Chapter Text
The final long note of a song hung in the air for a moment before fading out. At the center of the stage in Ozzie's, Verosika Mayday stood beneath the coloured spotlights, having just finished her set.
Below the stage, the audience sat gathered in pairs along candlelit tables and velvet booths, drinks resting between their hands as they were watching the performance with their lovers, many of whom had spent a great deal of money to be there.
The atmosphere was more lively than usual. It was Valentine's Day, so the place was packed. Some couples were established regulars, while others seemed to be on their first date. From simple observation, those did not last very long. Many people led others on just to have them pay for a table at this place. But who was a mere performer to judge? Money is money after all.
Verosika moved to the bar to have others pay for her drink; the difference was, those people should know they would never have a chance dating her. It was not even that she discriminated against common folks, she just was not ready for the emotional investment of a relationship again.
It was all the fault of that little Imp dick bastard, who had ruined her life by being an asshole. The thought of him alone made her blood boil.
Fortunately, her thoughts got interrupted.
"Can I offer you a drink, ma'am?" a kind woman asked, twisting a strand of her hair nervously.
Just as expected. It was not like she could not afford her own drink, but she certainly was not going to turn down a free one. This lady was freakishly tall for an Imp, almost the same height as Verosika herself.
"Yes, give me something strong, baby," Verosika replied, trying to sound seductive but coming off almost impatient. She had been clean for too long, and watching all these couples was not exactly motivating her to stay that way.
Being clean was boring anyway. It should not matter that she was drinking. She was happy, so who cared? It was not hurting anyone. She had only gone to rehab in the first place to support her good friend Barbie.
"Here you go, ma'am," the woman said, sliding a glass across the bar. A moment ago she was shy, now she was smirking. Good for her, she was gaining confidence.
Verosika curled her fingers around the glass, letting the cold weight settle in her hand. The colour was strange, a soft pink. In all her nights at Ozzie's, she had never seen anything like it.
Odd.
The woman just stared at Verosika's drink while holding her own. The silence was suffocating. It seemed like she wanted Verosika to initiate a conversation, maybe she was just socially incompetent after all.
"What type of dr—"
"Cheers to Verosika Mayday for being back from her hiatus!" the woman announced, raising her own glass without a warning.
Other patrons nearby followed suit, raising their glasses in a cheer for Verosika. Momentarily caught off guard, she smiled and lifted her glass to join them.
The others all looked at her as she took a sip. Of course, she was stealing the spotlight in every group setting. Strangely, they gave each other an off-putting look when she set the glass back down, but the alcohol was already doing wonders for her mood, making it easy to brush it off. The drink did not taste any different from a Harder Daddy, which was weird since that was usually a hot pink. Or was it? Whatever.
It was time to have some fun around here.
Verosika leaned closer to the woman, her gaze flicking up and down as she checked her out. She was pretty hot. Maybe it was worth getting to know her a little.
"So what's your name, imp girl?" she asked, voice low, taking another sip of her drink as she waited for an answer.
But the woman did not answer. Instead, she reached out and grabbed Verosika's arm, pulling her closer until their faces were only inches apart.
"How about we find that out in a hotel room?" she whispered into her ear. Quite bold for a no name.
For some reason, Verosika was tempted. Her body felt unusually hot and her chest was burning. Maybe this one hookup would not hurt her. It's not like she had to go on an actual date.
Everyone else is looking at them too, who doesn't want two hot people together? Bet them making out would make everyone's dick go hard. Or their pussy, she does not discriminate.
Was it just withdrawal from going so long without anything… or was this woman actually that attractive?
She checked her out again.
Yeah, she is attractive.
Very attractive.
Was she this attractive a few seconds ago?
God she wanted her so bad in that moment.
Verosika raised her arm slowly, pouting her lips, ready to rest her hand against the other woman's cheek and lean in for a kiss, but before she could, she got pulled away by someone behind her.
What is going on?
Fizzarolli grabbed her from behind, holding her tight against his chest. It was not rough, but it was tight enough that she could not just step forward again.
"Hey, what the fuck— Huh? Fizzarolli?" Verosika yelled out, her arms flailing. This fucker really had to ruin the moment.
