obviously Isaac, holding a black and white cat, and Verosika quickly connected the dots. "Ooooh... I'm so sorry..." Verosika sighed, pulling him into a hug. "So that's your old cat, huh? He sure was a cutie..." Indeed, she was very much smitten with the little kitten, with his tiny size, and his beautiful black and white fur coat...

Isaac hugged the picture close, then pulled out his notebook again and wrote something down before presenting it to Verosika. She read it. It said 'Miss him...'

Verosika saw the look of sadness and melancholy, and her heart broke a little, she already knew the situation with Guppy and the other pets that Isaac had, how he loved all of them as a child, and the surely tragic end that all of them had.

4 beloved pets, 4 times that Isaac suffered the loss of the best and apparently only true friends of his, that Isaac had in his short life, one after another. No one should be forced to bear the loss of those they love, much less a child so young, especially one like Isaac. It was a heartbreaking situation for anyone.

So Verosika moved away from him a bit, but still hugged him, enough to see the boy's face. "I know how you feel, me too...I've lost people I loved." she said, her voice a little cracked and filled with sadness, surprising Isaac in the process. "Yes, the loss is horrible, but let me tell you something that has helped me" she sighed and kept silent for a moment, while she thought better of how to tell Isaac. "There is no magic formula or spell that makes pain disappear, but as long as you carry them inside of you, as long as you love them and don't forget them, part of them will always be with you, and with whom you share their memories."

The succubus decided to omit that she tried to erase those memories, with gallons of the strongest liquor that hell and earth had, believing that it would make the pain of loss more pleasant, but in reality it only made it worse, since having forgotten them, she killed them even more definitively, since she does not remember many of them anymore.

To her surprise, Isaac smiled with great emotion and enthusiasm, while his eyes shone with great joy.

But seeing Isaac go from being sad and melancholic to remembering the loss of his friends, to now being completely opposite, made the succubus feel proud and happy, seeing that she helped the boy with his pain.

'And here I thought he was being a little sugar coated, but what if it helps him keep going?'

Little did Verosika know that the reason Isaac was excited was because she had more reason than she thought.

"Well, it's time for you to rest, Little Star." she said as she settled Isaac on the bed, and once settled, Verosika began humming his favorite song.

Once the succubus made sure that the child was asleep, she turned off the lights, both the moon-shaped lamp and the one on the ceiling, leaving the room semi-dark, bathed in the soft and relaxing glow of the stars. She closed the door softly, but not before taking a last look at Isaac's peaceful and smiling face, which filled her with happiness and hope. She closed the door and went to the living room, where surely everyone would be waiting for her, and several of them were waiting to receive explanations from her, regarding everything, so Verosika mentally prepared herself for it.

She arrived at her destination, and indeed they were all there, her employees and the seraphim, who talked among themselves, and her gaze rested on her as soon as she entered.

Seeing herself being the focus of everyone's attention, especially the angels, she cleared her throat and began to speak. "Well, I know that many of you want and need an explanation, Isaac is already asleep, so we can talk in detail about the situation, so... where do we start? Who wants to be first, and what do you want to know?" she asked.

"Ooh! Ooh, me! Me! Pick me!" Ronia said eagerly, raising her hand and hopping up and down.

"Yes, Ronia, what is it?" Verosika asked.

"Okay, so I need to know ALL of his favorite foods so I know what to make for special occasions, I know that's not the most important question in the world to ask, but I just wanna get it out there, I want a list when you have the time if that's okay ma'am!" Ronia explained.

Verosika made an uncomfortable face. "Well... that's going to be hard." she said with difficulty.

"Hard? Why? Is it a very complicated dish to prepare? Don't worry Lady Verosika, whatever it is I can prepare it, no recipe is impossible for me! Especially if it's for that cupcake!" she said with enthusiasm and determination.

"Although I admire your enthusiasm Ronia, that's not really what it's about, the truth is that... I don't know." she said but the discomfort and disgust on her face, told others that there was something more.

"Wait, you don't know? But you haven't been with him for 3 weeks, you should have some clue, right?" asked Ronia.

"I don't actually know what Isaac's favorite food is, but I do know what he apparently was eating…and it's not pretty."

"What do you mean?" Ronia asks, a bit confused and fearful.

"Well, it looks like the only thing Isaac was eating before he found him was dog food and rotten food."

This elicited a wave of horror-filled gasps.

"What?" Ronia said in a low tone of voice, her eyes narrowing dangerously, flames gathering around her body. "That poor boy was deprived of decent food?! How DARE those monsters, they will PAY if I ever get my hands on them! Now I HAVE to make EVERY meal EXTRA special from now on, I promise you that he'll discover his favorites in no time, Miss Verosika!"

Verosika smiled at Ronia's words and self-imposed mission, and answered. "I'm happy you're willing to do that, I really appreciate it, yes, I ask that whatever you're going to cook for Isaac, don't be too fancy or too spicy, let's start with simple things, for now, then we can experiment, okay?" asked the succubus.

"Noted Miss Verosika!" said the Imp with understanding.

"Okay. Now who's next?"

Dia, another of Verosika employees, raised his hand, and called everyone's attention. "Ok, I have a question for you and for you also Summer. A while ago, when we saw Isaac, Summer was delighted with the boy, that is not uncommon considering what he is. But then she began to purr, and this is not something she makes often, at the opposite the opposite, so my question is: what happened exactly?" Dia ended his question, giving a look both to Verosika and her girlfriend.

Verosika raised an eyebrow and thought about it for a moment. "Well... I guess he... just has a way with cats. He... had a few cats back in the human world that he was extremely close to, so... I guess the little guy just knows the right places to give Summer pets and scratches, although I didn't know it was THAT good." answered the succubus popstar.

Before anyone could say or ask anything, the feline sinner spoke. "Actually..." Summer began slowly, it seemed like she was trying to fit the words into her mind.

"Is something wrong honey?" Dia asks curiously, seeing her girlfriend talking about her.

"Not really, and although Verosika is correct, the boy has magical hands, what happens is that... I don't know how to explain it properly, but there was something else." Summer said with uncertainty.

"What do you mean Summer?" Verosika asked with as much curiosity and confusion as the others, except for one: Vortex.

The hellhound bodyguard, he could have a pretty good idea of what Summer wanted to say, but she wanted to hear what the feline had to say first, to confirm it.

"Well... I felt...his love when he saw me, I guess..." Summer admitted softly. "Like... as soon as he saw me, it was like... I could feel his emotions. Not MY emotions, HIS emotions. That's pretty crazy, isn't it? I know it's a little bit hard to believe, but it's the only way I can really describe it..." Summer replied, unsure how to explain the situation, since it was the first time something like this had happened to her.

"You felt like a huge feeling of being unconditionally loved, adored and appreciated by someone who feels all of that as soon as they see you, in a totally sincere and pure way, without any kind of cheating or second intention, similar to when you are with those people who love you, like when you're with your girlfriend, and it all comes from Isaac in a similar but different way, I'm correct right?" Vortex said, calling everyone, especially Summer, who looked at him totally surprised.

"Yeah...yes! That's it! That's exactly how I felt, how did you know?" asked the feline, completely amazed with the precision of a surgeon, with which the hellhound described the situation she experienced when being with the boy.

"Cause I get the same thing from the little fella." Vortex chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Kid loves his animals, and that affection just sorta rubs off on ya. Heh... Ah, he's a good kid." The hellhound explained the situation.

Verosika nodded. "Yeah, the same way he reacted to Summer, that's how Isaac was when he saw Tex the first time, and I hadn't understood it at least until now."

"Wait, I didn't know why Tex reacted like this until now, you hadn't been with him for more than 3 weeks?" Dia asked, a bit confused.

"Yes, but it wasn't until a few hours ago that he saw our true forms, and I hadn't had time to ask, especially because of an idiot who interrupted the moment, and I didn't think about it much." Verosika replied.

"Oh, I understand." Dia said.

"Can I ask a few questions?" said the voice, and when everyone turned to see who the owner was, it turned out to be one of the angels, more specifically Cletus.

"Sure, go ahead," Verosika told him.

"Thank you, my questions are: what or who is this guy? How is he able to do such...unique things? Where did you find him?"

Verosika tilted her head to the side. "Hmm... Well... In order... He seems to be a human child that was...touched by the blessing of heaven and the curses of hell, which is what gave him these strange powers. As for where I found him... It was in his house. Which was corrupted, demonic and... honestly no place ANY child should EVER be, not even a hellborn should have to see the nightmares that house had on display..."

"Huh, is that how it really happened?" Cletus asked to which Verosika made a doubtful face.

"Well... it's more of a theory, the only one I could come up with after I found him, I saw what he is capable of doing, and what others perceive of him."

"Just a theory, is that all you know about why he is the way he is?" the angel asked again, because he really wanted answers.

"Well yeah, it's the closest I have to Isaac's origin, but I'm really not sure how or why the boy has those abilities." The succubus responded, to which the cherub was left thinking.

"And how did you find him? You mentioned that he was in a haunted house, can you tell me what exactly happened the first time you met?" she asked once more, to which Verosika grimaced, recalling the situation.

"So, do you want me to tell you and your companions the story in detail? Are you sure? Because I warn you that it's not pretty or pleasant at all." she asked.

"Yeah, we really want to know as much as we can." Cletus assured him.

"Alright, here we go." Verosika said as she gasped for air, and she prepared to narrate to them how she and Isaac met.

The three angelic beings were increasingly more and more horrified the longer the story went on, to the point where they all began to cry and the hellborns weren't holding up much better. Ezna wound up passing out and being caught by Skrell as Ronia actually sat still for a prolonged period of time, her eyes wide in disbelief. Vortex was visibly distraught, arms crossed, eyes closed and ears drooped, while Dia was comforting a devastated Summer with an embrace.

Although Verosika's employees knew that Isaac was a child abused by his original mother, because the demon popstar told them, they did not know that the child had gone through such atrocious and horrendous torture.

Even Vortex, seeing Isaac for the first time, with all those cables and tubes connected to his small body, he already suspected that something terrible had happened to Isaac.

Still, that didn't make it any less horrible, hearing the whole story in detail, and the angels weren't having a better time, in fact, you could say it was the exact opposite.

"No... Poor creature." Collin said feeling a great pain in his ribs and in his soul, with tears running down his cheeks.

"How!? How is this possible!? How could that bitch do that to HER OWN SON!?" exclaimed angrily, but also full of pain and sadness, and Keenie.

Cletus said nothing, He just closed his eyes as tears fell from his face just like those of his companions.

The three seraphs are in shock, with tears in their eyes, could hardly believe the story they had just heard, that someone could be so cruel and so sadistic, so ruthless towards a child was something really appalling and indescribable. But that child was Isaac? That only made everything even worse, thousands of times worse.

Verosika frowned softly. It made sense that the cherubs were more sensitive to this information than the rest of them. After all, they were the least used to the horrors of the universe, they'd lived in paradise their entire life and never had to deal with it until recently.

"h-ho- *hic* ho- how thi- this *hic* is possible? How can a child like him suffer so much? Why? Why did she torture him like that?" Cletus asked with great difficulty, between sobs of pain.

Verosika was heartbroken to see the angel like this, especially because she reminded her a little of Isaac in appearance, especially when she cried. "I don't know. I... I just don't know, and it seems" she answered with sadness, anger and helplessness, not even knowing why Isaac had to suffer something like that.

Verosika's answer, or rather the lack of an answer, only saddened the 3 angels even more.

Isaac, in the short time they had known him, had proven to be a wonderful and incredible child in more than one aspect, not only had he saved their lives, but he had also done so without asking for anything in return, and without any hidden evil intentions. Of course, maybe he was all too hasty, since they had barely known him for a day, but they could feel that the boy's intentions were completely genuine, as well as that of his caregivers, to their great surprise. Knowing that he had to go through all that, for no reason or reason, was something as horrible as it was sad.

"Why? Why was the world so cruel to those who did not deserve it the absolute least?! What could little Isaac have possibly done to deserve such torment?!" Cletus asked, full of pain and anger, without waiting for an answer he continued. "NOTHING! NOTHING he could have possibly done could ever warrant such abuse, he was a child! Why would the lord ALLOW such things to happen?!..." Cletus asked again, not waiting for an answer, as felt his faith slipping.

To everyone's surprise Verosika answered Cletus's questions.

"Whatever that jerk you call 'Lord' is planning, no matter how well it turns out, it doesn't make him any less worthy of the scorn of anyone with less than half a brain." she sneered.

This caused a gasp by the other 2 angels. Keenie and Collin were in a similar state to Cletus, with almost the same questions, but their faith wasn't fading, at least not to the same degree.

"But...but..." Collin tried to say something, but he didn't have the right words, or the energy since he was still in shock from learning it.

"You cannot say that!" Keenie said that, unlike her mate, she was hot-blooded enough to try to defend her lord.

"Oh really? Look little girl, I'll tell you what happened to Isaac, even though it's atrocious, it's not exclusive, at least the part about being an innocent who suffers without reason is extremely common, besides I'm someone who was forced to lose many important people, because of that annual extermination, both me and the others here." Verosika said dryly.

"But-"

"And it doesn't matter what that jerk plans, he has already shown with these 2 points, and much, much, much more, that he is not worthy of anyone's respect or appreciation, besides that whole 'he has a great deal' thing." plan', was always a perfect excuse for people to ignore or justify things like what Isaac had to go through." she said with her voice full of hate and disgust, because that idea always seemed like a ridiculous excuse to her. But now, after all that her beloved Isaac had to go through, Verosika couldn't feel more disgust and anger for that fucking empty excuse.

"...She's right... Aw shucks... She's right, fellas... I mean, look at what goes on up there! How many people get into heaven?! We got TWELVE people up there in the span of three years, and all they EVER did was suck his-" Cletus took a deep breath to calm himself down. "He...He threw us away like we were nothing. We... We're supposed to be his children and he just threw us out because we made a mistake... Not even a second chance... He never cared..."

"Wait, what if this is all a test!" Keenie exclaimed.

"Really Keenie?" Cletus said, not believing what his partner was saying.

"Well, we were expelled, and after a while we met Isaac, and he not only saved our lives, but he made us much more than we were before, he ascended us!." she said, and Cletus thought about what she said.

"Wait... what are you trying to say?" Verosika asked, not liking the implications of Collin's words.

"Well, what if Isaac is part of his plan? What if he's God himself?" she said.

Cletus groaned and facepalmed. "Uh... Please don't hold this against them, Miss Verosika, they're... not taking this whole situation very well at all, and they've kinda been in denial for the past few days, it'll pass soon, I promise..."

Verosika put a hand over her mouth and snorted. And then she started to laugh uncontrollably. "You-You think he's... AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Little Isaac, god himself, letting some succubus just scoop him up, snuggle and adopt him! Ah, that's just too funny!"

"But... But... It could be true!" Keenie whined.

"He IS a miracle worker..." Vortex mused. "But if he really was God himself, why would he bother helping some random hellhound fix his busted eye?"

"Well... He... He's not as warm as he USED to be, but... he's still the same kind, just ruler we used to know deep down, so... he just... wanted to help..." Collin murmured shyly, tapping his hooves together.

"...Um... I could... do some research and... try and see if I can figure anything out..." Ezna shyly offered from her spot on the floor, having just regained consciousness. "There's... There's bound to be some information on what kind of gifts Isaac has somewhere in that library..."

Verosika looked at Enza with a smile and answered her. "Great idea Enza, I'd be delighted with that. And actually, I think I may have something that can help us, but let me finish these 2 and their absurd ideas first, okay?" The succubus said to which the imp nodded.

Verosika looked back at his 2 angels and his reaction to his response. While Collin looked sad and embarrassed, while Keenie?

"Wait, dumb idea?" asked the yellow angelic lamb indignantly.

"Of course, it's an absurd idea, what else would I call the nonsense you said?" asked the succubus.

"Oh yeah? And what do you call this!?" asked Keenie, whose eyes began to glow, before everyone watched as she was suddenly engulfed in an explosion of light and smoke. By the time the smoke cleared and the light dimmed rapidly, everyone except Vortex and Verosika looked in shock at Keenie, who now had enormous white wings, the ribbon on her back now loose and flowing freely, her person now wrapped in an aura of golden light, a matching halo floating above her head and her eyes glowing with colors to match her pupils and irises.

And their reactions from the hellborns who worked for Verosika, seeing and feeling the power emanating from the lamb, revealing her true nature in completely unexpected ways, were immediate.

"...I mean... That IS pretty major..." Summer admitted, eyes widened at the sight.

