Another year In the Lust Ring slums, that was enough time for three organizations to rise, four to collapse, and ten to be quietly devoured.
And Sin Rouge?
Sin Rouge didn't just survive it grew.
Territory expanded.
Influence deepened.
And at the center of it all stood Malerion, fully aware that each step brought him closer to the future he knew… and the future he planned to build.
But tonight, he wasn't thinking about any grand strategy.
He was thinking about one club.
One stage.
And one person.
Verosika Mayday.
WHY HE CAME
This wasn't a random "let's go out tonight."
Not after two years of watching from afar.
after all the reports from Donnie and Liza.
All the quiet interventions that kept her from being crushed before she could rise.
Tonight was her first showcase in a proper venue not a bar, not a basement, but a real stage with real lights and a real crowd.
Even Quill had commented:
"If you're planning to invest in her… might as well hear her live."
And for the first time in Hell, Malerion genuinely agreed.
THE NEON HAREM UNLIKE ANY OTHER PLACE
The Neon Harem was a temple of sound.
Not filth, decay.
Even the dust looked stylish here.
At the entrance, the bouncer only nodded Sin Rouge already had the kind of reputation that made people think twice before stopping them.
Malerion stepped into the pink-lit, pulsing half-dark.
The emotions here were sharp but clean: excitement, lust, curiosity, confidence.
His Rings resonated faintly, as if the air itself brushed against their edges.
"Not bad," he thought.
And then the lights cut out.
The stage ignited.
VEROSIKA MAYDAY FIRST ENTRANCE
She didn't walk out flowed.
Every step said, "You're watching me and that's exactly how it should be."
Whute and pink hair catching the light, eyes sharp and alive the same eyes he'd seen on the poster, but now filled with focus and power.
And for a split second, those eyes locked onto him.
Malerion.
Not like she looked at fans at anyone else.
A brief, analytical sweep.
As if she were feeling something unusual about his presence sensing something she couldn't name.
Alastor chuckled in Malerion's mind:
"She has a predator's instinct. Very good."
Music hit. Her voice rose confident, strong, slightly rough on the edges, exactly as he remembered from Helluva Boss.
Verse 1]
Red lights kissin' my skin tonight,
Mirror says I'm trouble wrapped in velvet tight.
Every whisper in this room is begging me to play,
But I don't do mercy, honey I do my way.
High heels tapping like a warning sign,
I don't chase hearts, they fall in line.
If you came here hoping for a holy thrill
Sorry, babe, I'm built to kill.
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm the sugar that burns, the kiss that bites,
The kind of dream that ruins your nights.
If you want safe, you picked the wrong poison
I'm the one they warn you 'bout, darling, with reason.
[Chorus]
I'm velvet poison, sweet and slow,
You want a taste? Careful I know.
I've broken angels, twisted lies,
I wear temptation like a perfect disguise.
Velvet poison take the risk,
One drop, babe, and you won't resist.
[Verse 2]
I don't fall, but I make 'em dive,
Crashin' for me just to feel alive.
Pretty words don't move me much
But power does, and the ones I touch.
If you look too long, you'll lose your name,
I don't play fair I reinvent the game.
You think you're safe with your walls up high?
Cute. Watch me make them die.
[Pre-Chorus]
I'm the sugar that burns, the kiss that bites,
The kind of dream that ruins your nights.
If you want safe, you picked the wrong poison
I'm the one they warn you 'bout, darling, with reason.
[Chorus]
I'm velvet poison, sweet and slow,
You want a taste? Careful I know.
I've broken angels, twisted lies,
I wear temptation like a perfect disguise.
Velvet poison take the risk,
One drop, babe, and you won't resist.
[Bridge]
Come closer, baby don't be shy,
You only live once, then you live to die.
But touch me wrong and you'll learn fast
Pretty poison always hits last.
[Final Chorus]
I'm velvet poison, sweet and slow,
You want a taste? Careful I know.
I've broken angels, twisted lies,
I wear temptation like a perfect disguise.
Velvet poison kiss and fall,
I'll take your breath, your pride, your all.
Velvet poison this is fate,
Drink me in, babe…
Before it's too late.
But also… different.
More real raw.
Younger, yet already carrying that spark that would one day make her rise to the top and fall just as hard.
Malerion paid attention to everything: her movement, her control, the crowd's reactions.
He wanted to know:
Was this Verosika the same one he remembered?
Did she carry the same potential?
Was she just as dangerous, just as talented, just as… tragic?
The answer arrived quickly.
Yes.
She was.
Maybe even more.
THE FIRST UNSPOKEN MOMENT
When the first song ended, the crowd exploded with applause.
But instead of heading backstage, she did something unexpected:
She stepped off the stage.
Slowly.
Confidently.
Heading into the club.
Rafe, standing beside Malerion, froze.
"…boss… I think she's coming this way."
"I know."
Verosika walked past tables, ignoring demons trying to get her attention.
Her gaze skimmed over Malerion again.
Curiosity.
A hint of recognition.
And something else… like her instincts whispering: "This one doesn't belong to the rest."
But she didn't stop. Didn't speak. Didn't linger.
Her tail flicked once, and she returned to the stage like nothing happened.
And Malerion…?
Malerion smiled.
Barely.
Almost invisible.
But real.
VEROSIKA MAYDAY HER POV
Verosika Mayday knew when she was having a good night.
Tonight was a very good night.
The loud club, the lights burning against her skin, the smell of sweat, perfume, and expectation this was her element. She wasn't a star yet. But she was someone, and "someone" was better than "nobody." She would never return to "nobody," not even if she must start again.
When she stepped onto the stage, she saw all of them the drunk ones, the desperate ones, the overconfident ones.
All except one.
Tall.
Dark eyes.
Cold calm.
Straight posture without arrogance.
An aura that didn't fit the Lust Ring at all though not royal, either.
Even if the crowd was her ocean, he was a rock her voice crashed against differently.
Too steady. Focused. present.
She didn't know him.
And that intrigued her.
Halfway through the first song she noticed something strange she wasn't singing exactly like usual. There was a faint edge, the kind she used when trying to break someone's composure.
He didn't flinch just watched.
Not like a fan, like prey , like lust.
Someone trying to understand her.
Who saw more than he should.
It was irritating.
And tempting.
After the song, she stepped offstage not for a dramatic moment, but because her legs moved on their own.
She walked near him.
For a second.
Too long a second.
She felt a strange vibration not magic, not demonic, but emotional, deep, soft.
Aura? Maybe.
Resonance? Sounded like a stupid word.
But whatever it was, it didn't belong to the Lust Ring.
She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.
Looked at him only briefly just enough to make sure he wasn't dangerous.
And that's when she felt it:
A spark.
Not fear. threat. attraction.
Something far rarer:
Curiosity aimed back at her.
He wasn't looking at her like a customer.
Not like a fan.
Like anyone else ever had.
He looked like someone trying to read her.
That hadn't happened once since she started singing.
When she returned to the stage, her tail betrayed a small tremor the one thing she could never fully control.
Before she began the next song, she glanced over her shoulder.
He was still watching.
Not with awe ,hunger or desire.
With calm, cold interest.
For the first time in her two-year career, Verosika thought:
"Who the hell is he?"
Then she sang again.
With new energy.
Not for the crowd and herself.
But because somewhere in the club stood someone she couldn't understand
and Verosika Mayday hated not understanding.
15 years to canon