If there was anyone I had expected to see there, Thor wouldn’t have even been on the list. The book clearly stated they had not seen eye-to-eye that much. Not only that but Thor was beating him up on more than one occasion.

My heart was quickening its rate from genuine fear for the first time. Thor didn't say a word, just started making his way towards me with Mjolnir in his right hand. Loki didn't dare move as any sort of movement would burn his skin. However, I could see anger rising within him. I also didn't dare move as I doubted Thor would miss this time.

"So, you've got something of ours." The blonde Norse god skipped all the pleasantries and went straight to the point. I preferred it that way either way. I glanced at Loki who for some reason showed fear as well. I had never seen him as scared until now. A confusion was starting to infiltrate my brain as I struggled to decide what to do.

"Yes, and there's a good reason for it." I said as confidently as I could.

"Oh really?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow. "You do know I can just fling you into space at this exact moment, right?"

"I would really love you to–" With one heavy swing, Thor threw the hammer towards me, making me fly across the field for about four hundred feet. I growled as my body slammed against the ground with the hardest blow I had ever received. I felt all the air leaving my body, making me gasp for air. As I started propping myself up, I heard curses in the distance which made me chuckle. Thor was realizing he couldn't help Loki out of the chains as they too burned him.

At that moment, I noticed something dripping down my chin only to realize it was black goo from my mouth. Only then I started feeling pain in my guts and started to take the situation much more seriously. Although it had also started making me motivated. I felt anger rising in me as I wiped the blood off my chin. I slowly stood up so as not to unlock yet another painful spot on the body. As Thor drew nearer, I braced myself for the inevitable confrontation, steeling my nerves for whatever may come. Despite the odds stacked against me, I stood firm, ready to face the thunder god with all the defiance of a demon scorned.

"You'd better unlock those chains before I swing you another 400 feet!" Thor's voice thundered, his eyes ablaze with fury as he loomed over me. Ignoring his demands, I remained silent, my gaze steady as I focused my energy on him.

With a determined effort, I pressed my hand against his forehead, delving into the depths of his mind with telepathic prowess. It was like grappling with a titan, his mental defenses formidable and unyielding. Yet, inch by inch, I breached his barriers, wielding my psychic powers with relentless determination.

As my influence took hold, I felt the resistance wane, replaced by a dawning compliance in Thor's eyes. His pupils dilated as he succumbed to the compulsion, his movements becoming sluggish and robotic. With a sense of triumph, I commanded him to relinquish his weapon, watching as he obediently handed it over.

But my victory was short-lived, for as I grasped the hammer, its weight bore down upon me like a leaden shackle, sending me crashing to the ground once more. Agony lanced through my body as I struggled to rise, the full force of Thor's formidable weapon proving to be more than I could bear.

Before Thor could break out from the trance, I reached out a hand towards him and summoned all the strength I had, sending him flying across the field.

"Asmodeus!" Loki's voice echoed through the clearing, pulling my attention toward him. "You have to allow me to use it!" His urgency struck me, leaving me momentarily bewildered. I glanced at Thor, who was just picking himself up from the ground, a mixture of amusement and frustration evident in his expression.

"Why do you even want Loki back? Aren't you two supposed to hate each other?" I interjected, hoping to buy some time and glean more information.

Thor approached, his demeanor more serious now. "I'm not one for debates," he replied, his voice tinged with a hint of condescension. "But the situation is simple. Loki escaped from his confinement prematurely, and now we need to bring him back. We can't risk the apocalypse, and I doubt you want that either."

His explanation sounded plausible, but something about it didn't sit right with me. Despite my reservations, I rose to my feet, leaving the hammer lying on the ground. As I looked at Loki, a surge of unexpected empathy washed over me, unsettling me to my core.

"What happens if I refuse to let you take him?" The god of thunder looked almost shocked upon hearing my question.
"Like I told you. An eventual apocalypse ensues. Except this time we don't know how." That only meant one thing. They didn't know anything about Odin's prophecy. My heart started pounding in my chest as I realized how ultimately screwed this situation was. There was not a being at the moment that knew exactly how this was going to play out. Odin was probably the only one who knew the general idea but why didn't he tell the rest of them? Maybe Beelzebub was right, that old bastard was much trickier than I had imagined.

"Isn't there some kind of consequence for meddling with destiny?" I ventured cautiously.

