(AN 1: I got such a good outline of the next two… Arcs? I wouldn't exactly call them arcs, but the next two things that'll happen in the story will be good so that's why the writing quality is probably going to increase and be more frequent… Don't take my word as bond tho)
(AN 2: No novel today, just a complaint: Why are there so many NTR novels? I was scrolling and I found like 8 novels where the main plot is "I steal everybody's women because they are beta cucks compared to me.")
(Me watching Invincible: Dayum, Anissa is bad!)
(Me reading the comics: Wow… Anissa is bad :(
'Okay, is the guy running this place compensating for something?' James thought as he gazed upon the monolith of a casino he and the rest of the gang were standing in front of. The casino was truly massive, standing at about 200 feet, with large cards adorning the outside as decorations. Finally, the head of a man with black fur and a golden trident served as the logo.
Everyone was dressed up nicely, James wearing a blue suit that was just a little too tight on him, accentuating his lean muscles. Nifty was wearing a black strapless dress, her figure hugged by it, even if she still had to grab onto James' arm for support while walking.
Amery was wearing a modest yellow polo dress, her neutral expression matching her choice of clothing. Vaggie, unlike the rest, wore a black double-breasted suit without a tie. Charlie and Angel Dust simply wore their regular suits.
"Alright, guys, listen real quick." Angel turned around to the group. "I have a way to get inside. I'm friends with the bouncer. She's a little weird, but don't piss her off, you got that?" He said, staring directly at James as he said the last part. 'Why does that seem directed at me?'
As they got in line with the other casino-goers, they soon reached the front door, revealing a red-haired woman in a standard suit and tie with yellow eyes that seemed to spiral.
"Maki, how're you doing, baby?" Angel greeted Maki as she gained a slight smile on her face.
"I've been quite alright, Angel Dust. I take it that you want you and your group here to come in?" she said in a smooth tone.
"Yeah, y'know, I made a couple of friends and wanted to treat them."
Maki slightly nodded at Angel's words. "Alright then, come in—" A look of worry quickly came onto her face. "Oh no, I forgot to feed Snowball!" she exclaimed as she snapped her fingers, a small portal appearing before her feet as something started to crawl out.
Slowly, a man was revealed walking on all fours. He had dirty blonde hair with a relaxed look on his face. He also had chainsaw blades sticking out of his neck and chest. He wore a dirty white shirt and gray sweatpants.
"...That's a grown-ass man." James couldn't help himself from speaking.
"Yeah, he may have that 'grown dog look,' but hey, who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" Maki said as she knelt down and wrapped her arm around the boy's shoulders. "Watch this: Speak, boy."
"...What's up, bro?"
"Good boy!" she said, pulling a dog treat out of her pocket and feeding it to him.
"Okay, that's literally just a fucking guy!" Vaggie exclaimed this time as the 'dog' finished eating.
"Did I mention that he's a rescue?"
James and Vaggie looked at each other in confusion.
"What would that even mean in this context?" Charlie asked.
"I just found the poor thing wandering all alone, so I took him in," Maki said, snuggling against the 'dog.'
"Yeah, I was walking to class one day, and she just grabbed me from Earth and killed me so I would come here."
James knelt down and put his hands on his head in confusion. "Dude, why'd you accept this?"
"She like genuinely thinks I'm a dog. Hell, I get free rent, food, pension planning, a 401k, dental care, all types of insurance. It's definitely better than what I was doing back on Earth, let me tell you what," the 'dog' casually said.
"Okay!" Angel said hurriedly. "I love your dog, Maki, but man's innate desire to put it all on red is burning inside of us right now."
As she heard Angel's words, she got up, realizing she had been holding up the line, bragging about her 'dog.'
"My apologies, go on ahead, old friend," she said as she let them inside.
The casino breathed with life as they stepped in. Slot machines lined the walls, trying to overwhelm the senses, while card games invaded the middle, casting their spell upon the sinners.
Poker, blackjack, keno, and baccarat called to the sinners of Hell, wasting their money on the very small chance they could ever get it back.
"Hey, Angel, just realized something. How are we gonna gamble if we have no money?"
Angel went to say something but stopped in his tracks, overlooking this detail.
"Guys, don't worry; I brought some for all of you." Charlie happily stated as she pulled out five briefcases.
'Where the hell did she pull that out of?' James thought but was quickly distracted as Charlie opened the briefcases, revealing wads upon wads of souls.
(AN: I know I may not have been clear about this, but souls are Hell's currency.)
"Holy shit!" Angel whisper-yelled, grabbing a briefcase, shaking with excitement as the others, excluding Amery, followed suit.
