I searched for the address and eventually came upon a massive mansion. 'What kind of friends do you have Zestial!?' I thought, walking up to the gate.
When I arrived at the gate the voice of a woman blared over some speakers. " What is your business here sinner?" I could tell she had a light accent but I couldn't quite place it. "Yes hello, I was sent here by overlord Zestial. He told me you could help me." I responded. The speakers were silent for a moment before the gate slowly opened.
"Come in"
I did as the speaker told me. I entered the mansions And I was met with a tall woman with snow white hair.
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"I'm assuming you are Miss Carmine?"
She looked me up and down. "Yes. I am." She said as she approached me. She walked on two sharp looking ballet shoes. 'Probably uses her legs in fights.' I observed.
Just as I studied her, she was studying me. "You seem to have arrived in hell recently. Who are you and what business do you have with Zestial?" She inquired suspiciously.
"I am Nathan Empyrean. Zestial found me after I manifested in hell a few hours ago, he gave me one thousand souls and said he was interested in seeing my growth. He said you could help me get on my feet here in hell" I told her the truth. If she was a friend of Zestial then she was likely trustworthy.
Her eyes seemed to widen at my words. "An interest in you? Why would Zestial of all demons be interested in a demon who hasn't even been in hell more than a few hours?" She asked with suspicion evident on her face.
"He said he was curious about this." I said as I held up my ring. "He said it's an angelic blessed protection ring, or something like that." She was now staring at the ring like a hawk stares at prey.
"A holy ring of protection?" She asked, still baffled. "That would make you..."
"Invulnerable to basically all attacks. I know, Zestial told me that much." I affirmed her suspicions.
"Hmm, that explains Zestial's interest I suppose." She muttered to herself. "Very well, come with me." I did as she asked and followed her deeper I to her mansion.
As we walked I could see dozens of silver and black weapons mounted on the walls. From guns to spears and swords. "I see you admiring my work." She said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked back at her. "You made these?" I said gesturing to the weapons on the wall.
"Yes, my company; Carmine Crafting, is the largest supplier of angelic weapons in all of Hell '' She said with a bit of pride in her voice. "No matter the job if someone wants an angelic weapon they won't settle for anything less than a Carmine crafted one."
I looked at her with admiration. "No wonder you are an overlord." I said to which she nodded. "As a friend of Zestial I am willing to let you stay here until you acclimate to hell, however in exchange you will be helping me with crafting and testing new weapons. Sound fair?" She asked.
"Sounds fair enough." I said "So do we shake hands to seal the deal or something?"
She paused. "I believe a contract is more in order than a simple deal." She said as she led me into a room, which I assumed to be her office. She sat down at a desk and gestured for me to do the same. She suddenly conjured a glowing piece of paper and began to write up a contract. After she finished she presented it to me.
In exchange for staying in her home until he acclimates to hell, Nathan Empyrean will assist Carmilla Carmine in creating and testing Angelic weapons.
Signed: Carmilla Carmine & ...................
"Sign on the dotted line and we will officially be in business." She said, For a moment I eyed the paper with suspicion but I still signed the contract all the same.
Miss Carmine later introduced me to her daughters and gave me a room. When I entered the room and sat down on my bed, the weight of everything finally hit me.
"O-oh God..." everything came rushing in at once. I was dead. I was sent to hell. I have no idea if my brother is ok, and now all of my friends and family are going to have to mourn me. For a few hours I just sat on the bed and cried, finally allowing myself some peace. Tears stained my face as I fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up and went to the bathroom to make myself presentable in front of Miss Carmine and her employees.
I also finally got a good look at myself. All in all my appearance was only changed in terms of color, with the only difference in my figure being my wings. I now had bone white skin and gold eyes with red sclera in place of my green ones. My hair was still short and blonde but now it had streaks of black running through it. My facial structure was the exact same as when I was alive.
I left my room and met Miss Carmine where she brought me to a large room she called her "workshop"
It resembled a cross between a medieval blacksmith shop and a modern steel plant. I could see weapons being dumped into the furnace to be melted down to either be turned into ingots for later use or poured into weapon molds.
"Empyrean, there you are," a voice called out to me. I turned around to see Odette, one of Miss Carmine's daughters.
"Mother asked me to get you, she wants your help on the weapons she crafts herself." I nodded and followed her.
She led me into a part of the workshop that was more blacksmith-esque. It was there I saw Miss Carmine hammering away at what looked like the blade of some kind of axe. She stopped when she noticed us. "Good to see you awake Nathan, Grab an apron and let's get started." she said as her daughter left us. I did as I was ordered and put in a smithing apron. "Ahh, this brings back memories" I said to myself, however Miss Carmine overheard me.
"Do you have experience with blacksmithing?" she asked intrigued. I was startled by her question. I blushed a bit. "Y-yea, it was a hobby of mine when I was still alive. I never made anything much though, just a few knives for some friends and an unsharpened sword for a commission once." I recounted.
"Well that just means you will be easier to work with. Grab the ingot on the table and start to hamer it flat. One of the Ars Goetia ordered a new battleaxe." She ordered, handing me the generalized shape design and I quickly followed the instructions.
I picked up the ingot and closed my eyes as I began to think about the blade of the axe, 'it's supposed to be a double sided blade, It will probably look beautiful once Miss Carmine adds her designs onto it.' I looked back down and I was immediately shocked. "M-miss carmie?"
"Yes Nathan what is it?" she responded without looking at me, still etching designs into another blade.
"Im, Done...?"
She wiped her head around only to see me holding a pristine and sharpened white and black battleaxe blade, complete with her unique designs. "H-how is that possible!?" she stormed towards me and began to examine the axe. "You didn't even strike it once. How did you do it?!" she demanded.
"I-I don't know! I picked up the ingot and started to think about what it was going to look like when it was done and then suddenly...It was just Done!" I responded honestly.
She looked away from me and began to think, a few minutes later she picked up another ingot and handed it to me. "Try thinking about another object, I have a theory." I took the ingot and closed my eyes again. I began thinking about a knife and when I opened my eyes Miss Carmine was staring at a pristeen knife in my hands.
"Fascinating..." she said "matter manipulation magic" she looked to me.
"We are going to make great business partners mister Empyrean."
