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beelzebuddy-catan · 1 year

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The Not Entirely Human-Human Exchange Student pt. 2

Summary: Cass manages to shock the student body at RAD when she makes her first pact with Mammon. She doesn't have time to think about it as she begins uncovering the dark secrets haunting the House of Lamentation. Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death, heavily implied sexual content Spoilers: Lesson two and Lilith's status Characters: Cass (OC), Lucifer, Mammon, Levi, Satan, Asmo, Beel, Lilith, Diavolo, Barbatos, Solomon, Luke, Simeon, Preta (OC), and Vassago (OC). Notes: (1) Lilith is absolutely a little shit (affectionate) who just likes pulling pranks and messing with people she loves. (2) I love the idea of MC finding Mammon's credit card without Lucifer's hint. Part One • Next Part

“Call me by my name,” she demanded.

“Fuck,” Mammon hissed, eyes wide. “Is this all ‘cause of the pact?! Listen to me hum-” he stopped, as if he physically couldn’t finish the word. “Hu-hum-FINE, Cass!” They stared at each other, Mammon catching his breath. Cass wondered how much energy it took to fight off whatever control the pact had over him. “Look, just because may be in control of my body doesn’t mean you own my mind.”

“I don’t want to own you,” Cass said, surprising him. “I literally only asked you to call me by my name. I’d expect even demons to have that level of decorum.”

He didn’t say anything at first, but his frustration seemed to fade. “Where is it?” Cass tilted her head in confusion. She already gave him his credit card, what else did he want. “The mark?” Silence. “You really don’t know anything about pacts do ya? When you make a pact, you have a mark to show it.”

His eyes fell to her hand, as if he already knew it would be there. She followed his gaze to her left hand. Oh. Wrapping around her pointer finger was an intricate golden design. It faded towards the top, the design tightening at the base. It almost looked like a ring, a sigil resting in the middle like a stone. Cass gasped, taken aback at how beautiful it was.

Cass glanced down at the map Lucifer had given her and back up at the hallway. At this point she’d be lucky if she found her classes, let alone found them on time. Apparently giving the new student a tour was too kind for demons.

Her morning hadn’t gone great. Besides having no idea where she was going and Mammon being missing, she’d been assigned to wake him up earlier. She’d ended up just poking him in the face, only to be thrown to the floor. Now, she was lost in a giant school, no idea where to go. She shoved the map in her bag, deciding to go in what she thought was the right direction and hope she got lucky enough to run into someone she knew.

“Hey, that’s the human everyone’s talking about.” She heard someone whisper but opted to stay still. “Can’t believe Mammon got assigned to watch over her.”

“Doncha think that’s pretty lucky for us? We can devour this human before even Beel does, and they won’t know it was us.”

The first demon snickered in response. Before she could take a step, they started to jeer and catcall. Cass swung her backpack over her other shoulder, walking up to the demons with a cheery smile. Their cocky demeanors only grew.

“If you so much as even try to touch me, I will rip off whatever appendage of yours I can find, be it your arm, leg, horn, tail, whatever, and shove it so far up your ass I can pull it back out your throat. Then, I’ll pour holy oil into any open orifice and light it on fire while you’re still alive. And, as you burn and the light leave your eyes, the last thing you’ll see is me enjoying a glass of ice water.” Cass blinked her eyes innocently, her smile never faltering. “Do you happen to know what the cafeteria serving today?” Her smile finally fell as she stared into the second demon’s eyes, not blinking as she finished. “I’m caving barbecue.”

Neither of them moved, shock rooting them in their place. A third demon, standing off to the side stifled a laugh. Their black horns and eyes stood out against their pale skin and white hair. Whoever they talking to looked equal parts impressed and disinterested. Cass flashed them a smile before walking towards where she hoped her class was. She only took a few steps before someone fell into step next to her.

“Hey, you’re Cass, right?” She cast him a look but didn’t respond. He laughed before continuing. “You don’t have to be suspicious of me. I’m Solomon, the other exchange student. When I heard Mammon was looking after you, I thought Lucifer was just messing with you. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Cass stopped and crossed her arms. Something felt too convenient about the only other human showing up next to her right when she needed help. “I can handle myself with demons. Mind telling me where 2122b is?”

“You’re asking for my help? But you’ve got the great Mammon!” Cass didn’t miss the sarcasm lacing his tone. “Why should I just give you that information?”

“Help another human out? You are human still, aren’t you?”

“Hmm,” he smiled. “There are times even I’m not so sure. After obtaining the ring of wisdom from someone in a very high position and forming 72 pacts,” he paused glancing at her, “I became a wicked sorcerer. Or, that’s what they say about me. I am fairly sure I am still human. I’m happy to prove it to you if needed.”

Cass twirled a piece of her hair and giggled, taking a wild guess he was the same Solomon written about in theology. “It’s no wonder you got 700 women to marry you, you’re so charming.” She rolled her eyes and walked away without giving him another glance. She was stopped again after a few steps by Lucifer. “Morning?”

“It seems you’ve already become something of a celebrity. Is your plan to simply threaten any demon who talks about you?” Cass hummed, not really caring to have a conversation when she still didn’t know where her fucking class was. Honestly, if threatening demons who treated her like dirt or a meal was how she survived, that’s how she survived. “While I understand it is inevitable you associated with Solomon, you should know he can’t be trusted. Unlike you, he can wield powerful magic and will try to subjugate even a powerful demon given the chance.”

“Got it, I can’t trust the only human here, but demons are good.” Cass went to step around him before pausing, remembering her conversation with Levi yesterday. Lucifer had hidden Mammon’s credit card, the credit card needed to make a pact with Mammon. Maybe she should just come out and ask him where it was.

“Is there something you want to ask me?” Lucifer smirked, as if knowing she needed something from him.

“Where is room 2122b?” She asked. Maybe she could get Lilith to tell her.

“Is that all? I would have thought you had question about Mammon.” Cass didn’t answer, not giving him the satisfaction. “If you go down this hall and take the first right and it’ll be the second door on the left.”

“Great, thank you,” Cass said, going to her first class of the day.

As much as she wanted to focus, she couldn’t. While the material was interesting, it was too much being thrown into a new world. Especially considering she’d been told she’d be living with seven brothers but had only met six.

At this point, all she knew about the final brother was he had long, greyish indigo hair with white tips and was comfortable enough to fall asleep leaning against Beel. Given his brothers were avatars of the six of the seven deadly sins, she assumed he was the avatar of sloth. It probably wasn’t abnormal for him to fall asleep against anyone.

The rest of the day was a cycle of thinking about each of the brothers and how to find Mammon’s credit card. She should have just asked Lucifer. She had to look up what a credit card was. How was she supposed to find one hidden in a strange, unknown house by a strange, unknown demon? The only seemingly valuable thing she’d come across was freezing credit, which seemed like a good option if Lucifer didn’t want Mammon to spend money.

“If I was going to hide a credit card to freeze someone’s spending, where would I put it?” Cass said out loud. She was lying upside down on her couch, head hanging off the edge. “It’s not literally frozen. He’s been around for centuries. It has to mean something else.”

“Does it though?” A voice interrupted her thoughts. Cass opened her eyes to see Lilith floating upside down, staring at her. “Look, I love Lucifer, but he finds dad jokes a bit too funny.” Cass didn’t answer, unsure what dad jokes were. “Predictable jokes, puns?”

Cass spun around. “Are you saying he literally froze Mammon’s credit card? Wouldn’t someone have found it by now?”

Lilith didn’t answer, simply giving Cass a look before disappearing. Was everyone in the Devildom cryptic as hell? It was past midnight. If she went to the kitchen now, there was a chance she wouldn’t run into anyone. It was probably safter to go now than in the middle of the day.

Cass tried to be as quiet as possible going to the kitchen. Luckily, she didn’t run into anyone. Part of her had debated texting Levi but decided against it. If Lilith was messing with her or her hunch was wrong, she’d rather he not know about it. She managed not to scream when she ran into Beel as she walked into the kitchen.

“Why you going to the kitchen so late?”

She was drawn to Beel. Despite the fact that he expressed less emotions than the other brothers and was harder to read, something about him felt safe. She could tell he was a caring person, or demon, he just had a harder time of showing it.

