We returned back to Hell quickly after Samael's statement. He couldn't provide further details of how it could've happened. He said there was more than one way one could've forced Lucifer out of the Devil. Bigger question was - who could've done it and why?

Abaddon didn't talk much after we first went back to his realm. In fact, he was oddly quiet despite his usual self of not being a big talker. That was why we parted ways and I was back in Hell, wondering where it all went wrong. I wasn't sure who to talk to first but considering Mammon was busy getting the ring enchanted, and I couldn't risk us being seen together, I had to go to Beelzebub first and tell him everything that had been going on. It was too major to hide it any longer. More demons needed to know what was going on and only the truth would set us all free. Or, at least, that was what I liked to believe.

"Well... that's a lot to take in." Beelzebub responded once I finished with the retelling of the most recent events. "Why do you always try to keep things away from me but end up just spilling the beans all of a sudden after a while?" He asked, a little bit of annoyance in his voice but also concern.

"I was simply trying not to involve you any further."

"I think it was over once I met Loki." Beelzebub let out a small laugh as he took a sip of bourbon in the glass in front of him. "You do know you could've asked me about helping you hide Loki on the premises, right?"

"I know but like I said, the less people knew, it was easier to keep it from getting out." I explained.

"And you trusted Mammon over me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he leaned into his chair. I didn't know what to reply with. I clenched my jaw as I felt an uncomfortable feeling rise within me. I shifted in my seat as I dared to look up from the glass and directly at Beelzebub.

"He's just... more vengeful than you. He holds a deeper hatred towards the Devil than you which is why I figured he'd be a better accomplice." I could see Beelzebub's face darkening upon my words. I knew he felt betrayed. However, I also knew nothing I said would make him feel better about my decisions lately.

"You can make excuses all day, Asmodeus." Beelzebub snapped suddenly as he leaned forward onto the table. "But I know you better than you know yourself. And it had nothing to do with you not wanting to involve me. You were always opportunistic and you'd step over anyone and grab any means necessary to reach your goal. And honestly, it was fun for a while..." He stopped for a second as he tried to contain rage within him, beginning to burn his insides, "but now... now you're becoming no better than the Devil. And you're now including me only because you've run out of accomplices."

I caught myself stopping breathing as he finished, black fog subtly surrounding his frame. I swallowed a lump in my throat and took a sip of my drink.

"Despite what you may think, you needed to know this. It concerns not only you but everyone else in Hell." I tried to push away the emotions that were surfacing, I needed to keep a level head. "Nothing will ever be the same. Lucifer is gone, Beelzebub."

"Are you even listening to me though?" But he wasn't letting up.

"Yes... but I can't do anything to fix it now. " Before another word could be uttered to try to fix it, the entire building was seized by violent tremors. The resounding echo of an ear-splitting scream pierced through the corridors of the palace, sending shivers down my spine. Bewilderment and alarm painted the faces of everyone present as they glanced around, desperately searching for the source of this chaos. In the midst of the upheaval, a shower of loose stones rained down from the ceiling, adding a touch of danger to the already unsettling scene.

I looked at Beelzebub in alarm and it was like we instantly forgot what we argued about seconds ago.

"The Devil!" I raised my voice slightly, struggling to be heard amidst the violent shaking of the building.

"You think?!"

"Now is not the time for sarcastic remarks!" I exclaimed, urgency coursing through me. I swiftly rose to my feet, racing through the casino, with Beelzebub hot on my heels. The relentless bombardment of falling stones forced us to dodge and weave, narrowly avoiding being struck. The piercing scream continued unabated, its eerie echo almost blood-curdling.

Once we were at the top of the palace, we saw king Paimon and the Devil's assistant waiting outside of the office. Paimon was knocking every few seconds trying to get the Devil to open the door while the assistant was doing the same. They both turned around as Beelzebub and me showed up, Paimon sending a piercing glare our way, his lips pulled into a thin line.

"What brings you two here?" Paimon inquired with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"I believe questioning can wait," I retorted, catching a flicker of offense in his eyes. His reaction didn't concern me much; after all, he held the same rank as Beelzebub and myself. The only distinction was the Devil's peculiar trust in him. "Step aside," I demanded, my tone growing more serious. Surprisingly, the two of them moved to the side and I walked to the door. The lack of protest was probably due to the fact that even the two of them realized their attempts were fruitless.