Fizzarolli replied, sounding almost offended, "calm down. I'm just trying to help you."
The incubus bodyguard, who was normally stationed at the front door, rushed forward and yanked the imp away from her. Verosika felt too light-headed to process what exactly was happening, but the tension in the room was heavy.
Everyone around them was making a run for it—seriously? Was someone here on a murder spree? Fizzarolli let go of her abruptly, making her lose her balance for a second. When she caught herself, she rubbed her eyes frantically and looked at him.
Whoa. He looked… really hot right now. So hot she could almost—
No.
She could not think that. She had never thought that before. Besides, he is gay.
"You're not yourself right now, try to control your lust, it's contagious, literally," Fizzarolli held his hands out in front of him, palms flat and facing downward, holding a worried expression. It was pretty clear that he did not actually know how to calm her down.
Verosika did not understand what all the fuss was about. Until she really thought about it.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to do anything to you… I feel sick," she apologized.
She had been using her pheromones this whole time. It was awful. He probably felt violated.
In Hell, a succubus letting her pheromones run wild like that was considered public indecency. They usually used it to seduce people in the human realm. Verosika normally harnessed it to enhance a performance—right now, though, she had literally no control over it.
Everyone still in the building was staring at her.
She was so overwhelmed. She could not control her body. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. And she felt incredibly guilty. The bright lights were blinding, the chatter was irritating. It was all too much to handle.
The last thing she saw was Fizzarolli stretching his arms in her direction to catch her. Then everything went black.
"Hey, Verosika! Are you alright? Verosika!"
It felt like she just woke up from a wet dream, but something was off. She seemed to be lying on a hard surface rather than a bed. It was very uncomfortable.
She could not quite remember what her dream was about, but somehow her intuition told her it involved…
"Fizzarolli?" she whispered, opening her eyes slowly. Her vision was still blurry, but she could tell she was at Ozzie's because of the unique lighting.
A man chuckled and sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're okay. Fizzy is backstage for his own safety, and everyone else has been escorted outside." He paused and reached his hand out for her to grab. "Are you able to get up?"
It took her a second to process, but she realized that the person standing in front of her was Asmodeus. She grabbed one of his fingers to pull herself up and sit straight.
"What is going on? I don't remember falling asleep at this place…" she muttered, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"Don't worry about it. Do you not recall what happened to you?" he asked gently.
What happened to her? Oh man, she must have been blackout drunk again. The last thing she remembered was waiting for her set to start, but that did not explain why everyone had to leave for 'safety.'
She grabbed her wrist with one hand in uncertainty, continuously failing to recall what had happened.
"Please get to the point. I think I blacked out," she said, her voice tight with nerves.
"To put it frankly, you were drugged. A group of imps came here with the purpose of putting you under a love potion and taking you home," he said, his voice suddenly rising as he shifted into his devil form. "We made sure those creeps will never be able to enter the Lust Ring again." He cleared his throat.
Verosika placed her hand on her mouth, disturbed by the thought of that. At least it explained the 'wet dream' she thought she had. "Is that all? That doesn't explain why the place is empty," she said, feeling uneasy about the fact that she did not remember.
Even when she binge drinks, she usually remembers at least ordering the drinks.
"Well… the love potion seems to have special side effects when a succubus consumes it," he said, looking at her as she met his gaze, her eyes radiating pure embarrassment. "The artificial lust triggered your sexual pheromones, and you weren't yourself. You know I don't condone drugs like that. I made it clear that anyone who dares to speak of it will be executed immediately," he added, trying to ease her worries.
The fact that no one would speak of it was as reassuring as Asmodeus thought it would be; she would not be able to handle this kind of gossip right now. Though, she was still struggling to cope with the situation.
"Is… is Fizzarolli alright?" she asked, her voice quieter now, the earlier edge softened just a little.
"He's fine," Asmodeus replied with a smile, waving a hand dismissively. "Takes more than a horny demon to knock him out. You should be worrying about yourself, darling."
Verosika frowned, her expression tightening as she looked off to the side. "Yeah, well—" she scoffed. "This is bullshit. Demons from the Sloth Ring really went out of their way to cook up something like that?"