“I was just getting a glass of water,” Cass lied. She wasn’t sure why. Something told her Beel wouldn’t care why she was in the kitchen. He huffed in response, going to leave. Suddenly she remembered the picture, the indigo haired demon slumped against Beel in the picture. “Hey, Beel, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Diavolo said I’d be living here with you and your brothers. He said there were seven of you, but I haven’t met your youngest brother. I was wondering–”

“Don’t ever mention him in front of Lucifer” Beel cut her off “ and don’t bother asking the rest of us. We don’t talk about him. Even though he’s our brother, we have to treat him like he doesn’t exist, it’s not fair,” Beel trailed off. Another crack. “But since no one can defy Lucifer, that’s that. Besides, it’s not any of your business.”

Cass reached out, grabbing Beel’s arm as he went to leave. “I know it doesn’t mean anything, and I’m just this random human forced to live with you, but if you need someone to talk to,” Cass paused, looking up at Beel. He didn’t say anything, but for a moment, it looked like he wanted to. “Have a nice night, Beel.”

He didn’t say anything, just nodded before walking out of the room. She should ask Lilith next time she appeared. Despite not talking about the seventh brother, it clearly weighed on Beel. The longer she was in the Devildom, the more she started to think she might be an empath. She was trapped in a house with six broken demons who needed help and was beginning to feel like her purpose was to help them.

“That’s not important right now,” she whispered. One thing at a time Cass, damn. Start with the credit card and pact and move on to whatever the fuck was haunting these demons after.

She checked to make sure Beel had actually left before opening the freezer. She was certain Lilith was messing with her when she looked into the nearly empty freezer. Beel must have eaten everything possible, because it looked like the only thing left was ice. Well, ice and what looked like freezer burnt ice cream from God knows how long ago. She shoved it out of the way in frustration.

As she went to slam the door shut, a glint of light caught her eye. Buried in ice, underneath the ice cream was a golden credit card. She pulled it out, but was unable to read the name. It had to be Mammon’s. Why else would there be a credit card in the freezer. She threw the frozen card in the sink, running hot water over it.

As the ice melted, she sighed. Step one, complete. Now she just needed to get Mammon to agree to a pact. When Levi first suggested it, she hadn’t really cared much either way. Pact or not, she was still stuck here with no memory. As she thought about it at school, though, she realized it would be nice to have some level of control over her situation, as well as someone on her side in the Devildom, willingly or not.

Cass sat on the edge of the counter, waiting for the ice to melt. When the ice was almost gone, she picked the card up. Sure enough, in silver lettering was Mammon’s name. Cass stared at the card, wondering what her next move was. It wasn’t until she heard his gasp that she realized Mammon had walked into the kitchen.

“IS THAT GOLDIE? DIDJA FIND MY CARD HUMAN?” Mammon yelled, rushing towards her. He went to grab the card, but Cass shoved it into her back pocket before he could. “Whadda think you’re doin’?”

“Leveraging your card for my benefit?” Mammon looked at her in disbelief. “Make a pact with me, and I’ll give you your precious card.”

“NO WAY!” Mammon snapped. “What makes you think The Great Mammon, one of the rulers of the Devildom would ever make a pact? Let some human be the boss of me?”

”Oh Luuuuccccifffeeeer,” Cass called.

Mammon’s eyes widened in fear, hand going to cover her mouth. He stepped between her legs, eyes pleading with her to be quiet. He didn’t move for a while, maybe waiting for his fear to subside or until he felt he could trust Cass not to say anything.

“You’re serious right now?” He asked, pulling his hand away. Cass nodded, though she wasn’t. “Fuck, fine.”

He stepped back, hand going to his belt. It took a second for Cass to register what he was doing. “Um, what the fuck are you doing?”

He glanced at her in disbelief. “What do you think?” Cass stared at him, eyes wide in confusion. “I thought ya wanted to make a pact.”

“Yeah?”

Mammon threw his hands up in frustration. “Are ya aware of a different way to make a pact?”

“I guess I don’t know how to make one.” Mammon stared at her. “I literally don’t even know my last name, what makes you think I’d know how to make a pact with a demon?!”

“I’d expect ya to look it up at the very least.” When Cass didn’t answer, Mammon rolled his eyes and continued, “pacts gotta be consummated.”

“Oh,” Cass answered, “OH!”

“Havin’ second thoughts?” Mammon asked, hand going to grab his credit card from her back pocket. “We don’t have to do anything ya know? You can give me my card and we can forget this ever happened.”

Cass smacked his hand away. “It’s not a second thought. It’s just,” she paused, not sure how to phrase it. “I just, I don’t have my memories.” Mammon didn’t answer, waiting for her to continue. “I don’t know if I’ve done, if I’ve ever, you know.” She gestured in the space between them.

Before she knew what was happening, Mammon’s hands flew to the counter beside her. His grasp was so tight that the butcher block split in his grip. “Don’t, don’t say things like that to a demon.” His voice was quiet, like he was trying his hardest to restrain himself. Cass didn’t answer, not sure what he meant. He continued, not meeting her eyes. “I’m a demon.”

“Oh really?”

Mammon scoffed, the counter cracking more under his grip. “Ya can’t say things like that to a demon. Our whole thing is corruptin’ humans. Do ya realize what your doing to me right now?”

“Oh,” she repeated, “OH!” Mammon didn’t answer, almost as if he was trying to calm his erratic breathing. “Fuck it,” she breathed. Mammon’s head snapped up, finally meeting her gaze. “Let’s make a pact.

His hands left the counter at the speed of light, grabbing her hips pulling her closer. Their lips met in a bruising kiss. Before Cass had time to process what was happening, he had lifted her off the counter and was moving towards the door. Her arms tightened around his neck, clutching to him as if he was going to drop her.

“Wh-what, what are you doing?”

“You think I want any of my brothers comin’ in and seein’ ya this,” he scoffed, “fuck I’m surprised Asmo didn’t smell you and come down here already.”

“SMELL?” She gasped, but Mammon didn’t answer. Before she knew it, they were in his room and she was being thrown on his bed. Levi wasn’t kidding when he said he was fast. She barely had time to catch her breath, let alone stop her head from spinning before Mammon was kissing her again. And so, her first pact was made.

---

Cass stared at the ceiling of Mammon’s room. She’d expected there to be something more to making a pact besides saying something in Latin and sleeping with the demon. Cass glanced at Mammon, who was lying next to her, also avoiding her gaze.

“That was,” he started.

“Unexpected?”

“Sure,” he answered, but something in his voice told her that wasn’t what he was thinking.

He got up and started getting dressed. Cass sat up, holding the sheet up against her, not really sure what to say that could break the tension. She didn’t know how pacts work, much less what it meant to make one. Was this Mammon’s first pact with human? She almost asked but stopped herself. Why did it matter?

“Um,” Cass said, breaking the silence. Mammon looked over his shoulder but didn’t say anything. “Is it, can demons, can I get pregnant?”

Mammon’s movement froze, eyes widening. After a moment, he started dressing, moving faster than before. Cass didn’t move, terror rushing through her. Something in his response told her it wasn’t the risk of pregnancy that had him moving like that.

“Mammon?” He didn’t respond. “MAMMON!” Finally, he looked at her. Her voice fell quiet under his gaze, “what happens to humans who are pregnant with demons?” Again, he didn’t answer, her question only making him move faster. Panic rushed through her. For the first time since arriving in the Devildom she honestly felt afraid. “MAMMON!” She said, summing as much energy as he could. “Am I going to die?”

He kneeled next to her, hands cupping her face. He looked at her with genuine emotions, and it scared the hell out of her. “No, do you think the Great Mammon would let that happen?”

Cass fought back tears. He looked as unsure as she felt. Fuck. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? It hadn’t even crossed her mind. Why would it have? She didn’t know anything about demons and humans. It was the uncertainty in Mammon’s answer that scared her. Had he acted like he didn’t care about her, that would have been better, more comforting.

“Stop.” Mammon’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. He held her eye contact, concern laced in his gaze. “You’re gonna be fine, okay? I’ll talk to Lucifer, and he’ll know what to do. It’ll be fine.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her. “I’ll go now, okay?”

Mammon made a move towards the door and Cass stood, grabbing the closest shirt she could find. Mammon opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw her dressing. She didn’t notice his staring at first, flinching under his gaze when she finally looked up.

“Sorry, I just grabbed something. I figured it’d be faster than trying to find mine,” she said, pulling at the edge of his button up nervously. It was large enough that it was falling off one shoulder, the hem landing midthigh.

She tried taking a step towards Mammon but lost her footing. He was by her side in an instant, catching her. “Ya really think your going to be able to walk to Lucifer’s room?”

“Well, I’m not just going to sit around here waiting.” Mammon and Cass held a silent starting contest before he finally resigned, scooping her up bridal style. “Wha–?”

