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“Elizabeth. I love you. Truly and deeply.”The woman sighed, her brown eyes staring intently at the bright screen. Playing back the lessons of her favorite mobile otome always served as a great distraction for the quiet, lonely nights, but this night felt… particularly bad. She was hardly able to give a soft chuckle at Asmodeus’ plea for help from the raven haired demon that had just declared his love for the main character, giving the time a glance once the scene finished and exited. It was still rather early in the evening. And yet, she didn’t think she was going to get any sleep just yet.Today had been another long day. An off day from work, which only served to remind her of her lack of distraction from the invasive thoughts she despised. Good thing Obey Me was always here for her to play through the previous lessons. She had managed to reread the first twenty lessons again; the first season. But with the start of the second season, in the mist of the Gold Hellfire Newt Syrup Soup plot, it seemed to get harder to pay attention to the character’s lines.She sighed again and set her phone to the side, plugging it back in after setting her alarm as she ran a hand through her auburn colored hair. Maybe she should just try to sleep now.She tossed and turned for a few moments before she heard the familiar soft chime of a notification from her phone. Reflexively, she flipped back over and picked up the device, glancing at the popup before furrowing her brows in confusion.It was a notification from Obey Me, with the familiar crow icon and title indicating the game’s name, but the content itself was… different. Unlike the most common notifications, “The demons have finished their job” or “Chat: Insert message here” it was simply…
Hello.
Elizabeth blinked at her phone in confusion for a second, a thought darting across her mind that the bright light of the screen must be messing with her vision, only for another notification to appear on her phone, replacing the first message.
Elizabeth? Can you see this?
She was definitely a bit startled now. Did that message just appear because she was looking at her phone? She pressed a hand to her face, shielding her eyes from the light for a moment as she tried to understand the odd messages. After a moment, her hand moved to unlock her phone so she could open up the game, only to immediately pause as her phone vibrated once more in her grip.
Wait! Don’t open it!
She paled slightly, frozen in place as her free hand hovered over the screen.
Please, you can just talk, or just nod if you prefer, but just to confirm, you can see this, correct?
Elizabeth immediately sat up in bed, staring down at the device quietly for a few long moments. Really her mind must be playing tricks on her. However, she glanced around her room for a moment, as if confirming that she really was alone, and then nodded her head.
Excellent! I’m glad we found a way to talk to you, Elizabeth!
She gasped softly. There was no way. Were these messages… really reacting to her in real time? And… they could see her? Still in a bit of a daze she muttered out softly, “Who exactly is ‘we?’”
Everyone here in Devildom. Have you forgotten who we are already?
She flinched, “I’m sorry? At Devildom? You mean… the demons? And angels? And Soloman?” she sputtered out.
Exactly! We’re all here! Well, except Luke. He doesn’t realize who you are yet. Probably for the best.
Before she could really react to that message, doesn’t realize who you are yet? What?, Another popped up swiftly.
Could you do me a favor Elizabeth? Please?
She narrowed her eyes at the phone. This was insane. She was talking to a message box on her phone lock screen. But… well what did she have to lose?
“…. Depends on the favor. If you want my soul, no dice.”
Haha, no no nothing like that. I promise.
Could you think of one of us? Any one of us?
Well, you should probably think of someone competent.
But anyone should be fine! Just close your eyes and let me know when you’re thinking of them.
The messages came in quick succession, but thankfully, with a swipe on her phone, she could see the past messages.
“Uh, anyone. Right, ok.” She replied hesitantly. With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes, leaning back a little and allowing her head to empty of everything but the person on her mind, “Ok, I’m thinking of them.”She didn’t hear any notification indicating a response from the mysterious messenger and her room was almost deathly quiet for many moments, leaving her almost too scared to open her eyes to see if the messages needed anything else from her.“Well, to think that I would be the first one you’d think of.” A deep voice suddenly sounded in her room in front of her, casing the woman to visibly jump as her eyes shot open wide in surprise.Before her, the raven haired and red eyed first borne demon stood, arms crossed and a slight, smug smirk on his face, leaving Elizabeth sputtering, “L-Lucifer?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucifer chuckled at her reaction as Elizabeth stammered and stared at the demon, unable to form coherent words in her confusion. Thankfully, her phone pinged a notification, pulling her head out its jumbled state.