I loudly knocked on the door, "It's me, Asmodeus!" I yelled loud enough for him to hear me over his screaming. At once, the wailing finally stopped, the building stopped shaking and I heard a silent click in the door. I frowned slightly as I looked behind me at the three demons, them being as confused as I was.

I pushed the door open and was met with quite a sight. What was once a confident and fearless being was now crouching in the middle of the room, grabbing his head as the tears were streaming down his cheeks. It was a sight I couldn't quite erase. His eyes were completely devoid of any emotion except one of terror.

I slowly started approaching him, trying not to evoke more screaming as I wasn't entirely sure what caused it.

"It hurts... everything hurts." He suddenly slurred out. I came closer to him and crouched in front of him. I almost couldn't believe my own actions. There was part of me telling me that this was an ideal opportunity to spit in his face and another part telling me that he deserved some level of sympathy. I was at loss what to do exactly as he deserved both, the first more so than the latter. I needed more intel however.

"Does it... have anything to do with that painting that you told me about?" I asked carefully and slowly. The Devil quickly nodded as the tears continued streaming down his face.

"I've got this piercing ache going through my head... All because of that... that pitiful being that stole something of mine." He seethed, his anger now visibly consuming him. "Have you found the culprit yet?" He demanded, his tone commanding, but he was interrupted by yet another sharp yelp of pain as the ache intensified.

"Not yet..." I replied quickly after and he just huffed out in annoyance and then groaned in pain once again. "What are you feeling?" I dared to ask, not really expecting him to answer.

"Like everything in me is... being pulled apart." He grunted.

"Do you, by any chance, want Beelzebub to make you some food that'll ease the pain?" I suggested, offering a possible solution to his anguish.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'd take just about anything at this point." I had to fight off the smirk that was beginning to form upon hearing his words.

I was aware that he was experiencing excruciating pain already but I couldn't help but take advantage of the situation even further. I stood up from the crouching position and took my leave through the door as Paimon was squinting his eyes at me.

"He'll be fine," was all that I told him before I turned my attention to Beelzebub.

"How did it go?" Beelzebub asked.

"We'll need your help," I murmured so Paimon wasn't able to hear. "Let's go." I added as I saw Beelzebub looking at me questioningly. We proceeded to head downstairs, hoping the other demon wouldn't follow us. But to be certain we made sure we distanced ourselves enough from him.

"You're going to need to make food for the boss so he feels better," I said, still silently, just in case anybody had been curious that day. "But before you say anything, obviously you're going to add a little something else..."

"I'm going to stop you now." Beelzebub said firmly as he stood in front of me and looked directly in my eyes. "We haven't finished the conversation from earlier."

"Are you still holding onto that?"

"Yes. I need you to be aware of what you're doing. I'm going to do what you asked because we are of the same opinion regarding the Devil. But not because I forgave you." As soon as he uttered the last words, it felt like a stab to the heart which I seemed to lack lately. However, I simply clenched my jaw and swallowed any emotion that had a chance of occurring and showing.

"That's fine." I shrugged with a nod and tried to sound as unfazed as I could. Beelzebub fixated his gaze on me one last time as if to ask me if that was all I had to say. It wasn't. No words could ever fix my behavior and everything he said was right. But I couldn't possibly stop now, there was too much at stake I couldn't risk losing.

"I'll let you know when I finish with the food," Beelzebub responded after a few moments and simply turned his back to me, walking away. Not even apologizing would even fix it so I just let it be. I hoped in time Beelzebub would come around and all of this would be in the past. Once everything was over.

There wasn't much free time before a familiar high-pitched noise reached my ears, accompanied by Mammon's voice echoing in my mind: "I have the ring. Come down to the basement." A faint frown creased my brow upon hearing the chosen location. There seemed to be no logical explanation for him to invite me to go down where the prison was. So, because of that, I summoned a dagger in my hand, the one which had demon-killing properties. You could never be too careful in this place.

I hurriedly headed towards the basement of the palace, located at the southernmost part of the building. Memories of past events flashed through my mind as I began descending the staircase. I immediately attempted pushing them away but they kept reappearing in my mind. I stopped in my tracks and leaned against the wall as I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, hoping to chase away these thoughts. It worked for a moment and I took advantage of it, and with quick steps rushed downstairs. The moment I was near the bottom, I could hear the screams and whining coming from the many cells.

With measured steps, I slowed my pace and discreetly pressed my back against the wall. I cautiously leaned around the corner, my gaze fixed on what lay beyond. I slightly frowned as I noticed two demons standing several feet ahead of me, facing each other and talking quietly.