“I’ll just carry you.”

Cass didn’t bother arguing, knowing already how much faster it would be. She closed her eyes, turning her head into Mammon’s chest feeling a wave of motion sickness at his movement. It wasn’t until she heard a knock that she opened her eyes. A moment later, the door swung open revealing a disappointed Lucifer. It looked like he was about to start scolding whoever had knocked on the door when he must have realized why they were there.

---

Cass stared at the fire behind Lucifer. He’d been lecturing Mammon for the last hour, occasionally passing a condescending comment her way. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything he said, though. She couldn’t shake Mammon’s reaction to her earlier from her thoughts.

“Can’t ya do this later?” Mammon hissed. “There are more pressing issues.”

“If you had any semblance of self-control, there wouldn’t be.”

“I had self-control, considerin’ she was going on about being a virgin. Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same–”

“I wasn’t going on about being a virgin. I literally said I have no memories–”

“I don’t care what the circumstances were.” Cass looked away from Mammon, trying not to roll her eyes. Lucifer handed her a small vial. “This potion will prevent pregnancy. I had some made on the off chance you surprised us and made a pact. Though, I didn’t expect it to be so quick.”

As she drank the potion, Lucifer muttered something in what sounded like Latin. “Well, the potion is most effective before being intimate, it won’t hurt to take it after.” He handed her a piece of paper with something written in a foreign language. “This is a spell to help strengthen the effects. Any demon will be able to perform it with ease. Well, any demon worth making a pact with. I’ll work with Barbatos to make more potion, should you end up needing more. Please try to refrain yourself until then, no matter how hard you find it.”

“EXCUSE ME? Thanks for the potion, though I could do without the haughty tone.” She stood up, glaring at Lucifer. “Ass,” she said under her breath as she stormed towards the door, letting it slam behind her.

Cass groaned, falling into her bed. Of all the things she expected to happen that evening, that wasn’t one of them. She rolled over to look at the time when she saw Lilith sitting on the edge of her table. She was grinning, feet swinging beneath her.

“He likes you,” she laughed. “Lucifer.”

“He has a funny way of showing it.”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, Lilith, you’ve been here for a while, right?” The ghost nodded. “Can you tell me about their seventh brother?”

Lilith’s feet stopped moving. She sighed, jumping off the table to start pacing. “No.”

“Seriously?” Cass demanded.

“shhhh.” Lilith glared at her. “They can’t know I’m here.”

“I thought you wanted me to help them! I can’t help them if I don’t know anything. Why is everything a secret?”

Lilith looked at her with understanding, but it only made Cass angrier. Why did it feel like she was playing a game where everyone knew the rules except her. It was frustrating enough talking to the brothers, but at least she could understand their perspective.

They didn’t ask her to be here, Diavolo did. Lilith, on the other hand, asked her to help. Cass’s only goal was to survive for the year and try to get her memories back. Despite wanting to help the brothers, if they didn’t let her, she couldn’t force them to accept her help.

“I want to tell you, I do, really.” Against her better judgement, Cass believed her. “If you know too much about them though, they won’t trust you. You have to earn their trust, or they’ll just shut you out more. They’ve been burned in the past, which is why they act that way.”

“Can you tell me anything? How do you know them? Why can’t they know you’re here? You told me you’ve tried contacting them before. What changed?”

She didn’t say anything for a minute. “Fine, but you can’t tell them. At least not yet.”

---

Asmo had been laughing for the last ten minutes, despite Satan telling him to quiet down. Apparently, Cass making a pact with Mammon was one of the funniest things he’d heard in a while. She was too busy replaying her conversation with Lilith to care about the little insults he was making towards her.

So, Lilith was their sister from the Celestial Realm. Well, that explained her ethereal nature and why she cared so much about them. Honestly, Cass should have seen it sooner given how many similar features she had to the brothers.

“If they know you knew about me, they won’t trust you. They’ll be angry and resent you.” It made sense. While Lilith wouldn’t tell her what happened that led to her being a ghost in the Devildom that her brothers couldn’t see nor what made their dynamics so bizarre, Cass understood why she couldn’t tell them. She knew they all had their defenses built so strong it would take a miracle to break through them.

“I don’t know what’s more surprising, an average human like you making a pact with Mammon so fast or you teaming up with Levi to make it happen.”

“All that matters is I got my money back from Mammon AND my figurine. I’ll finally be able to buy the Blu-ray box set of Journey to the Devildom: The Tale of a Little She-Devil and her Reluctant Companio! The initial rounds even have tickets to a live event,” Levi said.

“I never thought I’d see a human win over Levi, but here we are,” Satan mused, speaking over Levi.

Levi stopped mid rant. “Excuse me?! Nobody won me over. Especially not some non-otaku normie human. We had a purely business relationship due to our aligned interests.”

Levi huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at the center of the table, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. Cass didn’t miss the blush appearing at Satan’s words though. She also didn’t miss the way Beel was trying to sneak food off her plate, though she used sneak lightly. She pushed her plate towards him, not having much of an appetite.

“You know, we should be careful or we might find ourselves in a pact with Cass as well. If you had to choose one of us to forge a pact with next, who would it be, Cass?”

She glanced at Asmo before her eyes flashed to the other demons at the table. She didn’t care to have the pact she had, let alone more of them. Besides, the question seemed like a trap. She’s certain no matter how she answered it would end with one of them insulting her.

“None of you, I’m not interested.”

“WHAT?! Do you know how offensive that is? It’s as if you think we’re not worth making a pact with. Yet you made one with that stupid, poor excuse of a dem-” Asmo was interrupted by Mammon smacking the back of his head. “OW! I can’t believe you STRUCK my beautiful, beautiful head! Not even Lucifer has done something like that!”

“Stop callin’ me a poor excuse for a demon, you pea brain. Y’all think you’re so great. None of this would’ve happened if Lucifer hadn’t taken my precious Goldie away from me and hidden her against her will.”

The brothers responded in disgust to Mammon personifying his credit card. Cass wasn’t sure Levi was one to talk considering his unnerving infatuation with an animation or Asmo given his self-obsession. She was just grateful the conversation was no longer focused on her. She wasn’t in much of a mood to talk. Besides, Mammon seemed to have more of knack of sticking his foot in his mouth than her. His mocking of Lucifer continuing despite him standing behind Mammon.

“You know, he’s so stupid it’s almost sad,” Asmo noted as Mammon rubbed his head where Lucifer had hit him.

“It’s almost like we’re being punished by having him as our brother.”

Lucifer sat down, speaking directly to her, ignoring his brothers’ continued squabbling. “Cass, I didn’t say it last night, but it’s quite the accomplishment managing a pact in such a short time.”

“Well, I supposed if you hadn’t been too busy implying I was a whore, you would have gotten around to it.”

Lucifer chuckled, shaking his head. “Perhaps, but Diavolo will be pleased regardless.”

“Oi, human!” Cass rolled her eyes at Mammon’s voice. “Don’t sit there with your heads in the clouds, we gotta go.”

Cass pushed her chair out, knowing her three options were to walk with Mammon, with the other brothers, or alone. Surprisingly, Mammon was the safest or quietest option. She followed him out of the dining room towards the door, not bothering to tune into his complaints.

“Hey, don’t go thinkin’ you can ignore the Great Mammon just ‘cause you managed to make some pact, human!”

Cass stopped in her tracks glaring at him. “Seriously?” He huffed, sticking his arms out. “You still won’t call me by my name?”

“No, I won’t. You’re just a lowly human, come back in a million years and maybe I’ll consider calling ya by your name. Learn your place, ‘cause if you don’t, I swear I’ll make you my next meal. Let’s go, human.”

“Call me by my name or I’m not going,” Cass said, crossing her arms.

“What makes you think I care if you go?”

“Call me by my name,” she demanded.

“I don’t want to own you,” Cass said, surprising him. “I literally only asked you to call me by my name. I’d expect even demons to have that level of decorum.”

“How did–”

“When you woke me up yesterday,” Mammon answered, not looking away from her hand. “The mark appears where you first touch a demon.”

---

Mammon didn’t say much after they left. He did keep looking at her hand, taking in the mark. Cass didn’t blame him. It almost seemed to catch the light like real gold. She traced over it, but it didn’t feel like anything. She had been starting at it since she’d gotten to her first class.

“Whenever an important announcement is made, the demons around here couldn’t care less. Yet, rumors spread like wildfire. The uproar about the new exchange student hadn’t even subsided, and now this.”

