At the very edge of the vast city, among buildings like giants, stood a small, red, multi-story house with a battered roof, patched up here and there.
In Hell, terrible storms raged from time to time, so buildings like this often had to be rebuilt.
Wrath knew well what such a house was good for—it provided excellent cover for all kinds of illegal activities.
He stepped into the ramshackle building, and inside the stench of excrement and other vile filth hit his nose.
With his massive hooves, he strode through the filthy rooms while demons hiding among rags watched him from the darkness, doing their best to remain unseen.
The house had a corridor that cut it in half, its far end buried under trash. Musty furniture, dusty, shattered shelves, and similar junk completely blocked the way.
There was surely a gap or something similar, maybe a secret entrance in the wall, but he didn't have time to fiddle with it—so he simply kicked the garbage aside and made his own path.
The demons hiding in the darkness panicked and fled, unwilling to get into trouble.
At the end of the corridor, a staircase came into view, leading down to a basement. Wrath headed that way.
The stairs led into a fully illuminated room.
Inside stood a massive armored door, in front of which two well-built demons in suits were standing guard.
Wrath tipped his hat toward them and prepared to open the door, but the demons couldn't allow that, and one of them grabbed his arm.
According to Lucifer's laws, touching an authority figure like Wrath with hostile intent was forbidden—so legally, he was free to strike the demon who had seized him.
He looked at the bald, hornless, grim-faced man and smiled, because the demon had just given him an excuse to let off some steam.
He clenched his fist and punched the demon so hard that he flew into the wall, bones shattering in multiple places.
The heavy body then collapsed to the floor, unable to rise—a single blow had been enough.
The other demon, who stood a head taller than his companion, tried to claw out Wrath's eye, which proved to be a grave mistake.
Wrath grabbed him by the throat and used him to open the door by hurling him into it.
On the other side, the man flew straight into the leg of a table, where his head softly struck the corner.
Behind the table sat a demonic woman. She seemed largely unfazed by what had happened and continued staring ahead blankly, flipping through something.
Wrath walked up to her and noticed that a corridor ran past the desk to the right, while to the left a staircase led upward.
He stepped closer to the woman. She glanced up at him indifferently, then continued reading her book.
— Tell me, sweetheart, where can I find Lust?
— Upstairs, room eight. — she replied in a slightly bored tone.
Wrath thanked her and headed toward the stairs.
In the upstairs corridor, a short, suited demon was leaving one of the rooms in high spirits.
Wrath accidentally collided with him, knocking him aside, prompting the demon to shout angrily about what he thought he was doing.
Wrath turned back toward him, and the demon suddenly realized who he had just shouted at. Terror seized him—he fell backward and scrambled away on all fours toward the stairs.
Moans and laughter filled the hallway, muffled sounds leaking from the rooms.
Wrath stepped up to room eight and didn't knock—he simply opened the door. It was locked, but locks had never posed a problem for him; all it took was a little extra force.
Inside, on a dark red bed, lay a naked, obese demonic creature, blindfolded.
Wrath stepped closer, and upon hearing the echo of hooves, the man spoke up.
— Back already, Mistress? Feel free to keep clawing, I'm ready.
Wrath found the well-fattened demon repulsive, along with the fresh, bloody scars covering his naked body.
He leaned down, removed the blindfold, and tore away the chains as well.
The pudgy demon nearly died of fright when he locked eyes with Wrath. He immediately scrambled out of the bed and fled the room, covering his genitals as he ran.
From the bathroom attached to the room, a female demon emerged.
She was tall, slender, and voluptuous. Her hair was pitch black, reaching all the way to her waist, with sharp horns growing from her head.
Her entire body was a deep, dark red. Her eyes shimmered with yellow light, and sharp fangs flashed behind her black lips.
The naked demoness stepped up to Wrath and almost immediately slapped him with tremendous force.
The mark of her claws appeared across Wrath's face, his blood dripping onto the floor.
It might have looked like a fight was about to break out, but in truth, this was something entirely different.
Wrath grabbed the woman and threw her onto the bed, then removed his coat, his hat, and everything else.
As Wrath climbed onto the bed, the woman dug her claws into his bare, muscular back and sank her sharp teeth into his shoulder.
It was like watching a beast tamer struggle with a wild creature.
At last, a passionate kiss burst between them, and they lay together in the way only the most ferocious demonic beings could.
***
After the act, Wrath lay on the broken bed, half-covered, claw marks across his muscular chest, a cigarette between his lips.
The woman lay close to him, her arm draped over his body.
— I fucking missed that. — she remarked.
The door to the room stood slightly open, and several pairs of eyes peeked in. Girlish giggling could be heard from outside.
— What is it? Did they like the show? — Wrath asked.
— They're just jealous. Let them watch if you've already chased off all my customers. Honestly, you should make it up to them. Come in, girls! — she called out.