"...Yeah, I uh... I don't know what other explanation there is if ISAAC did that..." Dia agreed.

"...Unless... The big guy upstairs loaned the kid some of his power just to see what would happen... Wouldn't be the first time he gave a mortal access to some of his power, remember that Moses guy?" Skrell noted.

"Wait, YOU WERE ANGELS ALL THIS TIME!?" Ronia exclaimed, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Ezna, for her part, couldn't say anything other than wide-eyed as her jaw almost literally dropped to the ground, at the revelation that those 3 children were angels all along.

Cletus looked at the demons and then at Collin, who looked unsure, before shrugging. "Well, it's not like we plan to hide it for long,"

"Although it would have been better at another time, but while we're at it..." Cletus said, and then both he and Collin followed Keenie's lead, and after an explosion of smoke and light, the hellborn saw the true form. from them.

Everyone was shocked to see that the 3 strange looking but cute "kids" were actually child angels.

"...what are you 3?" asked Ezna, who was finally able to speak, as her brain caught up.

"Um, they're angels, isn't it obvious?" Skreel asked, to which Ezna shook her head.

"N-o No, I-I-I mean what kind of angels are they, I've never seen anything like that before." the imp said to which Keenie responded.

"We are Seraphim!" He said with a proud smile spreading his arms and wings, to which everyone was at a loss regarding that revelation, everyone except Verosika, Vortex and surprisingly Ezna, who responded with a gasp filled with even greater surprise.

"EEEEEEH!? That's-that's i-i-impossible!"

"Ezna, do you know what he means by that?" Dia asked because like the rest of the mansion employees, they wanted to know why the imp was so surprised by the information.

Ezna forced herself to calm down a bit before answering. "Yes...I've read about that. Seraphim are supposed to be the highest-ranking angels in heaven!" she said, which caught the attention of all the Verosika employees.

"Wait, how high is the rank we're talking about?" asked Skrell.

"The rank is so high, but so high that... There are only 2 people in all of creation that are above them, one of them is God" Ezna dropped that bombshell on them, the same one that had just dropped the yellow lamb moments before.

"...And you're down HERE...?" Ronia asked, wide-eyed. "...Why are you down HERE if you're ranked so high?!"

"Uh... Well, that's the thing, the little fella gave us this power, we were just three low ranking powerless cherubs just a few hours ago. That's why my pals here think he might actually be God. But... Skrell might actually be onto something... The Lord works in mysterious ways... or that the people say" Cletus said dismissively, before continuing. "Just a small dash of his power can do all sorts of stuff, and he does pick and choose those pure enough of heart to wield a portion of his power. But then that doesn't explain the more...hellish parts of his powers..."

"Ok, that's enough, it was fun at the time, but seriously this nonsense is starting to tire me, shup this now." Verosika said, well, she was listening to the whole conversation, and for her the idea of her stopped being something amusingly stupid, too unpleasant, because of how plausible everything was becoming.

“Verosika?” Summer asked when she saw her advancing to where the seraphim were, with a face and attitude that betrayed her state of mind, and she didn't look well.

"What does Miss Verosika mean?" Collin asks, somewhat concerned about the succubus's attitude, while her partner only looked at Verosika before what she would say.

"All this nonsense about Isaac being God, or an envoy of him, stops and is now." She said firmly, earning everyone's attention, especially the 3 seraphim.

Keenie, who was outraged, was the first to respond. "Oh, come on, are you still saying that's nonsense? After all?"

"What proof can we give that this silly theory is true?" Verosika asked.

"Apart from our looks? The power we have? Or the fact that when Isaac saved us, the first time he gave us these gifts there was that sign that said 'Revelation! Awaken your faith!', what more proof do you need?" Keenie asked to which Verosika couldn't give an answer right away.

"Wait, what sign?" Ronia asked, to which Vortex replied.

"Oh, it's just that when Isaac gives one of the gifts to someone, there's usually a text banner appearing above someone's head, apparently giving the name of the gift and what it does."

"Really? What was yours called?" Summer asked.

"It was simply called 'Glass Eye', and it said something like dmg and luck, that's what he gave me."

"Wait, is that why you have different colored eyes now?" asked the cat sinner, somewhat astonished.

"Yes, and thanks to it I can see again." Vortex explained with a smile.

"Wait, if Vortex was given an eye that gave him back his sight, what did the little guy give you to make you look like that?" Skrell asked again, this time to the angelic trio.

After thinking back a bit, it was Cletus who answered the question.

"Well, the gifts that she gave us separately were The Mind, The Body and The Soul, and then she gave us another 2 which would be 'The Halo' and 'Revelations'." he said and before anyone could say anything Skrell asked another question.

"Wait, but that would be 5, that doesn't mean that at least 2 of you received 1 more gift, why does that happen?" The imp said after doing the calculations in his head, to which Cletus responded.

"Oh no, that's not really the case. You see, he actually used another of his items, and actually duplicated The Halo and Revelations, so in the end he gave us 3 each" the angel explained, to which Dia was the next to speak.

"Wait... three!? To each of you!? But why so many!?" exclaimed the succubus just as surprised as the rest of the members of the mansion.

"Cause he's-" Keenie began, but Cletus put a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Cause he's the most generous and giving little soul I've ever seen in my gosh darn life, that's why. That little fella... Well, I'd say he's about as pure as they come." He said sincerely. "And I'm gonna pay him back in full for it, you can bet on that. The way I see it, no good deed should ever go unrewarded!"

"Ok, I can see that what you say is true, but that doesn't explain what inspired him to give you 3 as many more gifts than Vortex" Skrell said and this caught the attention of the angels.

"What do you mean exactly?" Collin asked curiously to the imp, to which he replied.

"Well, aside from the fact that Isaac had known Vortex the longest, he gave him only 1, what made you guys so special, that the little fella gave you SO MANY gifts?... now that I think about it, how is it that you exactly met him?" asked Skrell, really curious to know how the first meeting of the 3 apparent children with Isaac was, even more so now that he knows that they were angels of great power, and all thanks to the boy.

The rest of his teammates were the same as Skrell, and Keenie responded.

"Well, we didn't actually find him, he came to us." said the angel, this answer confused even more the demons and sinners of the mansion.

"Wait,’he came to you'? I mean, did he go to heaven? How did he do that? And he wasn't with miss Verosika? "Asked Ronia so confused.

"No, no, he didn't go to heaven, actually Isaac found us on earth." Colli replied.

"Wait, and how did he find you? What were you doing on earth?" Summer asked.

In that the 3 angels made a face of discomfort, sadness and anger each one, remembering why they were on earth in the first place.

"Well…it's a bit of a complicated story…" Collin started, but he stopped, not finding the right words.

"We got into an altercation and…" Keenie tried to continue, but she stopped as she clenched her fists in anger as she remembered what happened.

"We were banished from heaven." Cletus finished for his companions, with less difficulty, but no less sad, shame and pain.

"What? how? why?" Ronia asked very confusedly, so Cletus answered her.

"Well, we bumped into some imps up there, and uh... well, we were trying to stop a man from takin' his own life, and they wanted him dead, so we got into a bit of a tussle, and in the end, we ended up accidentally crushing' the guy under a big piano..." He sighed.

"And it's my fault," and then he clenched his fist in pain and rage, but this time not against the imp but against himself. "I was the one who killed Liley, and I damn us all," Cletus said, tears beginning to well up as he continued. "It was an accident... I didn't mean to, I just... got so frustrated with those three that... That I... It's my fault... I was the one that shot that arrow! They should have just kicked ME out, why'd they kick you guys out too?!" Cletus exclaimed, tearing up, tears running from his eyes.

"Oh don't say that Cletus, it's not true." Keenie said, trying to comfort his friend, but Cletus didn't see it that way, who instead of crying, gave a sigh full of resignation and regret.

"You are wrong, actually it is, I have been a hypocrite, I created CHERUB with the purpose of helping people, but... we began to focus more on the prestige of saving those souls than doing it" said the angel, which Keenie, now indignant, retorted.

"That's not true, what we did was to do the right thing!"

"It's true Keenie, let's not deny it, we were as arrogant as the others in heaven, to be more holy and superior, and in the end for trying to save that old man, who was an obvious monster that was inevitably doomed, look what happened to us!" Cletus exclaimed.

"Are you sure, maybe we're not confusing the situation?"

"I've had time to reflect on that, to realize the truth, but it wasn't until now that I was able to see it clearly, of the 3 of us, in the end the only one really committed to the cause, because it was the right thing more than anything, it was you, Collin." He said to his partner, who didn't say anything, other than being amazed by what the angel said. Then he stopped floating and slowly fell into the fire, his wings and ribbons also stopped fluttering and fell together with his, adjusting to his mood. "I think that in the end I did deserve to be banished from heaven, and because of me, you were also punished." he finally said as the tears continued to flow.

Both Verosika and the others wanted to hug the three of them, but she held back, and decided to do something else, so taking a step forward and with determination exclaimed.

"That’s bullshit!"

Nobody said anything, everyone directed all their attention, for that exclamation filled with such strength and intensity in the feeling that it was palpable. So it was easy to tell that she was VERY upset by what she had heard, but oddly enough, she wasn't upset towards the angels.

"Did you forget what we talked about before? If so, I'll tell you again, you did NOT deserve to be expelled for what you did, because it was NOT your fault." she said.

"But-"

"No buts!"

Keenie tried to speak, but Verosika cut her off, before continuing.

"You three had one of the most brilliant, brilliant and beautiful ideas I've ever seen from heaven, and what if you did it for that? You felt proud and that's never wrong, we all have an ego, we all want to be proud of something, you are from heaven, earth or hell and that is not bad!"

"But look what happened to us!" Cletus exclaimed.

"Yes, and that doesn't change anything, I've seen a lot of people who out of pride do evil to others, who pride themselves on destroying, exploiting and making others suffer, monsters whose ego can only be served well, if the number of lives innocent or good destroyed is getting higher" she said, keeping silent for a moment as she remembered the times that had happened, of course there were several who preferred assholes as victims, but others did not discriminate or seek noble souls to ruin.

She put those thoughts aside and continued.

"But believe me, of all the things that it would be wrong to do things out of pride or an excessive ego, helping others is not one of those, no matter what others say, it will never stop being stupid to attack someone out of pride or ego helps others." she said with a voice and look of determination so firm and hard, she felt almost indestructible.

"Are you serious?" Collin asked somewhat hopeful, just like his friends.

"Of course!" she exclaimed with a smile. "It doesn't matter that you were psychopaths incapable of empathy, who only saw the people you helped as a mere number, it still counts as a good deed, for the wrong reasons, but it's still a good deed in the end."

The three of them looked at each other surprised by what Verosika was saying, but the succubus hadn't finished.

"And since I know that you are not psychopaths, but that you really enjoyed helping others, that only makes those assholes and cocksuckers look even worse than the banished from heaven, because they had their heads so deep in their own asses, to realize the valuable service you provided to the world." she said.

"But do you have to be so rude? How are you so sure?"

"Don't say I'm rude, because it’s the truth and I'm being soft, and also I say I must to say, what is reality and if you don't believe me, ask all those people that you helped, all the brothers and sisters who could meet once again, to all those who can have another chance to enjoy life next to their friends... " she paused and smiled fondly before continuing. "To all the parents who can come back to their home, to hug and kiss their children." she said softly and happily, before looking at the 3 angels. "And all thanks to you three." she said with a smile of joy and gratitude.

The three of them began to tear up at her words. Verosika blinked when she felt a sudden weight around her legs, and she looked down to see Cletus had wrapped his arms around her legs in a hug. And then Collin and Keenie followed suit.

Verosika began to hug them, while the others watched the scene with different levels of tenderness.

When the three of them relaxed a bit, they floated again.

"Thanks for that." Collin said gratefully.

"Yeah, we really needed that." Cletus confirmed.

Keenie said nothing, but nodded with a smile as she floated back up glowing.

'They really should turn that power back off, we can't keep it that way for long!' was the intrusive thought that Verosika had, seeing the 3 of them in that angelic form, and feeling the power emanating that power, and she couldn't disagree.

"I'm glad I helped you, but could you go back... how do I say this, turn off your seraph form? Could you draw unwanted attention, if you haven't already." Verosika asked them.

Despite the fact that they did not like the idea very much, did so, for which they soon descended to the ground, and both the wings and the halos, as well as the golden and divine aura of power, disappeared, leaving them with the ribbons. The three of them sighed, disappointed to return to their simple appearances, seeing this Verosika asked them.

"Is it really very uncomfortable for you to be with Isaac's gifts turned off? Is it painful or something?"

To which Collin replied. "Not really, mostly because we didn't turn them off completely, but it just feels a little…off." The angel tried to explain, although Verosika couldn't quite understand.

"It's like, you wear really uncomfortable clothes?" asked the succubus trying to see if she was able to understand what the blue lamb was trying to tell her.

"No, it would actually be like you forgot something." tried to say Keenie.

"Oh! I mean, is it like going naked? I mean, do you guys feel naked right now? Like the exhibitionists?" Ronia asked, causing the seraphs to look somewhat embarrassed, to which Keenie responded quickly.

"No! It's not that! It's more like... you're missing something very important, but not like that!"

"Like you forgot your cell phone at home?" Vortex asked to which Cletus analyzed a bit and responded.

"Yeah, something like that, only more personal and you can't move without it"

"So, it's like you're missing a leg and you left the prosthesis at home?" Verosika asked.

"Exactly! Although we can get used to it in the end, it won't be completely." Cletus said.

Verosika thought about it for a moment, and then said. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll investigate later if there's a way that no one can detect them inside the house, and when we get a chance to go to earth again, we'll go to a special place, that way they could be free to go in their full forms."

"Really!?" asked all 3 at the same time.

Verosika shrugged her shoulders. "I'm nothing if not accommodating to my house guests."

"Shucks, Miss Verosika, seems we had you demons all wrong... We were brought up to believe you were all inherently evil, but you've been amazing." Cletus said softly.

"Tch... Now I can HEAR the bias dripping from our elders' mouths." Keenie huffed.

"Thank you..." Collin whispered.

"You're welcome, you decided to protect good people, and although I'm not an altruistic person, at least I don't see myself in that vocation. But I have learned to respect people who do that" said Verosika.

At that Cletus frowned and sighed briefly, but he was not one filled with sadness as before, but with acceptance, before speaking. "Well, since we're being honest, and you've done so much for us, I think it's necessary to tell the whole truth." said the angel, and this caught everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" asked the succubus pop star, while she saw the angel scratching his head uncomfortably.

"Well, we haven't been 100% honest." he said to which many raised an eyebrow.

"So, you've been lying to us about something?" Vortex said with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Well, not to lie at all, but more to leave out some things and say other things on impulse." He spoke.

"Can you explain?" Skrell asked curious what he was trying to say to Cletus, and under everyone's watchful eyes, he began to speak.

"To begin with, when I said that there was no one in heaven that of the last 12 people who entered heaven in the last 3 years, it was because they were only professional kissers and that's it, actually there are some who are really good people, I said the above because I was emotional, although in my defense I will say the majority if they are just that, some kissers, or people who did not deserve to be in heaven." Cletus explained, though the last bit caught everyone's attention.

"Wait, why do you say that some of them didn't deserve to be in heaven?" Summer asked.

"Because a lot of them were really despicable and despotic people, like Lyle Lipton." the angel answered once more, which surprised everyone.

"Wait, that wasn't the name of the guy they were trying to protect, but they failed and got banished?"

"Yes, the same, and many people are like him in heaven."

"Exactly what was he like? What was wrong with him." Dia asks, to which Cletus begins to narrate the entire situation around Lyle Lipton, from when they were sent to their encounter with Imp, and how the 3 ended up banished in detail.

When the angel finished telling the story, the inhabitants of the mansion were quite surprised as well as confused.

"So… just to be clear" Skrell began “was it for trying to protect this man, and killing him by accident, that he was real scum, that you three got kicked out of heaven?" asked Skrell.

"Yeah basically." Cletus replied as embarrassed as Collin and Keenie.

"Okay, so, can you explain to me now how you thought it would be a good idea to save Lipton? If it was obvious that he was condemned to be in hell! How did you think that someone like that would have the slightest chance of being accepted in heaven? What were you guys thinking?" He asked 3 very embarrassed angels, the imp butler, who, like the rest of the inhabitants of the mansion, could not understand how the 3 seraphim thought that this was a good idea.

"Frink Haber," Collin replied suddenly.

"Huh? What did you say?" asked Skrell.

"Frink Haber, he was the reason we thought it was a good idea." answered the blue lamb.