"Perhaps... But I don't think any of us are prepared for what's coming," Thor replied, his expression troubled. "And what exactly are you two doing together?" he added, his tone tinged with suspicion. Unsure whether to reveal the truth, I hesitated, weighing the risks.

"We're just friends!" Loki's voice rang out from the distance, startling both Thor and myself. We exchanged incredulous glances.

"Friends?" we echoed simultaneously, our disbelief evident. I attempted to salvage the situation with a straight face.

"Yes... It's a long story, but things got out of hand and I had to restrain him to teach him a lesson," I explained, though the excuse felt feeble even to my own ears. Thor's skepticism was palpable, and before I could react, his anger flared, and he seized me by the collar, lifting me off the ground.

"Listen to me, do I look like an absolute idiot to you?" He spat without a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"I mean..." He gripped onto the collar even tighter, his fist pressing against my throat.

"You're a cocky little thing, aren't you?!" I was now coming to realize he would kill me without hesitating. Maybe I should have read up more on Thor as well.

The god of thunder was poised to hurl me to the ground once again when, in a desperate bid, I stretched out my hand, causing the chains around Loki to snap open. As I plummeted to the ground once more, the impact jarred my senses, sending a wave of dizziness washing over me.
Struggling to regain my bearings, I attempted to rise, only to find my head swimming with disorientation. Leaning against the surface for support, I heard Thor's furious roar ringing out nearby.

"NO!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the clearing. "Loki, you're making a grave mistake!" I watched in alarm as Loki seized Mjolnir, narrowly evading Thor's grasp.

"How does that make any sense, my brother, huh?!" I heard Loki cackle in the most murderous tone. "You've come to tie me back into that cave! Why would you think I'd come to you?!"

"We can come to an arrangement, just don't do this!"

"Oh so now you're willing to negotiate?! And you think I will believe you?!" The red-haired god started laughing once again and there was no hint of mercy in his voice. That was the first time I had ever experienced so much anger coming off of him. I smelled the smoke coming from behind me when I noticed the grass around me catching on fire. My body still felt weak, causing me not to be able to move, just leaving me hoping I wouldn't die engulfed in flames. Ironic for a demon.

Suddenly, the skies above us darkened, sending a downpour of rain and extreme lightning and thunder. Did I just single-handedly start Ragnarok? I sure did hope that wasn't the case. That's when I lost sight of Thor before me as he started sprinting towards Loki. I managed to turn my head around to see what was going on.

Thor was just about to reach him when Loki swung Mjolnir, making the other god crash so hard, creating a giant hole in the ground. My eyes widened in shock as I saw Loki's whole body radiating with flames. I saw Thor getting up on his knees with a blood-covered face, "You do this, and you're forever exiled from our world."

"Well, who died and made you the righteous ruler of Asgard?" Loki spat out before once more swinging the hammer and hitting Thor, rendering him unconscious.

Meanwhile, I was left completely speechless by the whole "performance". I had no idea what I had just started or ended but it didn't seem too good. I slowly rose to my feet when I realized that it was finally alright in my head. Loki was still standing in the same spot, staring at his now possibly dead brother. The flames on him had subdued as he let the hammer just drop to the ground.

"Is... Is he dead?" I asked carefully not to awaken more anger from him. I didn't want to experience whatever Thor just had.

"I... don't think so." It seemed like it was starting to come to him what he had just done. The previously furious demeanor was now gone, and he was nothing but scared. He looked up at me as if to ask for some sort of help. I started making my way towards him and then looked down at Thor. Well, he didn't seem so mighty and strong in this state.

"What do you think happens now?"

"I... genuinely don't know. If he isn't dead... Then I might have to be on the run forever. Unless Odin decides to do something about it. But they will definitely be searching for Thor when they realize he is gone."

I let out a deep breath as it was slowly dawning upon me that the apocalypse could be closer to us than it appeared. As much as I found Loki quite a menace, my gut feeling and ever-slight sympathy I felt for him, didn't allow me to just let him leave. I couldn't even push myself to tie him back to the tree. I despised so much whatever was going on with me for the past few hours. I hesitantly put my hand on his shoulder and turned myself towards him.

"As much as it pains me to say this... I'm willing to help you." I swallowed a lump in my throat, my gut feeling screaming at me that I was making a grave mistake. The red-haired trickster looked up from his unconscious brother for the first time and locked his gaze with mine. His eyes gave out emotion I hadn't seen before. However, one emotion was prevailing over any other and that one I was very familiar with - despair.

