Chapter 37 - Chapter 16 Fish Brothel and Church what could be better?

Lucifer's Eye Casino. A week later.

The new invitation William was looking forward to as a new Meeting with... He wasn't happy about it.

For the sake of preparing for the new 'interview', William had put almost everything on hold. No important research, studies, or just going to Earth, except for business.

William was sceptical and determined... Determined. Though the 'thugs' sent in had changed that opinion.

The most calm and polite ambles... Not even that. Bodyguards, because these two grizzly bears looked very tidy. Like servants in an expensive restaurant. Simple and to the point, that's what William liked as he walked with them. Or rather... They put him in the car.

That's when William realised how the two early Overlords had been to him... He remembered that.

Not that William liked cars. They were loud, cumbersome, and slow. He realised they were an early prototype. Even his favourite carriages with coachmen didn't come along right away. No...

This variation of the machinima was... tolerable. Drove about thirty kilometres an hour. Some brand of car he, the name of which he didn't know. William didn't know that big companies had appeared on Earth, let alone brand types.

The car was... Cool? Whatever Adam or Emily would say.

It was... refreshing, riding four wheels in what turned out to be an elite vehicle. He got a couple of new ideas for weaves and Constructs, and those two bears... Angus and Quarus, very polite and quiet guys!

Not a single extra word. Not even when he pulled a mug of tea and teapot out from under his sinus. Just asked about the sugar, if he would like to stop by the shop to get it, and nothing more. William even bothered to learn the names of these relics!

The manner of these souls put William in a positive mood. Just as the Overlord had planned, William realised. He understood his nature very well, or he was just used to dealing with the likes of William... Or maybe he had similar Sinners in his friends in terms of character, since so many little things were observed... Strangely a lot....

Either way, setting himself on an optimistic mood, William prepared to hand over the answer.

Earlier, he had prepared gifts from Earth, for the presumably aggressive, insolent and simply arrogant Sinner. That is, expensive men's jewellery, good cigars, rare and exotic varieties of coffee, which Lairds loves very much, and also... a rare pistol, straight from the First World War, a German Bornheim! Gold plated, limited edition! A perfect gift for a firearms enthusiast like Lirds.

Lirds doesn't need to know that William made up this edition, and that the gun itself was simply created by Incarnation.

He doesn't need to know that Shal is following his Hand Lord Rakuss, he can't get in, he can smell it like a dog, he can smell it and try to get into his soul. This idiot can't be fooled like Cinderella.

William took it as a challenge to his abilities to create a version of Chali that could 'inhabit' Rakuss, a surprisingly sensitive Overlord.

As for the lord of this 'dog'.....

William was glad to be completely right for once.

The proud posture, the firm gaze of four all-red eyes on his muzzle and a pair on his chest. This Sinner had a... rather unusual anatomy. It looked like a deep-sea fish or a porcupine crocodile, with its row of black spines from the top of its snout to its tail.

Elongated muzzle, purple skin, high quality business suit with bowtie. Monocle, cigar in his mouth. The cocky look of a winner and 'alpha' in the pack.

Beside the muzzle on his chest. Natural face. Instead of pectoral muscles, two big eyes, also red, and a jaw on his belly.

That's what Lirds was like. Godfather of the Ring of Pride Mafia. King of the Pentagram City underworld. Drug lord of the city. Owner of every casino and gambling establishment in the city. Third most powerful Overlord, but second most influential.

Laird's was a power the average Sinner dared not even flirt with. He was obeyed, feared. He was respected and hated. Many things could be said of him, many things could be said of him, many things could be silent. The only thing that could be said about him was that anyone knew about him. He could not be ignored, for without his word the Sinner could not even open his establishment. All of Pentagram City pays tribute to him. Even those who are not in his territory.

The Shark ran his nets deep into the city's economy. Laird's was a clever sinner to have survived this long. Three centuries. Three times he'd changed himself.

It was like William was putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It's a good thing television isn't so common in Hell yet, because Laird's was stalling its development.

That's the fun of Hell, the progress of technology in it. As long as the Lords live, they will never allow the spread of their antipode.

Some might try, maybe even some of the High Lords, but they usually agreed among themselves.

Lairds, on the other hand, controlled the newspaper market. You couldn't find anything but the truth about him.

"Good evening, Master Zephyr." - Lairds, a tall, nearly two metre tall Overlord, bowed slightly. " I hope you enjoyed our finest vehicle." Predatory and hissing notes in a low voice.

" Surprisingly so, Master Lirds." - William nodded, taking a seat on the most comfortable sofa in Hell.....

William would definitely leave Shal here. Such a thing cannot be left to chance.

"Thank you for such marvellous companions, Angus and Quarus are excellent conversationalists." - William smiled faintly as the waiter poured wine into glasses and the two maids served them dinner.

A simple imp with succubi.

"I'm glad you like my choice, my staff is used to working with many different personality types, including yours, Mr Zephyr." - As if he were the one at William's reception, Lirds spoke up, nodding. His grin widened, revealing sharp white teeth as he pulled out a carton of cigarettes. - "Would you like one?" - At the polite shake of his head, Lirds only nodded, pulling out a single fat cigar and lighting it with his claw, which he yanked sharply against the edge of the pack.

"I hope you will enjoy my establishment even after our talk, for what is not a great rumour and word of mouth than an excellent Overlord having a wonderful time as your guest." spoke softly to the almost strongest of the Lords. " How was your day, how are your affairs, if I may say so?"

They embarked on the usual dancing in such meetings. Conversation about nothing. Food, drink. A few dropped words here, a hint there, and William realised the reason for his invitation.

From Leards' talk of power, "crabs", "the nature of the strongest", he realised... That Leards feared him. Without even looking into his soul, just 'probing' the mind of that weave, William realised that the Sinner is simply afraid of such a competitor.

He knows about his capabilities. He knows the reason for Cinderella's sudden and unexpected success. Knows about the surveillance, but thinks they are his 'servants'.

He didn't say it outright, because he simply wouldn't admit it, but Lirds or else...

"It's all right, Jonathan." - William interrupted the Overlord gently. Even though he knew of William's abilities, knew that he had somehow managed to find out the names of other Lords, he still flinched a little. If you don't know where to look, you might miss it. - "I'm an adequate and sane rational, I'm sure we can come to an agreement if we just talk."

"I see we've gotten to the point... Good one, Zephyr." - Laird's tone changed. He's gone from gregarious to businesslike." I want to ask you, ask you a direct question, if you will." he folded his hands, put his cigar in his mouth and rested his muzzle on his hands. - "Tell me, what are your plans?"

An easy question, but so much meaning... Voice, posture, look, yes even the energy of the room! William wouldn't even mention the three snipers on the neighbouring rooftops.

The study itself was... Similar to the one Cinderella had. Darker tones, the colour gold instead of green, and more luxurious. That's the difference. It's like it was done by the same builder.

"Oh, Mr Lirds, they are not worthy of your attention, for they are so simple and silly as to be childish." - William waved his hand with a slight chuckle, shaking his glass of expensive wine, examining its liquid. "Just a quiet life in this awful place, nothing more."

"Is that so...?" - Leerds tilted his muzzle, deciding to sip his wine. - "I'm sorry, but your actions..." - a pause in the dialogue, which William took advantage of.

"They don't match your words?" - William's interlocutor nodded. "Truly a game of fate, but that's the way it is." - William said, 'It's just the way it is. "My talents are of interest, and the opportunity to fulfil a need so beckons... Still, I love to create and explore, if you get my drift." - Lirds nodded at William's slightly mocking voice.

"Oh fine, but tell me..."

Next, William had the most boring verbal battle of his entire stay in Hell. He expected more from the Almost Strongest.

It came down to a boring exchange of words and a lot of back and forth. It all revolved around the topic of competition.

I mean, the way it looks from the outside. William, after not even a year in the Ring, has made an alliance with one of the strongest Lords, and as an equal. He has mysterious powers that can 'fulfil wishes', and some personal army... Not much yet, but prospects....

So I wanted to make sure of the adequacy, intentions and personality of the new 'impudent'. Jonathan was surprisingly fearful of the new one... So fearful that even gathering information from Rakuss, he couldn't form a picture other than 'an all-powerful Sinner that somehow lives alone rather than taking over more and more neighbourhoods'.