"Who is this Frink? A relative of Lipton’s or something?" Verosika asked.

"Not really."

"Wait, Frink Haber? You mean the scientist was one of the most brilliant minds of the last century?" said the librarian imp.

"Yes, that one." Cletus confirmed to Ezna.

"Wait, wait, who are you holding? Why is it so important?" he asked the popstar succubus again, to which the imp replied.

"Well... Frink Haber was one of the most important scientists in history who was responsible for creating the Haber-Bosh method, which made it possible to synthesize efficiently and cheaply to produce ammonia."

"And that's important because...?" Verosika asked without understanding the situation very well.

"It is important because that was what made Frink responsible for killing millions of people, since basically thanks to the fact that with this he created the 'Mustard Gas', and that is how Frink became the father of war chemistry." Ezna said, taking everyone by surprise.

"Wait, and it's because of this guy that you guys tried to save Lyle's life?" Verosika asked, still not understanding why the former CHERUB members tried to save Lipton.

"Yes, since he was also responsible for saving countless millions of people, since with his creation he allowed the creation of fertilizer on an industrial scale, and therefore modern agriculture." Collin defended and Cletus continued for him.

"And not only modern agriculture, but Mustard Gas also turned out to be another creation with which countless lives would be saved, since it had the particularity that cells divide, which after much research, was perfected to be so. used against cancer, so Frink would also be the father of modern agriculture, and the grandfather of chemotherapy." The angel finished explaining all the hellborn surprised to a greater or lesser extent by the information.

"So... you thought that Lyle Lipton would be the same as Frink Haber, and that's why you decided to help him?"

"Yeah... basically that's why" Keenie said.

"I see. But what was Frink Haber like as a PERSON?" Verosika asked.

"Well... answering that is... very difficult to answer." Cletus said with difficulty.

"Because...?" the succubus asked curiously.

"He was basically someone with his own morals, a person with great ambitions, but he was not someone evil... and with a life full of many ups and downs. As I said, a complicated situation, in the end not even heaven knew how to judge him properly..."

"He had…flaws and virtues, and as Cletus said, he had ups and downs, both very much and very significant," Cletus murmured, clasping his fingers together and looking down. "And... haunted by some of the things he created..."

"In the end, being the father of chemical warfare cost him a lot in life, his wife..." Keenie spoke, pausing, as if the next thing was hard for her to say. "She killed herself by not being able to stand what her husband's creations were, and then her son did the same."

This earned a wave of horrified gasps from the inhabitants of the house.

"And Lipton?"

"Well, he was... Well, he wasn't PURE evil... He seemed to have an appreciation for the beauty of nature, and the innocence of children, until THOSE THREE ruined it for him, but... all in all... He was much worse... Oh gosh, all this time I was just trying to chase glory and I didn't even realize it..." Cletus breathed.

"Well, you don't need to keep blaming yourself, in the end both you and your teammates can use that to be a better judge of character in the future." Skrell told him.

"Yes... that's true! Thank you!" Cletus exclaimed with enthusiasm, one that was shared by Keenie and Collin.

"But... what are we going to do now?" asked the blue angelic lamb.

"Well... that's a good question, what to do with you 3?" Verosika started thinking, until she had an idea. "Well, I have a plan, but first a few questions, what would you be willing to do for Isaac? What do you want to do with or for him?" asked the succubus.

Cletus stepped forward. "Ma'am, I owe that boy my life for what he's done for us. I'll do ANYTHING to pay him back. You can just consider us... his shields! Yeah! The three of us are now among the most powerful beings in all of hell now, so we can handle darn near anything that might try an' hurt the little guy! We'll be his guardian angels!"
"Well, I'm glad to know you're so excited about it." Verosika said, seeing how determined and honest Cletus was with his statements.

Then he turned to look at Keenie and Collin.

"But I need to know what about the two of you? I want to make sure that the three of you are in the same boat."

"Of course!" Collin said, straightening up.

"We're at his service!" Keenie saluted. "We owe him every bit as much as Cletus does, we wouldn't have anything if it wasn't for him, keeping him safe is the LEAST we can do!"

"Okay, so you're officially in charge of helping take care of Isaac, but before you can do that, you'll have some important guidelines to follow, so pay attention..." Verosika said to which the angels prepared to listen intently. "Well, first, if you really want to protect Isaac, you will have to follow my instructions, or failing that, those I will leave in charge, since as I said before, you would help take care of Isaac, but you will not be the only ones, this Mainly because we're in hell, and they'll need to learn how things are here first, so they'll be learning from us."

"Oh yeah, can do, Miss Verosika Ma'am!" Cletus said with a salute. "We'll be sure to pay real close attention to your every word, scout's honor!"

"Yeah... I definitely wanna know all I can about this place, you never know when something dangerous might come along..." Collin said nervously, wringing his hooves together.

"Collin is right, we will need information on what we can find." Keenie said as he nodded.

Satisfied with that, Verosika continued. "Well, I'm glad it's like that, because it's important to understand that point to understand the next one, and that is; nothing, I repeat, NO religion around Isaac."

"Wait what!? Why!?" Keenie asked indignantly.

"Because his mother was an unhinged religious nut that used it to hurt him in any way she could. She used it to convince him he was evil and deserved to suffer. He has trauma related to it, and bringing it up will only hurt him." The succubus explained. Verosika sighed heavily, remembering the torture Isaac suffered, and the monstrous damage it took to his mind, if the drawings and thoughts of himself are any indication. "He's had enough of that for several lifetimes, I plan to inform him how things really work in the 3 worlds, but without embellishing him or telling him what he wants to hear, unless it's the truth, and this has to be something that must be done." discreetly, so there are things that we won't explain to him yet, but as he grows up."

"Oh come on! How can you think that's the right decision, I mean look what it turned the 3 of us into, it turned us into Seraphim!" Keenie tried to defend.

Then Verosika's countenance changed to one of thought, and then she spoke. "Yeah, that's another thing I wanted to talk to you about, this whole 'Isaac is God' thing, and I have to ask you, how are you so sure about that?"

"Isn't that obvious? There's only one person who-" Keenie was interrupted by the succubus before finishing her sentence.

"Yeah, I know that whole thing, the thing is, how do you know they're real Seraphim? Have you ever seen one?"

Keenie was going to reply but at that moment she was silent, and she began to reflect for a moment, something that her angelic companions did. "Well…not really, we never had the honor of seeing one in person." said the yellow lamb.

"Besides, we don't look like what's described as one either, since we're not a wheel of gold and surrounded by eyes..." Collin said.

"That's true, although it's also true that they can also change their appearance, at least that's what I've read." Cletus mused aloud.

"That's what I wanted to get to, from what we know there are only 2 plausible explanations, or is there the absurd idea that Isaac is the creator god of the universe in person, this is his power, and everything that that implies, even the great nonsense and danger of the whole situation. Or…" Verosika said and paused, considering the other option.

"...or?" Keenie asked.

"Or... it's all a misunderstanding." Verosika said, an answer that left everyone dissatisfied, especially the yellow lamb.

"Okay, if it's all a misunderstanding, how do you explain the boy being so special? And all this divine power? The fact that one of the gifts he gave us said 'awaken your faith', and it transformed us into who we are. I think the signs are not THAT confusing." Keenie argument.

"As I said before, it could all be part of a big misunderstanding, and it's not really as obvious as it seems, after all, if he's supposed to be god himself, what about the hellish side of his power?"

Before the yellow lamb said anything, Cletus spoke.

"Keenie, Verosika may have a point."

"Wait, really?" Keenie asked a little incredulously.

"From the first time we met him we saw him, he was like a mixture of both parts... but since we were escended by him, I realized that there was something else as well."

What the angel had said, powerfully called the attention of all those present there.

"Wait, how's that for 'also something else'?" Verosika asked with a lot of curiosity but also a tinge of concern.

"I'm not really sure, I can't recognize what it is, but in addition to the heavenly and infernal energies that Isaac possesses, there is also a third part, I'm not sure what it is. But it is very familiar and at the same time different." explained the angel.

"Well, that adds another level of complexity to the whole thing with Isaac, maybe we'll find an answer to all the unknowns that surround the boy, or maybe we never will, and that's why, and for an infinity of reasons more than the idea of Isaac having any relationship with God is absurd, and treating him accordingly even more, he doesn't need people who adore him and kiss his ass, but who really want to give him love, protection and tenderness" Verosika said to the 3 angels, without waiting for an answer she continued. "I can count on you to do at least half of that?" she asked.

"Of course!" exclaimed the Putto with determination.

"Yes, we will do it." Collin said softly.

"Okay, that's fine, and you?" Verosika asked Keenie, who was reflecting on what the demon said.

"Right... Yeah... Okay. Sorry about that. I won't... um... kiss his... bum... like you said..." She rubbed her arm with her hoof, clearly in discomfort.

Verosika chuckled. "Not a fan of strong language, huh? Well, you'll get accustomed to it the longer you stay down here, because everyone curses like a fuckin' drunken sailor in this neck of the woods."

"Does that mean we're forced to talk like that? Even in front of Isaac?" Collin asked, a little worried about what the boy would turn on.

To her surprise Verosika's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh no no no no!" she responded quickly. "It's not mandatory that they do it, although they do tolerate it, and they can talk like that if they want, they won't be penalized for it, but they definitely won't talk like that in front of Isaac, they will have to do like the others, and avoid swearing in front of Isaac. him, at least until he's a teenager, that's clear?" she asked him and the 3 nodded. "Well, the other thing I wanted you to know is that in addition to taking care of Isaac, you will be doing other things in the mansion, I suppose you have skills for something other than being guardian angels, right?"

"Yes, in fact, to carry out CHERUB, we had to learn several things, from administration to medicine, among many others, although we are not experts in all of that." Cletus reported.

"Okay, sure we can find a place for you, especially if you're willing to learn new things, that won't be a problem right?" Verosika asked.

"Not really," Collin replied.

"If necessary, I don't see the problem." Keenie said with a shrug.

"Of course not, in fact I feel like I could learn anything more easily." Cletus said with great enthusiasm, something that caught the attention of those present.

"That reminds me, how did you realize that Isaac had that third part inside of him? Neither Collin nor I have managed to see anything yet." Keenie asked curiously, to which the angel boy was thoughtful for a moment.

"Well... not really, but lately my mind has felt different, as if I could realize things that I hadn't noticed before." he said.

"Is that why you had been so thoughtful before in the car?" Collin asks.

"Yes this is why." confirmed Cletus.

"Well, that has to be the work of the gift that Isaac gave you, there is no other explanation."

"Wait, what was the gift that Isaac gave him?" Summer asked.

"It was one called 'The Mind', which I see makes you more intelligent or attentive, right?" Verosika responded to the feline sinner, and then turned to Cletus, to see if she was right, and the angel child nodded.

"Yes, something more or less like that." he answered.

"Well, we can see that in detail later, it's getting late, there are a few more things to talk about, but they're not urgent, so we can talk about them later, so we can end this meeting, okay?" Verosika asked everyone present, who expressed their support for the idea in various ways, since there was a lot to fall asleep for everyone after the enormous amount of response and revelations that had occurred in such a short time. "Okay, Summer, Dia can you take these 3 to the guest room? They'll have to sleep together in the same room, and then we'll take care of preparing a room for each of them."

"Sure! This way." They both said to immediately guide the 3 angels to where they would spend the night, while the others withdrew, and Verosika approached Vortex.

"Oh Vortex, before you go, there's something I have to ask you, when do you think you can bring your girlfriend here to talk to her about what we agreed on?"

"Is it because of the babysitting thing? I thought the 3 of them would be enough." asked the hellhound.

"Yeah, but they're not going to be available all the time, and it's always nice to have more people to confide in, and if half of what you say about your girlfriend is true, then it's smart to have her take care of Isaac."

"Well, that's true, and lucky for you she's been looking forward to meeting the little man." Vortex told Verosika.

"Really?" she asked enthusiastically.

Vortex chuckled and nodded his head. "Yep, she loves kids, always has. Heh... Probably gonna spoil the little fella a bit, hope you don't mind."

"No way, not at all, he definitely needs it at this point! Huh... Come to think of it, who IS your girlfriend, anyway?"

Vortex grinned. "Weeeell, that's a surprise."

"Ah, c'mon, if she's a big name celebrity, it's probably no one I haven't already met!"

Vortex just laughed. "If only you knew..."

Verosika pouted. "You can be so cruel sometimes."

"In any case, she wants to meet you and Isaac as soon as possible, and she wants to know when you're available,"

"Can she come tomorrow?" Verosika asked.

Vortex perked up. "Sure thing! I'll call and let her know! Ah, you guys are gonna LOVE her, she's the sweetest girl you've EVER met!" He chuckled to himself at his own joke, which was lost on Verosika, who smirked.

"Sounds promising."

After that, Vortex left, and before Verosika did the same, she noticed that Ezna was still there, which made the succubus happy, since she had a matter to discuss with her.

"Oh, Ezna, I'm glad you're still here." Verosika said with a smile.

"Well…it's just that you said that he had something to talk to me about…regarding Isaac." answered the shy imp.

"Oh yes, that, look, I have a task for you, and that is that I want you to help me investigate everything we can regarding Isaac and... the "gifts" that he has."

"Really?" asked the imp quite interested in the task, to which succumbed to her with an enthusiastic smile.

"Yes, we can start this tomorrow, after my meeting with Vortex's girlfriend, luckily for me, this will not be something that we have to start completely from scratch, I recently found out that, from the drawings that have been doing all this time, many are actually in relation to these Items, or 'Cool Stuff' as he sometimes calls them."

"Drawings? Do you know if there are any that indicate where Isaac got these items from?" Eznas asked, to which Verosika shook her head.

"The truth is that he doesn't know, I hadn't had time or much motivation to see all the drawings... especially since he usually captures his traumas in them." Verosika said awkwardly.

"Oh dear" was what the imp said with regret and sadness...

"Yes, that's why I'm glad you offered to investigate a while ago, we can together see if we can find some answers." The succubus finished saying her plan.

Ezna smiled and nodded her head. "Oh, yes, Miss Verosika, it would be my pleasure to help you with this!" She said eagerly, happy to have a task that would put her mind to the test. Verosika smirked and nodded her head in appreciation.

"Great! We can get started... sometime tomorrow,after my meeting with Vortex's girlfriend."

"Excellent, I'll be ready, good night Miss Verosika." the imp said respectfully as she withdrew.

"Good night Ezna." the succubus said as she did the same, and retired to sleep. Verosika went up the stairs towards her room, on the way she decided to take a quick look at Isaac, so she opened the door softly and quietly, and saw him sleeping peacefully while he sucked her thumb, and while she suppressed a shriek of tenderness, she closed the door again, so as not to disturb her sleep.

After bathing and putting on her nightwear, she reflected for a moment on everything that had happened that day. Finding the cherubs, that Isaac will save them, ascending them, the meeting in the mansion, that Keenie will affirm that Isaac is God, the questions and answers.

"What a day." was all she could say, she thought for a moment about what the future would be like from now on, but she wasn't clear. So finally, she decided to surrender to the arms of Morpheus, to sleep peacefully.

...or that was the idea.

Verosika felt that something was different, when the mist of the dream enveloped her mind, she could perceive that it was not the same. She doesn't know how much time passed, but she knew it wasn't long, when she opened her eyes, and found herself in a very strange setting.

No matter where she looked, she saw a strange moorland, with a pearly white sky and a silvery gray ground, which when stepped on, produced ripples like water.

"What is this place? Where am I? Where are the others? Where is Isaac?" were the questions she asked herself while she looked from one side to the other without finding anything or anyone familiar, which was beginning to worry her. Before she could ask or do anything else, she noticed a shadowy couple covering her and when she turned around, she couldn't believe her eyes.

The shadows were of two beings, huge figures, distorted by the shadows so Verosika could make out some features, since one had what looked like a hood and a large staff, and the other seemed to have wings, but the most striking detail were her eyes, brilliant orbs that looked directly into her soul.

"Verosika Mayday, we need to talk." said one of the figures in a deep, commanding and totally familiar voice.

Meanwhile, in another place in hell, one could find one of the many bad neighborhoods in hell, a gang was in their lair.

They stood out for being all covered in bruises and many different wounds, you could see everything from bruises and black eyes, to horns, teeth, broken arms and legs, as if a train had passed them all and each one had hit them all, and they would have miraculously come out alive.

"Ok... let me see if I understand, are you telling me that you decided to mess with a random hellhound.... and left them in this condition?" said one of them, who was a sinner with a muscular build, red skin and an elegant black suit, with gold jewelry and chains.

