Chapter 26: The Soul of a Collector.

*

Once Charlie was notified, you carried the wounded spider to his room. The poor guy was in a terrible state, his face was swollen all over as if he had been beaten. You didn't need to talk about his clothes, which were now reduced to shreds. Your body shivered at the mere sight of the various stains that covered them, yet you did your best not to show your discomfort, the most important thing was to heal the spider.

Once you reached the spider's room you gently put him on his bed and let Charlie and Boris take care of him. You ran to get water and towels while Niffty went to get the first aid kit.

When you came back to Angel's room, Alastor was in the corner of the door with his arms folded. You would have made a remark, but you had more important things to do.

"Alastor, get out of the way please." you grunted.

The deer turned its eyes to you for a moment and let you pass. You put the basin of water by the bed and the towels on the wooden bedside table.

"How does he feel Boris? " You asked

"He's not in any danger, but he won't be able to go to work for a while, little boss."

You sighed in relief, you looked Charlie and saw a golden light in his hands.

"Charlie heals deep wounds, and I stitch up wounds that can't be healed."

"Can I help you? "You asked.

"That's nice of you Y/N, but we're gonna be fine, nevertheless if you can get him a more suitable outfit, I'd be good. »

You nodded your head. Then you looked for a moment at Angel's room, it was very pink in terms of the walls and the floor... unusual enough for a boy, but it suited him quite well. Everything here reminded you of the meaning of the word "lust." There were pole dancing bars, a chest with the inscription "sextoys", and a white dressing with mirror furnished with various make-up boxes. In a corner of the room you noticed the rather modern style wardrobe, you walked towards it and opened it. You searched quite quickly, without any judgment on the more than provocative and aggressively coloured g-strings and outfits. You ended up finding pink and white pajamas that looked comfortable. You picked it up and put it next to Boris who had finished treating the spider.

"It's perfect little boss, thank you"

*

You didn't answer him. Your eyes were fixed on Angel's battered body. He had burn marks and welts all over his body. And you didn't want to see his back for the world. His twisted facial expression from the pain was already telling the whole story.

"How long until he's gonna be okay?"

"His body has a pretty amazing regeneration, he should be back on his feet in a couple of days. »

"I see. I'm-I'm gonna go downstairs, call me if you need any help."

"I will, don't worry about that."

Without further ado, you turned around and walked out of the room, ignoring Alastor on your way. You were as if you were stunned, the spider's face had made you extremely uncomfortable, it was almost like looking at certain parts of your life in a mirror.

Someone called out to you but you continued walking to the stairs, leaning against the wall from time to time, completely lost in your memories.

Suddenly a hand on your shoulder made you shudder.

"Is everything all right my dear,? "Alastor asked you, visibly interested in your troubled behavior.

You blinked several times to get back to reality and then you answered him.

"I... um... yes... it- it's all right."

You are mentally cursed for stuttering in front of him, the deer smiled mockingly but fortunately for you, a little Beagle came running towards you.

"Y/N! Niffty told me all about Angel. What happened?"

You looked at him sadly and the child understood right away.

"It's his boss, isn't it? »

"I guess."

"It's him I'm sure of it! " cried the child trembling with anger. "What was he like? He was wearing red, and some kind of hat, wasn't he? »

You dug into your memory and you nodded your head.

"Yeah, that's him. "mumbled the Beagle, containing his rage. "Can I see Angel Y/N? »

"Ask your brother first."

The child nodded his head and rushed into the spider's room. You took a furtive glance at Alastor who had followed the little Beagle with his eyes and seemed to be amused by the situation.

You preferred to roll your eyes and then you started to walk down the stairs.

You walked to the Husk's Bar and ordered a fairly low alcoholic drink.

*

"Hey wolf, how's the spider? " asked the cat in a gruff tone.

"Not in great shape, he's been beaten and "tortured" according to some marks I've seen."

You explained by taking a sip of your rather pensive glass.

"Can you tell me more about his boss?"

"What the fuck do you care? You barely know him."

You kept quiet by tapping your fingernails against the glass.

"I mean, I'd be surprised if it's the first time it's ever happened to him, you shouldn't meddle in matters that don't concern you. It's a waste of time, and it's very dangerous, especially with a guy like him. Sometimes it's better to bow your head and give up wolf."