Some souls just have an outdated picture of the world. This one, for example, just couldn't believe that someone powerful just didn't want to be on top. It naturally broke down his entire stance that he had taken in their conversation.

Lordes' gifts didn't even seem to notice. Just polite words, maybe he'd throw them out right away, maybe even give them to one of his own.

Either way, they talked.

They sewed together an agreement. Neither of them touching the other or messing up the territory with things. Nice and easy.

All it took was losing the rest of the evening in long words and losing the night in a ritual of 'setting up' the host. He spent more time in Lucifer's Eye at one time than he spent them on Earth gambling.

More, William and Lirds were careful not to have personal contact, only Messenger or messengers.

The White Rose Brothel. South of town. A month later.

Honestly? William was getting tired of the constant meetings with the 'special people'. Firstly, there were no people here, only the Doomed, and secondly, he just didn't want to meet those pesky Overlords so often.

Rakuss wasn't bothering him. Hadn't even demanded his constructs yet. Cinderella kept honouring their agreements. Other than letters on the Messenger, they never communicated. Lirds, similarly with Isabella, also favoured written communication.

As communication. With each of the Lords, he simply exchanged words once in letters and they never wrote again. They had all but forgotten about him, as well as his neighbourhood....

which had doubled in size.

Instead of six houses.... Not twelve, but all twenty.

Now, he really did have a Neighbourhood. A third of the Apex. Pentagram City itself wasn't named that for Lucifer's stupidity. The city was naturally shaped like a pentagram. It was in the northwest, the topmost part.

And as more territory became available... The sinners just settled in next door, killing and causing mayhem. William was tired of hearing complaints from the Dwellers, because his police didn't work outside the neighbourhood, tired of hearing the constant noise when he decided to take a walk, enjoying the night or the rain that he could summon at any time.

He just didn't have time to visit Earth, damn them! Once a week for sure he could before, but now it was just business....

William was just tired of it all.

Just waking up one day, William chose violence.

He didn't care about the neighbours or the Overlords. He just sent the police first, of which William's squads became ten.

A regular squad. A Warden, four Scouts, two Watchers and six Suppressors.

Normally, one Overseer and one or two Suppressors would go. The rest, following the example of the Messenger, appeared from other Constructs, although one Watcher was scouting around the patrol.

No elite squads yet, but William is working on it.

Those damn 'Perfect' ones just don't seem to want to work out....

The would-be tenants didn't even resist. Some even brought their Overlords to him. He didn't give anything for it, it just made his job easier. That was how he got more territory.

That's when, when it had only been a couple of days since his 'grand expansion of borders', a letter came to him.

Aphrodite, the weakest High Class Overlord, asked him to come to her residence, the White Rose Brothel. Whenever he pleased (preferably within the next two days).

As it is not difficult to guess, she was responsible for the entire 'intimate' range of services of the Pride. Brothels, 'toy' shops, aphrodisiac drugs, and a host of such things.

William, as he sighed, wanting to end this as soon as possible, pondered in passing.

'Could this really be the same Aphrodite?'

...As it turned out, no. That name was quite popular for Sinners, especially the 'type' like Aphrodite or Elizabeth Lawson.

What had become of 'the one'... William assumed that she had died somewhere during the Third or Fourth Rebellion.

And so. William stood in front of the entrance to the most elite brothel in the Ring of Pride. Slightly annoyed that he had been distracted again, albeit in such an unusual way.

He was working on a new Construct. A Queen that should stand over the Crawlers and automate monotonous processes. Collecting, processing, analysing, clustering and presenting information. These are the Queen's tasks. She's not a combat Construct, a Tool type, but William will give her a pair of claws and poison anyway... Whatever he can synthesise.

She would be a small, slightly smaller than a cat, individual that would live in his attic. William disliked cleaning the cobwebs on Earth so much that he decided to make it serve him in Hell. He isn't even a "spider" or a Sinner with a spider form, but that didn't stop him.

It was as such, entertaining himself with thoughts of future developments (and there's still the combat aspect...) that William entered this... establishment.

He wasn't a fan of places like this back on Earth. He'd had good and solid relationships that he'd broken off for important reasons. Two times it was just a fleeting relationship, and the third was the longest and happiest. William was glad that woman was still alive and had long ago gone somewhere in Canada, almost Alaska, where the Weave hadn't gotten to her...

And as for the brothel... Red colors, "arousing" music, dimmed lights and... atmosphere. The atmosphere of Lust. Asmodeus would definitely appreciate it...

"Ah... Nine out of ten, he rated the Prince of Depravity. He recommends it." - read the sign that hung proudly at the entrance.

It said something about their establishment being visited by Asmodeus himself, leaving his grief-ah-ah-....

"Damn, they don't lie here!" - William was surprised to recognize it, looking at the very real seal of Sin. It reeked of... something William couldn't quite make out, but it was definitely Asmodeus. It couldn't be faked.

"And they call her the weakest?", ran through William's mind as he walked onward, where he was... fittingly greeted.

Barely dressed Sinners, succubi, incubi (one annoyed glance was enough for them to nod understandingly and leave), and even demons! Female devils.

The one with the wide red thighs and the top that barely concealed her bra-less breasts....

The one with the dress that barely, and no, covers the lower region, putting the vulva on display!

And that damn girl was just wearing bard stockings and a fucking pink apron over her naked body!

The succubus... Apparently, as William realized, this one was the local "main" since she was wearing an open, very open, white and pink dress, like a lily flower, the color of which turned to pink towards the bottom.

And the one next to her... Pink skin. A top that barely covered her breasts, exposing a bra that was tight and snug. Shorts-pants, or William couldn't call this parody of outerwear any other way. Stockings that transitioned into shoes and petite wings.

There's his procession. Those incubi William didn't even want to look at.

"We welcome you to the White Rose, where all your deepest and most secret desires are fulfilled! - spoke in unison the women who greeted him. Lovely smiles, challenging and revealing all the details available to the eye.

And the funny thing was that William...! Didn't get aroused. Here he was, looking at these demons, looking at their attempts at seduction and nothing. No, William definitely still could when he remembered nights and moments with Emily or Sera, or even Fedelia! Everything worked and functioned.

"Apparently, I'm not a demonophile... or whatever that dysfunction was called?", William thought as he nodded his greeting.

He was offered a drink. He declined.

He was offered the pleasure of a dance. He declined, citing work.

He was offered a "shot" and a "happy pill." William gave that succubus a look that let her know what would happen to her if she finished her speech. The girl was smart, she understood the first time.

When the succubus in the dress went away, she left William in the main room, where there were podiums with poles, small tables surrounded by round chairs in the shape of a crescent moon. In the middle of the room was a small bar, made in the shape of some sort of lamp.

Drinks, of all sorts, were illuminated by the wall of the "lamp", and the bartender was a large bull. A buffalo that reminded William something of Tom or Valentino from Paradise. He hoped those two were doing okay.

Next to him, this... escort started some sort of crawl, but those immediately stopped, barely seeing one glance from William. He really liked that mask. Everyone was becoming so understanding and appropriate....

"Please, sir, follow me." - The soft and gentle voice of a succubus in a dress called out to William, who was getting bored standing in a noisy room full of sinners and demons.

Instead of answering, William simply nodded and followed the succubus. The one immediately read his mood and intent, wisely remaining silent.

William thought that either he had created his image of a "genie" so well, or this Aphrodite wanted to make him a pimp here, and the right hand of this Mistress, no other way.

Whether it was the aroma of herbs, fine drinks or cocktails, William didn't know, and he didn't care about such trivialities in a building he would probably visit for the first and last time.

They walked to the third floor, taking the elevator to the end of the hallway. This "moving room" made William a little tense, that he was used to getting to high places with his wings, but now...

"No progress. No time and no knowledge. Not even the weave of flight can be mended.", William pondered, while listening to a simple tune in the elevator while the succubus wiggled her hips and danced slightly, as if trying to give him a secret private dance. William didn't appreciate it.

His personal life... Or rather his complete lack of one... It was much easier in Hell than in Heaven, for obvious reasons, but....

William just didn't want to. Whenever he thought of Sera or Emily, his mood would still get worse, and when he thought about it, he would always get a form of apathy that would just send him scurrying back to Earth.

He just didn't care about all those souls. Not the succubi, not the hounds, not the Sinners. He just didn't want to think about it, didn't want to remember the loss and pour salt on a wound that hadn't closed yet.