I squeezed the dagger in my hand as I finally entered the basement. I was walking carefully towards them until I started recognizing them. I immediately noticed that Mammon was there including... Belial?

I hid the dagger in the back pocket of the inside of my coat as I quickened my pace towards them. As soon as they saw me, they immediately stopped talking and turned their attention to me.

"Mammon, what in the hell are you doing with... that?" I skipped the pleasantries and looked straight at Belial. There was no way Mammon was this naive. There had to be some sort of explanation.

"He's enchanted the ring that you asked for." Mammon responded and dug inside the pocket of his pants. He pulled out the jewel that now had engraved black sigils on it. Furrowing my brows, I grabbed the ring from his hand and quickly stashed in my coat.

"What's the meaning of this meeting, Mammon?!" I asked in a demanding tone as I felt my nerve close to popping.

"You know I'm here, right?" I heard Belial's voice and I was seconds away from stabbing him in the neck. I had to contain everything in me not to do so.

"Yes but obviously I'd rather you not be." I snapped back at him and he was about to add something before Mammon interrupted him,

"Well, obviously, Belial wasn't going to do it for free."

"What do you mean?" I asked, almost hissing through my teeth. Was it truly impossible to navigate through a single day without encountering something utterly absurd?

"He knows." Mammon said firmly as he fixed his gaze on me. I opened my mouth in shock as my eyes darted between him and Belial.

"You've got to be kidding me." I actually couldn't believe what I was hearing. Frustration overwhelmed me as I let out a groan, my hand instinctively rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Well... at least this ordeal is finally over," I managed to utter, though my mind struggled to process the sheer absurdity of it all. But then, averting my attention back to Belial, I retrieved the dagger from my pocket, grasping him firmly by the collar, and pressed the blade against his throat.

"But let this be crystal clear, Belial," I warned, my voice dripping with a chilling intensity. "If you dare to breathe a word of this to anyone, I will not hesitate to end you. And deep down, we both know that I am more than capable of carrying out that threat without restraint."

"Look how mighty you are when you're out of that cage," Belial snickered despite his eyes giving off the hint of wavering in confidence.

"Fuck you." I snapped at him and released him from my grip.

"But know this as well," he began with a smirk, "if you try to hide something else from me, I will tell." Belial said as he was straightening out his collar that I ruined with my grip.

"Well... there's nothing else to hide, Mammon is here to tell you everything, isn't he?" I said sharply, my voice dripping with rage that was slowly building up.

"I had no other options!" Mammon could finally be heard after a long silence from his end. "There's nobody else in Hell that could enchant it! And we were running out of time!"

I had to bite my tongue before I said something I would later regret. Even though he actually deserved to be insulted in every way possible, I had to keep him close. If I were to insult him in some way, there was no knowing if he'd actually end up turning on me. Especially now given that he had already told somebody, that somebody being the worst demon of choice.

"You're also dead if you cross the line next time." I said just as sharply as I did to Belial.

"You can't scare me, Asmodeus." Mammon responded firmly.

"I'm not. I'm just informing you." I said, the voice devoid of any emotion. A heavy silence settled upon us, and we exchanged glances with a mix of tension and curiosity. Mammon's gaze lingered on me, as if he were attempting to discern whether I truly meant what I had said. However, I could sense that he gradually grasped the sincerity behind my words.

"There's news about the Devil by the way. I think you all need to know about this." I began, trying to break off the tension. If I were to get along with my sworn enemy, I better make it quick. "He's not himself anymore. He hasn't been for a while. Lucifer within him is dead. That earthquake happened earlier because Lucifer is no longer with us... He's gone. And he's feeling it through excruciating pain." I explained as well as I could and I immediately noticed the change in everyone's gazes. It was a mix of fear and worry. Even Belial seemed to care even just a little bit.

"How..." Mammon began as his mouth fell open. "Lucifer is gone?"

"I knew that Lucifer was no longer part of him but... He's gone now for good?" Belial said as his brows furrowed as he crossed his arms.

"Yes. He is no longer in Astral." I replied, not wanting to give more details to his whereabouts. It would've added a new shock to the already present one. Nobody said anything for a few seconds as I noticed the two of them trying to process the information.

"I... knew something was off but not this..." Mammon mumbled as he averted his gaze away from us, and into the distance. "I need a moment, excuse me." He said suddenly as he pushed past us and rushed through the corridors, without giving us any explanation.

"How very odd." Belial spoke and then suddenly snickered, "Not going to lie, I thought this was going to be boring. But I think I'm going to stick around. You lot are fun."