Hmm, not the result I would’ve thought we’d get.
She frowned at the phone, “What? Was a demon not supposed to suddenly appear in my room?” she asked, glancing back at Lucifer. Honestly, it was a little hard to look at him. The game did him little justice in just how beautiful he looked and with that little smirk, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to wipe it off his face or kiss him.Unfortunately, said smirk disappeared quickly as he glanced down at her phone as well, “Solomon. I’m pretty sure this isn’t at all what was supposed to happen.” He stated, clearly speaking to her phone now. Of course, the messenger was Solomon. It was starting to make a bit more sense to her now. And by that, she meant it still made no fucking sense what-so-ever.
Ah no. Let’s see if our D.D.D.s work across worlds though. I’ll call you.
With a flick of her wrist, she showed the demon the message and, after a moment’s hesitation, patted the bed in front of her in a silent invitation for him to sit. He raised his brow but moved forward, sitting himself on the edge of the bed as he pulled out his own phone, or rather D.D.D. Seconds later, it rung out in a soft somber tune. Holding out between the two of them as he turned on the speaker for her benefit, he answered, “Solomon.”“Ah! I can hear you fine. Can you two hear me?” came the returning voice, surprisingly steady and clear for a device definitely not from her world. With a glance to Elizabeth, he allowed her to speak first, making her verbally stumble, “U-uh, yeah. I can hear you fine.”“Indeed. It seem our D.D.D.s will work just fine.” Lucifer added. Immediately, there was a chorus of voices after the confirmation, as if there was a group of people desperately trying to talk from the other line. She couldn’t really make out what they were saying with how many were attempting to talk over each other, but she could definitely pick out the people themselves. It almost felt surreal, hearing voices she associated to voice actors depicting characters in a fictional world as actual people. Or maybe she was just going crazy, and reality hadn’t caught up yet. She couldn’t decide.“Enough.” Lucifer firm command silenced the onslaught of voices from the D.D.D. “There is no need to overwhelm her like this.” She glanced up to his eyes, realizing he was watching her. The woman waved a hand dismissively and flashed him a nervous smile, “Oh I’m fine. Just fine.” There was a pause before she spoke again, “Um, actually… what’s happening?” she then asked.Solomon spoke up from the call, “I can answer that. We were trying to pull you into our world, but it seems the ritual instead pulled the one who was supposed to serve as your connection into your world instead.”Lucifer scowled, “So you didn’t do the ritual correctly?”“Well, technically I did it correct, but its not like anyone has tested it with separate worlds. Or maybe separate universes would be a more appropriate term.” Came the reply. “I suppose we will just have to figure out how to get the both of you back here now.”Another voice, this one cheerier, spoke up, “No worries, Lucifer! If you’re gone for too long, Barbatos and I can handle your work until we get you back!”Having quickly lost any ability to keep up with the conversation on call, considering she had no knowledge of magic, Elizabeth latched onto that voice, “Was that Diavolo?” she asked, avoiding Lucifer’s gaze quickly when she forgot the Prince’s title.“Indeed, my dear! I am pleased to finally talk to the real you!” he happily declared, making her tilt her head in confusion, “… What? I’m sorry, what do you mean by ‘real me?’”The demon in front of her answered her, “In our world there is a… representation of you.” He explained, “Though it doesn’t quite feel… alive. That’s how we’ve come to realize that it follows whatever orders you give it.”She stared back at him; her mind attempting to decipher and catch up. Really, she was far too tired to understand this, but she was trying, “Wait, my orders? I don’t give anyone any orders.”“Do you not tell it what to say?” he asked with a questioning look. She paused, opening and closing her mouth for a second before it dawned on her, “You mean the scenes? The, uh, lessons? So then… wait, no.” Her mind floundered a bit before she suddenly slapped her cheeks with her hands, trying to kick her head back into gear.