Constructs, these 'treaties'... A way to distract himself from all the horror that awaited him when William closed his eyes.

"Resolved. Once I've established a stable territory, once I've dealt with these parasites, I'll leave the Constructs and just go to Earth, for a couple months. I'll find a church and apply to be a priest there.", William concluded, closing his eyes. The Succubus, thankfully, didn't take it personally, continuing to enjoy the music of the elevator.

A soft chime and the elevator door opened on... a studio.

Red, beige or purple colored walls and wooden walls separating the large room from each other.

Several large mirrors on tables. A ladies' corner in almost every part of the room. William could tell right away that each of the three tables was for a different type of makeup. Business, that is, working, not involving debauchery. Casual, where there were no weird jars with something in them, like on the first one. The third, on the other hand... "Working," William would have called this variant "Sin of Lust," but the name didn't sound right. Just "Lust."

Beautiful wood floors, green vines on the walls. Several small glass chandeliers, each lighting a different color, creating a strangely cozy yet, intimate atmosphere.

A pleasant studio stuffed with expensive wooden imperial style furniture.

Aphrodite herself was... tidying up. The succubus accompanying him immediately went to her aid without saying a word to him.

"Oh, I apologize, darling, just give me a few more minutes." - A laughing ringing voice, pleasant, William would have called it if his mood had been the same.

William remained silent, glancing around for the nearest seat, which turned out to be a heart-shaped sofa. It had a cushioned back, a small coffee table of dark wood with burgundy piping on the ends.

Vilya nearly collapsed onto the furniture, managing to maintain a semblance of politeness. Leaning on the top of the cane with both hands, tapping the top with his fingers, William surveyed the room lazily, pondering the Constructs.

"An Ideal-type construct, or as close to a living embodied Aether as possible, in the form of an image and a hard shell, with various set parameters...", William thought with his eyes closed.

From somewhere to the right came the sounds of hair brushing, perfume spritzing, the sounds of powder brushes... or whatever it was.

"But what is the difference between this 'Ideal' and an ordinary Construct... How do I make it so that the Construct goes from task and direction to 'Area', becoming relatively independent, able to make decisions on its own, without my interference...?", the tapping on the top of the cane became heavier, and the sounds from the table began to fade. Now, it was the sound of opening the closet and picking up clothes.

Turning around, William realized, he could even see the very figure of the Overlady and succubus.

True, Aphrodite had... very voluminous and long, knee-length hair, for crying out loud. A drop shape, if William understood it correctly, with a smaller tip at the knees. Damn, she was even spreading her arms to their full extent, even so it didn't cover the width of the volume of her hair!

No, William knew that some women liked and cared for their hair, but to do it like this... Even Fedelia didn't pay as much attention as this....

Ah! That pause was supposed to excite him, to enjoy the show, when two figures, through the beige curtain wall, two female figures were clearly standing out, somehow showing their figures. The succubus was in a dress, but from here you could clearly see all of her body curves.

"Shadow striptease," William read the title of the service. There was a magazine with prices on the table here, as if from a restaurant. Moreover, such a view was much more expensive than a communal dance on a round table!

"These souls are doomed...", William thought with disgust as he looked at what the local perverts were interested in.

"BDSM... What the hell is that? Group, okay... Orgy? That's... Big group, okay... Footwork? Work... armpit work? Thigh work? I can still understand the last one, but... Okay, anal is lost in here somewhere... What are "pegging", "meildom", "fandom", "shibari"...? What is "SBT"...? And what does swallowing do here?", exploring the local sinful and lustful options was far more interesting to William than the 'show' the two souls on the right were putting on for him.

"Fucking hell with these degenerates...", William couldn't find censorious words.

"Okay shibari, that's the art of binding, which Sera, Emily, and I learned perfectly well, Sera even enjoyed hiding the rope marks from the others, but peg... Yeah those souls are sick! Whoa, though. Does BDSM involve playing with wax and gags? Whips, whips... What else is 'paddles'...?", the last William wondered.

He realized that for the first time he had dulled the pain of loss by focusing on such an absurd thing as the elements of sin... He would not come here again, especially considering the services provided, but he would take a couple of ideas....

"I'm glad you're interested in my girls' services, darling." - A soft, caressing voice brought William out of his thoughts, forcing him to slowly turn his head toward the speaking Mistress.

...Red skin, excellent pedicure, long beige nails, green-yellow eyes with no pupil, excellent, voluminous black lashes. Sharp teeth, but you can't call them fangs. They're more for intimate jabs than those used to tear flesh.

Beautiful, voluminous hair. White and gold.

Breasts somewhere around an "A" or all 90-100 here... Nice hips, wide and firm. Yes...

Nice intimate heart cut, and that point on the left breast gives a great exotic look.

How did William see it and appreciate it?

A gorgeous lordess robe. Bardy pink, with white fur on the ends, arms, cut and collar.

Really... It was as if it didn't even exist, for it was completely transparent.

There was no room for imagination, and even Cinderella was more modest, though she did her best to emphasize her sexuality.

"I guess," William thought to himself, "There are two kinds of sexuality. The working kind and the animal kind.", William decided for himself, quickly running his eyes over Aphrodite's figure and clothes.

"I am pleased with your attention dear, but please leave the sweets for last, first we need to finish all the boring things, and only then move on to dessert.."- Aphrodite said teasingly, moving to William's couch, swaying her hips. The succubus, in a dress, stood nearby.

As soon as Aphrodite sat ten centimeters away from William on the couch, leaning back on the cushions, the succubus immediately rushed to serve them. Expensive red wine, nice candles, light appetizers. The food appeared as if in the blink of an eye. William mentally praised the talent or magic of the succubus, she had her place for a reason, for she had not found a single flaw in her serving.

Aphrodite pulled her limbs smoothly, even languidly, stretching her robe, showing off her entire body. She seemed to be lounging on the best cushions in the world, her face was so contented, she sighed languidly.

"I LOVE these meetings, Darling!" - Aphrodite smiled broadly. -" I've heard a lot about the new overlord..." she lowered her head onto the palm of her hand, running her fingers freely over the cushion, she leaned back on the armrest, showing her body to William.

"It hasn't even been a year, and this 'newcomer' has already managed to negotiate with Lirdos himself, made an alliance with Cinderella, not forgetting the cautious Rakuss..." Aphrodite sighed languidly, deftly taking the glass with the poured wine. The succubus finished serving, humbly standing beside Aphrodite, and lowered her dress, exposing the hollow of her breasts even more, while revealing more of the slit at her feet. She wasn't wearing underwear.

"You know how to impress a woman, darling..." she said languidly, biting her lips as if tasting the flattery.

"I'm flattered by such a high praise, especially from such a prominent missus." - Aphrodite's eyelid twitched faintly at the calm voice, devoid of almost all emotion except polite attention. She exhaled barely audibly, on all fours slowly crawling towards William, setting her glass back down.

"Aren't you tired of all this boring work, dear?" - she tilted her face, breathing heavily, her breasts heaving as she took another 'step' forward. "Wouldn't you like to relax a little, take a break from all this daily hustle and bustle?" - Aphrodite whispered almost sweetly.

An image of Sera appeared in William's mind. An image of Emily. Intimate moments mingled with everyday jokes and fun...

The eyes on the mask narrowed dangerously and the eyelid twitched. The succubus twitched faintly. The lordess grinned.

William sensed a multitude of pheromones. From the Overlady herself and from Aphrodite. He wanted to laugh, but then the peaceful solution could be forgotten.

William stared at the wall, at the painting of Aphrodite's Birth. A surprisingly accurate and unadorned painting that fit the style of the room perfectly. Certainly not the tasteless, tawdry posters of obscene things that worse places do.

"Oh! I understand, darling. You're a serious man who wants to get things done before he takes a woman to bed." - William caught a note of irritation in the Sinner's voice, but it disappeared as quickly as the average Sinner loses his virginity in Hell.

" I would like to know the reasons for the invitation from such a... Fascinating lady?" - William nodded, receiving a slight approving chuckle from the nearly naked lady. The lady with the big hair. -

"I thought I didn't give the impression of someone who was interested in... your specialty, Mrs. Elizabeth?" at these words, spoken in a casual tone, the succubus exhaled sharply, looking up at William in astonishment, and Aphrodite's face contorted faintly in annoyance.