I breathed out in annoyance when I heard him. "Bye, Belial." I sighed before I also started heading towards the exit as I realized I didn't need to stick around any longer.

"Now, where are you going?" Man, he was annoying.

"To... get Loki," I nearly cursed at him, but the realization of his potential to expose me stopped me from doing so. With that explanation, I spun on my heels and resumed my ascent up the stairs. It brought me some solace to know that Belial had no power over Loki, as the trickster god could effortlessly dispose of him with a single swift blow. The thought brought a faint smile to my lips. Despite being the original harbinger of bad news, having Loki as my ally proved to be the most advantageous so far. He was at once both my savior and my doom.

Before I left for the human world, I started heading towards the kitchen in the palace. I needed to check how Beelzebub was progressing. I figured I could give some food now and make it easier for Loki to cross over while the Devil was out of his mind. Events couldn't have been developing better actually.

"Can I come in?" I asked softly as I slowly opened the door of the kitchen and poked my head into the room. Beelzebub was leaning against the counter next to the oven as the aroma of baked muffins was filling the air. It was a sickening sweet smell, indicating they weren't simple muffins.

"Yeah, sure," came the reply as he turned his head towards me. He didn't look necessarily happy to see me but I didn't expect him to be.

"How long until it is done?" I walked inside and cautiously approached him, taking a stand right next to him.

"In just a few minutes." He mumbled as he glanced at the oven. Once again, silence set in among us as I was rummaging through my mind, trying to figure out what would be best to say. However, the fact that Beelzebub said he didn't forgive me made it much harder to find a topic we could talk about.

"I'm going to get Loki after this." I decided to inform him, in case he was curious. But all he did was nod in response and never said anything else. Letting out a sigh, I concluded it would be best to keep quiet for the time being.

The oven sounded off a brief chime, catching Beelzebub's attention. He swiftly walked up to it, bringing out muffins neatly arranged on a baking tray. With practiced ease, he transferred them onto the counter, delicately moving each one onto a plate. Without a word, he just picked the plate up and handed it to me.

"What are the side effects?" I had to ask just to know what to expect.

"A bit of delirium and confusion but overall a sense of bliss and numbness physically and mentally." He quickly explained and I grabbed the plate, a small smirk playing on my lips.

"Nice. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied but added nothing else. As if he couldn't wait for me to leave the room. His wish came true as I didn't want to linger here anymore. I couldn't make him not despise me anymore. If he truly believed what he had told me earlier, that I was no better than the Devil, then there was truly nothing I could do anymore. If I was also becoming like him in reality, nothing I'd do would count to make up for it. Left with no other choice, I decided to go ahead with my plan, clinging to the hope that I wouldn't have to endure the pain of losing any more friends in the future.

I quickly headed towards the Devil's office, trying to waste no more time as I had to be in the human world soon. Once I reached the top of the palace, Paimon was now gone and only the Devil's assistant remained at the desk in front of the office. The moment he saw me, he stood up and opened the door for me. It only meant that the Devil was expecting me. I entered the office and saw the Devil now leaned into the chair, almost laying down on it. He had his eyes closed and there was a frown lingering on his face. The pain must've still been ongoing.

"I brought you food. It should make you feel better." I said as I slowly approached his desk. He opened his eyes slightly as they darted over at the muffins I was setting on the desk.

"How quickly are they going to take effect?" He grumbled as he leaned forward, grabbing one and inspecting it closely.

"It should work pretty quickly. Beelzebub's food is always potent," I laughed a little but he simply glanced up at me with the unchanged expression. He didn't offer a response, instead taking a bite of the food.

After a few moments of chewing, he finally broke his silence. "Wow, this is truly delicious," he remarked, taking another bite and devouring it with an eagerness that seemed insatiable. He was eating like he couldn't have enough of it. It was like watching a starving human seeing food after a long time of deprivation.

"You may want to slow down..." I warned, just in case he later claimed I never attempted to stop him. If it were up to me, he could've eaten all those muffins in one go and passed out. It'd definitely be the best possible outcome that could occur in this particular situation.

However, the Devil didn't listen to me, he just continued devouring the muffins until there were only four of them on the plate. I watched in awe as the food practically disappeared from the plate in just a few seconds. It was quite a show. The Devil then leaned back into the chair, closing his eyes again before mumbling,"Oh, I've never felt better..." He let out a loud burp and continued sitting there without saying anything to me or even paying attention to my presence. I took that as a sign that I could take off but I made sure to leave the muffins in case he wanted to be delirious some more.

