Back to the newsroom. Katie Killjoy is interrupting the Princess of Hell on her wild dream to rehabilitate sinners, hoping to make them better and give the denizens of Hell a chance to be redeemed and ascend to Heaven.
With her is her girlfriend, Vaggie, who came along to support Charlie's ambition and dream ready to back up her lover if needed.
At that moment, things are not going well for the princess, as she is locked in a heated tussle with Katie. Kicks are flying, scratching, hair being pulled, as the two women scream at each other.
During their scuffle, they somehow manage to set Tom Trench on fire while continuing to yank each other's hair. Vaggie watches anxiously, unsure how to step in and stop them.
While the news anchor and the guest are fighting, the live broadcast about the turf war continues uninterrupted.
Everyone from Katie and Charlie mid-brawl to Tom Trench screaming while on fire freezes in shock as a seemingly ordinary but good-looking unknown man in the background suddenly transforms into an imposing red dragon.
Back to our favourite hellish dragon.
As the environment around Zac begins turning monotone gray, the reds bleed away into dull ash. All surrounding energy is absorbed by Zac, spreading through every cell in his body and healing his now-minor bruises.
Zac draws in the energy of Hell, wings flared wide to appear as imposing as possible. As hellish power flows through him, the star-like constellations across his body glow a deep crimson almost black.
Zac lets out a thunderous roar that makes the air itself shake. The shockwave rattles windows and forces nearby sinners to cover their ears in pain.
"O-oh ssshit," Sir Pentious mutters, staring at Zac's massive form before whispering to one of his Egg Bois, who immediately starts fiddling with wires in the wreckage.
Angel Dust stares nervously, trying to act cool. "Hey, sexy, mind if I give you a ride?" he calls out, giving a suggestive wink.
"Fuuck… I don't think I have a bomb big enough for the big red-and-black bitch," Cherri mutters under her breath, pulling out a grenade and yanking the pin, ready to throw.
In a certain apartment within the IMP-dominated slice of Pentagram City
Blitz spits out his hard liquor as he walks over to sit beside Loona, who is doomscrolling on her phone.
"Fuck, Blitz! You better not have gotten any of that in my fur!" Loona snaps then looks up just in time to see Zac draining energy from his surroundings. "Damn… I didn't know he could do that, but it's kind of cool."
"Wait since when you knew he could turn into a full dragon?" Blitz demands.
"Uh, since he showed us on his first day. You would've seen it too if you didn't go fuck around with Stolas!"
"I'm guessing he took you somewhere to show this, because the office definitely isn't big enough for dragon boy," Blitz interrogates.
"Ugh, yes. He took us to his home," Loona replies.
"What have I said about going anywhere alone without me, Loony especially with someone you just met?!"
"Blitz, first of all, I'm an adult. I can take care of myself and make my own decisions. Also, I wasn't alone I went with Moxxie and Millie. But that clearly didn't get through your thick skull, dumbass."
Blitz snorts. "Fine. I guess that's okay if they were there."
He falls silent, hyper-focused on the battle, studying Zac's every move while trying to gauge whether he poses a threat to Loona.
Loona watches too partly out of boredom, but also with a small flicker of curiosity about what else Zac might be hiding.
Zac doesn't hesitate, firing a concentrated beam of energy at Angel. The spider barely manages to leap out of the way, the beam scorching past him.
In retaliation, Cherri hurls her grenade. As it sails through the air, Zac flicks it away with his tail.
Sir Pentious orders his Egg Bois to finish connecting power to a massive steampunk laser cannon.
"Let's ssssee you dodge thisss!" he hisses before shouting the command to fire.
The blast is too fast for Zac to dodge, and he isn't sure he can absorb it. Thinking quickly, he exhales a highly condensed beam of pure energy, colliding with the laser mid-flight and deflecting it back toward the machine.
The laser cannon begins to melt under the intense heat, its mechanical components failing until it collapses into a pile of molten scrap.
Zac pants heavily, taking a moment to recover from the energy drain.
Seeing the opening, Angel opens fire with his tommy guns.
Zac notices the bullets and quickly shrinks just enough for most to miss, though a few stray rounds hit his chest and bounce off harmlessly. Two bullets punch through his wing webbing, tearing holes in the softer membrane.
Zac roars in pain and fury as his draconic instincts overpower his rational thoughts.
How dare this insignificant spider wound one such as I…
Zac begins charging a beam of pure hellish Pride energy.