...

"A waste of time?" You asked in a dark way.

The cat's body stiffened when he noticed the lights in the room started flashing. Before he could add anything you stood up very slowly and leaned towards him, keeping your eye on him.

Husk swallowed his saliva but kept visual contact.

"I remind you that Angel is a hotel guest, what do you think will happen if word gets out that we are unable to protect the demons who want to redeem themselves? Do you think demons would ever set foot in here with that kind of publicity? I don't think they would."

"Whoa, easy, woman, It was just my point of view, plus I don't give a damn about this shitty hotel, Al made me come here, I didn't ask him to. What gets me to stay is the chance to get free booze, nothing more."

The lights stopped flashing and you looked at the cat with a confusion. Alcohol? That's all he's staying for?

"Is that all you're staying for?"

«...» The cat growled, signaling you not to venture out on that field with him.

"Fine, I won't ask any more questions about it."

*

"Well, well, well, you seem to be having an interesting conversation, my dear fellows! "intervened Alastor's cheerful voice suddenly.

The cat tensed up when he noticed your lack of enthusiasm when Alastor sat next to you.

"Listen to me you son of a bitch, I don't want a fight in my bar, so if you want to get eaten alive, it's out there."

You rolled your eyes at Husk's remark. Like Alastor was gonna listen to him.

"Oh come on my dear Husker, that wasn't my intention at all."

"Yeah, it's true that you're not masochistic enough to risk being castrated again," laughed the cat as he drank a sip of strong alcohol.

A small, threatening parasite noise came out of Alastor's mouth and ordered the cat to shut up. Unfortunately it was almost camouflaged by a small laugh from you. Husk then took the opportunity to ask him.

"Well, what do you want?"

"I was just curious what you were talking about. "

"Oh, the little lady was just interested in Angel's boss, that's all."

"Oh really? "Alastor asked, turning his head towards you with a mischievous look.

For your part, you concentrated all your attention on the many bottles of alcohol that decorated Husk's bar so as not to look at him.

"I don't understand why you care about my plans Alastor, you already have enough entertainment available watching Angel writhe in pain in his bed." You said with acidity as you looked at him with a wry look in the corner of your eye while ignoring his smell and that strange feeling you had in your stomach.

It was weird. It wasn't hunger, or anger... it was something else. Something stronger...something almost similar on the roof.

"That's not untrue... but I'll get tired of it soon enough. You, on the other hand, I have to admit, I'm curious about your plans. After all, it concerns a hotel guest. As your "colleague", it's only natural that I should be interested in your actions."

You gritted your teeth angrily and then turned to him. He wasn't wrong. He wasn't going to let you go until you told him the truth.

"I'm trying to protect Angel, if you must know, the fact that he was hurt can be a big nuisance to Charlie's hotel. I mean, after all, who's gonna risk redemption if he has no guarantee of protection?"

"You're not wrong." Alastor said as he put his chin on his hand.

The deer hummed slightly while thinking of your words, then suddenly he had an idea. With a sordid smile he looked at you and said.

"The demon you're looking for is called Valentino."

You blinked in surprise. Was he trying to help you? Why was he trying to help you? What did he have to gain?

"The overlord in charge of the city's big porn studio?"

"Himself, darling. Now that you've got a name and a face, may I ask what you're planning to do? A deal with him to save our dear effeminate companion? I'd advise against it. I doubt he's as complacent as I am about the terms of a contract." The deer snickered.

You didn't say anything. Husk frowned slightly when Alastor mentioned your contract. He was surprised that you weren't more related to the deer than him, normally Alastor would have chained you to him to turn you into a domesticated dog... it was strange, something wasn't right. Suddenly a strange noise distracted his attention towards you.

When he saw the provenance he couldn't help but take a step back.

*

"Are you fucking serious?" He asked, uncomfortable with the object you were holding in your hands, and for good reason, it was your gun.

"It's only a warning. " Husk. You said as you sorted your bullets. "Killing him wouldn't be a good solution, he controls the entire porn industry, what would happen if I destroyed this with a wave of my hand in the name of the hotel? It would make things worse. However, if I just do a "little tune-up" with this Valentino, I think the hotel's reputation is less likely to suffer."