“Darling! Be careful! You wouldn’t want to wound that lovely face!” A concerned sing song-y voice called out from the D.D.D. that she quickly recognized, “Asmo?” He giggled happily, “The one and only! Of course, you’d know me!”Lucifer rolled his eyes, the temptation to end the call clearly growing on his face, “Anyways,” he firmly started, cutting off anything else the fifth borne was about to go off about, “Rather then have some cheap imitation, we decided to attempt to contact you.”Elizabeth pressed her lips together tightly for a moment before speaking, “And you couldn’t do that in the scenes?” With a slight shake of his head, the demon was about to speak before being cut off by the call, “Those seem to be scripted. We don’t seem able to deviate from whatever magic is compelling us to talk to that thing.” Solomon’s voice explained.“That thing?” she muttered, “Wouldn’t be easier to just call it by name?” Lucifer tsked, “Is Elizabeth not your name? Why would we call it by your name, especially now that we can talk to you?” She ahhs, “Right. You’re right, that’s my name. Um… call it MC then? That’s what the fans call it. Main character.”He shrugged as Solomon spoke again, “Well, regardless, now that we’ve established contact with you, we shouldn’t have to worry about that, er, about MC. Right?” And there returns the confusion, “Riiight.” she hesitantly agreed with him before muttering softly to Lucifer, “Does that mean I’m supposed to do something?”He, in turn, chuckled, “Rather, it would we’d like you not to do. Outside of those, ah, lessons are what you called them? Outside of them, we don’t have any compulsions and can live as we please. So, if you aren’t playing them, none of us should be pushed into interacting with… MC.”Quickly, she paled as his words settled into her head, “Wait. Are you saying I’ve been forcing all of you into acting all of that out? Repeatedly?” She buried her face in her hands, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’m sure you all must have lives beyond this stupid game. You must hate me!”The demon gently pried her hands away from her face as another chorus of voices poured out from the D.D.D., each one offering to calm her worries with affirmations. With another stern warning from the first borne the call quieted again as he freed her face, “Don’t worry, dove. We realize that you’re just as ignorant of the situation as we originally were.”Her heart jumped at the affectionate name, her cheek reddening slightly as she peered back up at him. Her blush only deepened as she glanced at the gentle touch to her own hands, looking at them in wonder as she realized that this really wasn’t a dream, “Gods, you really are here, aren’t you? This is really happening right now?” she then whispered.He smiled down at her, moving hand to her cheek to cup it lightly, “I am really here, yes. This is as much your reality as it is mine now.”The soft moment was quickly interrupted with yet another voice on the call, shouting out indignantly, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing, putting the moves on her when we can’t be there, Lucifer!” Broken out of her flustered realization by the shout, she glanced down at the D.D.D., “Mammon, right?” she asked, “Sounds just something he’d say.” She couldn’t help but to giggle.The hand dropped from her face as he scoffed at the interruption, ruby eyes now glaring down at the D.D.D. as well as Mammon boasted happily, “Of course you’d recognize the Great Mammon! No-not that it matters to me if you do.”She giggled again, rolling her eyes, “Yup, exactly like the Great Mammon.” She was just glad he pulled her out of the creeping guilt and extensional crisis on the back of her mind. Now that she relaxed a little, however, her body forced her into a yawn, her hand quickly moving up to cover her mouth, “Ah, sorry.” She muttered to the one with her.Solomon spoke up again, “Ah, it is getting late, isn’t it? We should let you get some sleep, and we can continue this discussion tomorrow. There will be plenty of time then.” Lucifer nodded, “Yes, you should get some sleep, Elizabeth. If I recall, you work as well?”Her eyes widen slightly, “How did you- wait shit, yeah I do work!” she gasped picking up her own phone to glance at the time, surprised by the hours she lost just talking to them. One final time, there was a chorus of voices from the call, each one offering her a pleasant sleep and eager to talk to her tomorrow as she hesitated before also talking to the D.D.D., “Ah, we can continue after work and I promise I won’t open the game.” She offered to them, “I really am sorry about that.”Lucifer waved his hand dismissively, allowing the voices to assure her once more before he finally ended it, “Don’t worry about them. None of us blame you for whatever it is that is happening in our world.” Before she could reply to him, her phone vibrated with a notification, forcing her to glance at it.