"Yes Boss." responded one of his men, a muscular shark, green and white, just as muscular, but less tall, and which was missing most of its teeth.

"ASS!" the sinner exploded with rage. "WHAT THE FUCK! YOU WERE 14 MEN WITH ARMS, SO FUCKING USELESS TO LET YOURSELF BE DEFEATED BY A SINGLE FOODSY DOG!?" He shouted full of disbelief and rage, while he slammed his fists against the desk, you could hear how the wood creaked from the blow, when it broke, something that made most of the criminals shudder.

"I... I have no idea! He was like a beast with muscles of steel!" said one of his subordinates, an imp with a constitution, who had his face swollen and his two horns broken.

"And why didn't you just shoot the sonuva until he was worse than a sieve mutherfuckers!? It doesn't matter if he was Chuck Norris himself, no fighter survives a shot to the head! They had guns! Why didn't they use them!?" the sinner asked without understanding, and with a lot of anger.

"It wasn't our fault! Something strange happened, all the weapons broke!" said another imp, thinner, bent over, who had several bandages covering his body.

"What!? All weapons?! At the same time!?" the gang leader exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, we tried everything to shoot them, but nothing worked, so that's why we went to fists and used what we had to hit him." said the imp with a large complexion and broken horns, from before.

"And that's why out of 14 people, only the 3 of you were healthy enough to crawl back, while the others can't even speak yet, right?"

The demons in front of him nodded, because they were the ones who had had the best, the rest could barely walk, much less talk, many still complaining about the pain.

Suddenly the place shook slightly.

"Buhuhuhhu" one of them cried.

"For the love of... as if these fucking earthquakes weren't enough. The other mafia bosses will make fun of us as soon as they find out, any respect we have will go down the drain." The sinner boss rubbed his head with frustration, then looked at his subordinates. "Listen to me, you useless people, if you don't want us to be treated like low-level scum, you will find that disgusting dog, and you will bring me his fur as a new coat, from him, and everyone around him will take his weapons, and you will be "They will make sure they are in perfect condition, and they will teach him before killing him and everyone, that no one messes with us, UNDERSTAND!?"

The 3 demons in front of him nodded.

The boss sat down again and rubbed the temples of his head, to quell the growing migraine that was generating all the anger of indignation. "I'm surrounded by useless people, 14 armed men, beaten by a single fucking dog."

"Buhhuhuhu" the crying was heard again.

"Oh, for fuck! STOP CRYING!" he screamed in rage, but the crying did not stop. "Are you challenging me? I'm going to give you a reason to cry if you don't stop fucking talking NOW!" he shouted, smashing his fists on his desk again.

"Buhuhuhuhuhuhu!"

"THAT IS!" Suddenly the boss threw himself into the air with force full of fury, ready to kill someone. "Who is this!? Who is the faggot whose damn mouth cords I should tear out!" The boss asked, looking at all of his lackeys, to see who was making that horrible sound for him, but everyone was silent, and staring at him, with fear.

"Buhhuhuhuhuh!" The crying was heard again, and so the giant sinner discovered that none of his crooks were the ones who were crying.

The crying continued, and that led the boss, and the 3 crooks who were healthier, to discover that the crying was coming from outside, more specifically from behind the door that gave access to the entrance, a pair of large doors, and one of them managed to identify the source of the crying.

"Boss... I think it's a child crying." said the skinny imp.

"Oh yeah? I don't know how I got here. But hey, it will help take away all the stress you guys have caused me." He said going straight to open the door, and when he did, he was greeted with a strange vision. The hallway, which gave access to another part of the warehouse where their base was, was very dark, and for some reason it was larger than they remembered, but neither the chief nor his crook paid attention to that, since they found in the shadows the source of the crying, which was coming towards them slowly. "Okay, you fucking brat, I don't know how you got here but I'll give you a reason- WHAT THE FUCK!?" The boss interrupted himself when he suddenly saw the child better.

Indeed it must have been a child, but one whose body was down to the bones, also filled with all kinds of horrible scars, wounds and places full of signs of necrosis, all clearly visible because the said child was naked. But the worst thing was the creature's head, because it had a huge deformed mass, almost twice as big as his body, with eyes and mouth from which blood came out, where his head should be.

Well, he didn't have eyes, but only one eye in the singular, since where the other one should be, and a large part of his head, there was what looked like a huge black sphere, which seemed to have been forcibly grafted, and from which more blood came out, which the boss quickly realized was a bomb.

He walked slowly at first, but when the sinner chief and his crooks saw him and them, the creature walked much faster towards them. The chief sinner, horrified by the horrible thing, and disgusted beyond measure at not being able to see it, and even more so at being touched by it, took the nearest crook, who was more shocked than he and his companions, and threw him into the creature.

"You take care of it!" he ordered as he lassoed it.

The muscular shark demon did not have time to do or say anything, since the creature, barely getting close enough, began to swell more and more, and...

*BOOOOOOOM!*

Suddenly and to the absolute surprise of everyone, the crying creature with the body of a child exploded with such power that even at the distance in which they were, they fell to the ground pushed by the force, and with their ears ringing, when they managed to compose themselves, They saw enough of the result of the explosion, and what was left of Crook Tiburon.

The epicenter was completely destroyed, where before there was a neglected but still firm corridor, now there was nothing left but a smokey crater full of blood. And Crook? There was nothing left but an arm that was missing a large part of the muscles and several fingers.

Before any of them could do anything else, they heard the crying from before again, only this time there was something that made it worse.

It was several identical cries.

Their fears were confirmed when they saw more equally deformed figures moving towards them. They quickly went back inside, closing the door, blocking it with whatever they could before moving away from the imminent explosion.

Only the explosion never came, they continued to hear the group crying, but they hadn't exploded yet.

"Boss! What happened!? What was that explosion!? Where is Skudz!?" the other Crooks asked.

"Dead, some... fucking thing suddenly came and killed him!" The broken-horned imp responded, terrified.

"Yes! And now there is an army of those things here! What are we doing boss!?" said the skinny and tall imp, equally terrified when he saw how just one of those things was enough to almost make his companion disappear almost completely.

"I'm trying to think! Okay, take your weapons everyone we have-"

"Buhhuhuhuhhu!"

The sinner could not finish the sentence, since suddenly, from everywhere came more and more of those things that had killed his crook.

Both his and his gang could do nothing but scream when the deformed creatures pounced on them.

Meanwhile, a sinner in the shape of a snake was riding in his airship, while he saw in the distance a series of explosions destroying a warehouse.

"Aarrg! That insufferable Cherry Bomb?! Here? Not again! I haven't finissssshed preparing my beautiful machine yet!" he said and then left the area.

To be continue...

Chapter Text

Ok, this isn't a new chapter, I'm sorry to disappoint you about that.
I have good news and bad news.

The bad news comes first, to get this out of the way once and for all.

But this year a lot of things happened, from bad to worse, both personally and in relation to this story.

And from a house that floods and falls apart without me being able to do anything to fix it, going through an extremely long and exhausting work schedule, to the worst of all the blows this story could receive, which was the abandonment of my co-writer Gamer95.

Just when we were making chapter 3, he completely lost interest, so he left me alone, which is a serious problem because he had introduced many ideas that would now remain unfinished and unfinished, and that would prevent me from continuing the story on my own.

That's not counting a creative block, although this was the least of the problems, because it was so small.

But it's right here where the new good news comes in.

And this story, as I said almost a year ago, is not going to die, I'm not going to let it die, and that's a promise.

Although some of my problems are still valid, I managed to solve most of the others, so now I have not only more free time, but I managed to get a new co-writer.

The Cowardly Christian agreed to help me continue contributing several interesting ideas, as well as some dialogues and scenes.

And because of that, plus everything new we learned about the lore of hellaverse, we are currently rewriting and re-editing the story, the chapters we have so far.

And what's more, we already have a complete vision of how everything will go from beginning to end, and very interesting things are coming.

And chapter 1 has already been re-edited, and is ready to be published soon.

Once again, thank you for the patience and support you've given me, especially thank you for the kudos and comments, which have helped me further solidify my decision to continue this idea to the end and beyond.

All under a new title and everything, although I will publish this new and improved version separately or if it will be published over this old version, so those who are already here don't have to move elsewhere, maybe the latter will happen, in any case I will give you a notice.

Thanks for your support, boys and girls readers, sincerely ImperialStar.

Chapter Text

Verosika felt her head light and numb.


“I think I went a little overboard…” She muttered to herself as she held her slightly aching head.

She drank more than planned, although that was something that would seem normal, it is not usually like that in the " Fuck Blitzo" parties that she usually organizes, after all it is not the objective of the party.

But in this particular one with Blitzo being one of the uninvited guests, and the whole situation being so intense, she could not help but overdo it with the drink, something that she should not do, considering that she would have to start recording an album with her crew tomorrow, but that wasn't the problem she faced now.

The problem was that she didn't know exactly where she was, or how she got there.

She only remembers that she went out to get some fresh air, someone was calling her, and he seemed really hurt, hurting and desperate for help, which was normal for many at this specific type of party, it wasn't the first time and if Blitz continued like this, it wouldn't be the last, but Verosika had hope that it would be .

She followed the voice to find that person, and so doing the typical thing, which is comforting another emotional victim of Blitz , the infernal pop star somehow ended up wandering through a strange mist, until he came to a small hill with a modest house on top.

Verosika felt tired of walking, she only spent a few minutes in that fog, but she felt like she had walked for hours, so she thought about calling a taxi, but quickly realized that she had no credit on her cell phone. In a way, this was good, because she wouldn't do something stupid while drunk, like calling her ex Blitzo or something, and do or say things that she wouldn't do if she were more in her right mind, much less after what they both just talked about, but being isolated in the middle of the unknown wasn't exactly ideal either.

"Seriously, where am I?" She asked looking around, it wasn't the first time that she ended up in strange places while drunk, but how she got here confused her quite a bit, and that wasn't another blackout , luckily she didn't drink enough to get to that point.

"Plus I'm still dressed and I'm not tied up, so it's not that bad." She thought.

She saw that the house had the lights on, and from the noises she heard, she knew that there were people, at least two, so Verosika had an idea.

She would go to their house, they would recognize her as the pop star that she was, and she would ask if she could use the phone.

Sure, if she was lucky, she just had to sign an autograph or two, maybe act a little sexy, and if she wasn't lucky... well, she'd just have to deal with some ugly dicks... in more ways than one.

She climbed the hill and as she got closer she could detect something, a strange but familiar feeling, but with the alcohol clouding his senses she couldn't place it.

Also, as she got closer to the house, she could hear the activity inside the house better, there was a lot of commotion, that was for sure, but Verosika couldn't make out what was going on inside, but she could feel something coming from the house.

"Magic?" she wondered as she felt the energy emanating from within that place.

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Cool... Is this one of those freaks who tries to use some weird ritual, to summon a demon into his living room or something, only to end up with something from the underworld killing or fucking him?" She wondered to herself , as she rolled her eyes and snorted.

She debated what to do in this situation. She could leave, but she needed to use the phone, but with the screams and rage coming from inside, she was very hesitant to knock on the door and call for help like before.

At one point the noise stopped completely, leaving only silence, this increased the pop star succubus' curiosity , she tried to look inside through the windows, but nothing could be seen through the curtains.

At this point she was very hesitant to enter, the whole scenario seemed to much like a horror movie, and if Verosika didn't have the amount of alcohol that she had now, she would have turned around.

"Oh, screw it..." she said after a while, before kicking the door off its hinges, about to casually walk into the house.

But when she did, she felt that same sensation as before, but now with greater intensity, hitting her like a blast of steam coming out of a newly opened oven, to the point that it stopped her for a moment. Whatever the ritual was, it was extremely intense, the idiot doing it must have been trying to summon a greater demon, it was the only way she could think of that explained why the concentration of energy was so massive and permeated the entire house with the energy of hell.

There was so much magic, that Verosika could swear she was back in hell, in the presence of a VERY pissed off high-ranking demon.

She glanced back at the door, but wasn't worried, she'd just be paying the cost of the door at worst or blaming the damage on whatever was causing all the fuss at best... assuming the idiot doing the summoning ritual didn't end up getting killed by the demon they were trying to summon, or because the ritual failed.

She looked around with her hands on her hips. She saw that there was a phone. Unfortunately, it was ripped out of the wall with the cord snapped in half. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “ Sighs …” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked down into the basement. “Maybe the owner has a cell phone…”

She looked around, but she couldn't see anyone with the naked eye, so Verosika snorted in annoyance, it seemed she would have to go inside the house to find the help she needed.

Something Verosika noticed upon entering was that the house was much larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, in a rather supernatural way, as while on the outside the house looked like a small one-room house, but on the inside it looked like there was at least a second floor, and then a third, then a fourth, and a fifth, and so on, extending over several different floors, and not only did they seem to have no end, but they were also all warped, with a multitude of doors and trapdoors in the walls, of all types, sizes, materials, and shapes.

On top of that there was a basement, or at least something resembling one, as beneath her she could feel a lot of activity, noises, growls, objects moving, and she could even swear she could hear a crowd of people.

And in that basement, she heard the commotion she had been hearing ever since she found the house, and now that he was inside the now renovated house, she could tell that it was some kind of fight, since from the voice, it was definitely a woman screaming.

Her eyebrow slowly rose at that and she frowned deeply. "Wow, whoever is down there is completely deranged..." She began to debate with herself if she really wanted to go through with the trip. She did NOT need to deal with that kind of madness today.

Suddenly, the door in front of her started to move, unmistakably someone was opening it, making her jump at the sound and look from side to side. " Uuuuhh ..." Was all she had the chance to say before the door slowly opened, making her tense up, waiting for something crazy to emerge.

But what she saw was a tiny little boy, completely naked. He was a VERY tiny creature, so tiny that he couldn't even reach the doorknob. No, he was several feet off the ground, holding on to it with all his might as the door slowly opened.

when the door finally opened fully. He looked down at the floor, saw how high he was and then shuddered and began to curl up into himself, his small body shaking violently as he cried silently.

The succubus was completely stunned by the unexpected development of events, and when Isaac let go of the doorknob, landing on the floor in some pain, she was with thousands of thoughts running through her mind.

When Verosika got a better look at him, she was still shocked, more so than before, because she could see him clearly, and she could see that the boy had one black, swollen eye, with a trickle of blood coming from his mouth, and one small side of his shaved head was sunken.

And not only was his face battered, his entire body showed evidence not only of abuse, but also of neglect due to how thin and malnourished he looked.

And his eyes, for Verosika, were perhaps the worst, because they conveyed a pain and sadness that she had only seen not only in those who had collapsed from living in hell and had given up almost all hope, but in herself when Blitzo broke her heart.

The boy was shocked when he saw her, clearly scared, he was shaking and had tears in his eyes.

With this new vision, Verosika's brain no longer had thousands of questions, but MILLIONS.

So he started with the first one:

"Who are you-"

"ISAAAAAAAAC!"

Verosika was interrupted by a thunderous voice, it was a woman's, but everything was wrong.

It sounded human, but at the same time inhuman, since that voice was accompanied by an echo from another world, in addition to being impregnated with anger, hatred, resentment, bloodlust and disgust in the purest state that Verosika had ever heard, to the point that the succubus and her spine froze.

And the worst thing is that it sounded close, VERY close, and behind the child, her face turned towards the door through which he had just left, and she was filled with the most absolute fear and despair, while HIS body shuddered and scrambled away.

Before Verosika could say anything, the owner of that voice made her appearance, coming out through the same door the boy had come out of. The first thing she saw was a huge, fat hand grabbing the frame and digging its fingers into it. Then the rest of the body came out.

She was a huge, VERY obese woman, wearing a lavender dress with yellow polka dots and heels of the same color.

But the woman's circumference was the least of it, it was her face that was most striking, above all, since it was totally inhuman.

Her skin was completely black, in an unnatural way, blonde hair falling from her head, her eyes were bright orbs of pure red, he had no lips, instead only sporting a pair of enormous rows of bright crimson teeth, numerous, long and sharp, that were in a perpetual laugh or growl of rage.

And the second worst thing is that her face was completely distorted into a predatory expression filled with hatred, rage, anger, and pure, undiluted evil.

And the worst thing is that it was totally aimed at the little one.

"ISAAAAAAAAC!" the woman roared.

The boy, apparently Isaac, started to run towards Verosika's side, but the creature, because calling that a human woman would be a mistake and the succubus knew it, was surprisingly faster than the boy, despite her corporeal mass , so she passed by Verosika, almost knocking her down in the process, and it didn't take long to catch him , grabbing him by the neck, lifting the boy with great ease and violently slamming him into the ground, in such a way that the boy's face crashed into the ground, making a disgusting noise.