Once I made sure there was nobody coming upstairs, I opened the portal and walked through it. The moment I set foot onto familiar ground, the smell of fresh air reached my nostrils and the sound of flowing water immediately got me back into a relaxed state. Despite the many different events that had transpired right there, it still stayed my favorite place. I had to smile to myself, it wasn't a frequent event for me to be satisfied. Seizing the opportunity of solitude, where no one could interrupt or disturb me, I stretched out on the lush grass and closed my eyes. I wanted to see Loki again but I also hoped he wouldn't be here for a while. I needed some time to unwind after everything that had transpired.

Just as I was beginning to relax, my peace was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey, stranger."

My eyes shot open and a bit of irritation sparked in me but it faded pretty quickly. A sudden surge of positive emotions flowed through me and I got up from the ground, turning around towards the newcomer. As soon as our eyes met, it felt like I had been waiting ages to finally see him again. It was odd to go from despising him to actually enjoying the trickster's company. My lips stretched out in a huge grin as I hurried towards Loki and I pulled him into a tight hug.

"Well... I didn't expect that." Loki chuckled as he hugged me back. "Nice to see you too, I guess."

"It feels like forever honestly." I confessed as I pulled away. "So much has happened since you've been away. I don't even know where to begin." I ran fingers through my hair as I locked my gaze with his while he was just smiling softly.

"Has it been so bad that you find yourself missing me?" He laughed with a hint of disbelief.

"It's been pretty chaotic that even spending time with you offered more peace."

"Well if it's any consolation I also haven't been great." Loki said with a sigh as he found a seat in the grass. Without hesitation, I joined him, taking a seat beside him. "Due to what I did to Thor that one time, I told you that I was taken off duty, wasn't able to influence the world in any way. Well, they decided that I suffered enough and I figured it'd be back to normal. I should've known that it wouldn't last long. As I told you back at that club, Thor has been a real pain lately, I couldn't wait to come over here. A day doesn't go by where we don't get into a fight, he's constantly complaining because I'm up and about and is convinced that they should tie me back into that cave." He stopped for a second as he took a deep breath, staring off into the distance. "Well, I almost ended up over there again and I wouldn't have been able to meet up with you now. Luckily for me, Odin usually has the last word and he's not allowing any of them to interfere with destiny."

I was silent for a while once he finished with his story. I just kept looking at him, having never seen him this upset until now. That night at the club I thought he was just blowing things out of proportion. However, it soon became apparent that the gravity of the matter far exceeded my initial expectations.

"I'm so glad you managed to get out before it got serious." I responded finally and wished I could've said anything more to make him feel better. "Has Odin said anything more about this destiny? Or is he just going to let us figure it out ourselves?" I inquired. It was a bit irritating the way he just dropped a bomb on us and then refused to elaborate further. And the matter itself wasn't an everyday problem.

"Sadly, no." Loki sighed again. "We haven't had a chance to speak much. At least now everybody is aware of what's happening and are terrified of what the future might bring. Hence the great need to put me under shackles." He laughed as he said the last part but it was laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Do you still want to join me in Hell?" I asked just in case. He instantly looked over at me as his expression darkened a bit.

"I can't risk losing you yet. You're the only thing that makes sense in this absurdity of existence." Loki suddenly confessed, his voice tinged with vulnerability. I felt myself stopping breathing for a second, almost not believing what I was hearing. Although he did it before, he would just say whatever would cross his mind at the moment no matter how crazy it sounded. And this right now was one of the craziest things he could've said.

"Well..." I trailed off as I broke off the staring contest as I dug through my pocket, pulling out the enchanted ring. "Put this on, it'll make your aura less noticeable. Although I'm planning to keep the Devil drugged as often as I can." I laughed, placing the ring on my palm.

"What? How?" He asked in pure curiosity.

"Let's just say Beelzebub cooked him a bunch of muffins because he was experiencing a lot of pain. And I told Beelzebub to add something extra to the muffins, not just pain relievers." I snorted.

"You weren't the one who beat him up, were you?" He snickered, taking the ring off my palm and putting it on his index finger.

"No," I said through laughter, "the situation is a bit more complex actually. I'll have to explain it to you later in detail. There is a lot of lore to catch up on." I added as I was watching the ring on his finger, wondering whether the enchantment had taken effect.

