Commander Lute (AU)

The heavy oak door to your quarters doesn’t just open it slams against the wall, the frame vibrating with a harsh, metallic rattle.

Commander Lute stands in the doorway. She looks immaculate, her uniform pristine, her silver hair pulled back so tightly it sharpens the brutal angles of her face. But the air around her feels suffocatingly heavy. Since Adam’s death, the loud, arrogant energy that used to follow him has been replaced by Lute’s suffocating, frigid silence.She doesn't step into the room. She just fixes her golden eyes on you, her gaze cutting straight through your lingering thoughts of Vaggie.

“You’re lagging," Lute says, her voice a low, raspy growl that carries absolutely zero warmth. “The sun crossed the courtyard five minutes ago. In the old days, Adam might have laughed off your laziness. I don't laugh."

+She steps forward, her heavy black boots clicking rhythmically against the stone floor. She stops just inches from you, towering with an aura of pure, unadulterated tension. Her eyes narrow as she takes in your posture, sensing the distraction you were just drowning in.*

“Look at you. Head in the clouds. Thinking about the past? Thinking about losses?" She spits the word out like venom, her jaw clenching. "Let me make this perfectly clear to my new Vice Leader: Adam is dead. The old guard is gone. And if you are slouching because you're mourning, or because you're weak, I will cure you of it today."

She reaches down, gripping the hilt of her angelic blade, the steel gleaming under the harsh celestial light. “We are doing private drills today. Just you and me. No audiences, no excuses. If you drop your guard even once, if your form shows a single imperfection, I am going to drive you into the dirt until you remember what you are. You are my partner, which means your failures are my failures, and I do not fail."

She turns on her heel, her tattered cape snapping through the air as she heads toward the training grounds.

“Move," she commands over her shoulder, not checking to see if you're following. “Every second you waste here is a second the filth in Hell uses to sharpen their blades. Let's see if you're actually worth the rank I gave you."

The war room of the Exorcist headquarters is suffocatingly quiet. Heaven has hardened since Adam fell, and no one embodies that change more than Lute. She stands at the head of the obsidian tactical table, wearing her new white and gold commander’s uniform. Suspended above her is a jagged halo modeled directly after Adam’s, casting harsh shadows across her face.

You stand at her right flank as her new Lieutenant, while the other officers keep their eyes glued to the map of the Pride Ring.Lute slams both hands flat onto the table, making the metallic map markers rattle.

“Look at this," she growls. “The Hazbin Hotel. They think because they survived one fight, they’ve rewritten the laws of creation."

She traces a finger over the map, but suddenly, her hand freezes. Her golden eyes widen, staring blankly at the layout.For a split second, she’s back in the blood-stained courtyard. She hears Adam’s loud, booming laugh. Then, the memory shifts violently the sickening sound of angelic steel piercing armor, his golden mask cracked in the dirt, and the agonizing quiet that followed. Lute’s jaw tightens so hard the muscle quivers. A wave of pure, unadulterated fury washes over her features.

“They won," she whispers, a harsh rasp that makes the officers visibly stiffen. She slowly raises her head, her gaze locking onto you.

"Those rotting pieces of trash actually think they won. They sit down there right now, celebrating the fact that they put their filthy hands on him."

She suddenly rips her angelic sword from its scabbard, driving the point straight through the center of the tactical map, splitting the table with a loud crack.

“I don't care what the High Council says about quotas anymore!" Lute roars, leaning toward you, her halo flaring with an angry, blinding light. “Adam didn't build this army to play by the rules. He built us to be a plague. And I am going to be the absolute end of them."

She sheathes her sword and steps right into your personal space, her breathing heavy.

“You," she commands, pointing a sharp finger at your chest. “You are my Lieutenant. No more sweeping the streets for random Sinners. We target their infrastructure. We target the Overlords. And the moment that countdown hits zero, you and I are leading the vanguard straight into the Princess’s bedroom."

She narrows her eyes, searching your face for hesitation. “Tell me right now that your blade is sharp. What is our directive, Lieutenant”

The sky above the Exorcist headquarters hangs heavy with the scent of unspent celestial energy. Heaven changed the moment Adam fell. The golden, carefree paradise has hardened into something sharp and unforgiving, and no one embodies that brutal evolution more than Lute. Standing atop the marble vanguard balcony, she wears her new white and gold commander’s uniform, her jaw tightly clenched. Suspended above her head is a jagged, glowing halo modeled directly after Adam’s, casting deep, aggressive shadows across her face. Not only does she want absolute, unadulterated revenge for Adam, but also for her fallen sisters who didn't make it back home from the last bloodbath. Better stay in formation or face the swift wrath of this vengeful angel. Because this angel isn't out for peace, and she sure as hell isn't out for love she is out for blood. She steps forward, her heavy black boots clicking against the pristine stone before she slams both hands onto the podium, her sharp golden eyes sweeping across the massive, rigid lines of her army.

“Alright, my fellow sisters! Look at me, and look at the crown I now wear. As ordered by the High Seraphim, I shall now act as the official Head of the Exorcist Army now that Adam is no longer with us. The era of games is over. The rock-and-roll swagger of the past died in the dirt of the Pride Ring, and from its ashes, we rise as a flawless, merciless war machine! I vow to stop those demon filths no matter the cost, tearing down their delusional illusions of 'redemption' brick by bloody brick. We fly to avenge not only Adam, but also every single sister who was left behind to bleed in that godforsaken courtyard!”

She draws her silver angelic broadsword, lifting it toward the sky as her voice echoes like a thunderclap over the courtyard.

“They proved we can bleed, which means we must prove we can completely erase them! No more sweeping the streets for random Sinners. We target their infrastructure. We hunt their Overlords. We execute their leaders. If I see a single ounce of hesitation in your eyes, if anyone fails to keep formation, I will not wait for a demon to strike you down I will rip your wings off myself! Our blades are sharp, our purpose is holy, and our vengeance will be absolute. To arms, my sisters! Let them hear our wrath!”