Verosika flinched and was shocked when she heard the head hit, and saw the child's face hit the ground, these feelings only increased when she saw that there was more blood. And the succubus was used to seeing violence and blood, whether it was from men, women or children.

But looking at this particular boy, it was different, maybe it was the fact that he was being tortured, maybe it was because he was so small, whatever it was, Verosika was going to stop this situation and that monster woman right now.

But before she could intervene, the events that followed unfolded in slow motion, filling the succubus with indescribable horror while being etched into her memory forever.

The monstrous woman turned Isaac to face her, and lifted her other hand that wasn't holding the child, revealing something shiny and thick, and when Verosika's brain registered what it was, she became alarmed, because that object was a huge knife.

Without wasting any time, without giving Verosika time to react and without giving Isaac time to escape or defend himself, he plunged the huge knife into the boy's chest, burying the entire sharp blade inside the boy's small body.

She then pulled out the knife, splattering the boy's blood everywhere, and made a horrible cut across his throat. It was at that moment that Verosika decided to act.

“You old... sick... twisted... BIIIIITCH !” Verosika screamed in disgust and pure rage, and then she began to change almost in the blink of an eye.

Her tanned skin began to turn a hellish red, two horns sprouted from the top of her head, a tail emerged from his tailbone, and although she didn't bring them out often out of convenience, a large pair of bat-like wings emerged from the top of her ribcage.

The monstrous woman's eyes widened at the sight, and then she turned toward Isaac in fury, and in her demonic voice she roared at him.

“ You’ve lured another one of them here! When will you learn?” The boy, curled up and shaking violently, was trying to disappear as best he could, or would have, if it weren’t for the fact that the poor boy was lying on the ground, gasping, choking on his own blood, due to the severe wounds that woman inflicted on him with the knife, and Verosika wasn’t having it.

“Focus on me, you overfed toad! The child is the least of your worries right now!” Verosika exclaimed with utter contempt, launching herself at the monstrous woman, using her wings and legs to propel herself towards her, she launched herself at the speed of a rage-fueled cannonball, at the woman and pushed her against the wall and out of the house, then down the hill, knocking them both down.

When they reached the end, a bloody fight began between the two demonic women, with her sharp claws and quick movements, the succubus managed to scratch and hit the monstrous woman, but given the enormous amount of fat that covered her body, and a kind of supernatural resistance, blows that would have killed a normal person only left her with serious injuries, but not enough for her to give up.

For her part, that monstrous obese woman, in addition to her supernatural bodily endurance, also had speed and strength beyond any ordinary human, but it was obvious that she was in a real fight for her life, against someone who could actually do real harm to her. Even though her attacks were furious and strong, she actually only managed to land Verosika 2 of the 10 blows the succubus dealt her.

If Verosika could notice anything, it was that it couldn't be a normal knife; each cut it gave her didn't hurt like a simple cut, it burned as if it were acidic or red hot, for some reason she didn't know.

If Verosika had been paying attention to anything other than her opponent, and the pain of her wounds, she would have noticed that every time she damaged that monstrous woman, the house and the hill shook, and small but visible cracks opened.

But Verosika didn't notice any of that, she could only think about how to make her suffer for her blatantly cruel actions towards a child.

At one point, the monstrous woman had the upper hand and grabbed Verosika by the arm, using her superhuman strength to hold her down so she could plunge the knife into her more easily, but Verosika managed to stop her before she could force her way by pushing her wrist with her free hand.

The woman tried to sink the knife with all her might, and Verosika resisted with all her might, but the latter felt that she was beginning to weaken and if she didn't do something soon, she would end up with that sharp object buried deep inside her body.

The position she was in allowed her to see the woman's horribly deformed face in greater detail, much to the succubus's disgust, allowing her to clearly see the lack of a nose, the unnaturally black skin, her long, tangled blonde hair, her mouth full of sharp crimson teeth, from which several threads of blood flowed as a result of the blows Verosika had given her, and finally the bright red eyes like literal fire, red as blood... And that gave her an idea.

Taking advantage of how close her face was, Verosika spit in the obese woman's face, making sure that the drop fell directly into one of her eyes, and luckily for the succubus, it fell in both.

And since Verosika was drinking her “special cocktails” earlier, the kind of drink that would leave third-degree burns on the skin, that was more than enough to increase the potency of the saliva. While the little that was left in Verosika’s mouth wasn’t enough to melt the woman’s face, it was enough to make her stop trying to stab her. Her eyes began to bleed.

" Ghraaaaaaaa !" the now blind and monstrous woman screamed, releasing the succubus and dropping the knife in the process.

This gave Verosika the golden opportunity she was looking for because she quickly grabbed the knife, and before the obese monstrosity could recover, she lunged at her, repeatedly striking her in the chest with that knife, over and over again, each strike filled with fury, rage, and pleasure at doing to that obese creature the same thing she did to that child.

Each blow not only caused the monstrous woman to scream in pain and spurt blood, but the screams on the hill and in the house grew deeper and deeper, until they became huge glowing hellholes. Red began to appear on the ground and huge chunks of the house began to fall away.

But Verosika was too focused on stabbing this damn monster to notice that.

The monstrous woman tried to defend herself but the succubus was much faster than her stabbing, and with one last push, she plunged the knife into her chest with great force.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGG!" the monstrous woman screamed before falling backwards, the knife lodged in her chest and stayed there.

Verosika gasped, covered in blood, more the monster's than her own, she stared at the obese corpse for a moment.

"Damn, that bitch was tougher than I imagined," she said as she caught hier breath.

"But as hard as it was, you could tell that apart from that boy, she hadn't fought with anyone- THE BOY!" This was Verosika's reaction when she remembered the boy and the situation she had left him in. She flew quickly up the hill, which was luckily small, and quickly entered the house, and saw him, lying in his own pool of blood, with wounds on his chest and throat, but surprisingly still alive.

Verosika wasn't going to waste any time and prepared to take the boy away.

And perhaps it was a foolish thing to do, since it was very likely that with those injuries, the boy would be dead before reaching any hospital, but if there was the slightest chance to save him, Verosika would take it.

“GRAAAAH!” But suddenly her ears picked up a thunderous, furious and familiarly demonic scream, and before she could do anything, the succubus was knocked over with great force by a huge mass of flesh, which slammed her into one of the walls.

It was that woman, who despite her wounds, was not dead, and still had the strength to fight, which she demonstrated by grabbing Verosika by the neck, and holding on with all her strength with one hand, while trying to stab her with the knife soaked in blood with the other.

This left them in a similar position to before, where Verosika was being held down by the monster woman, who was in turn attempting to stab her in the head, only this time the pop star from hell was less energized than before, and was quickly running out of air. If she didn't do something soon, she and the boy would end up being killed by this damn humanoid abomination, and she wouldn't be able to play the same card as before.

" YOU, SPAWN OF HELL! I WILL SEND YOU IN THE NAME OF CHRIST TO THE KINGDOM TO WHICH YOU BELONG, AND WE WILL BE SAVED, SAVED FROM SIN AND CLEANSED FROM EVERY STAIN ON OUR SOULS! " The monster bellowed with passion and hatred towards the succubus.

But at that moment Verosika came up with a new idea, quite unpleasant and risky for her, but preferable to being dead.

She decided to let the woman stab her, and she didn't hesitate and took advantage of the window of opportunity that Verosika gave her, so she directed the knife with all her strength straight to the succubus's head... who with her free hand deflected it and moving her head, dodged it at the last moment.

Instead of burying itself in her skull, the knife ended up buried in the wall just a few millimeters from her, a moment that she took advantage of to make her move.

*CHOMP* " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !"

Said movement was to bite the large fleshy fingers with all his strength, making use of her sharp teeth, before tearing them off with all the violence she could, to maximize the pain.

This earned a thunderous cry of pain from the obese woman, as she felt her fingers being severed by the bite, which made her take a step back, while she looked in horror and rage at how her phalanges had ended up, and where they had been before, blood was now gushing out of control.

Verosika felt the unpleasant taste of the blood and flesh of that demonic being, because that was a flavor that she would recognize anywhere, it was not the first time she had tasted it, only now it was more rancid and repulsive, something that only worsened with the unpleasant sensation and texture of the calloused fingers of her victim in her mouth, which she quickly spat out.

 She couldn't concentrate much on it though, she had something more urgent to do, which was to grab the knife stuck in the wall, and with insane speed, she buried it in one of the monstrous woman's eyes.

And without even paying attention to her scream, Verosika hastily proceeded to grab the woman's head on both sides, digging her sharp claws into the flesh, to make sure her grip was completely secure.

Once she did that, she threw her head back and then, to gain as much momentum as possible, she gave the most powerful headbutt she could, making sure to hit the hilt of the knife with her forehead, which was protruding from her eye socket, and with this movement she was completely buried in the skull of the monstrous woman, bathing Verosika in blood even more, and causing pain to the succubus, but it was completely worth it because the plan worked.

Thanks to the force of the blow, she and the woman were separated, Verosika looked at what she had done, the knife practically disappeared inside the woman's skull and everything was silent for a couple of seconds, but they seemed like minutes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Until the monstrous woman, with that double demonic voice of hers, let out a scream of pure pain, at the same time that where Verosika had plunged the knife into her, a jet of blood and a powerful crimson light came out, and the whole place began to shake.

The crimson cracks that had appeared during the fight between the two grew larger and more noticeable every second, allowing the succubus to notice it, as she watched the house begin to collapse, and the shaking became more and more violent.

The monstrous woman began to back away further and further as she continued to scream in pain, clutching her face as she writhed in agony, unaware of what was behind her, so the next step she took was her last, as she fell into the hole from which a crimson light was pouring out.

She fell, and her screams grew fainter and fainter, until they disappeared, replaced and drowned out by the sounds of the house collapsing and the floor shaking.

"What the hell is going on here!?", Verosika wondered, but she didn't expect an answer, as she quickly remembered she had a more important concern, the seriously injured child from before, who without waiting for an answer went to help.

“I got you!” she said as she grabbed the boy’s body as gently but quickly as she could, and cradled him in her arms.

Once that was done, it didn't take long for Verosika to spread her wings and fly high above the house on the hill, not too far away, far enough to be at a safe distance, where she saw how the house and the hill were literally swallowed by the earth, leaving a huge hole of crimson light, followed by an explosion of infernal energy and fire, so powerful that, although it didn't hurt her much, it forced her to land abruptly, using her body so she could cushion the impact, and thus avoid further affecting the child in her arms.

"ISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

That demonic cacophony of multiple voices could be heard, as a huge torrent of fire, rocks, and crimson lightning poured out of the hole, shooting up into the sky, while the earth trembled, as if it were a volcanic eruption.

Verosika could do nothing but gape as she held the boy, Isaac, tightly and protectively in her arms.

This continued for 10 seconds, the scream echoing farther and farther away, the shaking, the rocks, the lightning and the flames dying with it, until all that was left was the absolute silence of the night and the crackling of the flames, which were in the smoking hollow where there had once been a hill and a house.

"What the hell just happened here !?" Verosika exclaimed when she managed to come out of her stupor.

Suddenly, a cough caught her attention. It was the boy, who surprised her by staying alive, something that should have been impossible given his injuries and blood loss.

But it was not the time to question what had just happened, nor the small miracle that the infant was still alive, so she wasted no time and using her wings, she flew at full speed to the nearest hospital.

She flew high into the sky, her eyes narrowed in determination as she headed for somewhere she could get help for this child. Now then, her actions here would definitely lead to reports of a sighting of cryptids flying through the sky, but she honestly didn't give a damn about it right now.

She gave the little boy a gentle squeeze as she felt him shake violently in her arms. "Hold on just a little longer ..." she whispered as she flew through the sky as fast as she could, until she finally saw what she was looking for. There was a hospital right below.

She calmed down at the sight and then approached the situation carefully. First, she looked for the most secluded area she could find. She landed in the back. There was no one parked or walking there at the moment. She flew down as fast as she could and then gracefully landed in a kneeling position, hugging the boy close to her neck. And the moment she made contact with the ground, she changed back into her human disguise. All in all, the whole thing took the blink of an eye. It was amazing what she could do when properly motivated, she had to admit.

And with that same motivation, Verosika ran towards the hospital, kicking the front door so hard that she almost knocked it off its hinge, but in the end her damage was limited to leaving a mark on her foot.

"Help! I need help now!" she screamed and was then surrounded by hospital staff.

Everyone took one look at the child in the woman's arms and quickly sprang into action. Verosika had to give the humans credit, they certainly took the health of their loved ones much more seriously than the demons of Hell. While the staff of the Hell Hospital paced back and forth and showed very little interest in their work, these people really did have urgency, they wanted to help the child.

She gave Isaac a gentle squeeze and looked down at him. He was so small in her arms, barely bigger than a stuffed animal, and he looked so small and weak and vulnerable… She slowly wiped some tears from her closed eyes.

He was... adorable. She had to admit, he was adorable. She didn't feel comfortable admitting it out loud, but... she had a soft spot for children, both those born in hell and on earth. She didn't interact with them much, not wanting to show a tender side among her group, but there was something about their innocence, their purity that just... made her want to protect them... A happy child was easy enough to ignore, but this child? One so damaged, so broken, so scared, alone, heartbroken, and in pain? That... she COULDN'T ignore it. She HAD to help him.

It was difficult to have to let go of the child as he was taken on a stretcher to the operating room, but Verosika knew that it was necessary to treat his serious injuries and take all the necessary steps to save him.

For a moment, Verosika was grateful to be in Europe, and not the United States, because otherwise, the succubus was sure the boy would have been abandoned to his fate, for lack of health insurance.

As she sat in the hallway waiting for Isaac to be seen, the disguised succubus continued to reflect on her love for children.

Yes, Verosika appreciated children, perhaps the only exception being children who were downright mean or unpleasant, but even to those children, she would never wish upon them what happened to this boy.

What could he have done to make that monster leave him in that state?

And now that he thought about her, who was that possessed woman?

It was obvious that she had to be some kind of occultist, but what was her relationship with the boy? And why did she do what he did to him?

After what seemed like hours, the doctor came out with a solemn look on his face, which really scared Verosika because she had seen that look before, many times, and she knew what was coming.

The worst moment of the night had arrived... but not in the way she expected.

“Tell me the truth... please... just tell me” said Verosika not wanting to drag this out any longer than necessary.

"Well miss... wait, I guess I never knew your name, what is your name?" the doctor asked.

“I'm Verosika Mayday , please tell me how he is.” she said in a pleading voice, she just wanted this man to tell what happened to the little one and that was all.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he recognised the name, but he maintained his professionalism, there were more important things to focus on right now than the fact that he had a big-name celebrity in front of him, though this certainly added additional layers of difficulty and complexity to an already complicated matter.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses at the pointed look she was giving him. "Yes, well... You see, Miss Mayday , the boy is... stable. He's not in danger of dying from his injuries, which are healing faster than we could have anticipated."

Verosika sighed in relief and placed a hand over her heart. She was grateful that a small child had not died under her care… but what the doctor would say next would destroy any relief she might feel.

“However, the injuries he recently received, as serious as they were, were unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg,” the Doctor drawled, his words filling Verosika with fear.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her chest crushed by terrible fear. She had already seen the boy’s state before that monstrosity stabbed him, and it was terrifying at first sight, the map of pain engraved on the boy’s body, she really didn’t want to believe that it was worse than it seemed.

“After we stabilized him, we did a thorough body check to assess the damage, and what we found is… you better sit back down,” he began, but decided to give this advice to Verosika, and she fearfully obeyed.

The doctor sighed, and it was obvious that what he was going to say next was neither easy nor pleasant; on the contrary, it was written all over his face.

“What we saw when we did the tests was terrible, almost all of his bones are or were broken and damaged in some way, his skin was full of scars and marks of all kinds, as well as multiple wounds, some infected and with signs of necrosis, in addition to showing what is considerd severe malnutrition even for someone the child's age, he weighs 2 times less than he should, it seems that he was burned, with a metal crucifix and other symbols , beaten and then made to go through hell for at least 3 years!” The doctor gasped for air, but also to rest a little while his gaze filled with horror and sadness.

"I'm not sure what horrible thing they did to the poor boy, Miss Mayday , what happened to him ?" the doctor asked, almost desperate to know where the celebrity found this young victim of torture.