Husk took a holy bullet Boris gave you and observed it closely.

"Where did you get that? "

"It's my little secret."

Alastor grabbed the object and his smile widened.

"They have a very special shape."

"The bullet explodes into several small fragments when it comes into contact with the material, leaving the target with very little chance of escape. I was killed by this type of bullet so I know what I'm talking about. I guess there wasn't much left of my skull at the end." You explained when you recovered the bullet, gaining a little curious look from Alastor at the mention of your death. "However, despite their devastating power, they're deadly to demons, so I'm not going to use these in the first place, I will opt for regular bullets, just in order to defend my self"

The deer's eyes sparkled with excitement as you described your plan.

"And how many blessed bullets do you have Y/N?"

"I'm sorry, but this doesn't concern you deer." You said coldly as you put the bullets back in your gun in a specific order. "Could one of you tell me more about this Valentino?"

Alastor and Husk exchanged a look and then the cat answered.

"He's a sadistic guy who only thinks about his money and a sex addict. He's the kind of person who'll do anything to get what he wants."

"So far it makes sense, don't you have anything else? "you asked in a neutral tone.

Husk looked up for a moment and then seemed to remember something.

"I've heard he's a collector of rather luxurious canes, but I don't see how that's of any use to you."

You froze at the sound of the word "collector". A collector, he was a collector, that was interesting. You put one hand on your chin and thought long and hard.

"Um... Are you ok, wolf?"

"BINGO! " you shouted, startled the cat and won a little head bow from Alastor. "Alastor, I think for once I'm going to need your help."

Husk almost spit out his booze when your words came out of your mouth. You? Working with the radio demon? Nah.

"I beg your pardon Darling?"

"You can create things, can't you?"

"You want me to create a cane for this... individual? What makes you think I would waste my energy for someone like him, my dear?"

"Do you want this case to work or not? Besides, I won't say anything about where it came from, so you don't need to be bother by that."

The deer raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Why not, it might be fun." Alastor laughed, adjusting her monocle with pride "What kind of cane would you like? A rather luxurious style with gems embedded in the handle or-"

"Oh, no, not that kind of thing. We're talking about a collector. Tell me, have you seen the film "The Gold Rush"? "It seems to me that the film was released in 1925 in America."

Alastor squinted his eyes a little and placed a hand under his chin.

"A Charlie Chaplin movie, right?"

"Yeah that's it, do you think you could make an exact replica of that actor's cane?"

"Nothing could be easier Y/N, though I doubt it would be enough." The deer warned while he was slapping his fingers, making a copy of Chaplin's cane appear in the same way he made his microphone appear.

"I know what I'm doing, Alastor, and anyway, if my plan doesn't work, I can always do it the hard way."

"I still doubt it will work, plus if this plan works by pure miracle, what if Valentino finds out you fooled him?"

A bad smile appeared on your lips.

"He won't do anything because he wouldn't want you to release the recording of our little conversation I had with him. After all, He's someone who wouldn't want his reputation ruined, right?"

The deer's smile widened sadistically.

"I like this idea, my dear."Alastor declared in an almost admiring tone.

*

Husk looked at you quite puzzled, it was the first time he'd ever seen you actually work with Alastor and from what he could see you were almost on the same wavelength. It was comforting in a way because it proved that you could and were starting to get along with each other, but on the other hand it was terrifying, he didn't dare to imagine what you could do if you decided to fully associate.

It could be a more than hellish partnership for the other Overlords of Hell...

* * *

The alley leading to the pornographic studio was strangely well lit, your eyes almost hurt. The streets were crowded with demons squirming in more provocative positions to invite passers-by like you to have a good time, you looked away in disgust and continued on your way to the studio silently. The architecture of the building made you wince uncomfortably.

The building was extremely large, and was colored an aggressive pink and red that lifted your heart. As a decoration, the image of a generously shaped female demon was used as lighting, 3 "X's" and horrible bright red lips decorated the sign "Studio Porn".

You took a deep breath and entered inside and unsurprisingly it was just as repulsive as the outside. All that pink and red on the walls, all those digital posters...what a lack of taste.