"Elizabeth is quite an interesting specimen. She's completely soaked into this place. I can barely discern the remnants of a human in her... For what they are, even... They didn't disappear anywhere, but they changed... A remarkable case!", William didn't care how Aphrodite perceived his scrutinizing gaze on her figure. All they saw was a soul that had spent centuries simmering in Sin.

"Straight to the point? What a bad boy..." Aphrodite smiled broadly, nodding faintly at the succubus who immediately scurried behind the screen. She said the last words in... French? Russian? German? It was some mixture of these languages, but William somehow understood the meaning. -

" I love it..." Aphrodite exhaled languidly, taking the parchment from the succubus' hands.

"This is Jamie," she nodded toward the designated succubus, who bowed silently, her breasts nearly falling out of her dress."If you want my best girl, she's all yours, darling." she took the outstretched long cigarette (or what is it?) and lit it with her finger. Pink flame...

"I'll keep that in mind, Mrs. Aphrodite." - At William's words, the Overlady laughed, waving her hand.

"Oh, come on, darling. I feel so old. Just Aphrodite, darling." - She leaned closer to William.

"...Let's just get to the subject of your invitation, dear Aphrodite."- to which William received a hum.

Aphrodite... aside from the usual 'fucking' that the Overlady desired, she desired similar to what Cinderella had. Adding "earthy" to her establishments. Plus, she had 'heard' that William had the ability to 'grant wishes'. She wished she had the ability to create a couple types of drugs and tobacco that brought a special kind of excitement.

And she also wanted to know the full extent of William's fantasy in the relationship of sex with "wishes". Her and Jamie. The other she simply put it to her, and she didn't mind.

In response, William made his "standard" conditions. Privileges for the Inhabitants of his Area of

Silence, recognition of independence, and... help in solving problems for him and some of the Inhabitants. She's oblivious to the fact that he exists, though that one... very reluctantly agreed.

"Just come by sometimes, I get so lonely...", Aphrodite said affectionately, gently reaching up, pushing her breasts together. Said as if she didn't sleep with almost all of the High Ranking Lords. William knew that part of her activities as well.

Aphrodite was forbidden to interfere with William in any way, in return, he was willing to "run the logistics" on Earth for her with a little more priority.

They shook hands, signed a paper, a simple paper, William had separately insisted on a simple 'seal of souls'. Essentially some form of Oath that is used between Lords.

How fortunate that all William had been able to explore in the last few days was working with souls.

Aside from Constructs, that was his second main area of research. A "perfect" type of Construct wouldn't just invent itself, but here...

How good was it that he was collecting these souls that could take on all the liabilities and penalties in the case of these contracts...

Really. Aphrodite asked again for "fuck, hard," for they were done with business. She and Jamie, whom she dragged along with her.

William, on the other hand... Fulfilled the Overlady's wish. The standard Lust weave that had worked well for Fedelia, these "tentacles"... Weaves for sensitivity, arousal, hormones, and some temporary modification of the bodies of these prostitutes...

Half an hour and the two bodies lay huddled together, relieving William of unnecessary fumbling.

He was pleased with the experience. The soul had been perfectly sealed, he had insisted on this type of Contract for a reason. He should do the same with other Lords....

After the Treaty with the Lords, most, if not all, of the Sinful Bandits have ceased their senseless attacks.

The residents have even more confidence in him as a "Good and Generous" Overlord or a "fucking sucker to live under". William didn't care about those opinions, he just wanted a safe zone in Hell where he could do his research.

Also peace...

Tonight, William would retire to Earth for the evening, to an established forest.....In which, for some reason, there are rumors of a "ghost" or "beast of the hollow"... It seems William will have a couple of reasons to have fun.

...

The neighborhood of Silence. The forest outside Zephyr's mansion. A month and a half later.

There was no invitation this time. He was surprised. In a good way.

Lord Duclas had come to him himself.

William didn't even realize it right away when he noticed the moving figure. Or rather, he was informed by the Queen, sending images and information through the mental channel...

William then simply could not believe his eyes, double-checking the data of Polzunov personally, but no.

Duclas was indeed walking towards him.

A brown robe, with a "line" of small shards in the place of lightning, with a dark brown hood, from which only long white horns peeked out, like one-sided picks, looking down, each horn had four small spikes, parallel to each other, somewhere at the end of the horns, a little further from the point of rounding.

Green mouth teeth peeking out from under the darkness of the hood, and green eyes without pupils... Like a mask or a painting, Duclas' face did not change in any way. He didn't react to his surroundings, simply walking towards his goal.

He was William, who had only recently, three hours ago, returned from Earth.

Duclas found William in his forest, which was a little smaller than the usual row of houses that used to be in his neighborhood. There was a park there, similar to the one he had in Paradise.

Wooden benches, with brown boards and black metal, diluted the stony road and the lanterns that worked on the Weave. Experimental technology to help understand how absorbing energy from the environment worked.

In the farthest lanterns were the souls of the worst Sinners that William had killed, the data on which showed the effects on the souls of this method.

William was sitting on a bench, reading a book he had pulled out of his spatial pocket. It was in this position that Duclas had found him.

"My name is Daniel Schwaltz, as you know, Zephyr." - A quiet voice, as if from beneath a respirator or a mask, a low, husky voice. As if the one could barely speak. Though his words were surprisingly understandable, it was just a voice that was unpleasant to listen to, even more unpleasant than Rakuss's.

"Zephyr, a common Overlord of a small District, as you know, Mr. Daniel." replied William softly, tucking the book away in his cloak, which bore the marks of raindrops. It was overcast on Earth, William's favorite weather, as it turned out.

"Master of the quietest and safest neighborhood in this cursed city"-the words burst out from beneath the masked-face-mouth of Duclas. - "May I sit down?" - The Overlord asked politely and surprisingly clearly, receiving a short nod.

Duclas sat down on the opposite edge of the bench, silent for a moment as if seeing the scenery around him for the first time. He looked up, seeing the gathering storm clouds. Green eyes narrowed slightly.

"Places where Sinner can feel alive again, can return to Earth..." - The Overlord whispered softly. His head slowly turned to William, who moved away slightly, Duclas' horns getting in the way. -" No disinfections, no viruses, no hygiene violations. You demand much and yet criminally little of your souls, Zephyr." - There were echoes in Duklas' voice, almost like Zestial, whom William had not seen since their last meeting.

Viliam nodded politely, looking intently at Duklas' unblinking face.

"You don't get into unnecessary fights, you don't try to make your way into leaders or kings, you just go about your business, somehow increasing your influence and power." - His voice was almost monotonous, rare emotions like surprise or encouragement slipping into his speech. - "Negotiated with the proud Lirdis, the arrogant Cinderella, surprised the vigilant Rakuss, and satisfied the insatiable Aphrodite." - There was a sneer in his tone.

"I like you, Zephyr." - The voice was full of one emotion. Joy. - "You are a man of science, a man of reason and logic, I respect that in a soul." - Duclas nodded, receiving an appreciative nod from William. - "Polite, respectful, but you don't miss your own. Possess strange powers and can somehow retrieve things from Earth." his gaze went back up to the sky. Thunder could be heard.

Duclas' eyes closed for a moment. He fell silent, savoring the moment.

" It's been a long time since I've felt raindrops, heard thunder or wind in my damned ears... Can you create a similar thing in my polyclinic? Your conditions I know and will fulfill." - his eyes opened a little, revealing eyes burning with green smoke like grass.

"Of course, Mr. Duclas." - William shook his cylinder.

"Of course, your souls will have my help as well. A window on Earth is very expensive for a Sinner... Especially for the sick..." - His tone became more active, as if Duclas was beginning to wake up from his sleep.

William realized that he was getting to the main topic of his visit.

"Tell me, Zephyr, what do you think of Sin and Sinners?" - Duclas asked his first of many questions.

He was a simple Sinner. He wished William no harm, seeking only a soul mate in his passion. He wished to "cure" Sinners of their "affliction" by making them "pure". He sought ways to "cleanse" the soul from Sin, from their "disease". He used all methods. Morally permissible and those for which he would be feared by the most repulsive maniacs.

From what was described... William realized that Duclas is a psychopath. He is adequate and pleasant to talk to until the conversation about medicine begins. An insane workaholic who didn't care about the "idiot games" he called four of the six High Lords.