“Don’t say that Barbatos! This gossip ensures everyone is watching this human, making it harder for any demon to go after Cass’s soul.”

“Which is especially important given Mammon’s not doing a very good job as a guardian.”

Diavolo sat across from Cass. “I must say, I can’t believe you managed to forge a pact with Mammon. That’s no small feat.”

“I suppose it stands as proof that you chose well bringing this human here, Lord Diavolo,” Barbatos praised.

“Sometimes I wish I could trade a certain idiot brother of mine for Barbatos,” Lucifer said.

“It is sometimes said that a truly wise man does not flaunt his talents, he keeps them secret.”

Barbatos smiled at Lucifer, but it had a mocking aura to it. Lucifer scoffed, as if the very thought of Mammon having any talents was laughable. Cass tried not to smile at the reaction. He really did act like the protective older brother.

“I’ve heard it said that the most thick-headed child is always the cutest.”

“I don’t even want to think of Mammon as my child.”

“See how he doesn’t deny the part of Mammon being cute.” Cass looked up at the unknown voice. His laugh sounded almost like music. “Out of all seven of you brothers, you are, without a doubt, the most troublesome.”

“That almost sounds like a compliment, Simeon.”

“Well, it’s not,” another unknown voice interjected. Cass was surprised to see what looked like a ten-year child in front of her.

“Allow me to introduce you, Cass,” Diavolo said, noticing her surprise. “This is Simeon and Luke. They are our exchange students from the Celestial Realm. As you can probably guess, they are angels.”

“Well, Simeon is an angel. Luke is more of a chihuahua.”

“I am NOT a chihuahua,” Luke yelled. “I may be a low-ranking angel, but I’ll have you know that I report directly to Michael the Archangel!”

“Luke, calm down, there’s no need to make such a fuss.” Simeon turned to Cass, flashing a dazzling smile. Unlike the demons, there was genuine warmth behind the action. “It is a pleasure to meet you Cass, we’ve heard a lot of rumors!” The warning bell rang through the room. “I apologize for any trouble we’ve caused, Cass, but I look forward to getting to know you better.”

Diavolo and Barbatos followed Simeon out of the room. Lucifer looked like he was about to say something to Cass, but decided against it. Luke stayed behind, glaring at the door Lucifer had just exited through.

“Are you okay?”

“Never trust a demon, Cass, especially if that demon is Lucifer. I was against this exchange program from the beginning, especially bringing humans to the Devildom. You need to be safe, and Mammon certainly isn’t going to help.”

Luke’s hand landed on hers and he looked at her with so much concern it warmed her heart. For the first time since arriving, she felt there was someone that genuinely cared about her, not just cared about her surviving because Diavolo wanted the exchange program to succeed. Luke left without another word, leaving her to wonder how much him and Simeon and him knew about the brothers.

---

Solomon laughed, laughing down his cards. “Read ‘em and reap. It’s a straight flush.” Asmo groaned, throwing his loosing hand on the table. “That’s 183 wins for me!”

“Are you using magic?”

“I am but a simple human, an innocent lamb. I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t accuse me of behaving like you demons.”

“How can you say that with a straight face, Solomon? I think you may be the least innocent of all of us.”

“Is that truly what you think of me, Satan?” Solomon joked, shuffling the cards. “I must say, it’s lucky Mammon isn’t here, he likely would have broken my record-breaking winning streak by now.”

Satan nodded in agreement. “You’re right, considering he’s usually such dolt, he is surprisingly good at making money.”

“Shouldn’t you be a bit more respectful towards Mammon? You’re always putting him down, despite him being your older brother.”

A third demon sat down next to Solomon at his question. “Have you met Mammon?”

“See, even Vas knows how impossible that is, and he’s not even Mammon’s brother!” The warning bell rang. “You’re running a bit late today, Vas, Preta make you late again?”

“Actually, we ran into Beel and he was telling us about the pact the new exchange student managed to make with Mammon.” At his words, Satan and Asmo started laughing. “How did she manage that?”

“I honestly don’t know. She found Mammon’s hidden credit card on her own. Lucifer was quite impressed. He kept mentioning his surprise at breakfast,” Satan answered. “I think the rest of are just as surprised that Mammon actually agreed to make a pact.”

“It seems like everyone is acting like making a pact is a huge thing. Sure, it’s funny Cass tricked Mammon, but the pact itself isn’t that big of a deal. Take Solomon and me, we’re in a pact. You also have one with Barabtos and Vasago!” Vas scoffed at Asmo. “What? You must have had a reason to make a pact.”

“I lost a bet with Preta, I didn’t exactly want to make one.” Solomon smiled at Vas, knowing despite the reason behind the pact, they were actually quite close.

“I have to agree with Vas. Generally, demons are too proud to make pacts.”

“I’ve been very fortunate but can’t afford to be complacent. Otherwise, Cass might make a pact with Lucifer before I can.”

Asmo giggled at Solomon’s words, his demeanor showing a lack of concern. Both him and Vas were well aware of how Solomon was at this point. Satan shot Solomon a curious glance, but let it go. Solomon likely wasn’t concerned given he didn’t need to rush in making Lucifer like him. Though Satan doubted he’d ever win Lucifer over enough to agree to that.

“Judging from how Beel was talking, Lucifer is already growing fond of the human. Preta took a liking to her yesterday too. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to befriend her.”

“We may need to give Cass a bit of a warning. We were already joking about Beel eating her, but Preta is a whole different story. Given Lucifer’s added a new favorite person to his list along with Mammon, he wouldn’t take to kindly to her being eaten.”

Solomon pocketed the pack of cards as Satan took his seat and the final bell rung. They were in for a much more interesting semester than any of them had expected when Cass was first chosen. Hopefully it continued to be positive surprises.

---

“Never trust a demon.”

Cass kept thinking about Luke’s warning. When Luke had left the classroom, the calming aura he and Simeon had lingered. She wanted to hold them at arm’s length. Being angels didn’t make her immediately trust them. Both of them had a sincerity about them that made it hard not to though.

It reminded her of Lilith. Just like Lilith, Luke’s warning held some hidden knowledge that he wasn’t willing to share. She didn’t need his warning though. She didn’t need to know his reasoning behind it. She already distrusted Lucifer. Unlike his brothers, it always felt like he was playing a game, never revealing his hand even though everyone else’s cards were showing. Lucifer had a hidden card up his sleeve that he wasn’t sharing with his family.

A soft voice echoed through the room, startling her. Lilith was nowhere to be seen. Though Cass wouldn’t put it past the ghost to pull a prank, the voice was unfamiliar. She stood on her bed, trying to get closer to the vent.

“Someone, please, help me.”

The voice was just as faint. She could barely make on the words. Why was there someone calling for help? Was it another ghost that nobody could hear? Or was it something all the brothers were aware of and just learned to ignore? Well, she couldn’t sleep anyways.

Cass walked through the halls on her toes, praying to whatever higher power might be listening that she didn’t wake any of the brothers. She paused every so often to check that she could still hear the voice, letting it guide her towards the source.

When the voice was at its loudest, she realized the path was a dead end. She wasn’t even sure what part of the house she was in. She stood in a short hall that ended with a window. There was a large family portrait hanging on one wall, opposite was the only door. It wasn’t unlocked but it was only a closet for storage.

“Help! Please!”

“I’m trying,” Cass whispered, not sure if they could even hear her. “Maybe there’s another hall I missed?” She closed the closet door, ready to backtrack when Lilith appeared beside the family portrait. “About time you showed up. Want to give me a hint to how to find the person in the vents?”

Lilith laughed, tapping the edge of the painting. Cass gave her a skeptical look before inspecting the frame. No fucking way. She pushed the painting to the side revealing an indent from a hidden door. Of course, this creepy house would have hidden doors and secret passageways.

Luckily the picture was light despite the size. Cass pressed on the door, not sure how it opened. There was a click and the door swung backwards, revealing a small room with a stone, spiral staircase with an iron railing. Cass’s jaw dropped staring up into the darkness.

Before she could even take a step, a gloved hand wrapped around her wrist, and pulled her back. She suppressed a surprise scream. Lucifer’s ruby eyes glistened in the dark. A smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It seemed he was just as surprised as Cass to find someone in the room.

“This is no place for humans, you need to go back to your room.” He stepped around her, blocking the way to the stairs. Lilith lounged on the stairs behind him, rolling her eyes at his warning.

“Okay,” Cass said.

