Lust kicked the door open, coming into the basement.

"Greed?" he called, noticing that the room was looking normal again.

There were no traces of blood, no bodies and nothing that could indicate what happened this night. The only evidence of the murders committed here was the bloody stain on his jacket.

"Let me guess," she was sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, "you came to ask me about the death of the man, who stole the piece of jewelry I gave to Hailie?"

"How-"

"We're demons," Envy spoke out. "We just know things, don't we?"

Almost everybody was downstairs. It seemed like the only ones missing were Pride and Sloth.

"He died because of you. What were you thinking, giving the cursed object to Hailie?"

Greed slowly stood up. She moved with grace, what was enhanced by her rich and classy style of dressing.

"The object is cursed only for the one who's not supposed to have it. Don't judge me, because that bracelet is as cursed as the money you're giving Hailie for being her roommate. They might be real, but they're hellish creations, and so, they're dangerous for anybody who has them. Nice of you to send them into the world."

"The guy, who died, might have known something about this assault. He was paid to do it and now we won't find out by who." It must have been connected with Jayson Larsen, but Lust had a prediction that he wasn't the one, who payed for it.

A man like him would come and beat Hailie himself.

"I didn't kill him, it was the bracelet. I gave it to Hailie. When it was stolen, the outcome couldn't be any different. He was condemned already."

"You can't steal from demons," said Envy.

"And especially, you can't steal from me," added Greed.

Wrath ran his fingers through his messy hair, which were neither black nor brown, but more like a combination of those two colors.

"I feel like all of us are in a mood for revenge, huh?" He thought about the conversation he had with Pride and about the boy they've sent into the world to kill Jayson's parents. "I suggest you talk with Pride, she has some ideas of her own."

"She won't talk to me," Lust was sure that he could find out all about this from Wrath, "but I already have in my mind somebody to take revenge on." This just had to wait a little longer.

"I think we all know who should leave this house," Envy agreed.

Lust caught sight of a person standing in the corner of the basement. Sloth was trying to be unnoticeable for him, but he was here. Finally not asleep.

"What happened is your fault." Lust pointed his finger at him. "I've told you to watch over her."

"Dude, she already wasn't there when I came," Sloth tried to defend himself.

"So, you just went to sleep and ignored this? I shouldn't be surprised, right? That's what you do. Not care, not being here at all, but living in your freak world, created in your mind, while asleep. Avoiding us, avoiding responsibility and Satan forbid, helping us. You aren't reliable, you can't even be trusted. Everything bad that happened started with you, because of you."

"Lust, don't," Envy tried to stop him, cause she knew what he was going to say.

"You've killed Missy and now due to your carelessness, Hailie got hurt."

Sloth was willing to listen to everything that Lust had to say. He knew that he made a mistake and that maybe, with a different approach, he could have prevented that assault. But Lust went too far. Sloth was outraged at this attempt to blame him.

"I didn't kill Missy," Sloth tried to stay calm, but his voice was trembling.

"But she died because of you!" yelled Lust.

"No, dude!" Sloth yelled back. "She died because all of us and none of us! Because of a terrible mistake and lack of judgment about the situation we were in. How long have you been waiting to tell us the truth about what happened on our last Christmas? We had no idea who we were fighting, and we were stupid, believing that nobody would dare to stand up against us, the seven deadly sins demons. We made a mistake, all of us, and it had terrible consequences. There's nothing we can do about it now and throwing accusations won't help us deal with it. What do you want more, dude? Wasn't our revenge good enough? We got what we wanted. After what we've done, we can be sure that no one, no demon, will stand up against us ever again."

"I've told you to watch over her and you fell asleep. Twice now. I've left Missy under your protection. I've told you to watch out."

"You weren't there, when it happened, Lust. It wasn't Sloth's fault, neither was it yours," Envy slowly said. She was ashamed of how they've been played, how they've been deceived.

"But I was the one who found her." He shouldn't be. He shouldn't have found out like this. "And I blame you, I blame myself, I blame all of you."