"What are you proposing? Is there even a solution to this?" I was silent for a few seconds as I rummaged through my brain to suggest the least potentially dangerous option. "Honestly, I think you should tell Odin first what happened." I couldn't believe I had to be a voice of reason for the first moment in my life.

"Tell Odin?!"

"Yeah... You should be honest at least about this. I hate to say this but in this situation, honesty is the best policy."

Loki gulped and once again threw a glance at his brother on the ground. He nodded swiftly and, out of nowhere, his arms wrapped around me as he squeezed me closer to him.

"Um... excuse me?"

"Thank you." He murmured.

"For what? I didn't do–"

"I'm finally free. Thanks to you I'm no longer bound to the wills of Thor."

"We don't know if he's dead."

"Shhh... A man is allowed to dream." Loki said as he continued hugging me. I still didn't know what exactly was going on. I had never experienced someone being genuinely thankful that I had helped them.

"Okay, that's enough," I said, gently pushing him away as the hug had lasted longer than socially acceptable. Loki's face, which had shown despair moments before, was now grinning widely. I blinked, feeling my dead heart skip a beat.

"Even if he's not completely dead, my dear Asmo, he will be laying there for quite some time. It will be like a vacation for me," Loki beamed, his eyes almost sparking with mischief.

"Do tell Odin, though, otherwise, it could end really badly for you."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," Loki replied, hinting that he knew how much risk I was taking to keep him hidden from the Devil himself.

"Exactly," I said, turning my attention to Mjolnir on the ground. "You should probably bring that with you as well."

Loki followed my gaze and sighed, picking up the hammer. "Definitely."

"To Odin, not to yourself," I said sternly.

"Fine," he whined, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we should probably be heading back. You have quite a story to tell to your buddy," he said, implying Beelzebub. He walked past me, patting me on the shoulder before opening a giant portal. I watched him step out of the human world, my brain struggling to comprehend what had just happened. I should have never left Hell—that was for sure. Loki was right; I had to go tell yet another story of failure to Beelzebub. Instead of solving anything or delaying it, I had just made everything worse.

***

A few hours later, I found myself slouched in the chair in my office, downing my tenth shot of brandy. Sometimes, I wished I were human so I could just sleep through it all. The best a demon can manage in a meditative state is not being aware for a maximum of three hours. After that, the mind is inundated with visions and prayers from people. There was no way for me to tune out except through the vices I had—sex being one of them.

Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind. I had completely forgotten about the curious little thing that was the Devil's secretary. It seemed like a good day to spite the Devil, too.

I smiled to myself as I finished the last drop of liquid from the glass. Rising from the chair, I made my way towards the door and up to the attic where the boss had his little cave. As soon as my eyes met with the demoness sitting at her desk, she instantly grinned and stood up.

"You're back!" she beamed. Just seeing her so happy to see me improved my mood greatly. At least there was someone here who didn't know anything about what was going on and was still excited to see me. Though it was just lust she felt, it was better than any emotion I had experienced recently.

"Indeed, one and only." I stretched out my arms and she rushed towards me, suddenly pulling me for a deep kiss. "Impatient, aren't we?" She didn't respond with anything, just ended up pulling me into the storage room. She pushed me against the wall as she started lowering herself on her knees. That's when she started unbuckling my pants and took my length in her mouth. I let out a grunt as I gripped her hair. Her tongue started making circles on the tip before she pulled the skin slightly upwards, her tongue now making its way inside it. Her hand was gripping my length with the perfect strength as well. All of this made my mind clear of all worry as I completely gave myself to the lust, letting it completely surround my senses. I looked down at her, my gaze meeting hers as she was bobbing her head, as I gripped her hair even harder. I started telepathically sending her the waves of lust, wanting her to feel the same amount as I had.

However, just when the pleasure was about to build up to its highest point, the door slammed open. Both her and I snapped out of the dreamlike state and looked towards the intruder.

"Asmodeus, are you being serious right now?" The very same Devil from across the hallway said. There was a clear annoyance and I felt happy that I had succeeded in invoking a reaction.

"Interested in joining?" I smirked, in a half-dazed state as my mind was still in many sensations of lust. I saw the boss getting even angrier as he looked down at the demoness on her knees.

"And you?!" He thundered and she quickly stood up, wiping her mouth from any possible liquid then bowed her head.

