Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Despite being a machine with a soul, Hayley was tired. Working in the basement and keeping track of leftover souls was no easy task, especially since Asmodia was making contracts with countless people around the world and adding more souls to her stack. For the most part, the souls were to be left for her consumption, but the primordial devil reigning over the third hell was no longer fond of human souls ever since Athenia had made a pact with her.

The seductress, known to lie with goddesses, had no use for a mortal soul anymore. Sure, it could give her power, but was it even worth swallowing the soul of every sinner that was no more powerful than an aged farmer? She wasn't going to sow seeds in a field, nor did she need the ability to wake up with an aching back. Or at least those were the excuses she used on herself, because in the end, power to her no longer mattered.

"Haaa~"

"Oi," closing Hayley's mouth pushing her lower jaw upwards, Asmodia, who was sitting in her ethereal form, shut her up. "Stop spreading your laziness around, you're gonna bore everyone to death before this game is over."

Slowly looking around at the gazebo table, Hayley had to remind herself that she was sitting with company. Erika, Maria, Jenna, and of course, the devil, along with Tan's wife, Blossom. She'd just settled with them, so she hadn't had a clue what had led up to this moment. Everyone was holding a pair of cards with a stack of them lazily thrown in the middle.

"What are you guys even playing?"

"Match the pair basically," Erika answered, her eyes transfixed on the card that she was holding.

"The devil bet a thousand gold on this game; any of us just needs to win against her and it's ours." Added Jenna, her smile as creepily wide as ever.

'Such a waste of a good face.' Hayley thought, but yet again her train of thought was interrupted.

"Don't forget that I'm getting something too if I win."

"What's that?" Asked the spirit turned machina.

With a smile on her face, Asmodia responded.

"Their swimsuits and whatever I want from their wardrobe. I wanna try wearing human clothes every so often if I'm gonna be here for a few more years."

A bit puzzled, Hayley tilted her head.

"Why not get a set made from the Red madam? I'm sure she'd be thrilled to work for any race other than humans."

Fanning her hand sideways, Erika quickly shot down that suggestion.

"Not gonna happen, I don't want anyone to know that a devil lives within their high priestess. Besides…" Throwing her cards on the table with a sigh, Erika looked right at Hayley and added. "The last time the Madam met the Mistress, it became abundantly clear that she didn't like devils. I've even heard that she's been turning away succubi that try to shop at her establishment."

"Wait–" Jumping into the conversation with a yelp, Blossom's expression contorted. "That's discrimination, is it not? I thought our king decreed against it a while ago when the devils first showed up."

"And unless someone has a matching ace up their ass, I think I'm winning." Cutting the conversation short, Asmodia threw on the pile a matching pair of aces. A wave of curses and frustration followed for a few seconds, but then, as everyone accepted their loss, the devil was off on her way to ransack the best-looking dresses from everyone's wardrobe.

But of course, being women, the crowd couldn't just let her do it without supervision. There was much quarrel to be had in just a few minutes–something Hayley decided to stay out of. Even so, watching Blossom slowly waddling towards the mansion's entrance, she got up from her chair to help the pregnant woman.

Before she even got close, however, Maria used her magic to carry her in a pair of mystic hands that fully supported Blossom's back.

"First time being pregnant, right?" Shaking her head, the Illusion mistress heaved a sigh. Then, giving Blossom one more look while she returned an awkward smile, she patted her on the back and urged the hands to carry her to their rooms. "Don't be scared to ask for help, the last thing I want is for a pregnant woman to hurt herself in our house."

'That's nice of her.' Overhearing the conversation, Hayley couldn't help but smile. 'There's some heart in that cold exterior, after all.'

As if Maria had heard her thoughts, she turned her head just for a second and glared angrily at the machina. Almost as if to say.

"Mind your tongue, kid!"

A shudder went through Hayley's mechanical spine. Somehow, more than the hells and being treated the way she was as she died, what scared her the most in this new life was Maria.

"Hey…Uhmm." Interrupting her thoughts again, the arctic fox appeared behind the machina. Holding onto what appeared to be a baby Coppalicon, she seemed somewhat troubled. "How do you feed these birds? I took him from the castle, but I couldn't find anything to feed him there."

"YOU STOLE HIM?!" As if rest was nowhere near her schedule, Hayley's day had only gotten more hectic as time went on.

But what seemed like monumental tasks would soon turn trivial upon the return of the mansion's lord. A new enemy was on the radar, and the prize was a city's worth of influence for their god. But what's at stake? Every soldier the city could muster, and perhaps an even greater toll would be exacted? Either way, with Linkle's return to Athenia before Raven, some bad news had already arrived.

Not to mention, a new visitor had presented itself to their goddess–someone far more ancient than even the elder gods. Looming above her as she sat on her throne, Athenia watched the imposing figure with a scythe standing before her. Devoid of flesh with just a dark coat covering its body, it appeared as a skeleton not much unlike her father, the last time she'd seen him.

"An archangel, in my humble prison? What a pleasure~" Like always, the goddess of mockery welcomed the guest in her usual fashion–sarcasm and mockery.