Sleep well, Elizabeth. We’ll talk again tomorrow.
A small smile graced her lips as she read the words before unlocking her phone so she could set up her alarm, pausing once it was set up, “Ah… and you’re staying here tonight then?” she asked the demon, peering up at him from under her strands of hair.One of his brows lifted, “If you don’t mind. Or would you rather I not remain?” he asked her. She quickly shook her head, panicking slightly, “No no! I don’t mind at all! I just, um…” she rubbed her thumbs together, “I wasn’t expecting company and I don’t have any guest rooms and the couch can’t possibly be comfortable and I don’t want to be a terrible host-“ He hushed her rambling with a gloved finger to her lips, “Then, I have an idea, if you don’t mind. Why don’t we share the bed?”Quickly he flinched at his words as she blinked up at him in surprise, the both of them clearly recognizing the words he spoke, “By Diavolo, I think I’ve said those words so many times they became habit.” He muttered. She frowned, “I’m sorr-“ He hushed her again with his finger, “Hush. This time I’m saying them because I want to. Not because I am forced to.”Flustered at his words, she launched right back into rambling, “I mean I don’t mind sharing the bed if you don’t mind it. I’m sure you’d be plenty warm and comfy to sleep with though my bed isn’t super big so I’m sorry if we end up too close for your liking.” This time, however, she silenced herself by covering a cheek and her mouth with a hand. Her cheeks were bright red and warm at this point.He laughed as he got off the bed, removing his coat and dressing down to get comfortable, the movement drawing her eyes to him. Ho boy, if she was distracted by his face before, she was definitely mesmerized by toned arms he revealed as he pulled up his sleeves, or the collarbone now on display as he removed his vest and undid the first few buttons of his shirt.“Had your fill?” he asked her, snapping her out of her trance as she let out a small noise of embarrassment. He nudged his shoes off to the side as he smirked down at her, finally moving onto the bed as she swiftly buried herself into her blankets. Unable to look at him now, she felt the bed moving as he adjusted himself, her grip on her covers loosening to allow him to settle under them next to her.For a few moments, they were both quiet before Elizabeth swallowed and asked, “Um, Lucifer?” Hearing a soft acknowledgment from him, she continued, “My bed really isn’t that large. Is it okay if, ah…” she paused, hesitating with her words. He didn’t seem to need the rest of the question, however, and replied before she could find them, “I don’t mind, Dove. It is your bed, after all. Do you wish.”Offering a small, but happy noise in return, she rolled herself over and nudged herself up against his side, settling her head on his offered arm as he wrapped it around her shoulders, gently running his finger tips against her back. She had never fallen asleep as fast as when she was in the comfort of his arms, her breathing slowing to an even pace as she drifted off, barely acknowledging the soft kiss to her forehead, “Good night, my love.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Waking up to a cold, empty bed was certainly not strange to Elizabeth, but she felt a tinge of pain in her chest as she tapped at her phone to shut off the alarm while swiftly realizing she was alone. Last night must’ve been a dream, certainly. She ignored the ghost of the feeling of a warm body wrapped around herself, running her fingers through her hair as she struggled to fully awake.Finally, with a heavy sigh, she rolled over and shoved herself up to stand, clearing out her eyes with her palm as she yawn and muttered, “Definitely a stupid, indulgent dream.” The soft rumble of her phone’s vibration on her nightstand interrupts her thoughts however, making her freeze as she glanced over.
Good morning, Elizabeth.
I assure you, last night wasn’t a dream.
She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding as she read the back to back messages, her hand hovering over the device. After a moment of silence, she breathed out, “Holy fuck.” Before she could say anything else, however, more messages appeared.
This is Lucifer.
I must apologize, but none of us knew that the ritual that pulled me to you last night would be temporary.
Solomon says that I was there with you for about five hours before I was returned.
The ritual can be repeated, however.
After you return from work, we will either bring someone to you or bring you here, whichever result occurs.