The door opened fully, and a dozen naked demon girls entered. They were enthralled by what they had seen and heard, practically surrounding Wrath in admiration.
— Is it really allowed? — one of them asked, her face flushed.
— Yes, girls. Wrath owes us this much.
— You're joking, right? Listen, Lust, that's not why I came.
— Not why? Then what for?
— I'd rather discuss it with you alone. Behind closed doors. It's important.
Lust sighed.
— Fine. Let's go to my office. Sorry, girls—next time.
The demons left the room disappointed.
Wrath put his clothes back on. Lust slipped into a tight, black outfit, then they walked to the far end of the hallway, where a door without a number stood, marked only by a red, heart-shaped engraving.
The room was filled with special scents—something considered a true rarity in Hell: the fragrance of roses and other flowers.
Lust locked the door, sat down behind her desk, propped her hoofed feet up, and lit a cigarette.
Wrath sat opposite her and picked up a bottle of Hellfire Whiskey from the desk, took a sip, then set it back down.
— Not bad, though not my favorite vintage.
— That stuff's worth a fortune. I can't help it if you're used to cheap swill. Now get to the point—what do you want? Arrest me?
— What makes you think that's why I came?
— Why else would Lucifer's hound visit a Succubus House?
— Oh, this is a Succubus House? I hadn't even noticed.
— At least you left my guards alive?
— They'll recover. I held back.
— Good. So will you finally tell me why you're here? I'd like to get rid of you as soon as possible.
— You didn't seem bothered by my presence in room eight.
— You're the only one who can fuck me right, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten that you serve as Lucifer's dog and hunt your own kind. You're bad for business—every client left, and they won't be coming back today.
— I'm truly sorry.
— Sorry my ass! You enforce every senseless law of that tyrant. The succubi are starving because they're no longer allowed to possess mortals to feed on their essence. They're forced to sleep with demons—whose essence is weak and tasteless.
— In fact, you shouldn't be draining demonic essence either. It can lead to a demon's death, and murder is punishable.
Lust raised an eyebrow, casting a sharp glance at Wrath.
— Relax. I'm not interested in Succubus Houses. Let the lower-ranked demons deal with that sort of thing.
— Yes, I know you well. You need more than this—a real challenge. And the challenges ran out after you slaughtered your own kind for an Angel's sake.
— I don't understand why everyone keeps bringing that up. Funny how nobody remembers that I was the first to fight Lucifer himself.
— Yes—and you were also the first to carry out his orders. No one witnessed your legendary duel, but when you tore out Asmodeus' heart or ripped off Beelzebub's head—plenty of witnesses were there.
— I didn't come here to chat about the past, Lust. I want to know when you last saw Envy.
— Envy? That must've been a hundred years ago. Why? Is Lucifer looking for him?
— Lucifer has nothing to do with this—at least I hope not. Listen, he doesn't know about this yet, and I'd like you to keep it that way. Envy is dead.
Lust looked shocked, even pulling her feet down from the desk.
— Are you sure?
— I found him in a bathtub on the ground floor of a rundown inner-city apartment building, bathing in his own filth. Someone did a thorough job on him. The body was hidden under an illusion—but you know those never work on me.
— Envy… Who could have killed him?
— I don't know. In Hell, only we're strong enough to do it. And of course, the big boss.
— Lucifer did it. Who else could it be?
— Then why would Lucifer hide the body with an illusion? Why kill Envy in his own home? It makes no sense.
— Are you saying one of our brothers killed another?
— Maybe. Envy was a thorn in all our sides, so I wouldn't exactly cross you off the suspect list either.
— It wasn't me. — she shrugged. — Killing and destruction never fascinated me the way it does you. Other pleasures amuse me. If anything, you're the one I could imagine doing it.
— I didn't convince you all to hide and blend in back then just so I could slaughter you later. — he stood up from the chair. — It may be hard to believe, but you matter to me. I don't know who killed Envy, but they will pay—even if it was my brother.
Wrath was about to leave when Lust stopped him.
— Wait. I think you should start with Greed. He was likely the last to see Envy.
Wrath nodded.
— You'll find me at the western Succubus House for the rest of the week if you have more questions… — she suddenly vanished in a cloud of black smoke, then reappeared right in front of Wrath. — Or if you happen to crave something else…
Lust traced her long claws across Wrath's chest and blew a kiss onto his lips.
Wrath then stepped out of the room and ran into several curious succubi in the hallway, all watching him from behind their doors.
Two of them approached and gently stroked him, trying to seduce him, but Wrath merely smiled.
— I promise, girls, I'll be back—but right now I have urgent business.
The succubi stopped their little game, slightly disheartened. They hadn't tasted fine essence in a long time—and power radiated from Wrath in waves.
Wrath left, but promised that as soon as he could, he would return to them.