Just as she thought the tension dropped from the conversation, Asmodeus raised one eyebrow in confusion. "Sloth?" he echoed. "Oh no no no, that type of drug does not come from Sloth."
"…Then where?"
"The pesky media overlords from Pride are to blame."
The media overlords. Now that she thought about it, she'd gotten an email from VoxTek a while ago.
Verosika let out an incredulous laugh. "You're kidding me." She dragged a hand down her face. "Demons born in Hell are really stooping that low now? Buying drugs straight from sinners?"
Asmodeus exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping against his arm in thought. "It would seem so," he replied. "Or at the very least, someone managed to get it circulating down here. This has happened a lot recently."
"They're so fucking shitty." Verosika glanced toward the exit; she did not want to bother Asmodeus any longer than she had to. "Thank you for taking care of me. Your… Sinness?—Highness or—"
"Wait."
She just got up and was ready to leave, but when he cut her off, she turned around to look at him.
"I was hoping you could help me. I know it's probably a bad time to ask, but you're the best person I could think of." He exhaled slowly. "I was hoping you could infiltrate V Tower for me."
Seriously? She had just been drugged. And he wanted her to go straight to the source? If it were anyone else, she would probably have snapped right then and there.
Verosika clenched her teeth, forcing a smile to stay respectful. "Over my—. Who knows what they'll do to me."
Vox and his business partners were the only overlords she and many other Hellborn could actually recognize. They had only ever heard of some like Carmilla Carmine, but the Vees plastered their names and faces everywhere, so they were pretty hard to miss.
And with recognition came rumors—rumors of their performers being trafficked or their employees subjected to vile torture. Not to mention that as overlords, they owned thousands of human souls.
"Look, you're well known in the Pride Ring. It wouldn't be suspicious for you to want to work with them. I could grant you protection, I promise," he suggested.
Yeah, right… there had to be a reason for him not to send Fizzarolli. His protection was probably not guaranteed.
But it did not seem like she was in a place to say no.
"Fine. I'll handle the formalities myself, but don't expect too much from me," she said, her voice trailing off as she walked toward the door.
He said something after that she could not make out because she was blocking out the noise, but he sounded obnoxiously excited.
Her body was not fully recovered. She did not feel lust, but she felt unusually tired. Asmodeus had not even told her how long she had been passed out.
Verosika opened the door, ready to call someone to drive her home, but to her surprise, someone was standing in front of the entrance, yelling at the bodyguard.
"You think I'm scared of a big scary muscle man?" Barbie shouted, pressing her index finger against his chest. "Fizzarolli gave me permission to go in there! You can't just spit in my face and tell me to leave. I'm not leaving until you let me in, bitch."
Verosika chuckled at the sight, the tension from the night melting instantly. "Barb! What are you doing here?"
Barbie's expression softened the second she spotted her. She sprinted forward and leapt into Verosika's arms, hugging her tightly. "Thank Satan! Fizz called me an hour ago, but this cunt wouldn't let me in."
An hour, huh? She was not passed out for too long.
The bodyguard did not even flinch. He was so fed up he just frowned, pretending like they weren't even there.
"I can't believe something like this happened to me in Lust, of all places," Verosika sighed, letting go of the hug. Then Barbie grabbed her arm and pulled her along, leading the way as they headed to Verosika's home.
While they were walking, Verosika told Barbie about the conversation she had just had with Asmodeus.
"I didn't know he was such an asshole," Barbie said, frowning.
"Right?" Verosika scoffed. "I felt like he would've killed me if I said no to that. It pisses me off how he acted like he cared about my safety."
"Sounds like he was manipulating you, seriously," Barbie replied, crossing her arms. "By the way, do you think the Vees would hire me to carry those drugs to Lust? I'm currently out of a job."
"I can't believe you'd even consider that. Gross," Verosika said, wrinkling her nose.
"Hey…" Barbie huffed, punching Verosika's arm lightly. "Not everyone's a famous pop star. Besides, I heard they pay well."
"What is wrong with you," Verosika retorted, causing an awkward silence between them.