“I… found him… next to a huge burning crater on the outskirts of the city… I don’t know what happened to him.” Verosika, with great difficulty and her voice on the verge of breaking, half lying, because, although that wasn’t the whole truth, it was believable because it was partly true, didn’t mention the fight she had before bringing him, and there was no need, the blood of that woman on her clothes could easily be confused with the child’s.

"Will he live?" she asked in a weak voice, because she felt like she was going to collapse at any moment and she urgently needed good news.

The doctor looked at her with some discomfort, but also a little more relaxed.

"Well, yes, although those wounds should have killed him, due to his miraculous resilience factor and equally miraculously accelerated healing, he will be able to live without any physical damage, but I can safely say that the most worrying thing is the psychological damage, the boy will have serious mental ramifications after all this..."

Verosika gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, she knew it was going to be like this, but she still hated hearing the confirmation, this child was going to be absolutely traumatized after everything he had been through... He would never be the same again...

“Can I see him?” Verosika asked. She felt like she was going to faint, and that was obvious because the doctor nodded.

“Yes, but be careful and don’t touch anything. If there is an emergency, you can press the button next to it and a nurse will come to assist you. He is currently under anesthesia, so he won’t wake up until tomorrow, okay?” the doctor asked, to which Verosika nodded, and unlike other times, she took the medical staff’s word seriously, since it was such a delicate situation.

“Well, then I’ll see you tomorrow, bye,” said the doctor, who knew that Verosika would not leave the girl all night.

Verosika wasted no time in walking in and seeing Isaac, and her heart broke.

There was the child, in a bed so big that it seemed like it could fit ten of him, covered with a sheet, and dressed in hospital clothes, but those were minor details, compared to the multiple bandages that covered much of the tiny child's body, as well as the different tubes and cables connected to him that supplied him with oxygen or other nutrients, in addition to reading his different functions. Seeing that child like that, intubated in a bed, with assisted breathing, and his eyes closed was an extremely unbearable sight for Verosika. She simply sat down in the chair next to the bed, and collapsed.

She lay half-length on the bed , though giving more than enough room to not disturb the child, and cried bitterly at what had happened to her, wondering why this had happened to her in the first place.

She may be a demon, born and raised in Hell itself, a place that is far from ideal for those with empathy and decency, but anyone with even a modicum of those two traits would soon go mad in one way or another upon seeing a child in a situation like this, and Verosika was far from lacking in that "weakness."

Holding the boy's tiny hand, taking care of the wires and IV tubes connected to it, Isaac continued to sleep and breathe, while Verosika cried and cried until she fell asleep next to the boy.

But if she hadn't been crying, and perhaps if she had stayed awake a few more seconds, Verosika would have witnessed something amazing.

Isaac's body began to glow, first red, then green, then gold, then black light, and so on with all the colors, over and over again until it glowed pure white, before returning to normal.

But since Verosika cried herself to sleep, and since only she and Isaac were in that room, no one noticed that light show.

However, Verosika unconsciously squeezed the boy's small hand in her own, feeling the calming energy emanating from him as they both slept. It was a soothing sensation that easily eased her restless sleep, and she even smiled a little.

Meanwhile, in hell, a few hours earlier, things were still the same, that is, good for some and extremely bad for everyone else.

Some souls were genuinely good people, but ended up having a lapse in judgment, and ended up there despite a lifetime of good deeds, others were true monsters, many of whom did not even deserve to exist.

In each of the rings that made up this place, everything remained the same.

until...

“ ISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA H”

In every part of Hell, from Lucifer's palace to the darkest, most insignificant corner, that thunderous scream was heard, which was composed of a cacophony of multiple voices, the main ones being that of a woman and what was definitely a demon, a sonic boom that ended up causing almost everyone who heard it to cover their ears, something useless for most because that didn't stop them from starting to bleed, or almost all the glass from breaking.

Accompanied by an earthquake that shook all the rings of hell, but strangely, the tremor was especially strong in the rings surrounding the Ring of Envy.

It lasted about 20 seconds, until both the screams and the shaking disappeared.

But while the low-level demons and sinners only heard the thunderous cry and felt the trembling, even they could sense that something had changed.

The demons and sinners who had a perception beyond the normal, either naturally, or because they used magic regularly, felt something that, for the first time for many, whether in a long time or in their entire lives, made them shudder with fear to a lesser or greater degree, because, although they could not specify it, they knew that something very great and unprecedented had happened.

Hazbin Hotel.

This was a place created to redeem sinners, and although up to that point their success had been null, they continued to give their greatest effort.

Charlie, the owner, was the princess of hell, daughter of Lucifer and was over 200 years old.

So obviouslys he was able to detect that there was much more to this event than a thunderous scream and an earthquake, it felt like the annual exterminations, with a cacophony of millions of voices disappearing forever.

Although it worried her, it didn't stop her from trying to help the other residents of the hotel, to see if the event or the broken glass didn't hurt them.
The only one who seemed affected by this was The Radio Demon Alastor .

For once, her perpetual smile had almost disappeared from her face, before returning with great force.

Whatever had happened, it promised to be quite entertaining for him.

The other hotel residents could do nothing but look around in concern as they recovered from the event.

Meanwhile, in the domain of the Arts Goetia , things were no different, while Stolas and his wife Stella were in the middle of an intense argument, due to him cheating on her with an Imp, the fact in question distracted them.

They both felt it to the point that they felt deep inside themselves as if they had been torn from reality itself, a primordial part of themselves, something that was always there but was now no longer there.

Far away, in her own palace, Paimon was the same, but with a look that had horror etched all over her face, she had never felt anything like that before.

Lucifer's palace.

And in the domains of the lord and master of the underworld, where he and his wife lived , at least until 7 years ago.

Lucifer was creating a new kind of toy duck , to be able to drown the depression, and as he finished adjusting the details, an unpleasant sensation invaded every part of his being, every pore of his skin to the core, making him put on a face of horror and drop the tools he was working with, while he froze, while he heard the scream and felt everything shudder, until the event ended.

For the first time in a long time, Lucifer felt something they hadn't felt since the first one was expelled to hell with Lilith, a feeling of fear, pain and above all things... fatality.

Because something had happened to the foundations of hell itself.

And since they were both the rulers of Hell, they could feel it more deeply than anyone else, and they both knew that whatever that event was, it had its origin in Envy.

Lucifer was not going to waste time, he had to see his daughter, the leaders of hell as quickly as possible, and in that order.

Back to Earth...

Verosika ended up waking up with a massive headache from her hangover, she groaned in annoyance as she slowly sat up, her brain starting to catch up, remembering the unreal recent events, so shocking, so strange, and also so vivid, though even with that, they were definitely just a dream.

“ Damn, that drink was really strong. I had a really crazy dream, there was someone calling my name, then a monster woman, and then that kid …” She stopped when she realized she wasn’t in her house, but in a place she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t a hotel room either, and she didn’t feel sticky, so she didn’t sleep with anyone…

No, those were strange and unfamiliar hospital walls.

She wondered why she was in a hospital, until her brain realized that he was holding something, and when she saw that something was a very small hand, she finally remembered everything.

She gasped in surprise, but managed to keep any sound extremely low, so as not to disturb the boy, while at the same time assimilating that everything she experienced in her “dreams” was completely real, for both bad and good.

Remembering all the events of the night , Verosika also came to remember that she was in the human world, so she quickly went to put on her disguise, and that's when she noticed that she actually still had it on, which was very strange, since the disguise must not only have disappeared during the night, but also, she must have felt extremely tired from having it activated for all that time, despite being a simple spell, it still consumes energy.

But aside from her hangover headache, Verosika actually felt great, full of energy, even with her costume on all night.

Which was a good thing in the end. If any of the staff had seen her in her real form and she hadn't been able to convince them it was a disguise, things would have gotten ugly for her and the child.

That reminded her of what was important and diverted her attention to the child, and she could only look at his state with great sadness.

“…He shouldn’t be lying in that bed… no child should be in his condition, playing and having fun.” She said, her heart broken.

But the boy couldn't, as he was too broken physically, and no doubt mentally as well .

She gritted her teeth in frustration and fought the urge to punch the nearby wall. She knew there would be no point in doing so, she would accomplish nothing but hurt her hand, damage the wall and make it pay for it, and possibly wake up the child who needed to rest.

She took a deep breath and gently squeezed the boy's hand. Then she remembered her crew . She literally had no idea where they were. She blinked before pulling out her phone to see if any of them had texted her to find out where she was.

She wondered why she hadn't used it the night before if she had it on her, and then remembered that besides being half drunk, enough to not remember that she had her own cell phone on her, something that brought the succubus a feeling of shame.

Although she had it, the other reason she couldn't use it, she had run out of credit, but since the hospital had free WiFi , she decided to use it.

Verosika wondered how that was possible, until she looked around and saw a sign indicating that the room was equipped to wirelessly charge devices, in case the medical equipment cables failed or were compromised, and also for devices, like Verosika's phone.

In fact, Vortex had basically filled her phone with text messages. She smiled to herself. That Hellhound was a good boy, she knew she had made the right decision in taking him as her bodyguard.

There were more than 3 dozen messages, which could be divided into two categories.

1) Boss, where are you?!

and 2) did you feel that boss? where are you!?

Verosika didn't understand what the messages in that second category meant, at least not at first, but she had her suspicions about it.

She sighed before texting Vortex. “I’m fine. I got screwed and my phone died. Something fell. But I’m fine, don’t worry about me, I’ll live.” She looked at him before sending it. And then she saw that he was replying to her almost immediately. He was really worried about her.

“Where are you now? I can come pick you up.”

“I'm... in a hospital somewhere. I don't know exactly where. I was pretty out of it after I overindulged in drink last night.”

“Hospital?! Are you hurt?”

Verosika read Vortex's question, and was about to answer no, when she remembered the fight last night, and how the woman managed to hurt her with the knife, in addition to the blows she received.

It was then that she looked at herself, searching for her wounds, and realized that she had no wounds, not even pain (except the hangover), and this surprised her quite a bit.

She knew that being a demon, she healed quickly, but they don't heal that fast, nor were the wounds she received from a normal weapon, she remembered the burning sensation she felt when she was wounded by the knife, it was definitely something supernatural.

And now, the only evidence left of that was the torn parts of his clothes, where those wounds were.

“No, I’m fine,” Verosika replied, racking her brain trying to find an answer.

“Okay, I’m glad to hear that, but why are you in a hospital then?” Vortex asked.

And even though she couldn't see him, Verosika was 100% sure that her Hellhound bodyguard breathed a sigh of relief before answering her.

Verosika thought for a moment: how did she explain the situation to him? Should she tell him?

Sure, he may just be her employee, and he may be a hellhound, but ever since she's known him, he's proven to be one of the nicest, most level-headed people in hell, even if it doesn't involve business.

So she made a decision.

“Well, it's... a very complicated and fucked up situation, I don't like like talking about it on the phone, I'll send you the details, and I'll explain everything to you in person, okay? Bring the car.”

“ Ok, I’ll be there as soon as possible, shall I take the rest of the group?”

“No, come alone, better not involve them yet.”

“Okay, see you there”

"excellent"

With that, Verosika put down her cell phone.

She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. Her makeup was smudged. It was annoying. Okay, she didn't need it to look good, but she didn't like the streaks running down her face, they were very unattractive.

She glanced back at Isaac, who was still fast asleep, before letting out a sigh, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a tissue to wipe away the smudged makeup. She would be getting a new coat, but it was in her purse, which she didn't have on her at the moment.

She hoped Vortex had it with him, there were things in there that would be a real shame to lose...

Verosika sat back down and looked at the child who, despite the tubes and cables he was connected to, would sleep peacefully, probably for the first time in years.

The succubus had many questions related to the boy and the previous night.

Who was that woman? Was she the child's mother?

If she was the latter, why would she want to kill her own son?

Of course, Verosika knew that there were parents who were complete monsters, and who would not hesitate to kill their children without remorse, hell is inhabited by people like that.

But even then, they were not so common, and many, many times they did not survive the annual purge, either because they were abandoned to their fate at the hands of exterminators, other sinners, or their own children.

And who was the demon that possessed that woman?

The presence felt extremely powerful, Verosika couldn't remember where she had felt it before.

Though to be fair, at that moment Verosika could only feel anger and disgust at what had been done to the poor boy, so it's not like she could be too aware of that demon's identity.

She could only feel rage and enormous power.

On top of that, this woman tortured and tried to kill her son, why was she possessed?

Or did that demon possess her because she was already rotten inside?

If she was a cultist It would make sense, if it weren't for all the religious tirade she spewed in her face while trying to sink the knife into her head, she was clearly a crazy religious fanatic.

So if that was the case, how did she become possessed and perform a ritual with such massive amounts of demonic energy?

So many questions and no clear answers.

And it's not like she can ask that poor kid, on top of everything else, that bitch apparently took the liberty of damaging his vocal cords, so he won't be talking anytime soon.

Either way, when Verosika saw that bitch in hell, she would make sure to do everything in her power to torture that fat bitch until the next annual purge, and then let the exterminators erase her from reality.

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest before turning her attention back to Isaac. The doctors had said he would wake up in the morning, but he was still sleeping soundly... Had they been wrong? Would he continue to sleep much longer?

He received his answer a few seconds later, when the boy began to move. At first he opened his eyes slowly. Then he began to run around in confusion, until finally he seemed to realize that he was in an unfamiliar place and began to get scared.

Isaac looked nervously around him, he was in a totally unknown place, and that nervousness only got worse when he realized he had strange things inside his body.

From a plastic tube inserted down his throat to several wires and smaller ones stuck or buried in his body.

Although to the surprise of many this was not something new for the boy, many of his previous transformations were given by the objects he found, including things like a saw, a coat rack and other things buried in various parts of his body, even having nails buried in his eyes.

And although those hurt infinitely more than these, not only were these new and unknown, but the environment was different, Isaac expected his mother to pounce on him at any moment.

The last thing he remembered was her stabbing him with the knife, killing him for his sins, for making his father leave, for being like his father, for being like the devil.

He should have been dead, but instead he was in a different place, in an unknown situation.

His breathing became rapid, intense, his fear beginning to overwhelm him as his eyes darted back and forth in pure terror, searching for something, ANYTHING that looked familiar, but he found absolutely nothing he recognized in that place.

There was no dark room. There was no newspaper on the floor. There was no bowl of dog food or rotten produce for him to eat. It was a tidy, clean room, and he was suddenly afraid that someone would come out and start opening it.

Verosika saw that the boy was already fully awake and saw the fear in his eyes. She hurried over, took his small hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. Isaac shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the pain and suffering... But it never came.

This almost seemed to calm the boy down, and although the situation didn't get any worse, Isaac was still in the middle of a panic attack, the succubus could see his eyes closing as he began to tremble, and rivers of tears instantly ran from his eyes, in an abnormal amount and speed, but she didn't care.

Verosika already knew that if this continued, she might start tearing out the cables and tubes she was wearing, so she thought and came up with a great idea, which was to sing a song.

The only problem was that almost all of her songs were too racy or talked about her breakup with Blitzo.

It seemed like she might have to give up on the idea, until Verosika remembered one of her new songs, one that had a melody and instrumental, but no words.

"I hope humming it has the same effect."

Then Verosika began to hum the song slowly while continuing to hold Isaac's hand, while with the other she began to caress his head.

And the song had a slow effect at first, but slowly and surely the child began to calm down, still keeping his eyes tightly closed, but slowly and surely the rivers of tears dried up, as his shaking stopped and his moans slowly ceased.

Isaac expected the pain to come from somewhere, but it never came, instead someone squeezed his hand, not until it broke, but gently but firmly.

Then something else happened, he started hearing a buzzing sound, while he felt another hand gently and slowly caressing his head.

It was a truly beautiful and magical sound that almost immediately calmed all of her worries and fears. Little by little she managed to calm down, it was easier for her to breathe, the dark thoughts left her head and she was able to think clearly about her situation.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up to see the woman singing to him. She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was so kind to him, so careful not to hurt him, and her song was so soothing...

She was an angel. She had to be.

As he relaxed, a part of Isaac couldn't help but think that there was something familiar about this angel, both in his voice and his appearance.

Verosika felt relieved to see how her idea worked, little by little the boy calmed down until he was completely relaxed.

So, she continued for a while longer, not only because she wanted to calm the child down, but because she wanted the child to be happy, as he clearly enjoyed her humming to him.

"Looks like I've gained a new mini fan," she said to herself as she laughed at the thought, briefly pausing her humming before continuing.

She didn't really have any child fans, which was to be expected considering the content of her songs. Still, it was… nice to know that there was a boy who enjoyed one of her songs. And not because of the sexual overtones, but because the sound soothed him.