Lucifer took a step towards her, expecting to follow her out. Before she second guessed herself, she rushed under his outstretched arm, towards the stairs. Within a second, Lucifer had pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her, constricting her movement. His breath ghosting over her ear as he chuckled softly.

“You are quite brazen. You do know that don’t you?”

“I figured at least saying the answer you wanted would help you save face,” Cass answered, failing to escape his grasp.

“I’m not giving you a choice, Cass. Go back to your room if you value your life. This is the Devildom after all, you need to follow certain rules to ensure your safety.” He let Cass go without warning, causing her to stumble out of the room. She turned around in time to see the door close behind her.

“What are you hiding, Lucifer?” She whispered, staring at the door.

#obey me #obey me oc #obey me fanfic #obey me lesson 2 #obey me spoilers #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me livi #obey me diavolo #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me barbatos #obey me lilith #obey me solomon #obey me belphie #obey me simeon #obey me luke

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still-a-morosexual-help · 3 years

Text

OBEY ME! LESSON 57 DETAILED SUMMARY AND DISCUSSIONS/THEORIES

*I wrote this days after the lesson was first posted and never bothered to go back and edit it so meaning there will be me theorizing about the next lesson as well

*I write a small para for each chapter and I write it immediately after finishing that chapter so there’ll be theorizing about the next chapter too

*I swear more than usual here

*Some of the dialogue is heavily plagiarized and a few is lifted directly from the story, the game is to figure which is which.

*Summaries and Discussions/theories for all the other lessons can be found on this blog under #obey me spoilers or #my theories or #my headcanons

MC wakes up to Belphie and Satan planning on kidnapping them, deciding to wake them up and then arguing about which small prank they should play to wake them up (satan suggests holding their nose till they wake up and Belphie says they’d have to be careful with that method cause it could kill a human). MC decides it’d be best nor to let them go ahead with anyone of this and wakes up screaming to scare them both. They complain about being reverse pranked and say that breakfast is ready. Belphie also gives them the star of diligence for all that happened last lesson. Belphie asks if once MC becomes an actual sorcerer if Solomon will teach them higher level magic. Satan say it’d be a great boost to the anti-lucifer league. Belphie wonders what the final exam would be (and I just realised these two exams will be the final exam holy shit) and satan asks MC if they’re confident, they say ‘after all the BS I’ve been through? FUCK YEAH!’ Satan says it’s good to be motivated but to stay focused, Belphie says past experience shows that MC can stand to lose a little focus and still be okay. There’s a commotion and they realise that it’s probably Beel rampaging cause he got too hungry.

Asmo scolds Beel for his rampage, Beel apologizes and Asmo tells him not to apologize through a mouthful of food cause it seems less sincere. Asmo asks if he even regrets it and Beel ignores him to go reheat the meat pies which pisses asmo off more. Belphie tells him to drop it and that it was partly their fault for taking so long to come back. Asmo then scolds Belphie for being too soft with Beel. Lucifer asks about MC’s star and congratulates them. MC thanks him and questions him being so happy about them nearly being done. He says them becoming a proper sorcerer is important for all the brothers and that personally Lucifer wants them to become more powerful than Solomon so that they can finally shut him up and make him stop pestering Lucifer for a pact. Belphie questions Lucifer more about Solomon and Lucifer complains, also saying that there are plenty of demons willing to forge a pact with him but Asmo says Solomon’s very particular about who he makes pacts with. Asmo says word for word, “It may not seem like it, but he’s got a very cold-blooded side to him. He probably picks his targets purely based on whether they’ll be of use to him.” (I just think it’s really interesting that asmo calls them ‘targets’ though the character relationship diagram did say that Solomon considers others his playthings). Asmo uses Mammon as an example of a demon Solomon wouldn’t want to forge a pact with but Mammon doesn’t respond instant he’s silent and distracted/worried. Asmo pokes at Mammon again asking if he agrees. Mammon distractedly agrees. Asmo’s smile instantly falls, shocked and upset that Mammon isn’t biting back and arguing or saying something mean in return (why is this my brother & I???). Satan says that Levi will also be useless to Solomon. Levi responds the same way as Mammon did which freaks out both Satan and Belphie. MC asks Mammon & Levi what’s wrong. Belphie states how weird they’re being and Asmo also asks what happened, looking particularly upset. Lucifer calls out to the both of them too. But before they get a response Barbatos calls Lucifer asking them all to come to the hotel immediately.

On the way over Satan says Barbatos asking them over this early is strange and asks if he gave Lucifer a reason, Lucifer said Barbatos had promised to explain when they got there. Satan asks if this is wise considering two of them were already acting odd. Lucifer turns to them and says he’s not going to ask what their behaviour’s about rn but when they go back home the two of them have to explain to him what happened. They both give distracted noncommittal hums as answers. Satan says they’re like completely different people rn and Asmo says whatever the reason behind their behaviour it’s probably stupid. Asmo then asks MC about how he should paint his nails next time, MC can say a mature look, =a feminine look or a simple look. Then he remembers he’s supposed to enrol in a cooking class that makes food to “cleanse the soul” it’ll be hard with new nails. He also worries about whether food that ‘cleanses the soul’ could exorcise him. MC after all the BS they’ve gone through is extremely paranoid and says it sounds sus Asmo says the 7 of them are also pretty suspicious and that given their limited time in the human world he wants to do everything he can. Behind them Levi meows. Asmo says that though the demons are here just on break the angels are gonna be here long term (guys guys guys what if S4’s after the brothers leave and it’s an angel focused season with them bringing in Michael and Raphael and the brothers only show up for small bits??? I’d cry I’ll get Mammon withdrawal). Levi meows again. Asmo says he wants to stay and have fun in the human world for longer too. Levi meows thrice in a row. Asmo finally snaps and yells at Levi. Levi says he just wants to talk to MC for a bit (remembered the girl in college who used to meow at me whenever we passed by each other). Satan says he knows that Levi’s done something bad that’s gonna piss off Lucifer and now he’s trying to drag MC away from the others to find away to fix it. Levi tries to deny it but Satan just congratulates him and says depending on how this turns out they may invite him to the ant-lucifer league. Belphie asks what he did and Levi tries to deny it until Beel stops walking in stunned silence and Belphie asks him what happened. Beel says he just remembered something awful.

Beel wants to go back to get his abandoned meat pies, Mammon breaks outta whatever stupor he was in to say that’s insane and MC suggests heading through the market. Beel loves the idea and hugs MC, with Asmo saying he wants to hug MC too. At the market people stare at them, Lucifer says it’s natural with how big a group they are, Asmo contributes it to his beauty, I say it’s Satan’s ugly ass clothes. Mammon says people oughta pay them if they’re gonna stare, Levi says it’s embarrassing and MC tells him he’s being too self-conscious, Levi replies saying it feels like he’s being made to do an embarrassing public dare. The butcher greets all of them, surprised to see all of them at once, Beel places his order and the butchers asks if they’re friends, family…(members of a cult? Orgy?) MC can look over at either Mammon or Lucifer and get them to answer. Mammon says that except for MC they’re brothers though he doesn’t like being stuck with them for brothers but what can ya do. Belphie says Mammon’s got that last bit backwards. Lucifer says the same as Mammon’s first part but adds on that the others can be embarrassing. Satan says ‘like you’re not!?’ The butcher looks at this back of idiots who all look roughly the same age and nothing alike and says “ah. I see.” Then says “MC is your friend or…”Asmo laughs and calls the butcher nosy and says he and MC are a couple and that they’re they love of his life (the butcher previously also was introduced to Beel & MC and Mammon & Mc as couples…), Mammon says MC’s his servant (what a dick. I love him so much), Belphie says he thought the story was they hired MC as their babysitter (and that doesn’t sound shady at all) MC can say they’re a.) family This makes Beel & lucifer really happy and they agree. b.) their master, Mammon says MC’s got it wrong and it’s the other way around. Levi says that at least in Mammon’s case they got it right. c.) their babysitter – Satan protests to being called a baby. The Butcher’s like right….I kind of don’t wanna ask for anymore details but it’s nice you’re all so close.