Though she loves her dearly, in times like this, Barbie reminds her a lot of Blitzo. Not very considerate of other people's feelings. But at least she is trying to change.
"Okay, okay, I'm… sorry. But how are you planning to go near them. They're a pretty big deal."
Verosika pulled her phone out of her pocket. "They sent me an email a while ago. Look."
Dear Verosika Mayday.
We at VoxTek would like to formally invite you to Pentagram City to visit V Tower, as we would be delighted to explore a potential collaboration with you.
Our social media management team is among the most effective in Hell and we are confident that partnering with us would greatly benefit the promotion of your upcoming projects. We would be happy to discuss all details in person at your convenience.
Please feel free to contact us to arrange a suitable time.
Kind regards, Ethan
VoxTek Trust us with your reputation.
Barbie sighed, "I'm so envious of demons who can afford to turn down such an opportunity."
"What do you mean?"
"The social media overlord is the most followed woman on Sinstagram. You're one lucky bitch."
Verosika huffed, pointing at the screen. "Come on, it says 'social media management team.' I doubt they'll let me work with Velvette directly."
Barbie shook her head while crossing her arms. "Well, you should if you want to find out how they sell the love potion."
"Velvette makes the love potions?" Verosika asked, her eyes widening slightly.
She thought one of the dozens of sub-companies Vox owns made the love potion. For all she knew, Velvette was the social media overlord, Valentino the porn (or film) overlord, and Vox's name was on everything else.
"Do you live under a rock? I thought that's the reason you're showing me this," Barbie laughed mockingly.
"No I just…" Verosika put her phone back where it came from and locked arms with Barbie. "I just didn't think ahead. I'm so tired."
Barbie smiled. "Mind if I crash at your place? Since I'm so generously walking you home," she asked, glancing down at their linked arms.
Verosika just rolled her eyes and they kept walking, repeatedly ranting about how shitty the day had been and how much they wanted to sleep.
Once they finally reached Verosika's apartment, she kicked off her shoes and literally flew onto her bed, burying her face in the pillows without even changing clothes. Barbie stood by the door, taken aback.
"Hey! At least wash your hands—and change your clothes, for Lilith's sake!" Barbie shouted, heading to the bathroom to do exactly what she had just said.
Verosika whined. "Noooooo I don't wanna."
If Barbie was not yelling she would have fallen asleep in an instant. Her eyes felt insanely heavy and her body felt like it had already been asleep for a while.
The minute of silence was already enough to get her to doze off. It was so satisfying to finally be able to sleep.
At least it would have been.
Barbie pulled Verosika's legs hard enough to make her fall off the bed. She knew she meant well, but it still irritated Verosika to the bone. Verosika looked up, her brows drawn tightly together as she noticed the pajamas Barbie was holding in her hands.
"Ugh, fine," she muttered, pushing herself up to grab the clothes and change.
"You'll thank me after you wake up from a comfortable sleep."
It was noon.
Verosika woke from a deep sleep, unable to remember if she had been dreaming or not. She glanced over the side of the bed, spotting the empty sheets on the floor. Barbie must have already left.
It was time to respond to Voxtek. She could hardly believe this was actually happening—it all felt too fast. The worst thing is, she did not even ask for a financial compensation from Asmodeus. She is doing all of this for nothing.
Barb was definitely right. He was manipulating her. Making a proposal like this to someone in her condition felt downright sinister.
There was not much she could do about it now. Verosika grabbed her laptop from her nightstand and started typing out a quick email to Voxtek.
Part of her did not even expect a response. They might have sent her an email, but it is still the most successful company in hell.
But that part got silenced fast. If she were being precise, it got silenced in around ten minutes, because that assistant, Ethan, did not hesitate to respond.
Verosika did not know if she found that impressive or worrying. On one hand, she already had an appointment with them TODAY—
What the fuck already? They don't seem booked and busy at all.
On the other hand, that poor guy Ethan must be under so much pressure, he probably gets tortured every time he under-performs and is constantly overworked, poor thing.
One thing was for certain: Verosika would not endure that fate. She would only be there temporarily and if they tried any type of bullshit, Asmodeus would hopefully help her out.
It will be okay.
I will be okay.