The only one he called a colleague was Arbito, the strongest Overlord in influence, the strongest in power in the ring. Head of the Research Institute of the Damned Hell.

In charge of all weaponry, all construction, all development of the Ring of Pride's technological advancements. Arbito rightfully ranks at the pinnacle of influence of this Generation of Lords.

Duclas, the second most powerful, but not influential, Overlord had similar scientific interests, though related only to his passion and medicine. Arbito was similar in personality to Duclas, distinguished by ambition and pride.

Duclas' words appeared to be quite easy for the Overlord to communicate. No unnecessary verbiage or ceremony.

A true hero of William's. Learned, got interested, got information, made decisions, went, confidently said hello, shook hands (at the end of the meeting) and talked. Nothing extra.

William for the first time began to respect someone in this shithole. Let him be reminded that he was a medical maniac, ready for any means to "cure" himself and the Sinners.

If he needed to, or thought he needed to, then William himself would go to his desk. The Fallen One was clearly aware of that.

Just as Duclas himself had said. They had a standard pact for William.

Duclas ignores and forgets about William, his territory, and the Lodgers, and the latter... checks in with him periodically, sharing or helping with research as he is able. Duclas realized that medicine wasn't William's main path, but...

"We have all eternity ahead of us, so why not broaden our horizons?", Duclas said then, as a light rain poured down on them.

William doubted that Duclas would live for more than half a century, considering that such old Overlords were somehow killed by more 'younger' and 'ambitious' ones with a 'burning eye for progress', but he somehow agreed to this 'cooperation'.

So, William had a new "partner", with whom he agreed with that "seal" that was just fine in such deals.

When Duklas left, William continued his experience with the energy influence on the Weave and souls.

...

The Neighborhood of Silence. A week later.

It was the most unusual and shortest meeting with an Upper Link Lord.

He had been warned in advance of his desire to meet through a Messenger who had been summoned by asking one of the Dwellers. Yes, these degenerates had such an opportunity for communication with others. This way William could collect flight data and monitor the communications of the Sinners of his neighborhood. Moreover, thanks to this, he was able to spread rumors and his messengers were no longer killed, because they knew whose they were.

Arbito himself wrote to him, wanting a private meeting in the same place where he had met Duclas, preferably with the same rain.

William replied in the affirmative, preparing the necessary things.

Exactly on the appointed day, exactly at the appointed time. Arbito appeared in his District's territory. Just appeared out of a flash of light.

A white robe with a high collar. Two pairs of gloved hands with holes for long black claws. Horns like those of Duclas, only much smaller, black and turned upward.

Three dark golden eyes with no pupil and... A cross in place of the right eye...? This Sinner had somehow managed to copy some of the Valkyries' technology, their holo-helmets with a user-friendly interface...

"..Fucking hell..." William reprimanded as he watched the Leader, or the Overseer, lead the Overlord to their meeting place.

William had simply forgotten about this handy feature of Valkyrie helmets. A great omission, for it could have greatly simplified his daily affairs.

"Mr. Zephyr." - Arbito's calm and confident half-roar half-voice brought William out of his thoughts.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise, Mr. Arbito." - William replied in the same tone, shaking the outstretched hand. Nothing, not even the intention of deceit or threat from Arbito.

"I know you and I are busy souls, and therefore I will be brief..." - Without mincing any speech, Arbito began, setting their conversation at its own pace.

Arbito spoke even more succinctly than Duclas. Not a single extra word, not a single argument. The latter stated bluntly that he didn't care about William's opinions and views.

He just doesn't want to see a competitor in his fields. Armaments, building construction, science (mechanics, structures, autos and so on), drugs, specifically the creation of their chemical formulas. He didn't want William there, to which the Fallen One assured Sinner that he had no intention of releasing his products to the public. His servants don't count, to which Arbito agreed.

They don't touch or interfere with each other. If one (Arbito emphasized William) decides to make his "move" in the city, he has to let the other know.

He, like Duclas said, immediately agreed to a "standard pact" with William. He forgets about the Silence, as the Sinners of the city call his neighborhood, forgets about Zephyr, and doesn't touch his Dwellers.

As soon as they came to an agreement, signifying it with nods and words, Arbito immediately disappeared.

"If I were to single out the positives of such attention - the idea of helmets and the holo-helmet interface...", William thought, looking at the white particles that were left behind after Arbito disappeared.

Fortunately for William, that was the end of his period of "treaties".

No one came to him or invited him back, allowing him to breathe more freely and devote himself fully to his projects and developments.

The first thing William did that day was to open a rare tea from Japan, some kind of phoenix, and to get a rare chocolate with milk.

After celebrating the deed with an appetizer William... went to bed.

Sinners need sleep.

After all, even the smartest and most ambitious Fallen Angels need a good night's sleep.

* * *

Earth. London. East London. East End. 1930. Two Months to Extermination.

"Ah the East End... Illuminated by the wonderful Dickens, given the symbolic name, the Poverty District."

William, who lived in the West End, on the outskirts, on a small plot of land near his woodland, did not often, almost never, enter the neighborhood.

He had read Charles Dickens as a boy, from which he had formed a ... prejudice against the "port" district of London.

Previously, he was convinced that it was a breeding ground for the poor, gangsters and criminals of all stripes. Having seen it for himself, with "adult" eyes... William didn't change his opinion much.

Dirty streets full of all kinds of people. From simple factory workers, shopkeepers and families, to suspicious looking elements. Like an expensive bouquet, every stratum of society found a place in this part of London, especially after the Great Depression hit the rest of the world.

Some had climbed the social ladder, some had lost everything and were now trying to educate their children to help them later...

William had seen such pictures in Hell, where things were much worse.

But what is he doing in this place? Where the people of the West End think not even God is looking? In the best and most prestigious place for every Sinner or demon, of course.

Churches.

No. William didn't want to ruin her, to defile her father and sisters. He didn't want to besmirch the name of God in this place, he didn't want to call someone from Goetia here in hopes of attracting their attention. He didn't want to perform rituals or experiments. Though the latter wasn't exactly fair.

William had taken a job at the church as a deacon, a lower rank.

How could he spend the day there? William examined the fact of his "burnout" on Earth. It was part of the Law, or "reality" as scholars would call it. Sinners cannot leave the Ring, and Fallen Angels.....

William didn't know what or how Lucifer or the other, if any, Fallen did about it, but he had... He was naturally melting, his soul burning like snow in summer. His defenses... a hastily made and hastily tweaked variation allowed him to stay on Earth for three hours.

After that, William began to show symptoms. His Defenses were designed so that he had some sort of time margin, about five minutes. Time to "evacuate", otherwise he'd start to "vaporize". Natural combustion, burning his soul and body.

How did William find out? Just found a random Sinner, a cannibal from their neighborhood (William was very surprised to learn that this group had their own neighborhood) and just tossed him through the portal to Earth.

The sinner only lasted a couple minutes. He, like a snowman, melted away. The sinner screamed frantically, trying to break free of his restraints, trying to tear the skin that was accessible to his fingers with his hands. First his shell 'melted', leaving a skeleton, and then his, along with the remnants.

William wasn't sure if the Sinner had been able to leave the Ring because he had been thrown there by an Angel, albeit a Fallen one, or if Sinners could leave the Ring, but only under protection, as William had?

Either way... William had about six months to work with the Defense better.

Three hours turned into six, but that wasn't the limit either!

He could penetrate the Earth, he could be seen, William played with the guise of the 'Forest Beast', scaring the people of London, but if he applied a weave that simulated the 'displacement' of angels when they came to Earth, becoming intangible, William could feel like an Archangel again.

But William was not willing to fool around or go too far into research. Especially not willing to become proud again.

William was honest, he did wish to change. Here was his first step on that path. In a place he used solely as a source of information. He didn't attend church regularly, he didn't hold or attend services, he was just there with his family as a given.

Now. William has several reasons for such an idiotic, on the part of other Sinners, act.

One, William wanted to learn about "atonement," the cleansing of sins and Sin. He remembered Charlotte's words. William admitted that he partially believed in the silly idea.

"If it worked with magic, maybe I'll go back to heaven too?", William thought before initiating this plan while in his District.

There was a lull, the Overlords went about their business, and William could quietly get on with his own. He left the order to the police, and then went to Earth.