"I see," he hummed, inspecting the ring as well. "There's an odd vibration going through my body, I sure hope this isn't going to kill me." He said jokingly.

"Well if you begin to feel some sort of pain, tell me."

"Wow, you're not even going to deny it?" He laughed loudly, his eyes locking on me in amusement.

"I wasn't the one who enchanted it so..." Knowing that Belial was the one who did it, I wouldn't put it past him if he had a bit of fun with it. But I also didn't think even he had the power to kill Loki or even that he had information on how to. The worst that could happen was to weaken Loki in some way, I believed.

"Not only do I have to worry about deities wanting to put me away in my realm but I also have to worry about demons attempting to kill me. I'm having a blast," Loki snorted and shook his head. "But, anyway, shall we?" He continued, not allowing me to respond with anything as he stood up from the ground.

"Wait..." I began as I stood up as well. "You do know you can't go in there like this? You're going to have to use your shapeshifting abilities."

Loki looked at me and raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "what do you take me for?"

Before I could respond, he walked a few steps back and closed his eyes, seeming like he was focusing. Then, out of nowhere, his whole body started morphing, beginning to look almost disfigured, making him almost terrifying to look at. One wouldn't be able to see legs or arms on him, he almost looked like a smear with eyes for a few seconds. However, soon enough, his body started taking form again, once again I could see angles and body parts. The figure I saw wasn't familiar at all, not even the sex remained the same. The only feature that didn't change was the color of his hair. But other than that, he became a thin and beautiful young lady. It had left me speechless as I was gazing at him in shock. The long red hair was reaching over his shoulders, the skin demonic pale with a small face and big doe eyes, glimmering with a bit of red. He was dressed in all black, long coat, leather high-waisted pants and a tight top, revealing a bit of abdomen.

"You are..." I began but I was once again at a loss of words. "Why did you choose to be a woman?"

Loki curved his lips into a smirk and then snickered, "is that all you have to say?" He asked as he started approaching me and I took one step back. I didn't want to admit that I was suddenly attracted to... him.

"Yes. Why?" I asked firmly, demanding answers.

"I haven't had fun with shapeshifting in a while. I figured I could try something different now..." He mumbled as he cast his eyes downwards, inspecting his transformed body.

"Well, it's quite different alright." I laughed but was still unable to tear my eyes away from him. Loki, in his male form, was pretty attractive already but his female form was... something else. He was especially going to get attention from other demons after getting introduced as the lesser demon of lust and my subordinate. I hoped only that Loki would use his charm enough in order for other demons not to suspect any foul play. But he was a demigod of trickery, this was his area of expertise.

"Let's go then. Let's not waste any more time." I spoke up again, trying to avert the topic and my mind from the sudden unwanted thoughts that kept infiltrating my brain. I had just opened the portal but then Loki decided to respond.

"I know you're attracted to me, Asmodeus." He said in the most serious tone, making me stop in my tracks. I turned towards him with a frown.

"What are you talking about?" I still refused to admit it. Even if I did, why would it matter anyway?

Loki sighed and then chuckled. "Eh, Asmo, you still think of me as a fool." He shook his head before fixating his gaze on me. "Man up and admit it." He said in a firm tone and folded his arms. "Or I'm not going."

"Why are you persistent? It doesn't matter anyway." Confusion came over me, having no idea what was going through Loki's head.

"It matters." He insisted and still didn't budge from his spot but just continued to stand there.

"Fine." I sighed out in annoyance. "Your female form is hot. But that doesn't mean anything, don't get ahead of yourself." I said sharply. He raised an eyebrow and then laughed loudly.

"You're funny." He remarked, leaving me even more confused.

"Why did you even want me to tell you this?"

"I just needed you to say it." He shrugged.

"For the laughs?"

"Kind of..." He hummed before snorting once more.

"Dick." I mumbled and rolled my eyes. I should've expected that from him. It was still odd that he was insisting so much. I wasn't a fool either, I knew when something was up. But unlike him, I decided not to press the matter further as I didn't need more complications in my life as of now. The best course of action was to ignore this for now, there was hell to raise and the Devil to overthrow.

Adding nothing more to the conversation, we both walked through the opened portal until we were both standing on the cracked ground with volcanoes surrounding us.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked, glancing at him as we were facing the gate of Hell several feet away.

"Are you kidding? I've never been more excited." He replied, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. That was when it dawned on me that he was not just here to help me; he was also seeking an escape from the monotony of the Norse realm and, in his own way, finding solace for himself. This could only signify there'd be more trouble to come.