Up in the hotel Beel is on his 37th meat pie much to Asmo’s dismay. Diavolo greets them and apologizes for the time, MC asks ‘what kinda bullfuckery is going on now’. Since last night there’ve been rumours of an evil spirit (aren’t diavolo & Barbatos also technically evil spirits…) Last night a guest had coming running to the front desk, seeming very pale and petrified with fear insisting there was something in the room with them. Though they don’t say a word Mammon gets shocked by this and Levi gets upset. Several staff members had gone to investigate but what they’d seen had left them shaking and unable to speak. They shock was so much that everyone who’d seen it had been admitted to the hospital. Mammon starts nervously laughing, saying it must have been all in their imagination, the way he words it makes it sound like he’s implying evil spirits aren’t real which I find hilarious. Levi, stuttering, backs him up. Satan says they can’t have all imagined it (isn’t this a thing though? Wait lemme google it up. Mass hallucinations or epidemic hysteria. The first two examples are during the middle ages and they both happened to nuns which is odd. The first was a nun who kept biting other nuns and it spread till the nuns were biting each other. The other was a nun who kept meowing and well that spread. Hey you guys need to read the wiki page for the examples of this it’s really fucking interesting). Mammon ignores Satan and tries to leave citing ‘stuff’ he’s gotta do. And Levi suddenly remembers some of his prior commitments as well. Asmo calls them out for being suspicious and Mammon stutters through the whole sentence denying it. Lucifer bans them from leaving which upsets them and Satan realises that they were called to get rid of the spirit. MC (who’s a shit) asks why the demon king’s son can’t take care of it or if it’s safe for demons to exorcise evil spirits. He says he’s got meetings the whole morning and that the spirit is something he can’t keep waiting till later. He says that though to humans they may seem similar, demons and evil spirits are very different beings. He also says the spirit is the kind that’ll be hard even for demons to handle alone. Asmo asks if that means Diavolo knows what it is. He says it’s a bogeyman (Me: *snort*)

The twins are surprised, Diavolo asks MC whether they know what it is. Bogeymen are well known even in the human world, with children fearing they may be hiding in dark corners of their rooms, they don’t have their own form and instead appear as your greatest fear (and isn’t this the thing from harry potter? A boggart right?) Belphie asks how it could have ended up in Corvo and Lucifer turns to the two obvious suspects as they try to inch their way towards the door. Through stutters they try to explain that they weren’t trying to run away. Lucifer’s so pissed at this point his text has stopped appearing in bold and is now appearing in red. Mammon throws Levi under the bus, saying he wouldn’t stop adding all these new upgrades to crowe, levi says it was Mammon doing that using Levi’s account and money. Levi said Mammon wanted to try an effect called “Pandora’s Gacha” which would give you a random effect that you weren’t told about beforehand. When Lucifer yells at them to quiet his text is both bold and red so you know he’s seconds away from murdering them. He makes them explain everything properly from the beginning and there’s a flashback. They’re both in Levi’s room, realising how badly they fucked up, as black mist starts to swirl around them (they also keep finishing each other’s sentences as they talk about how fucked they are which I thought was cute). Levi says he has no idea what they summoned but that it should definitely not be loose in the human world and Mammon cusses out crowe (which fair? Which did an update to crowe let loose an evil spirit? Maybe cause crowe’s also connected to the devildom but I can’t imagine anyone in the devildom wanting to be surprised with an evil spirit either… and shouldn’t they correct that bug before someone in the human world summons something that only crowe in the devildom is supposed to summon. But I guess Levi’s crowe is a prototype). Crowe actually answers Mammon and starts telling what it is an what it does as the mist starts taking form. Crowe congratulates them on winning a ‘super special rare effect’, Mammon asks how they could congratulate them when this sucks. The mist forms into Lucifer in his demon form resulting in the two of them screaming and panicking, Mammon’s chanting ‘no’ over and over again and Levi shrieks at Crowe to get rid of it and Crowe asks if he wants to transfer the bogeyman to another location. Crowe asks permission to use 1000DP to install an update to do that, which makes Levi hesitate but Mammon agrees. Crowe asks where they would like to send it. Levi starts stuttering saying he doesn’t know and Mammon says anywhere but here. Levi then stutters out hotel corvo. (So I have questions: Does the bogeyman appear as what you fear the most in general or what you fear the most at the time you see it? Like since before it formed a shape they were already freaking out about Lucifer getting pissed at them so in that one moment that’s what they were scared of more than anything else. Also does it transform into your collective fear? Like since Mammon & Levi met it together it transformed into a pissed demon Lucifer cause that’s the one thing they both fear the most but if it met the two of them individually would it transform into something they alone fear the most? I’m asking cause the two of them seem to piss off Lucifer so much, and despite knowing the consequences for their actions this does not stop them from doing more things to piss off Lucifer, and they’ve been doing this for thousands upon thousands of years that it doesn’t make sense that the thing they fear the most would be Lucifer.)

Back in the present mammon happily compliments Levi on his quick thinking of transferring it to Corvo, Levi happily takes the compliment, calling himself a genius and saying he’d seen an ad for corvo right before the whole bogeyman thing appeared and it popped into his head. “How very interesting…” Says Lucifer with a smile on his face and remembering where they are right now Levi gasps. Lucifer quotes back what they just said to each other before transforming into his demon form making the two of them start screaming again. Belphie says the two of them redefine stupid. Barbatos, with a smile, says he’s pleased they found the cause of all this. And Satan remarks that Barbatos seems really pissed. Beel says the way he’s smiling makes it scarier and actually reminds him of Satan (I love the smiling despite being consumed with seething murderous rage thing some of the demons do. We even saw Mammon do it in that one Devilgram where the brothers for once actually managed to piss him off enough to make him transform into his demon form.) Barbatos says he’ll leave the clean up to Lucifer and the others. Lucifer, now back to normal, agrees despite looking upset and saying he’d rather not. Barbatos drags diavolo to his meeting despite Diavolo protesting and saying he doesn’t want to leave as things get interesting and asking if he can reschedule the meetings, Barbatos says Diavolo had promised to be professional and get all his work done if Barbatos let him come and stay in the human world. Diavolo asks MC if they can have a gossip session about everything that’s gonna happen later and they promise to. Diavolo complains again and Barbatos smiles and goes ‘Young Master.’ And Diavolo immediately fold and leaves. Belphie comments on how even Diavolo wouldn’t dare cross Barbatos when he’s pissed. Asmo and Satan say Levi and Mammon should fix this mess. Mammon says as brothers they should stick together. Belphie says he doesn’t get to play the brother card at his convenience. Asmo asks if MC agrees with him. Levi gives them puppy dog eyes and asks if MC will abandon them. If MC says they should all work together Mammon gets all sparkly eyed and says he knew MC would agree and Levi gets all sparkly eyed and says MC’s the best. Belphie says he doesn’t want to be stuck dealing with this. If MC says it’s their fault and they should figure it out Mammon asks them if that doesn’t sound too harsh and Levi says he understands that nobody cares about them. Satan calls them tweedled-dee and tweedled-dum and says they brought it on themselves. Beel asks Lucifer what they’ll do. Lucifer says Mammon & Levi should deal with it, Levi tries to protest but Asmo says they should have known this would happen. They’re interrupted by Simeon and Solomon, with Solomon saying he wants MC to take care of this.

Lucifer asks why they’re here. Solomon says Barbatos told him and that the bogeyman was a perfect opportunity that they can’t let go to waste and that he wants to make it MC’s final exam. MC can say it sounds exciting or crazy, MC’s a lunatic so after they say the first Solomon is pleased and says he’d expect nothing less from his apprentice and that this is gonna be hard but it’ll make it more rewarding. Simeon laughs and says Solomon seems to have rubbed off on MC, he pauses and adds “in a good way”. Solomon smiling says that they’ll have Simeon with them as help. Simeon says he’d only come by to deliver cakes but had gotten kidnapped by Solomon. MC says they could use Simeon’s help, he’s silent for a moment but agrees though he says he doesn’t know how much help he’ll be. The others agree to come along to watch/help MC’s exam. Mammon gets all sparkly at the thought of his ‘sweet little brothers’ coming to help but Belphie says none of them are doing it for him or Levi but for MC instead. Levi says he feels like they really lucked out here. Solomon asks Lucifer if he has any protests. Lucifer looks tired and done but agrees to it all. They end up in a really creepy bloodstained hall bathed in red light. Beel asks Levi not to walk plastered on to him. Levi stutters and says he can’t. Mammon, also thoroughly freaked out, holds on to MC as they walk and says the hallway is really creepy. Asmo scolds him for using this as an excuse to hold MC. Lucifer tells them all to stfu. From the far end of the fall they hear growling until from the shadows something roars and comes charging towards them. Mammon screams.

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procession-of-blades · 5 years

Text

Crumbling

Wordcount: 1280

Content/Spoiler warnings: GW2 LW4 spoilers

GW2 LW5 teaser spoilers(?)