Therefore, William decided to satisfy this "childish" and naive impulse. Work at the church for a month and see what happens.

It was easy for William to infiltrate the church, even easier to infiltrate it under the guise of Richard Schmit. A deacon who had joined the small church named after St. Abel, the martyr and son of Adam, a week ago. William had mixed feelings, having met and personally had a good tea with the Saint himself.....

"Father, the start of morning prayer is soon." - Sister Elizabeth gently pulled him from his thoughts. "Father Gabriel has already finished his preparations and you haven't finished with the chairs," a slight displeasure slipped into Lisa's voice.

The church was not large. Immediately through the front door, a parishioner entered the main hall, where morning prayer was held. To the left, in a small recess from the altar, there were confessionals, where the priest could take a person's sins and truly absolve them. Just short of the altar, there was a corridor to the right, to the small cells of the church servants themselves. These people.

William could still wonder in regards to humans.

It was faith that protected them. No... Faith. Father Gabriel, Sister Elizabeth, the youngest of the nuns, Sister Elsa, the "middle one," a middle-aged woman, Sister Olga the oldest.

People called it... People called what had happened "God's Punishment," which made William cringe painfully when he heard it.

These people were sincere and pure in their faith. When there was... When there was Cara... they prayed. For themselves, for the parishioners, for every goddamn one...

And they performed a miracle. God's miracle. Just like Adam said, ordinary people could do what only angels can do, only trained angels can do.

God protected the souls of all those people these men prayed for. Elizabeth had come from a nearby village, a little after Kara, accepting it as a sign from above. Even so, her prayer helped her, her family, and close acquaintances.

William was glad to have met such people. Maybe his Fallen Angel nature helped here, reading people's souls and thoughts... But William was grateful to have met these people.

Seeing their purity, William... had done a foolish thing.

To his holy father, Father Gabriel, he told his little secret. He wasn't called a demon or a Sinner, but... He covered himself with his halo and incarnate wings, a pathetic parody of the ones he had previously had.

The father immediately dropped his forehead to the floor, praying, but William immediately rebuked the old man.

He made a deal with him, took Father's Oath. He covers for him in front of the sisters and parishioners when he is not there, when he "will be in Paradise," and William helps the church with "Miracles."

For example, William has already restored the Priest's health and restored his knees that had been ailing since the Great War. To the Sisters, he has restored beauty and curbed the urges to sin...simply by adding conscious hormone regulation. If they think they can ward off temptation with prayers...their bodies will obey. A little suggestion and setting in the mind, came with this gift.

Fr. Gabriel immediately agreed as soon as he felt "God's grace". That's how he got the rank of "deacon", an ordinary priest, which only helps the priest.

William immediately indicated that he wanted to learn to hear confessions, to conduct them and to "really" absolve sins. Father immediately agreed on how to teach, though Gabriel thought the angel was just testing him, and also allowed him to administer the Sacrament of Penance.

Today, though... The morning service, Sunday, when the parishioners came to pray and such... William had already cooled down, having lost a little of his former fervor. This was his first service, earlier when he was free from his Overlord duties, he had simply looked around the church, but now the first hour of his Protection was going.

"Two weeks. If I don't understand or discover anything, only two weeks I'll be here. Research is more important than some prayers out there.", William thought as he arranged the chairs.

His current "image". Long platinum hair gathered in a ponytail, a priest's cassock with a cross on his chest. The slightly altered face of his...former, angelic, appearance. Violet eyes. That's the image.

"Sister, Brother." - Father Gabriel hurried them away. Elizabeth only gasped, shuffling her feet a little nervously in an effort to take her seat as the first parishioners began to enter the church. William, at his own pace, followed her, standing next to the holy father.

"Brothers and sisters." - Father Gabriel began as the parishioners settled into their chairs. "This year has been a great tragedy for all of us. God's punishment has come upon the firmament of the earth." Father Gabriel mournfully proclaimed as the parishioners, who were clearly outnumbered by chairs, began to...listen, pray, and just...cry? William was confused. "Each of us has our loss, each of us has lost a loved one, only Faith has been able to ward off this land from a tragic fate." sobs began to come from the hall, barely audible. William looked closer and saw the older women. Mothers, grandmothers or young women, even girls and boys. The men looked away or just kept their faces. Children...

"The souls of the dead, found rest, ascending to Heaven, finding peace." - Gabrielle folded his open arms across his chest, subtly turning to William, who nodded quickly.

William didn't know the fate of these souls. He hoped they had all been taken to Heaven, but in Hell...he didn't have the courage to look. He didn't even follow the news of the city, drowning in the affairs of his neighborhood.

"They look to us, expecting repentance and realization of our sins, the very thing that caused such a terrible event. God himself has decided to bring down the Penance..." - The holy father continued his speech, which flowed smoothly into a prayer while William... William tried to think.

"Not God, just a proud and foolish Archangel," William took it as a compliment... Trying not to listen to the quiet words of the women and children left without parents.

"O son, to my poor son..." - A woman in a shawl. A widow, William realized. One of the souls William had helped.

"How bad I feel, I just can't, it's like I'm torn... I'm in sin, I just can't, I can't..." - muttered the middle-aged man. William wouldn't be surprised to see a news story in the newspaper about a rape or murder.

"I... I couldn't... Mommy and Daddy just went somewhere, they went to visit, to their grandparents..." - cried the girl who killed her parents in a fit of Song.

"I... I just don't know what to do... These dreams, I just can't! I'm going to snap... oh God save...!" - a new voice, a man that...

"I'm sorry Anna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." - man who killed...

"I couldn't, I'm a good wife, I didn't mean to, it was a mistake, I... How will I look them in the eye... Oh God!" - one of the women who had given into divorce...

"I didn't mean to, I was possessed, I didn't..."

"No, it can't be. Robert, I--"

"Elise, I... how could I, I couldn't! I didn't..."

"Maria... Maria... Maria... Maria... Marie..."

"Daughter, my sweet daughter, how could..."

"Lisa, Nicholas... I'm sorry your silly old man..."

"Anderson... I didn't mean to... I only..."

"I didn't mean to. It's not me. It wasn't me. It wasn't me..."

"Demon. Satan... God save me!"

"Antichrist be damned!"

"I am worthy of the deepest depths...such a thing with my own daughter..."

"Patrick... I didn't mean it! Please come back, I didn't mean to! Я...!"

"Son...how am I going to look him in the eye...son! I'm sorry..."

Dozens. Nearly a hundred parishioners. Not only in the hall, but outside, they were peering out of the stained glass windows, trying to enter God's house as if it were their only salvation. Clinging to the brick walls, lying against the walls, banging their heads against crosses and fresh graves....

William...

William was not a machine.

The Sinners were one thing, they fully deserved their fate, but...

He didn't lose his senses. He could overlook a lot of things in his 'work' binge... He could miss the feelings of others, just losing them in the corners of his mind, but... But...

This.

What normal person wouldn't shudder at the number of broken lives?!

And it'sall ... his fault. All his.

Lucifer himself laughed at his idea, dissuading him, albeit in riddles, albeit in a peculiar way, but dissuading him. He had highlighted the inconsistencies in his logic, his idea, but he had ignored it.

Dante. William didn't know what had become of the Archangel, but it was unlikely to be anything critical. William didn't involve him in the Pe... Cara. He wasn't supposed to get hurt.

Everyone close to him would have discouraged William... and they would have been right.

...Hundreds, thousands... Millions. Millions of broken and twisted destinies.

That's the price the world paid for William's Pride.

He saw their souls. They were... abnormal. William couldn't understand the cause, but in their souls... It was like some kind of growth or the wrong sort... He just didn't know.

Couldn't understand.

Father Gabriel squeezed the hand that was on William's shoulder soothingly. The prayer was being read by the sisters, but... Father understood. He thought he was seeing an angel, that he was grieving for so many souls.

He was not mistaken.

William nodded gratefully.

"...I'll... Fix myself. I'll get better...", William felt like a child making excuses to his parent.

"No... I'll fix it. I will study this phenomenon, I will cleanse their sins with the remnants of my Holiness, but I will raise them to Paradise... those who will be worthy...", William breathed heavily. Father understood it in his own way, the sisters, especially Olga, nodded understandingly or encouragingly.