She told herself that over and over again on her way to the Pride Ring. She was not acquainted with anyone who had ever spoken to an overlord before, so she did not know what to expect, other than impending doom.
Verosika was so nervous on her way that her stomach began to tickle. She wanted to text Barbie for emotional support, but she was driving through Pride in her car.
Texting while driving was far too dangerous, even for a person that regularly drives drunk. She got too carried away sometimes.
Once she drove through the entertainment district in Pentagram City, she actually noticed the love potion posters plastered along the streets. They were not advertising those drugs subtly. Disgusting.
Other than the advertisements, this area has such a fun atmosphere, the entertainment district is the best thing that came from sinners. Mammon has been trying to replicate that in Greed, but it is simply not the same.
After circling around the same block for a while, Verosika finally found a parking spot that was close enough to V Tower. She did not bother to call her bodyguard today, so she put on glasses and a cheap-looking hat to hide her face.
Let's just say it did not work as intended.
"Hey! Miss Mayday!" A male voice called out to her from behind.
She turned around, but there was no one there. When she faced forward again, a blue flash appeared in front of her and it morphed into a man.
"Uhm… Are you?"
"Vox. Yes, it's Vox. Excuse my manners—I presume you were on your way to our appointment. Let's walk and talk," Vox said before placing both of his hands on her shoulders. The sudden contact made her twitch, his hands were freakishly big it was uncomfortable.
"Yeah so, please don't touch me, sir," she insisted, trying to mimic his politeness.
Did he seriously show up personally for this? How did he even know that she was here?
"My apologies, we at Voxtek are merely excited to be working with you. Since you already have a fan base of your own, we can offer you many opportunities to expand it. As long as we receive our share, of course," Vox proposed.
The benefits of this arrangement could be greater than Verosika had considered.
"Could you specify that?" Verosika asked, smiling. She was walking more confidently now, Vox's charisma almost made her forget that she was talking to an overlord.
He even waved his hands enthusiastically while speaking. "Of course, we could promote your brand, which is mainly music, more effectively across all social media platforms. Interviews or acting roles could be set up with ease as well. But you must prove yourself to be worthwhile," his tone was so corporate.
He talked so much…
"And the social media stuff would be with Velvette?"
"Ugh." For a short moment, Vox's facade seems to break out of slight irritation. "Funny that you mention her, she's actually the one who requested to see you!"
"Oh? What a shame. I would love to speak to her. Why did she drag you here instead of coming herself?" she teased. It was so funny that Velvette is making her supposed boss do the work for her.
"Excuse me?" Vox took a deep sigh, pulling himself back together. "As the CEO of Voxtek, I simply wanted to introduce myself because our partnership is very valuable for the company. Aside from me and Velvette, you could be working with Valentino as well. He is excellent at filmmaking and could shoot a music video for you if you are planning to release new music soon, of course."
Verosika nodded, she had not given it much thought yet. "Great."
At this point, they had reached V Tower. Inside, the place was alive with people moving in every direction, doing makeup, checking their screens and getting ready for Satan knows what. Staff rushed past carrying equipment and a stack of paperwork. The whole place was very busy.
Verosika stayed close to Vox, making sure no one mistook her for just another worker. She could feel people subtly shifting out of his way to avoid direct contact. It was a little intimidating, since it made her think the rumors about him might actually be true.
A big moth sinner came storming towards them, shouting, "VOX! Where the fuck were you? I was—" He cut himself off the moment he noticed Verosika. "And who is this beautiful señorita?"
"No! Do not touch her, Val. Velvette personally requested her and we can't have another incident."
Another incident?
"I'm sure she makes a great model. I could make her a great actress too." Valentino lowered himself to her level to address her directly, his tone dropped. "Mhm, you know I have nothing but respect for demons from Lust."
Verosika took a step in his direction. "What do you have to offer, moth boy?"
Vox teleported between them before they could get too close and slapped a card into Verosika's hand.
"Stop it. Use this to get access to the fashion floor," he demanded, clearly pissed off at something.
Damn people were not lying when they said overlords are evil, Vox really had to ruin the fun. Whatever, sleeping with Hell's richest sex worker sounded too good to be true anyway.