"Honestly, man, you've got to pick a side here." Sloth turned away, letting Envy to explain what he had in mind. What everybody was thinking all along.

"You've loved Missy. You've cared for her, protected her, raised her. Those were feelings, Lust,  real feelings. Then you've killed Gregory. You've said to us that we're demons. That love doesn't exist for us. That humans are just toys, our victims. That the only thing we do is kill and hurt others. Demons don't beg. Demons don't love. Demon's don't care. Demon's don't have friends. Demons only hunt and spill blood, and take sinners to Hell, and live for their own fun. If we're so cruel, if we don't have emotions and feelings, why do you care about Hailie anyway? She's just a human. Our experiment to help her instead of hurting her right away. Why do you care if she was hit, if she was harassed, if she will be with officer Blackwell, if she dies or not? She's just a toy, your toy. Or maybe you do have feelings for her? Tell me, Lust, how is it? Because I've got lost. Are we cruel beings, the living definition of demons, or have we actually developed feelings through centuries of our existence?"

He didn't know how to respond and that made him even angrier, because Envy was partly right. He couldn't be both indifferent and caring. These things she said, couldn't co-exist. He wanted to believe that Hailie means nothing to him, that his only goal is to pick her up and prove that no girl can resist him. That's what he wanted, but at the same time he couldn't bear the thought that she could die, that someone could hurt her more than she already suffered. It was mixed up. She was both irritating and fascinating, unimportant and important. He hated the fact that because of her he couldn't stay the way he was. What his words about them being demons meant in a moment when he shared his thoughts with her in the garden, when he decided to get revenge in her name, when he couldn't admit that she meant nothing for him and can be left alone? What his words meant, when he just showed everybody in this room that he still can't get over Missy's death? They meant nothing.

And so, he had to make a decision.

"You're right." He looked at Envy with sudden calmness. "We're demons. I forgot myself a little, but it won't happen again. Thanks for making me realize that."

Her jaw dropped open. 

"That's it? That's your response?"

"Have you expected a different one?" he asked like he was surprised that there could have been another response.

If fact, Envy wished for him to finally admit that he actually had feelings. Maybe small ones, but definitely he had them. She thought that maybe something has changed, but with Lust there was no changing. He preferred to live a lie, to live a version of himself he created and wanted so desperately to be true. Because how much easier would it be to feel nothing, what a blessing it would be to forget the past, to ignore emotions that tried to find their way to the surface.

"I've expected a different one." Greed stepped in front of Lust. "You may be only a demon, even though that's so little to be, but some of us? We are much more than just demons. And by acting this way and saying those things you just showed us that you care less about Hailie than Sloth does, so maybe it'd be the best if you were never accusing him of anything again."

Lust was looking like her words didn't matter to him, like it was just meaningless babble.

"I'm not just a demon. I'm the demon, one of the first, just as you are. We all may have a different perception of things but unfortunately, we live under the same roof, condemned for each other. We have to learn how to accept that."

He raised his hand and disappeared in a cloud of fire. Greed thought that this was effective, but an old trick.

"Maybe one day he'll change his mind." She turned away to gaze at Sloth, but he was gone.

None of them were sure where he went, but it wasn't hard to guess. After the conversation he had with Lust, there was only one place he would go to. The room, where Missy was killed. 

Currently Debra's room.

The place full of cruel memories. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Sloth, who was standing in front of Lust. "Seems risky, dude. We haven't been to Hell for a long time."

Lust placed his hand on Sloth's arm as a calming gesture.

"It must be done. I need to visit Trinonthar and make sure that he knows better not to play with seven deadly sins demons. We shouldn't underestimate lower grade demons."

Sloth sighed and ran fingers through his messy blonde hair.

"Man, I have a feeling it won't end up good."

Lust smiled, looking at someone in the distance.

"Don't worry, I'm not coming alone."

Sloth turned around, noticing Pride, who was speaking about something with Wrath. Her vivid gesticulation pointed out that it was a conversation full of emotions.