They didn't see what William saw. These people are on edge. It's like they're being torn in half. Like a stinking pus or... a root that's sprouting right inside their souls... or all of it together.

"Exactly... Each soul has its own symptom, for each soul is unique, just as unique as its appearance after entering Heaven or Hell...", William pondered languidly, looking tiredly at the praying people.

William had a long job ahead of him. After all, who if not him?

Paradise? They wouldn't be able to heal properly, for a simple God's Miracle simply couldn't cure such a thing. The weave can.

Lucifer? He doesn't give a shit. William doesn't.

Adam? Don't give a shit, it's his job as Protector... But what will he do? William, on the other hand... can.

William doesn't speak with pride. He created the nightmare, but he knows it best. He should know, because he's probably the easiest to figure out.

He'll stay working in the church. If he needs to learn humility to "redeem" himself, let him. He'll give these people relief, help them through this...tragedy they didn't deserve. William? His wishes and all that? Until he solves this problem, this tragedy, he can't even think about going back to Paradise.

Not like just looking into Sera's eyes... Emily's innocent eyes and bluntly stating - "I decided I knew better than the Seraphim, decided I could do what they couldn't. I conspired with Lucifer. I'm the one who condemned these souls to suffering."

No. Until William develops at least a partial cure, helps at least a quarter of the "corrupted," he can't even begin to say that he has "begun to mend."

William decided to do something he had never done before. He began to pray in the service.

Putting on a weave for inconspicuity, he embodied his halo.

Father Gabrielle, and even the sisters, obviously sensed something. The father looked at William's figure with surprise and relief, and the sisters with incomprehension and trepidation.

"Lord, please hear my sinful soul..." - began to recite his made-up prayer. In Paradise, they said that only Archangels could afford such a thing, so William will check it out.

Along the way, he creates a new formula. He's doing rapid calculations. Probably the fastest he's done since he's been in Hell. It's like Miracle himself is helping him, despite his new nature.

The new weave was ready after only a couple minutes, but William didn't need something complicated....He encompassed the entire congregation. He scooped up their Sin. He let it flow through him. Through his Holiness. He took it upon himself, lightening their burden.

William staggered, and the parishioners, almost simultaneously, breathed a sigh of relief, making William's painful wheeze lost. Father Gabriel was immediately on hand, holding William up, sitting him down at the nearest chair at the altar.

William couldn't heal them now, but he could perform the angels' standard procedure of cleansing and mortifying sins. Albeit in this quantity.

He might have gotten stronger as a Sinner, maybe even his power increased, especially when he "digested" the sin of people... William would study that later, now....

William felt sick, as if he had drunk a bucket of slop, but... How pleased he was with all those sighs of relief... These people had obviously sensed his intervention. Let them think that God himself had helped them with his grace.

William didn't know - whether God had heard him, but...

"It doesn't matter. Now, this is my burden."

William, staggering, stood up and continued his morning prayer.

...

Underworld. Pentagram City. The neighborhood of "Silence" or The Silence. 1930. One month before the Extermination.

An interesting fact about the Paradise Embassy.

The most important tower, or rather clock, that in London would show the hours, here showed the time until the next Extermination.

Today, the dial read exactly "30."

Even more amusing fact - under the clock, built into the tower itself is an hourglass with golden sand.

Sinners, and any other souls in the Ring, can see from anywhere in the city the approximate time until the general Purge.

"Whoever called this clock, it turns out... Clock of Doom, Clock of Despair, Clock of Judgment, Clock of Doom, or just plain Clock of the Slayers," William thought as he strolled through Pentagram City, finding himself near the Embassy.

Usually, William used teleportation to end up at the Embassy, but... this time what William predicted happened. Someone from the Morning Star family was in the building. Communicating with someone from Heaven.

What was William to do but have a little tea party with the help of a summoned table with chair, tea set and tea leaves in a teapot from Earth?

The tea party didn't work out for many reasons. There were more sinners than usual, daily, even hourly if not every second, souls were being brought here. Some were just as "lucky" to end up somewhere with the Embassy, so they didn't get shot, wounded, stabbed, or burned at the first moment.

Second, dead bodies in the streets. William hadn't noticed this on his last walk, thinking it was just the aftermath of the Extermination, but... Turns out it's a common sight in Hell. The bodies of dead Sinners, whose souls have left their bodies and are in agony to be recovered soon, are just lying around the streets that these degenerates step over, as if it's a common occurrence.

"For Hell, normal is the norm, for a normal person it's savagery.", thought William as he was about to take a walk towards his neighborhood. Silence, that's what the neighborhood was called.

Quickly gaining popularity as a place where idiots worked tirelessly for a stupid Overlord that demanded nothing from his souls, not even a contract. His Constructs were perceived as the souls of Sinners that William had "remade" for his needs, or those he had forced to sign a contract.

William didn't care about the opinions and beliefs of these idiots, let them say he got them for Christmas from Lucifer or God blessed him with these gifts, William only cared about not being harassed.

The figure of the Lord of Silence moved smoothly through the streets while, like a ship moving through the ice of Antarctica, the Sinners skirted around him.

The usual reaction of Sinners to Overlords, of which William was one. William didn't know, or rather just didn't want to sort through all those cabinets of information that the Queen sent, that even filtering and discarding the excess gathered a lot of information. Pentagram City, as Sera had said, was huge.

William tried not to breathe, even if it was through an enchanted mask. The cadaverous smell, the stench of burning fires that flared up every now and then on the street or about a block away, the constant smell of horrible nicotine, not even tobacco. William didn't even want to mention the drugs that completely overwhelmed the feel and smell of this travesty of air and wind in this dump.

Destroyed houses, broken windows, corroded roads, falling streetlights, public sex. That's what awaits any fool who takes a stroll through Pentagram City.

Even now, walking down the street, with its many cracks in the sidewalk, stepping over the bodies of sinners of all shapes and forms, William was careful not to step on the blood, excrement, or vomit that lavishly filled the streets of this wonderful anthill city.

Each major neighborhood had its own name, the same cannibal neighborhood that somehow persisted from generation to generation.

"Eating your neighbor is a popular enough thing... was, is, and will be...", William thought as he walked past the open windows.

In some, someone was being whipped, both sexually and physically, either with a whip or a whip. In some, some idiots were performing parodies of rituals that William, living on Earth, would have said were "childish nonsense," but whatever the idiots did, they did. There was a murder in that window, and someone was arguing over there.

A regular Monday in Hell, for Christ's sake.

"Oh, I didn't realize there was aviation here...", William looked up as he heard the distinctive sounds of an Airship.

Shaped like a piranha-headed snake, William couldn't accurately assess the design, but the yellow and black color scheme was diluted everywhere by red inserts of glass representing eyes.

Mechanisms, huge gears that were visible even from the ground, a long nose... William wasn't strong enough in flying machines to accurately assess the reliability and... feasibility of this design, but one logo told William all he needed to know.

A gold symbol on a black background. A letter of some kind. The logo was somewhere on the end of the airship, the "tail" if William remembered the terms correctly, but...

"Isn't that the same inventor who caused the disaster in one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight? Some kind of... Pa... Pe... Pe... Al...? Entrepreneur-inventor-genius and all the other epithets that the newspaper used to assign to this man... That airship crash really hurt this line of work, but still...", William tried to remember the name of this rather eccentric man as the airship flew over his head firing its cannons somewhere in the neighborhood.

"Is that... sage-boltai?", William's vision had long been enhanced by the runes on his body, the simplest part of which he had already been able to put on his body without pleasantness, and therefore he could see various flickers behind the glass... the shape of an egg definitely helped determine that.

William could recall that the inventor had definitely served in the army, supplying his designs to the needs of... some state. The newspaper was publicized worldwide, as far as William knew, because that genius's creations were really amazing... But he was also known for the terrible working conditions of the workers, child labor and high mortality rate at the company... And his character was not that good....

William could understand why that genius was here. The airship hadn't touched him, so William could just continue on his way while the other Sinners hid. For something like this, William might even thank that genius, but it wouldn't be appreciated.

William continued his walk.

William returned to his thoughts. Thoughts of the Weave. About the Constructs.

And he couldn't wait to continue.

As strange, horrible, and just plain morally wrong as it looked from the outside, but those... symptoms of the humans from Earth when he'd conducted the services... brought thoughts to his mind.

"Why would I create a machine when I can create a replica of a human or a living one?", the thought turned William's perceptions upside down.