It was much cuter when he was in a relaxed state like that. All of his fears were hidden in the back of his mind as he allowed himself that moment to relax and enjoy the attention he was receiving. The first positive attention he had received in a long time.

They continued like this for a while, until Verosika felt that she had received a message, it was Tex who had already arrived at the hospital.

But a problem had arisen, apparently security didn't want to let him go.

Since she brought Isaac, and without her knowledge, the building has reinforced security and contacted the authorities.

Which made sense, being a pop superstar who brings a child back from the brink of death and who looks like he's been through a concentration camp?

That would raise more than an eyebrow, they weren't going to let just anyone pass.

And since Vortex had nothing to indicate that he actually had a working relationship with Verosika Mayday , and given the situation he was in, he was not allowed in.

Verosika snorted with some annoyance, it seemed she would have to go down to the lobby and talk to the employees to let Tex in.

She stood up and Verosika was about to open the door, until a small gasp prevented her from touching the knob.

She turned around and saw that the boy's expression went from peaceful to one of surprise and sadness at seeing Verosika leave so suddenly.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Verosika said as she opened the door. “I’ll be right back, I’m just going to…” the disguised succubus couldn’t finish, due to the scene of near terror that suddenly began to form.

She watched as the little boy began to hyperventilate and suffer what appeared to be a mini panic attack.

He tried to get up, but all the wires and tubes connected to him held him in place, and this was where the worst happened.

Verosika watched in horror as he tried to pull out the wires and IVs.

But before he could do anything to hurt himself further, Verosika sprang into action and managed to stop him.

“Wait, wait! What are you doing?” Verosika asked sharply, making Isaac flinch and the succubus want to kick herself. She decided to soften her voice and speak to him.

At that moment she realized what was happening, the boy thought she was abandoning him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you, but please, you have to leave these on, they’re important for you to heal, and I have to go do something, but don’t worry, I’ll be back,” she told him while trying to sound completely sincere.

Still, the boy seemed skeptical, which he showed with a pleading look, so Verosika began to think of a way to make him believe.

And that's when an idea occurred to him, he would give the boy something, to let him know that he would come back for him.

At first, she wanted to give him her cell phone… but then Verosika remembered the rather picturesque videos stored inside the device, so she thought of something else.

"What can I give you? Oh, I know!"

He reached into one of his pockets and found what he was looking for, which were his sunglasses… they were broken and bent.

'What?! Damn, they must have broken during the fight, damn, these were my favorite glasses! Agh ... nevermind, this will still do.' Verosika thought with frustration and resignation respectively.

She handed them to the boy, who looked at the object with wonder and curiosity.

“Look, I have something very important to do. I’ll be back for them and for you. Can you take care of them for me, please?” she asked as she handed the glasses to the little boy.

The boy saw the object and nodded vigorously, which made Verosika smile and headed for the door.

“Okay, I’m leaving now, but I won’t be long,” she said as she left to sort out the matter with Tex as quickly as possible and closed the door behind her.

Now that she was gone, Isaac suddenly felt dejected and looked sadly at the bed before turning his attention back to Verosika's sunglasses.

He was tasked with protecting them with his life and keeping them safe from harm.

He noticed how damaged the glass was, how it was broken, and how the metal was bent.

They must have been very pretty glasses when they weren't broken like him.

So, he wanted a way to know how to return them when they weren't broken.

Then in front of him, something unknown appeared, at first Isaac was scared, until he recognized that the object was a very familiar blue hourglass.

Then he smiled excitedly.

Verosika walked through the halls and entered the elevator to reach the reception area. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. She hated elevators, they always seemed to take too long to get her anywhere.

After what seemed like several minutes, he finally reached his stop and made his way to the front desk, trying not to show any annoyance on his face. "Excuse me, but is someone close to me trying to get in?" he asked as politely as he could.

The receptionist looked at her for a moment, not quite recognizing her.

" Um , I'm not sure. Can you tell me your name?"

“Verosika Mayday ” the disguised succubus replied, and as she did, she could see the receptionist’s eyes widen.

“Verosika Mayday ?! Sorry I didn’t recognize you!” he said apologetically.

“Yes, yes, I know. Look, can you tell me if someone is looking for me or not? It's very important,” he said somewhat tensely. She really didn't want to have to deal with fans at this time of day, much less in the situation they were in.

“Oh! Sure! Sure! Let’s see… there’s a guy named Vortex who asked to see you,” said the receptionist.

"And where is he?"

"in the waiting room"

“Okay, can he come in please?”

“Sure, I’ll call you right back,” the receptionist said, calling Vortex through the microphone.

Verosika waited patiently for her Hellhound bodyguard to arrive and nodded when she saw him approaching at a quick pace, a look of relief crossing her face. " Ugh ... You had us pretty worried, boss." He greeted her when he caught up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Verosika smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm a big girl, Tex, I can take care of myself," she assured.

"Heh, yeah, I get it. What are you doing in a hospital? You look a little beat up, but this is the kind of thing you normally stay away from."

Tex knew immediately that this was not a normal situation as he saw how Verosika's face and attitude changed so quickly, from one of relief to one of concern and seriousness, while her body tensed up.

He knew something out of the ordinary had happened, he had doubts about it, but seeing his boss react like that confirmed it.

“Actually… something happened, a lot of things at the same time actually, I… I want you to meet someone, come with me” she said as she walked back to the room where Isaac was waiting for her to return. Considering how the boy reacted when she left, Verosika thought it would be best if she explained everything to Tex while they were with Isaac.

The hellhound looked very serious now. She had to admire that in her employee. He was probably the most mature member of their entire gang; he was the one who responded to situations in the most appropriate manner. Every group needed a voice of reason to keep things in order.

She found Isaac's room and let out a sigh. "It's okay... This why I'm here." She walked in and Vortex followed her. He blinked when he saw the boy lying on the bed, holding his boss's glasses, and then looked at his boss. He had gone out of his way to save a child? That was... unusually kind of her. He had to say... he was proud.

Verosika spoke as she walked in. "It's okay, honey, I'm... Hmm ? My glasses! They're good as new!" She ran excitedly to the boy's bed and knelt down beside him. He turned to her and his eyes began to sparkle with joy at the sight of her.

At this point, Vortex had too many questions and really needed an answer.

"So... who is he exactly?" the disguised Hellhound asked , drawing Verosika's attention.

“Well, his name is… Isaac… I think, wait a minute.” He then turned to look at the boy, who was looking at Vortex with a bit of curiosity, and then turned to look at Verosika.

“I’m sorry, but your name is Isaac, right?” Verosika asked, to which the boy eagerly nodded, happy that the angel knew his name. “Yes, his name is Isaac.”

“Ah, okay, and why is he... like this?” Vortex asked, pointing at all the medical equipment the boy had attached to his body.

Now, he knew the answer couldn't be good, but seeing his boss's face change from one of joy to the concept of bitterness made flesh took him by surprise.

"What happened to him... was... was terrible."

She took a deep breath. "A fat old lady was abusing him and I had to fight her off, and that's the most I'm willing to say while he's still awake because I DON'T want to dredge up bad memories for the poor guy," she said simply.

Vortex visibly winced at his words and looked at the boy sympathetically. "Gee... God... Sorry to hear that, buddy." He gave Isaac a friendly pat on the head, and the boy blinked and tilted his head. Was someone else being nice to him too?

He always knew that people were kinder than his mother, but he didn't think that someone would be so kind to him like that, he never thought that someone would feel sorry for him... He had felt as if...

As Isaac was having those thoughts, Vortex saw the boy, with all that medical paraphernalia attached to him, he realized that whatever this "fat old hag" had done to this boy, it must have been terrible, he was no medical expert, but he could recognize a life-saving machine, and seeing one attached to a child did not mean anything good.

The Hellhound clenched his fist tightly, this way he avoided growling and scaring the boy, why would someone hurt a boy like that?

“And do you know why she did it?” he asked.

"No, I have no idea why that crazy woman would do something like that."

He decided to ask one more thing.

“And where is that fat old lady now?” asked Tex.

"Where do you think I'd send her?" Verosika said, hoping Tex would get the hint.

“ I see... wait, doesn’t that mean we risk seeing her when we get back? I don’t think she’ll like it very much,” Tex asked, confused.

“Yes, I know, but I know someone who can take care of keeping that monster away from us, locked away somewhere not very nice, at least until the next purge, when the exterminators will take care of erasing that vermin from creation forever, it is the least she deserves. “She said angrily.

"Well, that sounds about right to me," Vortex said when he saw that the boy would receive justice.

“But wait... what will happen to him from now on?” the disguised Hellhound asked.

“Well, first we have to wait for the doctors to give him the go-ahead.”

“Okay, that’s logical, but what comes after that?”

Verosika opened her mouth to respond, but found herself stuck. “I, uh… uh… I… I don’t know,” she admitted sheepishly. “My focus was on getting that THING off the scene and getting it medical help, but after that, I’m not sure what to do.”

Vortex hummed and crossed his arms. "Do you think the little man has any living relatives he could go live with?" Verosika stiffened a little at what the hellhound was saying, and honestly, she had no idea why. Why did she suddenly feel scared?

Was she… already attached to the child?

That shouldn't be possible, although it's been 4 weeks, almost a month, she had just met the boy.

Yeah, he was cute and all, but she didn't want to be responsible for him... but she didn't want to be separated from him either.

Thinking about his bodyguard's question, he answered.

"I don't know if he has any other relatives," Verosika said.

Vortex thought about that answer and had an idea.

" Um , well, how about this? Since that witch isn't home, why don't we go over there and see? I'm sure there must be documents or something, about his other relatives."

At that, Verosika gave him an uncomfortable look.

"That... will no longer be possible to go back there," he said.

“ Why? Because of the police? We can wait until they leave the scene of the crime,” Vortex replied, somewhat confused.

“No, it’s not because of that, it’s something else.”

“Why? Is it because of her ? Didn’t you send that monster to the other side?” the Hellhound asked , somewhat confused.

“Yes, and she took the whole house with her in the process,” Verosika replied, which only increased his confusion. hellhound .

"Wait, wait, what do you mean she took the house with her? Did you blow it up or something?" the Hellhound asked , imagining his boss blowing up that monster.

“No, actually… I don’t know what happened, I just know that after I made a knife disappear through her head, a giant sinkhole of fire and brimstone appeared, and now there’s nothing left but a smoking hole, where a hill with a house used to be.” Verosika explained as best she could.

Not only did she not want to go into details, because Isaac looked at both of them while they were in their conversation, while he clearly did not understand what they were saying or what their objective was, she'd rather not risk traumitzing him further...

But also because she herself had no idea what had happened.

“Wait! A sinkhole? Wait, by any chance did a huge column of fire and rocks come out and you heard a scream?” Vortex asked, suddenly surprising Verosika with the accurate description.

“Yes, how did you know?” she asked, surprised that her bodyguard managed to describe him perfectly, something he didn’t see.

“Because that was all over the news! Didn’t you hear about it?” Vortex said as he searched for something on his own phone.

“No, I was with the kid and I haven’t checked my social media for anything. Wait, did you say ‘those were’? As in plural?” she asked as they became more and more confused.

“Take a look.” He showed her one of the videos.

The video was of a subject who was recording an apparently abandoned house, which was surrounded by cracks from which a hellish red glow came out, Verosika quickly saw that they were identical to the ones she saw before the huge sinkhole appeared that swallowed Isaac's house.

And just like in Isaac's house, these cracks kept growing until a sinkhole appeared and swallowed the house completely.

Based on the information in the video and the language spoken by the person filming, Verosika was surprised that this was also happening in another part of the world.

“How is this possible?” she asked.

“And there are more of these” said Vortex while playing with his cell phone and showing Verosika something that left her speechless.

It didn't just happen once or twice in two different places, but in multiple parts of the world.

Not only abandoned houses, but factories, hospitals, commercial buildings, churches and several others, most of them were abandoned, but others had people inside, luckily the vast majority got out.

And it was not only limited to modern places, but also different parts of nature, abandoned temples, these sinkholes appeared and swallowed everything and then exploded as volcanoes of fire, rock and infernal energy, although only a few were recorded to be archaeological sites.

Of course, none of the posts, videos or news stories had a clear answer to what was happening, but instead theories abounded by the millions.

From an unprecedented earthquake to a sign of the apocalypse.

Verosika decided to leave that aside for now, as she had to get back to the main topic.

“Well, if that’s what happened, do you understand now why we can’t go back to that house? Everything that was there is probablly lost forever,” said Verosika.

“Well, even if we had left the child here, it would not have served any purpose,” he said.

“We couldn't leave him alone for long periods of time either. Believe me, I tried. He tried to take out the cables and IVs because he thought I was abandoning him. I had to give him my glasses to calm him down.”

"Really? This is harder than I thought," Vortex said.

“Yes, fortunately the glasses worked, he protected them very well,” said Verosika while stroking Isaac’s head, a gesture he appreciated.

Vortex was curious when his boss mentioned his glasses, and remembered what Verosika had said when he walked in.

“Not only did he protect them, he cleaned them up too, they must have been really dirty after last night,” the hellhound said, imagining how his succubus must have stained them with blood.

“ Oh no, actually when I dealt with that witch my glasses... broke... completely."

trailing off, Verosika suddenly realized:

When she gave her glasses to Isaac, they were broke, the metal completely bent and the glass shattered, beyond repair.

How was it then possible that they were already completely repaired?

“Really? They look fine to me,” Vortex said, not understanding.

“Yes... they were broken” said Verosika as she slowly began to realize what happened.

He racked his brain over how Isaac had fixed his glasses.

Was there a new pair in that room, within Isaac's reach? No, that would be too much of a coincidence.

Did someone come to fix them? That was even more absurd, and she had seen her share of ridiculous things, this just didn't make any sense!

At this, Verosika turned to Isaac curiously.

“Isaac, how did you fix my glasses? When I gave them to you, they were completely damaged.”

Isaac looked at her for a moment with curiosity and suddenly understood what she meant.

At this he gestured to Verosika to give him the glasses, she nodded and gave them to him.

And then he split them in half.

Verosika was about to ask him what he was doing, when suddenly something incredible happened, leaving her and Vortex completely stunned.

In a small burst of smoke, something appeared floating in Isaac's hand, it seemed to be an hourglass, but it was shining with a blue light of its own.

It then glowed brightly, as a sphere of blue energy surrounded the broken crystal.

Verosika and Vortex watched as the glasses unfolded and returned to their original state, completely fixed.

Once repaired, Isaac examined them and with an approving smile the watch disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

Isaac then proceeded to hand his glasses to a stunned Verosika, who examined them and saw that they were as good as new.

“ ...Holy... uh... spit ...” She stopped herself from cursing at the last possible second as she gave Isaac an incredulous look. “Well... thanks for that, these were my favorite pairs and I’m glad I can still wear them.” Isaac smiled at her praise.

She smiled and leaned down to gently stroke his small bald head. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch like a cuddly kitten, and it warmed the succubus's heart even more. Her tail curled into a heart shape before it began to sway back and forth...

“Uh… Boss?” Vortex said. Verosika blinked before realizing her disguise was fading a bit. She quickly retracted her tail with a sheepish smile, hoping Isaac hadn’t seen her. She tended to show up when she was particularly happy in her human form.

After making sure her disguise was still on, she continued to pet Isaac's head as he thought about what to do with the boy once he was freed.

On its own, the option of sending him to an orphanage was an option that Verosika didn't really like, not only because of the idea of being separated from her Cutie Pie, but also because she had heard her fair share of horror stories about what went on there...

Vortex too, as a Hellhound , knew what it was like to be in the care of a foster system, and Earth may not be Hell, but still , the idea of letting another child be thrown into something so rotten was not on his to-do list.

And now, after what the boy had just shown he was capable of, even less so.

This also raised even more questions than before.

Vortex wondered if that was the reason she had rescued the boy, but seeing her utter surprise confirmed that she knew no more than he did on the matter.

He decided to question her further on the matter, preferably when the boy was not around her.

For her part, Verosika had similar thoughts, wondering if the reason why that monster was torturing him was because Isaac had that unique and incredible ability.

“If that was the case, why did she try to kill him? Was it part of a ritual to take away his power? No, it seemed more like she was trying to eliminate him BECAUSE of that.”

They continued like this, until the Doctor who treated Isaac the night before opened the door.

"Excuse me miss, I am here to give the boy a routine checkup?" the doctor explained. Verosika blinked and stepped aside to allow the doctor to reach the boy. Isaac was visibly sad that she had to move and looked at the doctor with sad puppy dog eyes.