Several demons were looking at you with envy, you even saw some of them masturbating in front of you without the slightest embarrassment. You felt your stomach twisting in disgust. You slammed your hand over your mouth as you tried hard not to hear the groans of some demons and the smell of foul sex in the hall. Luckily for you, you had Chaplin's fake cane to help you hold on and give you enough strength not to vomit your lunch on the floor in the face of so much incivility.

How could these demons once be humans?

You started looking for Valentino's office until a scream worthy of a teenage girl meeting her idol destroyed your eardrums.

"OH MY LUCIFER!"

With a grimace you turned in the direction of the voice and you saw a human-looking girl running towards you with a smile on her face.

She jumped around you with a phone in her hand and attacked your eyes with a flash.

"Oh I'm not dreaming! The White Wolf is here! Oh Lucifer, it's magic, I have to post this quickly.

The girl with burgundy and white hair wrapped her arms around you, making you extremely embarrassed and annoyed by her overly tactile behaviour.

"You're even more beautiful than what the other demons say! You'd almost look like an angel without your ears. Can I touch them? Please!" Pleaded the girl with puppy eyes.

You looked at her coldly and let out an aggressive "no" in an attempt to scare her, but the red and white eyes of that slender little demon began to sparkle with excitement.

"Wow is your that your voice? It's so stylish! Surely you must have a lot of men or women at your feet. What's your name? I want to know your name so much!"

"I would have been delighted, but I looking for Valentino right now."

"Do you want to see Val? I know where he is if you want, but you have to give me your name, it's a good deal, isn't it? I'm Velvet! Nice to meet you."

"...Y/N L/N... "You introduced yourself by rolling your eyes.

"You're in the same mood as Voxy when I take a picture of him. Come on, smile, I just want a picture! »

Voxy? She was surely talking about Vox.

"Do you know him ?"

"... Oh that's right , you haven't been here long, have you? "In hell Vox, Valentino and I are partners, we call ourselves the Triple V's," Velvet said with a big, excited smile as she made the "V" sign with her hands. "Come on, I'll take you to see Val, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you.

The girl invited you to follow her, which you did without too much pleasure. The corridors of the studio were not so different from the entrance, you even had the opportunity to see a live blowjob. You had immediately covered the side of your face and got closer to Velvet who didn't even seem to take this incivility into account.

She turned to you quite surprised.

*

"Well, what's the matter with you? You know, It's just sex."

"Just sex?" You thought completely horrified by what she just said.

The girl raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"What's so funny?" you asked, irritated by her plague laugh.

"You remind me of the radiio demon, he's in the same state when he sees this. Are you asexual?"

You felt your face turn turned red

"it-it-it's none of your business" you stuttered totally mortified but her lack of prudishness.

"Oh, come on, no one's gonna judge you here."

"Velvet, for me, everyone's sexuality takes place behind a door, you don't have to know my preferences," you answered firmly as the studio lights flickered and Velvet's phone began to crackle.

The girl lost her smile and looked at you coldly.

"Unbunch your panties, you're really not funny, Vox didn't lie to me when he told me you were as cold as an angel's blade. " she spat as she turned around and walked towards a big doorway that made you feel uncomfortable just looking at her.

"Wait two seconds." Said Velvet as she knocked and entered the office. "Hey Val! The White Wolf wants to talk to you."

It had a great silence and then you heard a deep and sensual voice answering her.

"Really? Please let her in."

"Of course, Val!"

*

The girl turned to you with a smile and closed the door behind you, leaving you alone with that pimp dressed in red and white.

You remained perfectly calm, yet your hand tightened around your cane, quietly betraying your stress.

The man was wearing a long red coat with white fur decorated with a few hearts. Your eyes wrinkled slightly when you studied his anatomy, you couldn't determine if it was some kind of butterfly because of his missing wings or a horrible louse.

*

"Pleasure to meet you baby!" Welcomed the demon by removing his horrible red heart-shaped glasses.

"Thank you for receiving me Valentino" You thanked him with an arrogant little smile as you began to get into your role. "Forgive my unexpected visit but I had to talk to you about an important matter."

"Oh I don't blame you pretty one~" he said provocatively, stroking subjectively along his jaw with his long fingers while licking his lips. "On the contrary, I'm really pleased to finally meet you, Vox has told me a lot about you and I'm not disappointed, You're even more beautiful than I imagined."