All of his Constructs came from the idea of the golems of the Jews. He perceived them as a sailor perceives his ship. He could become attached to them, thanking them for their work, knowing exactly that they were inanimate objects.

Then again...

Why not try to combine Entropy with Quintessence and create a sort of... Brain? A nervous system? A machine inside a machine.

The complexity would grow exponentially for every detail or complication of purpose. It would be a natural android, almost human!

Without a will, without a soul, they would still be Constructs, just very complex.

But if you give them the properties of a soul... Adding interesting abilities or just... Taking the souls of Lords or gluing together the souls of Sinners....

After all, if Lords grow in power because of the souls of Sinners, then... what if you create a place where you can gather power... like coal... Transform something from something, accumulate "material" that you can then use for the sake of one "base" that replaces the soul of the Lords...

"I could have an army of my own... Constructs that would be equal to Overlords... maybe even

Goetia... Oh what possibilities!", these were the thoughts William was thinking as he walked down the street towards Silence.

All around him, life was blazing. Sinners were reading and stealing and reading newspapers, looking at parodies of television sets, some huge boxes with no color or sound. The sale of drugs, prostitution, violence and murder, that amazingly didn't hurt him, William was even interested...

Just someone stabbing someone in the eye-belly-neck. Someone was exchanging fire, someone was trying magic and throwing something like fireballs, or some other variation of simple magic tricks.

"These idiots are even shouting out something...", William nearly slapped himself in the face in embarrassment at the outpouring....

William took a closer look.

These 'mages', these Sinners, are the most reckless and unhealthy... They're 'his'....

That is, they have the "it" symptoms. William almost fell over, stumbling backwards.

He watched as the ordinary looking Sinners gave themselves to Sin even more than ordinary. "Strange even by their standards, the way they look and squint..."

They were doing the same thing, but... desperately. William was... torn. On the one hand, "Hell is forever" and "Everyone who went to Hell fully deserved it, including him," but....

Those souls went to Hell because of William's fault.

On the other hand, they themselves might have... But they do....

William shook his head, sighing doomfully.

"We're responsible for those we maimed, for those whose minds were lost...", William ventured, hitting the sidewalk with the tip of his cane, causing a squad of police to immediately appear nearby.

Plus... One more thing.

His two new Constructs. His latest successful experiment in fusing Entropy, Emotion, and Desire.

Bestia.

A bony-looking wolf, with big sharp horns and terrible fangs, with a particularly long upper and lower pair of fangs, like an ancient saber-tooth, with a terrible sharpness that could bite even a Overlord, a weak one, which would be enough for Vanessa, but for Rakuss... a couple of bites with all his strength... maybe.

The long front and back paws, despite their lack of visible muscle, were terrifyingly strong. The sharp claws of its strong paws could tear through metal or steel, ship's steel for sure. The torso was ribbed, with a small stone exuding a red glow from within.

"A Soul Gatherer, that is supposed to absorb and store souls. An almost complete replica of the Oblivion Project's enchantment, with a devilish wendigo in place of holy weapons.

Gray skin the color of ash, empty eye sockets, long bony tail with a sharp blade at the end.

That's the recipe for a good hunter, capable of instilling terror in even seasoned Sinners. Tonight is their debut and William...

Just collecting souls, recreating shells... Researching these Sinners. Properly, not like the usual rabble.

The police squad immediately dispersed, rigorously and without fail, beginning their new operation while the Besties

Stepped back into the shadows. Like two cats or a pair of wolves, they leaped across the rooftops, waiting for the right moment to pounce on their prey and tear the shell with claws or fangs in the blink of an eye.

A squad led by the Leader provided a distraction while the Bestias feasted on souls.

Sinners scattered in terror, for they knew his reputation of "If you are lost in the Silence, but Zephyr will have your soul"... except for "his" sick, those seemed barely aware of reality, let alone the nightmares of their minds.

This was a quick one. These Sinners could cause trouble for those like them, but not Archa... the former Archangel. When the Bestiaries were done, the souls traveled from their stomachs to his 'vaults' where all of his souls were contained. Of course, such "infected" were allotted a separate section.

Carnage, sex and fights. That was the life of Hell.

William did not like to participate in it, for even the Lords were not exempt from this cycle. They schemed against each other, at every level, wanting to capture as many souls as possible, increasing their power, cheating, making deals with their souls, which William despised, using the Soul Seal, which gave him a strange reputation among the Overlords, but he didn't care about that either.

No one touched him, beautiful, knowing who was behind him. Almost all of the High Ranking Lords. The ancient and powerful ones like Zestial simply followed similar tactics and politics to William, not really interfering much for the division of the city and the influence in it. They simply had their own part that no one would encroach on.

With his stance, William had just declared himself as a "passive" or "Shadow" Overlord. This type of Overlord did not participate in the "life" of the city, being a neutral territory for the rest. Of course, such Lords sooner or later changed their views, starting their own game, or simply making new agreements when a new generation came....

And then they would "sleep" or "go into the shadows" again. So in a circle, until they died in the Extermination.

William grinned, almost reaching the Silence, which stood out as a kind of translucent "film" in the air. A kind of ripple that could be seen if you touched it or looked at it, irritating the eye.

With the expansion of the Silence's territory, what now had about thirty houses, taking up almost half of the "Top", William was expanding his "sky".

The sinners weren't demanding, no. They realized that if they even squeaked, they would be "disappeared" if not thrown out from under the warmth of the Silence. According to the Dwellers themselves, they would be turned into "servants" of Zephyr.

No, the Sinners were paying William. Barter, currency, almost everything in Hell, offered souls that William refused, offered themselves as slaves (and William had a couple of ideas for that) ...

Now, William has a whole warehouse full of currency. Several hundred thousand yuan, thousands of dollars, thousands of pounds, thousands of thousands of skulls. They used to give him these loose change papers, as if they wouldn't depreciate in a couple years.

A new generation of Overlords would come along that remembered a different monetary system and there you go.

Smart people at least gave gold or silver, it created at least some illusion of a guarantor of the currency. Even though this metal was "infernal", that is, created in Hell, but it was rumored to have been created either by Mammon himself or by his souls.

After passing through the ripples, shuddering slightly from the sudden change in atmosphere, William returned home.

The clean wind of the forest, the pleasant smell of a clean city. No bodies, no devastation. Squads of police, in the form of his Constructs, Sinners that try to maintain some normality of behavior.

There it is, the Silence.

"The most peaceful place in Hell." - according to many Dwellers, Overlords and other degenerates.

William would have been proud of the job he had done, Charlotte, if one believed she was sincere in her desires and not a pathological liar like her mother and father, would have praised him.

Except, he wasn't doing it for Sinners, just so his surroundings wouldn't look like a dump. He could and did, nothing of the sort.

Enchantments on the grounds that kept out "unregistered" souls who had to pass the checkpoint at the southern end of the Silence. William had heard that the line was packed a couple months ahead, but he didn't care. The Constructs could well conduct the interviews themselves, and the improved Mind Matrix could detect outright subterfuge.

Skies like on Earth, green grass and flowers, the simplest and most common, clean air. Weather! Snow, wind, rain, yes even the seasons! There was already winter, there was spring and summer, and now fall with its yellow leaves.

The other Lords had gotten copies of their "greenery", without enchantments, so they didn't touch it, not yet. Who knows what they'll think of in a couple years.

"Looks like rain is coming...", William smiled softly, looking up, listening to the beautiful rhythm of thunder. He whistled a simple motif, complete with the rhythmic beats of his cane and the heels of his shoes.

Today was a good day. A good day in Hell, who would have thought it.

Progress on projects, progress in "curing" those mutilated by him, new Constructs.

Once again, no one touched or bothered him.

Just perfect.

William could even forget his anxiety and nervousness, which kept growing as "E-Day" approached. The Purge, the Extermination, or simply the Purge.

William could be distracted as much as he wanted, but he was still worried about Adam and the Valkyries that would come on the appointed day to kill the Sinners....

He just hoped he could survive his first Slaying....

It would be necessary to remind Cinderella, just in case, that if her "genie" died, so would her "greens", along with her...

And Aphrodite will lose her supplier of the most "unusual" drugs, along with the "pleasant leisure of the tentacles".

William was not at all worried, no.

Just sensibly wary.