"That's actually comforting." Somehow Pride knew how to calm down Lust, when things were getting out of their hands. Even though their friendship was a weird one, full of both bitter and sweetness, somehow, they were getting along quite well.

"Since we'll be gone, I must ask you to look out for Missy. Could you do that?"

"Sure, dude." Nice afternoon with their favorite fourteen-year-old? He was in.

"I mean it." Lust looked concerned. When it came to Missy, he was really protective. Sloth could even call him overprotective. "I need you to pay full attention. Don't lose her out of your sight. Going to Trinonthar, I've got a feeling it won't end up well. He's too proud and thinks of himself too high to just retreat. And he's after Missy, I can feel that."

Sloth knew that Lust was worrying about her, but in his opinion any of the demons from Hell aren't brave enough to do something against them. They were too powerful. They were the first ones. For his own sake, Trinonthar should leave them be. He already shared his opinion and that's enough. He should be glad he wasn't killed for such a small thing like saying what's on his mind.

"I'll be watching her until you come back."

"Guys! We're taking Wrath with us," yelled Pride and came closer, hanging on Wrath's arm. "Now we have Lust's impulsiveness, mine conciliatory approach and Wrath's anger. Lovely, I can already sense that everything will turn out to be fine, right?"

Sloth chuckled. The way Pride put it in one sentence was hilarious.

"I'll better go and say goodbye to Missy. And to stick with you, Sloth. Or Gluttony, or Envy too." Lust left them for a moment.

"I thought Greed was coming with you as well?" Sloth came back to the previous topic. Was Wrath going instead of Greed?

"I am." She joined their circle. "But I'm not visiting Trinonthar. I've got other business in Hell. One I want to face alone."

All of them looked at her with confusion. What was she up to?

"Mysterious talk," stated Pride.

"Don't ask me about it." She smiled with the look of her face that was clearly showing them she won't tell anything more.

They haven't visited Hell for a long time. What Greed's business was down there?

And with whom?

Few minutes later Lust and Missy came back to them. He was smiling to her, saying that he'll be back soon enough. Before she'll call it a night. 

"I'll be waiting. I have so many plans for the next week for us!" she said with her eyes burning bright.

"Write them down and remember, stay with Sloth, Gluttony or Envy, alright? Don't lose them out of your sight."

"Sure thing, it's much better than staying with my father."

He was sleeping upstairs like a log, after whole night of drinking with his male friends. Well, those friends weren't living anymore and he had no memory of what happened to them.

"See you soon, Missy." He rubbed her hair and took his place beside Pride.

All four of them looked the last time at Missy and disappeared in the cloud of fire, teleporting themselves to Hell. Missy sighed, like she was a bit disappointed that she couldn't go with them. She was curious. Sometimes way too curious.

"Gluttony is making dinner for us in the kitchen. What would you say for playing cards with Envy?"

"Yeah, I'd love to kick your asses."

"Missy!" Envy said reproachfully.

They've sat in the living room, playing cards for a longer time. Indeed, Missy was the best of them, winning most of the time. Playing cards was never boring for her, she could spend the entire day on that. It probably had to do something with the fact that women were supposed to know other things, different than playing cards. In this house nobody cared about it. Of course, they were teaching her things that can be useful once she'll be full of age. Every young woman should know how to dance, play piano, sing, sew, cook and take care of the household. It was a requirement of  society. A poor one, in demons opinion, because in their eyes everybody was just the same. Death didn't discriminate, neither did sin.

"Once again you've beaten us." Envy sighed and put down her cards on the table. "I'll check on Gluttony. This time dinner is taking him way too long. It must be something delicious and difficult to make."

She left the living room, leaving Sloth and Missy alone. He laid down on the couch, still looking at his cards. He had a good hand, but somehow Missy had even better.

"May I play piano and sing for you?" she asked, already sitting on the stool.

"That would please me a lot," he said, listening to her soothing voice. 