You could hardly hold back an unpleasant shiver, yet your smile miraculously did not disappear .

"I thank you for that, coming from you I take it as a great honor" you said in order to "affectionately" caress his ego.

The insect's smile widened and he invited you to sit down. You took the opportunity to look at his office in more detail.

There was a large leather sofa in a corner of the room with a table and some armchairs. There also was a large red carpet, numerous bookcases and finally several paintings in a rather modern and contemporary style.

"May I offer you a drink?"

"No thanks, I don't want to take up any more of your time, and I'm in quite a hurry. No, I would like to talk business with you" "You explained by gracefully turning your cane in your hand, immediately drawing the demon's gaze towards you."

"So the white wolf is interested in canes?"

You chuckled as you put your hand in front of your mouth and then you answered.

"Well not exactly, I actually came here to propose you a little deal. You see, an acquaintance of mine owed me a small favor and..." you gently caressed the top of the cane and wrapped one of your legs around it almost provocatively. "I was able to obtain this collector's cane that once belonged to Charlie Chaplin."

Valentino's eyes slowly widened in surprise. As he stared at your unsteady hands sliding down the stick from top to bottom in a dangerously seductive manner.

"Even if I don't have much interest in this kind of object, I have to admit that it is really nice in the hands" you said with a pretentious little smile "It's also so light... You know I really find it as beautiful as rare. Don't you? " You asked innocently when you saw the pimp completely obsessed by the object and in ecstasy in front of your provocative and affriolating movements.

He even felt his body respond without resistance to your signals, it was unbearable, a real torture.

"What do you want, babe?" He asked. "If you just wanted a good time, you only needed to ask, I wouldn't-"

"Oh, no, no, what I really want has nothing to do with that... " You took the cane from the bottom to direct the top around the bug's neck and forced it close to the face so there's little space between you. "I want you to leave Angel Dust alone." You asked in a serious tone.

The pimp seemed to "come out" of the fog of fantasy that you had dragged him into, however before he could answer you continued with an arrogant smile

"I'm not asking you to terminate your contract with him, far be it from me this idea, I can understand how useful he is to you, I'm just asking you to not hurt him, whether directly or indirectly, that's all I'm asking."

Valentino took advantage of your closeness to him to lovingly touch your hand holding the cane and the handle of the object.

*

"You really have aplomb to ask me that kind of thing in a such way, sweetheart, but I can't do that."

"Oh really? Just think about it, I think the deal is more than fair, you are the biggest winner in this story, you get a beautiful cane as famous as it is unique, and you keep your employee. All I'm asking is that the rules of our contract override the rules of the one you have with Angel Dust and that you or anyone you know does not harm him directly or indirectly. Finally I'd like to be able to count on you someday if I have a little problem."

"What if I don't play by the rules?"

"Oh, that..." Your smile widened "Let's say you don't want to know what I can do, I think you care about your studio, your dick and your second life, don't you? So I don't think it's wise to break the rules."

The pimp looked at the cane and slowly slid one of his hands along the handle, then he looked at you with a smile.

"So do we have a deal? " You ask with a triumphant smile as you moved closer to his face.

"May I look at this cane in more detail before I decide, babe?"

"Of course." You told him as you gave him the object. However you were really worried that he'd find out the deception.

*

The insect looked at him very critically, he got up and searched his closet to get a better look by finding more information about this cane through some archive. He stopped for a moment to think about how you could get such a cane and then he remembered that Vox had told him about some demons that had the possibility of returning to the world of humans like Stolas for example. Moreover, you seemed to be the type of person who would do anything to get what you wanted, so it was plausible that you could have gotten the cane through a demon who could travel between the infernal world and the world of mortals.

After a long moment that seemed like an eternity, Valentino stared at you with his red eyes for a moment with a big smile, then reached out his hand.

"My passion for these objects will be my undoing." He said with a sigh, "Deal." he said as a bright reddish light flashed from his hand.

Your smile had widened so much that it hurt your cheeks, you even wondered if you didn't look like Alastor.

You reached out your hand and with astonishment a white light escaped from it, you ignored it and shook the hand of this pimp, thus sealing the contract.