Verosika rolled her eyes. "This place is so puritanical for being called a sex dungeon by sinners," she threw over her shoulder, glancing back at the two men glaring at each other as she walked toward the elevator.
Out of the three, Vox gave off the vibe of a major prude. She was pretty sure he was always fully covered, wearing a tacky suit in ads, in contrast to the other two. Obviously Velvette had the better outfits though.
Now that Verosika was inside the elevator, she let out a deep breath she had not even realized she had been holding. At some point, her nervousness had become so internalized that she actually thought she overcame it and now, alone, she had become aware of it again.
There is no reason to be nervous, they obviously do not want to kill me.
Once the elevator doors opened at the designated floor, the silence was washed away by a woman shouting. Unlike the ground floor, this one was more red than blue. You could tell it was themed after a specific person.
"And you? That makeup isn't even blended. Do you want us to look like a joke? Fix it. Now. We need to make a perfect impression," Velvette snapped at one of her employees.
Verosika was not sure if she could interrupt, but that did not matter, because Velvette noticed her almost immediately.
Her face shifted from angry to worried the moment she looked at Verosika. She walked up to her, hand hovering in front of her mouth. "Oh, sweetie… who did this to you?"
"Huh? What?" Verosika looked down at her clothes, following Velvette's gaze and then she remembered. Part of her earlier disguise had been wearing a green dress that could not possibly be associated with her and she had completely forgotten about it.
"Uh n-"
"Don't worry babes I will get you dressed properly. I know you don't normally wear this. Come on." Velvette did not let Verosika speak and just grabbed her arm, dragging her to her bedroom.
"You know me?"
"’Course I do. We should record a Voxtube video while we do your makeup. Let's take a selfie after." she suggested, sitting her down on her desk.
Velvette's positive energy was contagious; Verosika expected a business meeting, but this felt more like a fan meet.
"Weren't you going to dress me first?"
"Oh yeah right."
Velvette only snapped her fingers, then Verosika was suddenly dressed in the outfit she had worn on her last album cover.
Her eyes widened. "I- I don't even know what to say, this is insane."
"See? It's way better than that disaster of a grandma dress." Velvette smirked proudly, leaning in closer to grab Verosika's cheeks from behind. They both looked at each other in the mirror in front of them. "But let's do your makeup manually for the cameras."
"Wait a minute. We're doing that right now? Already?"
"Obviously," Velvette replied flatly.
Verosika was not even sure if she liked the idea of being publicly seen getting all cozy with an overlord. But she did not have time to think it through. Maybe that was Velvette's goal. Maybe it was just bad luck.
Before she had time to reply Velvette already started a livestream.
"Hey my little puppets! Miss me? I know, it's been way too long, but I'm back and I've got something special for you today," Velvette announced.
A bunch of makeup items suddenly started floating around them along with a camera that was not there a moment ago.
Verosika's posture stiffened for a second, but she quickly caught on. Sliding an arm around Velvette's shoulders, she leaned in close and tapped a finger against her face with a playful wink. "Yeah… me and this cutie decided to spend some time together, so she's doing my makeup today."
Velvette wrinkled her eyebrows and quickly pulled back, stepping just a fraction away from Verosika, as if suddenly aware of how close she had gotten. "Oh—right, of course," she said, trying to regain her usual poise, but her hand hesitated slightly as she reached for the floating brush.
For the remaining thirty minutes of the livestream, the two women clicked effortlessly on camera. Both of them were performers in their own right, after all.
"I didn't wake up thinking about improvising in front of a large viewership today," Verosika whined, leaning back in her chair. At least she became more comfortable talking to Velvette after this.
"Oh, boohoo, don't cry about it," Velvette scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. "Look, we actually broke that bitches Tiffany's record."
"Are you for real?"
"If we sponsor your next album, it will do numbers. Trust me," Velvette said, resting a hand on her shoulder. Her tone felt slightly rehearsed.
Next album… Vox mentioned shooting a music video. These guys were clearly competent at their jobs. If she stuck around for a while, she could keep an eye out for the drug dealers, but writing and producing music would not hurt her either.
Besides, that is what the fans wanna see.