The heat of the night was unbearable, and Pukh found herself tossing and turning more than usual. The cot's scratchy fabric tugged at the corners of her mind, rousing her any time she dared move more than an inch. Their brief time in the more agreeable clime of the Shiverpeaks had only served to spoil the asura, and she found herself counting down the days before they'd be finally leaving Dragonfall properly. She rolled over once more, bleary eyes blinking at the blackness outside her tent.

Except...it wasn't blackness anymore?

Her head cocked involuntarily, eyes adjusting to the soft blue light that trickled through the cracks in the tent flaps. It was akin to the light of early dawn, the kind on a crisp morning. The blue that only really gleamed that bright when reflected off the pale canvas of winter. Puzzled, the asura clawed at her prosthetic, fiddling with the lights to set something dim, before pushing herself upright to investigate further. The wind pushed at the tent, stronger than it had been mere moments ago. It made a distorted, whistling sound as it did so, almost enough to make Pukh question if somebody were speaking far away.

Pukh squinted as she exited the tent, her eyes unaccustomed to the bright blue empty that lay before her. The wind whipped further, stinging her nose and ears, and the sound rang out again. Warped words seemed to cling to the very air itself, but what they said, she couldn't make out. Snow? It hardly made sense. There was no snow on Dragonfall, it wasn't possible. Even with the flames in the Fissure of Woe being ephemeral, etherial, the heat from the jungle would have made it impossible. Still, the flakes burned her eyes as they landed, and it made as much sense as any of the rest of the island. Well, if you don't think too hard about it, she argued to herself.

Stay h̶er̸e͞ wi̸th me̵.

She jerked her head towards the sound, jumbled words audible in the gale that time. "Who's there?!" came the obvious inquiry, with nothing but more wind in return. Pukh spread her stance, reaching for the focus at her hip, "Show yourself!" Her voice cracked on the second word, her teeth gritting as she suddenly turned back towards her tent, seeing nothing but further empty blue where it had been only moments before. Eyes wide, she stumbled back towards where she knew the tent should be, and found only more of the mysterious snow she'd found herself in upon exiting.

Pukh paused, more than aware that panic would do nothing to increase the odds of survival in...whatever situation this was swiftly becoming. The distorted voice came again, Ḑ͔̱̰o͏̪̬̙͎n̫̬̭̥͈̝̪͘'̰̰̫̥̀ͅͅͅt̵̜ ̣̣͞y̬͍̭̖̩͉̼o̵̥u̬̙̖͕ ̩̯̟̗̯̱͡w̦͜àn̬̘͙̥̠͠ͅt͝.̼̼̣͢.͇̞͕͇͍.̺͈͍̳̗͕ͅ and Pukh spun around again, searching for the source of the sound. Ć͖͙̙̗l̲̫o̴ś͚̥̞̻͙e͎̳̝̖͖̗͓r̸̖͙̣̟͍̱.̮͎̭.̯͉̳̺͔.̮͕͉̪͎̹̙c͖̯̣̕l͇͉o͢ș̶̼̙̬̩̘̖e͖̪͍r̥͎͖.̮̖̠̥̲̺̦.̶̗̣.҉̙̬̮̫ and she repeated her question, to no avail. F̡͉̻͚̤͙̹͔i̢͕̟̳̼n̷̰̼̤͔̻d̗̦͟. ̀C̠̭̘ͅom̴̥̤̬̤͙̭e̗̻̜͍͈͜ͅ.̘͙̟ͅ She scanned the horizon slowly, the sound seeming to come from all sides at this point. There were no landmarks, no trees, an endless expanse of snow. It reminded her of Elona, in a way. Much like the dunes of the Crystal Desert, the ground seemed to shimmer with water that didn't exist, which made the voice I͜ ̨̮̭t̩̫̟̮̳͇̫a͍͖̙͚̤̜̱͞k̤͈̘͡e͖ͅ ̰͚̼͙t͝he̤͚̪̕m̱͕̣̮̠̰͟ all the more disorienting.

Finally, after what seemed like spinning in circles for minutes, Y̫͓o̺͙͡u̶͉̱̜̥͕͍̥ ̕ͅạ͈̺͓͓̀r͇̖̀e̻̬͉̦̼͓ ͎͖͚͍st̤͍̝̱̳ͅr̵̩̣͙͔o͖̖̰n̷̩͓g̙̳̙͙͚̯͔,҉͚͈ ̭̝͓̩̯̭h́ẹ̼̪̤̮̰r̲͔̬̟̭̀o̟ Pukh finally saw what appeared to be a silhouette, far enough away to be unable to tell if it was man or beast. She ran towards it, instinct pushing away any training that would have told her otherwise. "Who are you?!" came a ragged shout, the words almost lost in the wind Y͉̫̕o̯̹̘̙u̞̺̗͙̣ͅͅ'̨͈̻̯͖̰l̫l͈ ̢̞̪̣̤̘̞ţ̻͔̖̥̜e̻͓̲̟̠̞̝͠ll̟̹ͅ ̸̹̩t̴̳̩̳̳h̸̠̦ẹ͚̱̭̳͚̹m̪̹̫̲͚̩͢ͅ. "Tell them WHAT?!" The clarity to the voice had become unnerving, and she skidded to a stop as the figure came into view.

C̣̞̯͡l̺̱̦͇͍̰ͅͅo҉̛̲̙̰̩͕͝s͏̗͈̙̲e̸͔̣̕͠r̴̘͈͉̳̙̹̹̰͟ͅ.̧̤̯͝.̨̱̗̭͚́͟.̴̻̀c̹͈̤l̶̹̬̜̭̥͙̭͞o̹̼̙̯̗͕̪ͅś̴̫̪̜̯e̬͈̞̹̟̮r̝̹̦̳̗̪̬͘.̡̼̥̪͕̲̜̳͍͢.̢͈͎̱͔͕͙͘.̸̠͖͉̠̳̀

The shade warped as she looked on, the right side almost appearing to melt in and out with the wind Ẉ͖͕i̶̤͚͖̫̺͔͕̟͜t̲̪̫̣̜̙h͔̥̳͖̺̞͡ ͚͔͕̩͓̻͡m̧̤̯͉e̖̼͓̺͡. There was a hood, or something like it, obscuring any hints as to what the person, thing, whatever it was, was. F͈̘̜̣i̵̴͇̙̩̬̺̩̼n̢̡̹d͏̧͚͓̦̘̹̥̬.̨̝̠̖͍͓̩̯͟ͅ "Show yourself!" Pukh felt the world slipping below her, .̳̘̜͚͕͠.̷̡̦̝.̸̶̙̜ś̵̢̤̝͚ṭa̠̪̥̬̯͜ͅy̪̘̼͓ ͖̙̤̱̥͈̼͎̠h̛͞҉͎̟̪̫͚͓̣ͅe̗͍͍͘r̥̠̱̱͖͜ẹ̴̟͈ ̛̦̭̝̱́͜w̳̣͡͝į̫͝t̼̥̘̀͠h̸̡̗͓̳̹̩ ̸͍̣̰̬̫̞̲m̸̨̺̗̱͍e̟̺̮̳͈͞.͔̬̲̝͓.̧̭̬.̱̭̜̩̳͖̫̥̝̕͢ as she watched the silhouette turn, the flickering only increasing as the gale whipped between them, the shade's face obscured by both mask and snowfall.

