Max received a late-night call from Bee, inviting him to a party in the Gluttony Ring—loud, chaotic, and very much not his usual scene. But tonight? Tonight he needed to let loose.
Before leaving, he muttered,
"Raphael… turn off my poison immunity. I wanna actually drink tonight."
A warm chime sounded in his head.
[Poison Immunity Disabled. Resistance Lowered.]
Good.
---
Gluttony Ring – Bee's Party
The moment he arrived, sound slammed into him from every direction. A massive underground racetrack was lit with neon, engines roaring as various demons drunkenly crashed, flipped, and cheered. Booths of food and drink lined the walls. Music pounded through the air like a second heartbeat.
Max waded through the chaos, searching for Bee.
She loved the spotlight—she should've been easy to find.
Then he felt arms—four arms—wrap around him from behind, two covering his eyes, two locking down his arms.
"Bee?" he guessed.
He got a sloppy kiss on the cheek before the hands vanished.
Bee stood in front of him, grinning wildly, surrounded by empty barrels.
"What up, Max! Didn't expect you here. You're not really the 'wild party in Gluttony' type."
Max shrugged, magically shifting into clothes he didn't care about ruining.
"Had an eventful day. Tried talking to everyone about tomorrow's date, but nobody would tell me anything. Not even Octavia—and no offense, but she's the most honest and innocent one in the whole harem."
Bee snorted. "Only because she's the youngest. She's nineteen, ya know. Give her time."
She summoned a massive glass for him, full of glowing Beelzejuice.
"Well," Max said, taking a long swig, "alcohol hits you as hard as it hits me. So either I learn something tonight… or I'll be too drunk to care."
Bee's laughter rumbled like thunder.
"Hell yeah! That's the spirit! Let's see who drops first. I already got a head start, so you better catch up!"
She slammed back a barrel.
Max lifted one himself—then another—straight from the tap.
The drinking game escalated fast.
Other demons tried to join, but after a few rounds, all of them tapped out.
Bee and Max were still going, leaning on each other as the room swayed.
Raphael quietly increased Max's resistance in the background—just enough to keep up with Bee, not enough to block the alcohol entirely.
An hour later, twenty-two barrels were gone.
Max and Bee sat shoulder to shoulder, both giggling at nothing, both drunk off their asses.
---
"You know…" Bee said, slurring slightly as she poured another drink, "I was shocked when we met. I accepted your proposal and contract as a joke, honestly. There wasn't a downside."
Max nodded, sipping. "That's fair."
"And then it's been, what… a year and a half? And I even suggested going to the next level." She poked his chest. "But you said no. Why?"
Max sighed, leaning back.
"A hidden clause. Each of you put one in the contract. If there's a way to guarantee your clauses succeed, the contract can be upgraded. But… honestly? I expected at least one of you to break contract."
Bee spat out her drink.
"WHAT?! Max—that would tear your soul apart! That's why demons don't bind their souls to multiple people like you did! I thought you had a loophole!"
"Nope," Max chuckled miserably. "What's the point of a contract that ties you to me if I just exploit it? If one breaks… they all break. And I go with them."
Bee stiffened.
Max kept talking, unaware of how raw he sounded.
"I told everyone there's no backlash so they don't fear me. I even made a contingency… if every contract breaks, I'll fade away from all of you. You won't remember me. I'll just… stop existing."
A tear slid down his cheek—he didn't even notice it.
Bee grabbed his shirt.
"So we all suffer because one person wants out?!"
"Of course not," Max said quickly. "The clause protects that. If the reason the contract breaks is unrelated to the clause, nothing happens. And I've been trying to treat everyone the best I can. After tomorrow, I can visit more. Be a proper boyfriend. My Overlord status will be out in the open. I won't be so busy."
Bee softened a bit.
"That… would be nice. But this isn't the place for heavy talk."
"Finally," Max groaned dramatically, "took an hour and a dozen barrels to get you to spill something."
She rolled her eyes.
"Fine. You wanna know what tomorrow's date is about? There are rules in Hell for stuff like this. Certain things need approval from the Sin in charge."
Max frowned.
"…Okay?"
"We're heading to Lust for an engagement license. Gotta get Asmodeus to approve it."
Max spit out his drink.
"ENGAGEMENT?!"
Bee nodded like it was obvious.
"We couldn't figure out how to upgrade your contracts, so we went through official channels. Octavia set up the appointment. Ozzie seemed real excited to see you."
Max opened his mouth to respond—
—but the world tilted, dissolved, and he blacked out mid-smile.