Charlie quickly grabbed the briefcase back. "Now, before I give you any of this, I need to remind you to please gamble responsibly. I know you might like it, but that's no excuse to go broke, you hear?"
Everybody quickly nodded and took their briefcase, going over to their game of choice.
Amery went to poker, knowing her inexpressiveness would make for an excellent poker face. Nifty limped over to craps, where she undoubtedly would spend the rest of the night without a strategy at all. Charlie gravitated to the slots, entranced by their wacky designs and colors. Vaggie and Angel Dust went over to the blackjack and baccarat tables, respectively, while James went to roulette.
When he arrived at the roulette table, he saw a large anthropomorphic male carnation flower with a sly grin on his face, taking bets left and right, only to leave the gamblers in dismay as their cash went into the casino's pocket.
At first, James didn't start gambling; he simply watched the game with his Six Eyes, trying to study it.
What he found was that the carnation flower somehow always made the ball land just one space after wherever the bet was. If a bet was placed on an even space, it would ever so closely tip over to odd. If a bet was placed that the ball would land on a space below 18, it would just so happen that the ball would land on 19.
The patrons obviously complained about this, but they couldn't do anything as security would simply rough them up and throw them out, not giving them a chance to win back their money. James decided that he had watched enough and wanted to get in on the gambling action.
He calmly took out 5,000 souls worth of chips, laying them on the table.
"All of this on red, even, and below 18."
The flower let out a slow cackle but still took James' money as he spun the table around again. But this time, James was prepared. While the flower spun the wheel, he used his Six Eyes to slow down his perception and watch the ball intently—for about four minutes in his eyes but only ten seconds for everybody else.
When James' ball was going to land on a black 35 space, he unleashed the weakest Dismantle he could—not making a scratch visible to the naked eye but affecting the ball's gravity just enough so that it rolled into a red 14 space.
Although the flower was surprised, it didn't show it on his face as he gave James quintuple his chips.
"Would you like to go again?" the flower said with a scratchy voice.
James nodded and pushed all of the chips forward. "Everything here on black, odd, and above 18."
The flower nodded and spun the wheel again, this time focusing more intently on cheating. But even though he focused his hardest, the ball simply landed on a black 23.
This time, the flower grumbled and again gave James quintuple his previous earnings. But unbeknownst to either of them, they were being watched.
Watching a camera with their faces on it from the top floor was the same fuzzy man that was plastered on the casino outside.
He was in a dark red room, taking inspiration from gothic architecture, with his feet on the dark wooden desk, sifting through souls. In front of him were a variety of screens showing multiple angles of his casino, including the game between the flower and James.
"How's he doing that against Cagney?" he asked under his breath.
"Oi, Dice!" he screamed, putting the souls down. Soon, the door to his office opened, revealing a tall, slender man in a purple suit with a dice for a head.
"Yes, boss?"
The boss pointed at the screen displaying James and the flower. "Tell me if I'm crazy, but ain't it a cheating day? Why the hell is Cagney letting that fool win?"
The dice man stepped closer, staring intently at the screen before glancing back. "Boss, do something for me. Rewind this and play it real slow."
The boss let out a low grunt and rewound the footage, slowing it to 0.001x speed. Dice leaned forward, his eyes almost touching the screen.
"Look, boss, right there!" He quickly pointed at the ball.
"Boss, Cagney always has the ball tip just off the bet, but now it's tipping ever so slightly into it."
The boss took his feet off the desk, eyes narrowing as he leaned in. "So what're you trying to say, Dice?"
Dice placed his hands on the table, leaning closer to him. "What I mean, boss, is that boy is trying to cheat the devil himself."
At first, the boss seemed neutral, propping his head up with his fingertips on the desk. But soon, he started to grin—then chuckle. Before long, he was laughing.
"Well, ain't that just ballsy? Let him ride a little, then close off the roulette table. I'm interested to see how he'll pull this off in my other games."
Unknown to James, the Devil had taken an interest in him.
(AN: I'm making The Devil, Lucifer and Satan all different people. Lucifer is the king of all of hell, Satan is the king of Wrath and The Devil is the king of pride)
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(The End)
(If this chapter seems weird it's prolly because the sight I use to check my grammar tried charging me so I'm using gpt to check my grammar until I find another.)
(Shameless plug: Ko-fi.com/mrlegantrop)
Do you know who ELSE got reincarnated into Hazbin Hotel with an interdimensional Gacha system? My uncle John, he's a mechanic… Also MY M–- Muscle Man moments before getting fired