T̥e͔͙̯̯̣̭͟ḻ̤̮͔͍́l͕̜̦̲͕͍͕ͅ ͓̦̯͈̯t̕͏̖̪̻̣̟̰h̷̪̳̳̺̤̭͍̤̬e̝̺͠͝m̷̷̵̺̘̘͇̠̥̜̦ͅ.̸̶̧̣̘͉͕̳̝̳̟

WHAT?!" The world lurched, and she felt herself bracing against the ground, trying to get a glimpse of the stranger before her. The snow blinded her, and the chill of it set what was left of her right arm aflame. "Who are you?!" The world dimmed from blue to white as the wind howled, and the figure crouched down to her level, her eyes wide. They were met with round, matte circles, and the stranger put a finger to their mouth

S̵̾̒ͦ́ͮ̽ͭ̋ͤͥ҉̢̳̲͓͉̘͎̳̝̜͖͉̩͉̫̣̮͖t̸̢̨̙̯̰͖͚̬̝̝̦̙͗͊ͤͭ̑ͫ̊̍̐̃͆ͤ̾̓͑̉̒̀͢a̒̍̐̽͑͂͝͏̶͜͏̱̬͓̦̺ͅy̨͎̭̯̬̭̻̾̑ͥ͌̔ͨ͑̊͗ͩ́̚̚͢͜.̵̷̝̖̦̲̃̀͂̉̅͊̓̓̅̍ͤ̇ͮ̂͂̚͘͢͝.̷̡͔̻̜̲̗͇̩̯̠̯̭͍̣̞̣̬͚̺̞ͩͬ́̓ͩ͋̈́͘̕.̇ͨ̄͊͂̊ͬ̃ͥͣͨ́̈̾ͣ͏̵̛̤̮̩͍̼̖̝̳̬̜̥͕̼̮͈̘̣͝͝h̡͕̭̦̺̬͕̖͇̱͖̜̼̠̰͗̊̏ͨ͆ͧ͋ͫ̓͛̅ͭ̓ͭ̓̏̎̚͝ͅe̊̋̓ͫͫ̓̋ͯ̆̋ͮͦ̓ͫͬ̑͏̵̸̹̗̣͉̠́͟r̊ͥ͐͐ͧ̊̚͝͏̠̙̙̠̞́e̡̥̫̠̱ͥͤ̽̃͒̓ͣͧͤͧ ̴̸̹̝̺̯̹͙͉͖͇̫̼̳̱͉͕̻͙͎ͦͫ̋̏͑̀͑̆̓ͭ̏̎͊͌͒͜͡w̛̖̜̥͇͈̳̬̙͇̠͓̝ͨͪͪ͐͂́͛̾̎̕͘͢͞ï̴͛ͫ̔͒͂ͤ̈́̒̎ͣ̌̆̀͟͏͔̙̜̦t̺̫̝̰̦̭̖͚̘̤͕̟̒̿̃͋̾͊̽̐͜͞͡h̸͙̩̥̣͇̮̒̈ͣͣ͂ͫ̔̉̐͐̔̈́͛ͤ̀́̿̑́͠͝ ̲͈͇̤̮̯͔ͨ̌̉̅ͯͫ̎̐ͩ̃̌͑́̈́͌̈́ͣ̅͒͘ḿ̞̭̟̰͍̦̤͍̄̎̿̉̾ͭͣͫ̕͜ḙ̡͖̞̦͖͉̥̯̘̤͙̮ͩ̾͆ͭ̀̂ͦ̉͊̆̾̿̀ͅ.̴͕͎̫̫͚̭̫̤̗̣̠̐͗̊ͦ̿̔͋̾̄͐̍̾͊̚̚͞

Pukh couldn't keep herself from screaming. The distortion to the words left them all but unintelligible, but the meaning reverberated throughout her chest, like words spoken through a loudspeaker. The stranger raised the finger to her lips next, before, almost gently, dragging the coarse fabric of the glove over her cheek. She shook her head, everything a blur as things faded from white to grey, from grey to black, with nothing in her mind but the misshapen words of the wind rattling in her mind.

T̸̳͔̝̙͇̤͖̦͓̽̓̅̿͌ͭͦ̈́̕͜ͅh̷̢̡̖͉͎͖͇̼̳̰͙̲͍͋̾̏ͭ̒͟e̸̡̩̤͍̗̱̦͚̬̮̘͇̿̄̎̌́̓̀͘y̖͎̣̲̬͕͍̳̣̍͑̓ͩ̋̃ͬ͒͑͑ͯͨͦͧͪ͘͜͡ͅ.̱͓̟̬̼̭̻̳̥̺͚͎̞̼̻ͥ̍́̈́ͤ̋ͩͫ̀͢.̛̩̟͍̭̻̝̱̗̯͓̺̦̣̱͖͍̆͋͊́ͯ̓̂̋ͦ̿́̚͝.̡̧̜̦͖̬̩̻̳ͭͨ̌ͯ͋̃̎̇̋̀̾͑̽̊͢͝ͅͅḍ̞̘̗͓͔̣͍̥̖̪ͣ̌̀ͯ̓̇͒̓̃ͯͭ̓̓̑͊́͒̚͟͜o̢͍͉͔̘̗̻͓̲̝̞͍͈̱͎̤̾ͣ̐̃̐ͭ̇̎̿̑ͪ̀͡n̩͎̮̪̟̱͚͖͕̰̱̫̪̲͖̘̉̐ͧ̊͆̈̂͆͂͋̽͒̋̚͢͢͠ͅ'̶̴̰̪̹̩̼̭̫̥͍̝̝̼̼̗̟̈́ͧ̂̃͑ṫ̞̹̫̥̝̍̅̂ͥͣ̾̀͘͘͝͞ ̴̴̴͖̰̞̳̣̰̟͍̮̗̭̲̜̹͇̹̱̳̘̂ͪ̏̀͘͢ẃ̢̖͎̹̖̟͔͛̄̑͞͝a̷̫̪̯̟͚͈̮͈̲̝̜̻͐̌́̉̅͆ͨ́̊̏̔ͦ̈̕ṇ̢̜̻̞̣̟͎̜͓̬̙̫̼̭ͪͬ͆ͦ͑ͯ͗ͭ̀͝ţ̸̖̮̹̣̘̼̦͉͂̍̿̆̀͋͟ ̷̧̃̂̒ͮ̈ͭ͛̐̿͌͊͌͆́̚͏̲̮̩̫͇̫̥̲̪̫̭͕̠̺̖̬̖̤h͂̀̈̏͒ͯ̐̃͊̑̍͑ͨ̑ͭ̚͏҉̜͇͎͇̤͈͕̜̯̮̜̟̦̲̜̮́͘͟ḙ̢̢̛̛̝̘͉̫͎̫̥̣̳͚̱̝̈́̅̾͐ͦ̀̎̔͊̎͆̄̓ͤ̽̚ͅŗ̨̪̼̠̬̘͍̮͇̼͎̰̪͓̣͍̠̘͈̈́ͩ̂ͧͤ̀͛̓̾̽͐̕ơ̴̠̞̣͎̠͚̜̩̜͚̪ͨ͋͊̌͆́ē̷̝̞̻̼̮̠̳̥̟̉̈́̑ͪ͒͗̓̈́͒͂ͯ̉̾̎̀̅͡sͤ͛̓̄̄͌̈́͑̍̐̐̂͛͋̒̒͒̈҉̵͔͎̺͎̳̝͚̞́͢.̴̵̢̛̩͓̰̟̭̜̠̱̯̜͍̑̇̈ͫ̊́ͩͦ͛̓͗͞

The commander sat upright in her cot with a yelp, sweat beading over her brow and shoulders as she gasped for air in the warm morning. Her skin prickled in gooseflesh as she looked around, the tent exactly as it had been when she arose before the snow. The snow? Pukh thought to herself, the very idea baffling in the light of the morning sun. Throwing back the blanket, she burst from the tent, seeing nothing but the normal sea of Pact tents that accompanied hers, and the concerned faces of anyone who happened to be milling about.

Ignoring any quiet questions tossed her way, she disappeared back into the tent, rubbing at her arms and contemplating what she'd seen. Heard. As unsettling as it was, it had only been a dream, Pukh reminded herself. Even so, the distorted voice rattled around in her skull, and the heat that she'd complained so much about had been utterly replaced by lingering shivers. After soothing herself for a bit, she found it in herself to at least go to her washbasin, clean her face, and prepare for the day. The water drying on her skin let her feel the heat of the island again, and her heart rate began to regain some sense of normalcy.

Regardless, she found herself jittery, and scanned the tent threefold, convinced something had to be amiss in the tent, something had to have caused the nightmare. Pukh picked up every blanket, shook them out, checked the drawers in the bedside cabinet, emptied her pack twice and refilled it, all to no avail. So focused on the task of 'outing' whatever offender had caused the dream, she found herself yelping when Phari finally poked her head into the tent, "Why are you not eating breakfast?" She frowned at the startled response, "Did you have," the norn paused to find the words, "Did you have thheeeeee.... the...shitty dreams?"

Any sense of tension was relieved at the words, "I'd say that's an accurate designation, yes," Pukh snorted. Phari extended a hand and the asura took it readily, uneasy, but far from willing to speak about it. Perhaps it would fade with the day, perhaps not, but she let herself be bodily dragged to breakfast either way. There was nothing that a full stomach couldn't at least improve.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #writing tag #gw2 fan submission #tyriaslibrary #this was a formatting nightmare #hi i'm really hyped for the new breadcrumbs we got this patch #i've been up too many hours oh no

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