The song started as a happy and fast one. Missy had been practicing it for over a year now and results were astounding. He listened to it with his eyes closed, not worrying about anything as long as he could hear Missy's voice. Suddenly the song became sad and disturbing. He hasn't heard Missy playing that one before. It must have been a new one.

"Who are you that I must fear so great? Just another one of us, no better than me. One with lust, one with pride, one with wrath, all seven of them played and trapped. Who are you that I must fear so great? Just another one, lost in the illusion. With the wind hurling inside the haunted house, two more souls departed, one to Heaven, one to Hell."

Sloth woke up instantly, taking a huge gasp for the air. The music was gone and so was Missy. He stood up, looking around the living room, hoping that maybe she was just playing hide and seek with him.

"Missy?" he called her, but there was no answer. "Missy!"

He ran from the room to the kitchen, where he stumbled upon Gluttony and Envy. Both of them were looking as confused as he did.

"That was super weird, for a moment I felt lost in reality. Have you felt the same?" Envy asked, massaging her head.

"Sloth, where is Missy?" Gluttony was the first one to notice that the little girl was no longer with them.

"I don't know," he said, full of terror, because there was only one, who could mess with the reality. "Gluttony check the basement and the garden. Envy, you go with me upstairs."

Sloth felt something he didn't even know he could feel as it was such a human emotion. Running on the stairs, trying to find Missy, he felt hope. Hope that they'll find her safe and sound. That it was just a misunderstanding or a warning, but nothing more. He wanted to hang on to this hope, because otherwise was too scary to even imagine.

Hope lasted only for a minute and it was brutally crashed, when they got upstairs and saw a body on the ground. Neither Envy nor Sloth felt sorry for the man, who was Missy's father, but both of them were frightened. Not because of a rifle that was lying beside the body. Neither because of the fact that this old, grumpy man killed himself. They were frightened, because they knew who he killed first, due to some sick illusion he saw in his head.

Sloth stopped for a moment, looking at the blood spilled on the corridor floor. He was afraid to walk into the room, because then the thing that happened would become the truth. Envy must have felt similar, but she caught his hand and slowly walked through the corridor until both of them reached Missy's room.

Envy fell on her knees, not bothering to stop the tears, which started running down her face. Sloth covered his mouth with hand, trying to wake up from this cruel dream. Because it must have been a dream as it was too horrible to be reality.

Missy's body was lying inert in Lust's arms as he was hugging her tightly. Pride was kneeling beside them, crying silently and Wrath was sitting on the bed with his face hid in hands.

Her body was still warm, but her soul was no longer with them. There was a big pool of blood on the floor and on Lust's clothes. She was shot through her heart. Dying alone, with nobody by her side to calm her down and say goodbye. Only blood spilling from her body and life that was coming to an end.

They were too late. It was hard to say how much too late, but neither of them heard the gunshot and apparently Lust, Pride and Wrath got here before them.

It couldn't be time. None of them got the chance to say goodbye. It was too soon. She was so young, so full of life. She was theirs and they were supposed to protect her.

And they've failed to do so.

Sloth shuddered at the sound of sorrowful crying, which suddenly was heard in the room. Everybody looked at Lust, who cried with pain, leaning over Missy's body. He was trembling and weeping, letting all of his emotions out. None of them has ever seen him like that. He seemed so fragile and shaky, just as if it was a completely different demon in front of them. Lust never showed any sign of fear or weakness, but here he was, crying like the world ended for him today. His tears were running down his face and falling onto Missy's dress, painted in red from the blood. His body was shaking with every loud cry he was taking, drowning in despair.

Nothing could change what happened. They took their revenge, giving Hell the biggest massacre of demons in the entire history. They've killed everybody who were ever connected to Trinonthar, every demon on his service or in contact with him. And the way Trinonthar died? It was described as the most painful death– and demons feel the pain completely different than humans do.

And so, they've had their vengeance, making whole Hell tremble upon them.

But it still couldn't change the fact that Missy was already dead.