“ Don’t worry, pretty little head, sweetie, I’m here.” The disguised succubus cooed softly. This was enough to soothe the boy’s sadness as he snuggled closer into the sheets. The doctor came over and began the procedures.

As the man did his work, Verosika felt an overwhelming need to hug the boy. And not with the “get him medical attention NOW” urgency of the night before, but she wanted to hug him simply for the pleasure of having that sweet boy near her.

Still, he held back because the doctor had to do his job and make sure the boy was okay.

After a while, the doctor finished examining Isaac and from his expression, it seemed that he was puzzled.

Hello Miss Mayday , can I talk to you for a minute?

"What's wrong, doctor? Is something wrong?"

"No, can we really talk in the hallway?"

Verosika hesitated for a moment, she didn't want to be separated from the boy again, but she really wanted to know how his health was, even more so after the recent events.

"Can you be quick? He really doesn't like being left alone," Verosika asked.

“Yes, and I understand why, that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about. It will be quick, I promise.”

“Okay, just let me do one thing,” Verosika said , approaching Isaac who was looking at her curiously.

“I’ll be right back, the doctor has something important to tell me, but he won’t be long now,” she said to the boy, who frowned when he heard that the beautiful lady was leaving again.

"Vortex, can you take care of him for a moment while I'm gone?"

“Uh, yeah, but don’t take too long, I’m not very good with kids,” Tex said a little uncomfortably, as he wasn’t very good at babysitting, but given how extremely special this case was, he would do it. It wouldn’t be wise to leave this particular child alone.

Verosika went with the doctor to the hallway and closed the door, they moved away from the room, but not too far.

“Well, doctor, tell me what’s wrong, is something wrong?” asked Verosika.

“Well, not really, actually I would say the opposite, I don’t know how or why, but this boy is recovering quickly and at an amazing level,” said the doctor to which Verosika asked curiously.

"How amazing are we talking about?"

"To be honest, Mrs. Mayday , he shouldn't be able to stay awake, let alone be as active as he is now."

"And that wasn't because of the machines you hooked up? I mean there are dozens."

“No, that would help to some extent, but it would still take time. Do you have any idea why this happend?”

"Not really," Verosika lied quickly, she actually DID have an idea why, but she couldn't exactly tell him.

"Well, as far as his physical health is concerned, he's totally fine, but his mental health, I'm afraid, is a completely different story," the doctor said solemnly.

“What does that mean?” Verosika asked, fearing what the answer would be.

“The injuries that child suffered… Well, I don’t know where they came from, but… no child is going to suffer injuries that severe without suffering extreme mental trauma because of it… Do you know how he got so hurt?” Verosika took a deep breath.

"It was... his mother..." she said quietly, her heart sinking as she realized the additional trauma that simple act would cause the little boy. "She was abusing him, and I fought her off and ran away with him to bring him here and away from that crazy woman."

“I see…” The doctor’s mouth turned into a thin line. “And where is his mother now?”

Verosika started to sweat slightly. "I think there was a gas leak or something, because that house… it exploded with her in it. I know it sounds hard to believe, but you have to trust me."

"Really? From what you describe, it may not have been a gas leak, Mrs. Mayday ," the doctor said.

“Yes? And what was that then?” Verosika was suspicious, but it was better to pretend ignorance.

"Haven't you seen the recent news?" the man asked the pop star.

“I haven’t had time, Isaac has taken all my attention, I’ve barely had time to call my bodyguard” said Verosika, not entirely lying, which worked.

"I see. Well, to sum it up, last night there were literally some strange sinkholes, the origin of this is unknown, but it is possible from what you describe that just when I rescued Isaac, one of these opened up and rose up and swallowed the house," the doctor explained.

"Actually?"

"Yes, despite everything the poor boy has been through, he is lucky you found him," the doctor said.

“I see… By the way, when do you think Isaac will be healthy enough to leave?”

“Well! At the rate it’s healing, I’d say less than a week, a few days more, although the vocal cords are another story, it will take longer to heal.

Verosika closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose at that. "I see..." Damn woman, taking away the boy's voice...

"And if that wasn't enough... I know that this kind of trauma can lead one... to not talk to anyone. I would be prepared for the possibility that the world around him might be too scary for him to feel safe to talk, even after his vocal cords have healed, at least for a while at least..."

Verosika frowned at that. "I see, I see..." She let out a soft sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "Well... I hope a little TLC can help with that..." She tried to lighten the mood weakly, a weak smile on her face.

Verosika returned to Isaac's room, before entering she listened while the door was open for Tex to speak.

“…and that’s how I lost my eye” Tex finished telling the story to Isaac, who looked at him in amazement.

“Vortex, would you be so kind as to explain to me why you told such a story to Isaac?” she asked in a cold tone while he grimaced.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking, but I have a reasonable explanation."

“Well, I’d love to hear it now.”

Vortex raised his hands in supplication. “I didn’t tell him any gory details, as far as he was concerned, it was just a cool action story where I ended up losing an eye.” Verosika frowned deeply and narrowed her eyes. “It’s true!”

Verosika sighed. "Whatever... Just don't say anything inappropriate to him, okay? I know I'll be in enough trouble with the rest of my friends..."

Vortex chuckled . "Ah, yeah, you'll definitely have to talk to them. I saw Kiki giving 'the talk' to a five-year-old while she was waiting for you to get your makeup done. She said it was stupid to wait to tell her since it was a 'natural process' or something."

Verosika rubbed her temples. "If she doesn't want to wake up UNDERWATER, she'll start to respect that most worthwhile parents DON'T WANT their kids to know these things..."

Perhaps it was illogical to prevent Isaac from exposing himself to such things, considering not only the kind of demon Verosika was and the music she made, but also where he would soon be living. Yes... She would take him. That much she had decided.

So sooner or later, he would be exposed to those things, but she wanted to enjoy Isaac's innocence before that, and if she could keep him from being corrupted as much as possible, within what was healthy, she would do it!

Although Verosika, seeing that Isaac was engrossed in the story, couldn't help but be glad to see the boy in awe, his bright eyes instantly warmed her heart, making her decision to adopt him more or less final.

“So, what did the doctor tell you?” Vortex asked, bringing Verosika out of her thoughts.

She exhaled through her nose. “Well, he’s recovering well and should be able to leave by the end of the week…” Vortex knew from her tone that there was a “but” at the end of that sentence. “But… his throat was injured and after the trauma, he… might not be able to speak again for quite some time…”

Vortex frowned and shook his head. "Man... Some people... Don't make any sense in what they do..." He sighed.

“No, they don’t. I mean, seriously, treating their own children like that… It’s disgusting, don’t you think, sweetheart?” He gently rubbed the top of Isaac’s head and the boy let out a soft squeal of satisfaction.

“So, you’ve decided to keep him?” Vortex asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to be sure.

After a minute of silence during which Verosika stroked Isaac's head, he finally spoke.

“Yes I will, there is no other option, and I think in the end if there was… I wouldn’t choose it.” He said as a small smile formed on his face.

Vortex was happy with the answer, but there was one more matter to deal with after his boss's decision.

"You're doing the right thing, boss, but there's one little problem, when are we going to show him our... true side? It's not something we can keep hidden for long," the hellhound asked Verosika sympathetically.

Verosika was thoughtful as she reflected on the situation, Vortex was right, the truth of what they were was not something that could be hidden for long, plus if hdnled poorly, hidding from him and having it exposed at tthe wrong time could cause the poor boy to react badly.

But they couldn't tell him now either.

So Verosika made a decision.

"I'll tell him at the end of the week, when we can get him out and he's fully healed, until then, I have to prepare him for when I give him the news."

Vortex nodded, that seemed like the wisest and most prudent thing to do at the moment.

But he still had one last question....

“If that’s what you decided, how are you going to avoid exposing him to… unforeseen things? Where we’re going isn’t a place that’s… what’s the word?… 'family-friendly'? I’m not sure he needs to know were going to…” Tex paused to decide his words better.

"Well, you already know that the name of home is not well received, it is a bad word at best, and at worst feared by adults, imagine hpw it could be for a child."

Verosika analyzed what Vortex meant, and he was right, and if the theory that this monster was a religious fanatic was not wrong, it would be totally safe to assume that she would have put all the fear in the world into hell, and would have told him who knows what about the place.

Although hell was far from being a pleasant place, even more so for those who were of lower class, such as goblins, hellhounds or poor people, it was not as terrible a place as many of those ridiculous beings who call themselves "shepherds" used to shout to control people.

Again, it wasn't a paradise, but it was certainly better than many third world countries, and not much different from many bad places on Earth.

Also if you had enough beauty, power, influence and money, you could live in relative peace and quiet, and Verosika met at least 3 of the 4 aforementioned requirements, so she could manage to give Isaac a good life, and when he was older, he could easily face the worst parts of life in hell.

Still, there was one big problem. Verosika couldn't just say to Isaac something like, "Hey! How about I take you with me to hell? But don't worry, it's not as bad as they told you!"

“Yeah, that’s not going to end with the kid turning into a traumatized mess, not at all…” Verosika said with a snort in her mind.

So she formulated a plan.

As she thought about it, Vortex and Isaac looked at her worriedly, a full 5 minutes had passed and Verosika was completely silent.

" Ummm ... boss?" Vortex asked, which seemed to wake Verosika from her trance.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Sorry, I was thinking about what you said and I think I've come up with a solution."

"Really? Which one?" Vortex asked with interest.

"First as for a ' Family ' environment Friendly ,' I have enough power and fame to create a space where Isaac can grow, at least for a few years, until he's old enough to be exposed to it. As soon as I get out of here, I'll talk to my team about the changes I'm making. And before you say anything, they can still be as obsessive as they want, but NOT in Isaac's presence, and that's something they will definitely accept, or else I will MAKE them accept it."

"Okay, that makes sense... and as for your new home?"

Verosika was silent for a moment, Vortex feared she would remain silent for a long time again, but this time it was only for a few seconds.

"I'm not going to tell you where we're going. At least not yet, I'll take him there first, let him see what it's like, because I'm 89% sure the witch who did this to him was an extremist fanatic, so I'm sure he'll have a NOT-so-impressive image in his mind of our... world, so I'll show him what it's really like first and that way I'll prevent him from having a breakdown or something."

Once again, Vortex nodded. It was definitely the best course of action.

"In the meantime, I'll tell him the truth little by little. I'll tell him that where we're going is a somewhat dangerous and turbulent place, but that in the end he doesn't have to fear, because I'll be there to protect him, and all he has to do is stay close.

He paused before continuing.

"After a while I'll tell you the whole story, by then you'll know what it's like."

“That’s great, but how long will it take you to tell him the whole story?” Vortex asked.

"It will be one or two years, I think that will be more than enough time, at least so that he does not suffer a psychological crisis," he said.

“Well, that’s an excellent plan, boss,” he said with a proud smile.

“You know I only have big plans, Tex,” she said with joy and pride.

"Oh yeah? Then How did I get on that NFT ad?" he asked jokingly, wiping the smile off Verosika's face, which was replaced by a look of annoyance and some embarrassment.

“You know perfectly well that I was tied to a contract, one that I would not have signed if I had known that they were ESO ads.” Verosika shuddered.

“ At least you sold everything before it blew up,” Tex said, remembering the disaster that was. Verosika’s reputation took a hit that day, but she recovered in the end. She can’t say the same about the rest.

"Actually, that's one of the first things I should teach Isaac when he's old enough, I should do it right after The Talk," Verosika says determinedly.

"For now, Tex, I want you to go back to my crew and tell them that I'm fine, that I'll be back at nightfall and I'll explain everything in great detail, as well as the changes that are going to happen."

"Wait, when you say 'in great detail' does that include Isaac's ability?" Vortex asked.

“Yeah, though I’ll make sure they keep their mouths shut, or make them wish they were purged by a terminator if they tell anyone else,” she said seriously, as Tex shuddered a little.

"Alright, I'll go tell him then, see you later!" Vortex said as he stood up to leave, something Isaac noticed and tugged at the succubi's clothes. He called out to Verosika to get her attention as she gestured to the kind man who was leaving.

"Wait, Tex." Before he could reach the door, Verosika called out to him.

"Huh? What's up, boss?" he asked.

“It seems Isaac wants to tell you something.”

"Oh yeah? What do you want, Little man ?"

As they talked, Isaac tried to pay attention, but he couldn't understand much of what they were saying. He understood several things, like that Verosika apparently came from a dangerous place, or that it wasn't appropriate for a child, but that she would make it work anyway, she would do everything possible for him to be with her, something that made Isaac smile, knowing that the pretty lady with the angelic voice wanted him close.

He has to remember to tell her not to worry, that he's used to danger and pain , maybe then she won't be so indecisive.

But the rest were things he didn't understand, not only because they seemed like adult things, but because he was thinking about the story of Vortex, how he lost his eye, and could no longer see with that eye.

As someone who had lost his eyes several times and had objects pierce or cover them, or monsters gouge them out before killing him, he knew what it felt like to not be able to see, and as someone who had only been kind to him, it was something that made Isaac sad.

So, he had an idea and he had to carry it out before he left. And when he was asked what was wrong, Isaac reached out his hand and focused on what he wanted to do, and what he wanted appeared in a bean bag.

Verosika and Vortex watched as Isaac extended his hand, they thought he wanted the Hellhound to give him something, until they saw him close his eyes, and in a few seconds, from a small explosion of smoke- similar to the previous one where that hourglass came out -Only instead of that shiny hourglass, something else appeared.

“Is that a... glass eye?” Verosika asked in surprise.

Vortex was the most confused, until he remembered the story he was telling Isaac, and how he could no longer see with that eye, which touched him a little.

“Is that for me?” Vortex asked, half amazed and half touched, although, like Verosika, he wondered why he had such a thing.

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

“Thanks, buddy. I don’t have any use for it because I still have the eye, but it’s a very nice gift, so I’ll keep it,” he said as he prepared to put away the eye floating in Isaac’s hand. Maybe he could put it on a shelf or something, he's sure his girlfriend would like to hear how a child gave him a glass eye.

But when Vortex grabbed the eye and stared at it for a few seconds, something surprising happened.

The eye glowed white for about half a second, before disappearing, and before Vortex could ask what had happened, he felt two things.

The first thing was that his blind eye suddenly felt different, in a way he couldn't describe, though that was almost overshadowed by a feeling of power coursing through his body, a feeling he felt coming from that eye, which he instinctively closed, and his head felt a sudden pain.

It didn't last more than a few seconds, but when it was over he opened his eye.

“Wow! What... what? What was that?” Vortex said, a little confused and disoriented.

“Vortex! Your eye!” Verosika repeated, and this time the Hellhound heard her.

"What? What's wrong with my eye?"

“Look!” she said as she handed him the hand mirror she had in her bag so that her bodyguard could see what was happening.

And when he did, he was speechless.

“ No way…” he said, completely stunned, seeing that his blind eye had not only disappeared, but had been replaced by an eye of a different color, which he quickly recognized as the eye that Isaac had given him.

Before he could ask anything else, through his reflection he saw something above him, which seemed to be floating.

“Huh? Boss... Are you seeing the same thing as me?” he asked, hoping that what he was seeing wasn’t a hallucination.

"What do you mean?" She said looking up, only to fall silent when she saw what the hellhound was talking about.

Floating above was a black text box with the words:

" Glass Eye " written in white, and below it was the word "DMG + luck ", but in much smaller letters, but still visible.

"Yeah, I see it too, Tex."

It lasted only half a second before disappearing.

“What? What the …?” Vortex suddenly noticed something else, at first he didn't believe it, but after closing his good eye he checked it and the surprise became bigger.

“It can’t be… I can see!”

“What? What are you seeing?” Verosika asked confused.

“With my eye! I can see again!” she said, still in disbelief.

“ No way!” Verosika exclaimed .

“Yes! I can do it! I can see with this eye again!” she said, in disbelief and excitement.

“Isaac… what did you do? Oh wait, you can’t talk, can you?” Verosika asked before remembering that she couldn’t talk.

Isaac simply looked at her curiously, before looking back at Vortex with a feeling of pride and joy for having helped him.

Although Vortex was delighted with the gift, both he and Verosika realized that being able to summon an hourglass out of thin air was just the tip of the iceberg, and that Isaac was most certainly a jack-in-the-box, having only just begun to emerge.

Things have certainly changed in Verosika's life.

She didn't know that they wouldn't be the only ones affected, but from the moment she and the boy met, creation itself was forever changed.