When the lights disappeared you were surprised that you had not felt the same energy during your contract with Alastor, you felt the power of this guy but it was nothing compared to this time. It was pretty confusing.

*

"I'm surprised. " said Valentino, letting go of your hand and playing with his new cane. "You've already stored up a lot of power."

"Excuse me?" you asked confusedly.

"When you make deals with other demons your power increases. It manifests itself in this light that you saw. Fighting is also an effective way to gain power but making contracts is far less exhausting and less dangerous when we're careful of the loopholes that may exist."

You looked at your hand and frowned. You had made a few small contracts before you went to the hotel, then you made a contract with Alastor, the members of your neighbourhood and Valentino.

"How many contracts do you have to make to get to that level? "You asked.

"It all depends on who you make a contract with baby, making contracts with overlords or with powerful demons you have a good chance of increasing your power faster because they are much more valuable. In your case I'm very surprised that you are not yet considered completely as an overlord. You have everything to be one. " The insect explained as he walked towards you with his new cane.

"Power, daring, intelligence, even appearance... " he said, touching your shoulder. In risponse you quickly moved aside.

"Certainly because I don't have a very large territory." You answered for him.

"Oh yes, maybe that's why you only took over the territories of that ... um shark ? »

"Yes, that's it. In the meantime I have a small territory but the inhabitants are loyal to me. What's the point of having a vast empire if you can't control the population? Someday there'll be a rebellion, Napoleon Bonaparte proved it."

The insect laughed at your comment.

"You're not wrong, that's why I prefer to be firm from the start with my employees."

"I see, well I'll leave you to it, I have work to do, thanks again for your time Valentino." You thanked him before you walked to the door.

All of a sudden you felt a hand grab your arm.

"Wait, I forgot to tell you something, sweetheart~" The insect said, forcing you to turn around carefully.

"Wh-"

Suddenly his 2 lower hands blocked your wrists and his extra hands grabbed the sides of your face to guide him to his, and before you could react the pimp sealed your lips against his.

Your fingers immediately tense in repugnance even though it lasted only a few seconds, you felt like you had been sprayed with a bucket of ice water, not like you had been whipped by an electric whip.

A horrible urge to vomit erupted in your stomach. Your eyes widened in the shock and your body was completely paralyzed.

Suddenly you noticed that the lights in the insect's office started flickering.

Valentino strangely paid no attention to it, no, he preferred to step back slightly to appreciate the uncomfortable and confused look on your face.

"Consider it as a little bonus, babe " He said in a deep, seductive voice to your ear as the hands that held your face snaked affectionately across your chest, making you tremble with disgust.

Let go of me!

Almost as if he had heard your inner screams, the pimp kissed you on the lips again and said as he let you go while he opened the door to his office.

"You're free to come by anytime, I'll be happy to make you enjoy the night~"

You had to use all your reason and all your will not to put a bullet in that bastard's head or castrate him. Instead you put a tight smile on your face.

"Thank you for the offer, I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye Val" You answered quickly as you walked out of his office and closed the door behind you.

*

You walked hastily down another corridor and immediately wiped your mouth with revulsion. Oh Lord how fortunate that he seemed to distrust your power, for you would certainly have been forced to spend an "erotic" moment with him. For a moment, you really felt bad for Angel.

Well, at least your plan had completely worked.

You took a deep breath and rushed out the door. Not without difficulty, you reached the entrance hall of the studio, and then saw in the distance the outside.

You walked a little faster towards the exit door, pushing the demons out of your way. Finally your ordeal was over! You could already feel the fresh air of freedom affectionately caressing your cheeks...

*

"Oh my, isn't it our dear white Wolf? What a pleasure to see you here!" You felt someone put a hand on your shoulder.

...or not.

You felt a little twitch in your right eye when you recognized Vox's voice. You turned around and looked at him coldly.

"Oh, nice to see you again, Vox." You greeted him in a falsely friendly tone.

"You've come at a good time, I've got to tell you about our interview. May I have some of your time, doll? You won't be disappointed"

...

Well, you knew very well that you were stuck for a little bit longer in that horrible studio.

"Naturally." You responded with a friendly smile.

"All right, come with me to my office."

And with a frustrated sigh you followed him.

*

*

*