"Don't make that face," a dark-skinned young man dressed as a Kumo ninja said loudly.
Despite his strong voice, he was barely audible because of the infernal noise of the music during the party.
"Sorry for ruining the mood, can't help it," he replied before downing a glass of alcohol served by his friend in one go.
*Gulp*.
"I... I was sure she was the one..." After these words, the man dressed as Adam from the Hazbin Hotel show collapsed dramatically onto the couch.
'Am I really old-fashioned?' Jonas couldn't stop his mind from wandering.
He really loved this girl, but unfortunately, she didn't seem to share the same values.
"I get you, man," his friend said, taking a cigarette before lighting it.
Flame.
After exhaling a few puffs of smoke, he offered a cigarette to Jonas, who politely declined.
'Crap, I forgot he's a non-smoker,' David cursed himself for his social reflexes.
He hurried to continue the conversation to dispel the awkward atmosphere his little slip-up had caused.
"Listen, Jonas."
"She was literally your first real official relationship... you need to move on."
David wanted to continue, but he fell silent.
His friend's distraught face made it clear he wasn't ready to turn the page yet.
'To think he called me to help him forget that bitch...'
David really wanted to insult the woman who had broken his bro's heart, but that might anger or depress him even more.
That shows Jonas's gentle nature.
Fortunately for him, his friend knew how to fix a heart in distress thanks to the numerous rejections he had accumulated from girls in high school.
'Alcohol, time, and money can heal any man.' Despite not having the money option in large quantities, David knows how to bring together the other two elements.
While David was crafting an evening plan for himself and his friend, Jonas's mind was still elsewhere.
'Maybe I should stop following dad's advice and live life to the fullest like David and the others... Yeah, that's better...' He convinced himself while drinking another glass of alcohol.
You have to understand that Jonas was the only one in his friend group who was still a virgin.
It wasn't that he was ugly or too introverted, but he had grown up in a very religious family, even if he wasn't really religious himself.
As a result, he had been instilled with values like abstinence before marriage, and that's also why his girlfriend had broken up with him.
'From now on, I'll follow Yujiro Hanma's advice.'
'I'll never abstain again, and I'll do it morning, noon, and night!!'
After making this decision, Jonas surprisingly had a fun Halloween night despite its dark beginning.
He sincerely thanked his best friend David before leaving the party by car, despite his protests.
"Bro, I don't think you're in any condition to drive."
"Stay here, the owner's a friend, you won't risk getting your phone stolen."
Despite David's sincere and insistent tone, he unfortunately failed to convince his stubborn friend—a trait that had gotten worse with alcohol.
'He underestimates me, heh... I know how to drive.' thought Jonas at the wheel
Result: Jonas died after running a red light, and his friend David fell into depression for years.
...
(Location: unknown)
"Damn, my skull..."
'I remember driving my vehicle, then there was an impact... then nothing'.
As he tried to get his bearings, Jonas noticed the ground was abnormally dry and the air had an unusual smell.
He felt an extreme repulsion toward the atmosphere surrounding him, but he didn't know why.
"What the... Ouch!" As he got up, his headache suddenly intensified, and several images resurfaced in his mind.
'No... no... I'm coming back from a meeting with that idiot Lucifer's daughter.'
Jonas's mind was chaotic.
Jonas's memories and Adam's collided to finally merge or more precisely, Jonas surprisingly assimilated Adam's memories without being swallowed by them.
"Damn... I-I'm Adam..." he said in a bewildered tone before instinctively summoning his favorite weapon.
(Image)
A guitar, which also served as his battle axe, appeared before him.
'So... these memories are real'
Adam spent an unknown time questioning his situation, even his very existence, before finally accepting his fate.
Jonas died in a car accident because of his drunkenness, but also because of his stubbornness.
Adam too will die in the future, because of his stubbornness... but also his arrogance.
"I... I don't want to die anymore, or hurt anyone again."
He couldn't help feeling sad thinking about his family's mental state, as well as his friends, especially David.
'He must really blame himself...'
After a moment of silence, Adam decided to postpone his reflections and mourning of himself for later, because he had a huge problem.
'The portal between realms is working poorly at the moment, so I can't return to Heaven right now...'
He was in an unknown dimension, and in a clearly inhospitable region.
'I can feel... an unpleasant energy around me, but it's particularly concentrated in this direction'.
Adam didn't yet clearly understand the notion of energy or magic, his mind still being fragmented, but he had no specific destination.
So, he decided to follow the source of this magical energy, even though it seemed much more unpleasant than the rest of this place.
'This place smells like Hell... but much cuter,' he thought, before realizing the strangeness of his comparison.
....
(Location: Heaven)
"You're saying Adam has been missing for a long time?" Sera's annoyed voice echoed in her office.
"Affirmative, Your Majesty. This happened after his refusal to grant that girl's request." Lute quickly explained, not wanting to cause trouble for her direct superior.
'I wouldn't normally come see this woman, but Lord Adam has been gone for too long...'
She couldn't hide the absence of Heaven's chief exorcist indefinitely, and she couldn't easily fill the void left by his disappearance.
"I see..." Sera frowned upon hearing this report.
'This is troublesome news that could become a serious problem if Adam isn't found...' she thought before signaling Lute to leave.
"But..."
"Don't worry, Lute. Adam isn't weak." she said in a tone full of assurance.
"He probably went off for band practice or something... But keep his disappearance secret at least until the next Hell purge." Sera explained in a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation.
"... As you wish." Lute had no choice but to accept the orders before withdrawing.
'I'll take matters into my own hands if he doesn't return before the purge.'
Lute had already decided to search for Adam with or without Sera's or Heaven's approval once the set deadline had passed.