Helltaker - Devil's Gaze

Chapter I - O' Death, Won't You Spare Me

Forgive me if none of this is accurate to what it's actually like being a chemical worker outside of what I'd already expected to be way off. There's very little information I can find readily and I just decided to say "fuck it, we ball".

"That bastard could not cut any more corners if he tried," Y/N grumbled. He was very uncomfortable in his protective suit. It was pretty much the only thing his boss didn't get some cheap 'alternative' for.

You see, Y/N was a chemical worker or, as he preferred to call himself, a Liquidator. It sounded more accurate to his working conditions depending on how familiar you were with the Chernobyl catastrophe. Several men lost their lives to shut off the nuclear reactor, both in the process and after the fact. Think of his job as being kind of similar. He would go to areas where there was some kind of chemical leak or, God forbid, a radiation leak, and assist with clean up and containment.

On this latest job, Y/N noticed he had fewer filters than regulations allow, and with his on-site supervisor being his actual boss, knew that he was under-prepared for the coming day. Well, at least his roommate was keeping busy if the call earlier in the morning was anything to go by. Something about busty demon girls in business suits? Whatever, it's not like he would be able to go even if he wanted. As he reached into his backpack for an unused filter, he realized he was fresh out and there was still quite a bit of toxic gas that would be lethal to inhale.

"Shit-" he wheezed, a sense of fear washing over him as he began sprinting towards the safe zone they'd set up for just a situation. He tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge, prompting the man to pound on the door.

"KEVIN! KEVIN LET ME IN! I'M OUT OF FILTERS!" Y/N yelled, beating his fists on the metal harder than before. There was no response, nothing indicating the door would open for him. Panic began setting in as he tried to pull the door open but there was no use. He sat against the door and began choking as the caustic chemical vapors began getting through the filters.

"k-... ke-kev-in... yo-ou fuck... you... fucking... ba...stard..."

As the light finally faded from his eyes, the universe itself reached out to take advantage of such an occurrence. Hands of all kinds- angels and demons, monsters of the mind and freaks lost to time- all chomping at the bit to pull another soul into their collections. One hand reached further and held tighter than all the others. Her white gloved hand gripped Y/N's soul by the wrist, desperately calling to him to come into her sweet embrace and promising to return the soul to its body as the clock had not yet struck time. It wasn't long before the stench of sulfur and molten rock brought the human soul out of its stupor.

"wh... who was... AAAAGGGGHHHH!" the man cried, his head pounding like a sledgehammer was beating railroad spikes into it sideways. The flames of Hell which tormented sinners and demons alike was now lashing out at the closest thing to purity it had access to, only ceasing as a pair of hands grabbed him under his armpits and pulled him away. As the pain finally subsided enough for his eyes to open, he caught sight of the one who had saved him. She had fluffy white hair that just barely hid a pair of horns, round glasses correcting the vision of her unsettling red eyes, and a black business suit with an admittedly short pencil skirt. For all intents and purposes, she was very attractive.

(For some reason chapter writing on mobile causes Wattpad to lose its shit so the image will be back soon)

"Well, now that you seem capable of interacting with others, I must ask you what your rating of Hell's Customer Service is. Preferably on a scale of one to ten," the woman asked, confusing Y/N.

"Hell's... Customer Service?" he asked incredulously. He didn't remember much after he passed out, and his surroundings pointed to him being in The Bad Place™, but it didn't track with how he had lived. Obviously, something was amiss.

"It's been a ten outta ten so far, well with you pulling me out of the fire there," Y/N said to the woman.

"I've never been given such a high rating... Forgive me, I never did introduce myself, did I? I am Pandemonica, the Tired Demon and one in charge of Hell's Customer Service and the only demon working in the department," the demon introduced herself, performing a small bow. Y/N nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"You don't need to bow, I should be thanking you after all. I'm Y/N and I guess I died due to inhaling... cyanide gas if I remember right," the soul introduced himself, extending a hand. Pandemonica smiled slightly and shook hands.

"So you're the one... It's obvious you don't belong here, so follow me and I will bring you to Lady Lucifer. I'm sure she will be more than capable of directing you back to the mortal realm." This shocked the mortal soul, leaving him understandably confused.

"I get the not belonging here bit but why would I be allowed to go back?" he asked, scratching his head as he tried to figure it out for himself.

"Well, I believe that would be best explained by Lucifer. Shall we get going?" Y/N nodded his head and the two set off for Lucifer's castle.