"I'm so sorry, sir." She said quietly, dashing past him.

"I will deal with you later!" He yelled out at her before fixating his eyes on me.

"Do you like what you see? Is that why you keep looking at me?" I laughed out loud before he started making his way towards me. The lust I had been feeling until now completely vanished and I instantly straightened and zipped my pants up. He was looking directly into my eyes as if studying me and trying to understand what was going on in my head.

"What is going on with you, Asmodeus?" Surprisingly, his voice was soft, giving out a hint of concern even. That had genuinely taken me aback. "I thought after our talk, you'd... think?" There it was - the ever-present mocking.

"What's wrong with making a bit of love?"

"Don't push me," he said sharply, clenching his jaw. "This is the second warning and the last. If I see you once again near that girl, I will personally end you." He hissed, before turning away and walking towards the exit. I was once again overwhelmed with the feelings of betrayal except that now I had started feeling this big hole in my stomach. One would associate it to something similar to sadness.

"And what about you?! What happened to you, huh?!" I cried out. "You are nowhere to be seen for years... You just disappear somewhere, you don't say anything! And you only invite me when I make a mistake! Have you forgotten... everything?!" There was a giant lump in my throat. I couldn't believe there were even slight tears welling in my eyes. The Devil stopped in his tracks, just as he was about to leave through the doorway.

He didn't even try to look at me, he just simply responded with, "don't be a child, Asmodeus. We both know that people change, let alone us."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. There wasn't even an ounce of the Devil I used to know. It almost seemed like there was a part of him that was missing, like I was talking to a doppelganger. The anguish I felt was quickly replaced by rage, bringing me close to how Loki felt earlier today. I felt like I was touching the surface of despair, but I couldn't let myself succumb further. I was supposed to control it, not be a slave to it.

With nothing left to say, I clenched my jaw and silently muttered a "screw you" as I pushed past him. I didn't turn back, swearing to myself that I would never come back here again. There was no force that could make me. I couldn't look at him, I couldn't even talk to him—it was too painful, as hard as it was to admit.

I went straight to my chambers and decided I wouldn't come out of it for a while. That was at least one place where no one would bother me easily. Unless, of course, someone like Loki decided to invade again, but even he had better things to do at the moment—I hoped. I couldn't even bring myself to tell Beelzebub what had happened with the whole Thor and Loki situation. I couldn't bear to watch him look at me with disappointment—the only friend I currently had.

I laid on the bed, resting the back of my head against the wall. A sense of relaxation started to wash over me, so I closed my eyes, trying to let my mind go. As much as I loved to appear as the most laid-back demon ever, my own mind would never let me rest. Especially considering all the recent events, I didn't have one day of peace. I let out a deep breath, feeling a temporary peace wash over me. However, that peace didn't last long as I heard something sliding on the floor. I groaned to myself and opened my eyes, only to see a letter on the floor in front of the door. At least it wasn't a demon-killing bomb or something. I stretched out my palm, forcing the letter to fly into my hand. I groaned even louder when I opened it and saw an invitation to a masquerade party tomorrow.

It was an annual celebration where we thanked Hell and the Devil for what he had done for us—mostly nothing. It marked the day when the illumination, or the Astral sun, shone for the longest period of time. It symbolized the beginning of a new cycle, signifying our growth and evolution from the previous one.

A lot of demons went there either to let loose or because they were still idiots who worshiped the Devil. Of course, attendance was mandatory, especially for someone like me—a king. Another day of having to pretend, but at least there would be booze and drugs.

I let the letter rest on my chest as I closed my eyes once again. A vision of Loki grinning at me and hugging me appeared in front of me, making my heart skip a beat again. I shot my eyes open as I realized that whatever was surfacing in me was maybe a more dangerous thing than the apocalypse itself. Even if it wasn't what I thought it was, caring for someone new was such a strange concept to me. That was when I decided to push these thoughts somewhere deep inside where I would never be able to find them.

I was aware of how wrong it was but I absolutely refused to deal with those emotions and there was nothing that could make me. I even started to feel angry at myself because I let myself be vulnerable even a little bit. That was why I closed my eyes again, deciding to just sleep these thoughts away. Tomorrow would come and I could forget all about it again through a lot more vices. So, I let myself drift off, hoping I wouldn't get a vision of the world ending in a week. However, I was more concerned of my own feelings being worse in a week.