The tired woman stared down at the messages, opening her mouth for a moment before resting a hand on the phone to cover it. “Uh, you guys said you can hear me. And see me, I think? Anyways, I’m not a morning person. Gimme a second, I’ll be right back.” She said, feeling a little like she was just talking to the void, despite the messages clearly addressed to her.Without waiting to see if Lucifer would reply, she stood and moved to her closet, quickly tugging out her work uniform, her hand already slipping under her pajama shirt before she froze half way through taking it off, looking back over at the phone and narrowing her eyes, “Right… you can see me….” She hmmed, frowning before slipping into the bathroom to change.A quick change, face wash, and teeth brushing later, Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom, feeling much more awake now that she had time. She moved back to her phone, picking it up and feeling a tad disappointed that there weren’t any more messages, only to be surprised with one immediately.
It would probably be best if you change in a separate room from your phone from this point on.
She blushed slightly, “Right. So, you guys really can see me, huh?” she asked.
Yes. The phone is our connection, so we can see everything in whatever room its currently in.
Or just a general area around it when you’re outside.
She hummed in acknowledgment, glancing at the time to make sure she wasn’t late for work, “Ok. I, uh, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Yes. Reminding Asmo to avert his eyes every time you got dressed was rather irritating, but I made sure no one was watching you during those times.
Mind you, that was harder to do when brought your phone with you when you showered.
With a gasp, she covered her face, “Just how long have you guys been watching me? Surely not since I’ve downloaded the game. I’ve had this thing for almost a full year!” she exclaimed.
Only for about six weeks, I assure you.
We weren’t even aware of the circumstances until about two months ago.
She groaned, “Six weeks?” before tilting her head in contemplation, “Did I do anything stupid or embarrassing in the last six weeks?” she then softly considered.
Regardless, I will be handing the messaging back to Solomon now.
Have a pleasant day at work, Dove.
It felt like the demon was avoiding answering her question with the last few messages, but then again, she probably didn’t want to know the answer. With a sigh, she answered, “Thanks, Lucifer. You have a good day too.” It still felt weird to be talking to just messages on a phone, but she didn’t exactly have another way to communicate on her end.She tucked the phone into her pocket, moving off to her kitchen for a quick to-go breakfast before heading off to work. The day progressed slowly, through she now had a companion in her back pocket, the woman unable to stop herself from checking her phone every spare moment she had or every time she felt the device vibrate in her pocket. However, it wasn’t until halfway through her day during her break did she see a message, pulling out her phone as she slipped away to hide in her car with her earbuds in place, as if she was in a call.
You certainly get distracted easily, hmm?
She tsked, settling into her seat as she peered at the screen, “I don’t know about you, but its not exactly common in my world to have people from a completely different, uh, universe? Dimension? Whatever. It’s not common to have them leaving messages on a phone.” She complained, “Also, it’s not like it easy to tell when you message me. It just a notification on my phone. I didn’t want to miss anything important you might want to say.”
I appreciate that you’re that interested in what I have to say.
Are you on break right now?
Elizabeth nodded, “Yeah. I figured, maybe I could ask a few questions?”
Certainly.
She paused for a moment, considering what to start with, “Well… is everyone still, uh, there? Wherever there is? I mean, I assume you guys have things to do besides, well, watch me all day.”
True. Not everyone is here at the moment.
Most of the demons are off working or at RAD to keep up appearances, since we are the only ones aware of you.
Simeon is currently with Luke since I remained here.
Currently, Satan, Belphegor, and I are here.
They say hello, by the way.
“Oh. Uh, Hi Satan. Hi Belphie.” She hummed softly, “So, uh, you guys have been watching for six weeks, right? Was it just figure out a way to get me to stop playing the game?”
Initially, it was to figure out who was controlling MC.
And to stop it would be correct, yes.
I managed to create a Viewing Oculus that used whatever connected MC to this world and ending up showing you.
After a few weeks of observing you, it was clear that not only were you not capable of creating whatever magic had a hold on us.
But you were just as innocent in whatever this was as well.
And well, to put it simply, we may have gotten attached to you in the process.
Elizabeth coughed softly, “Attached? What the hell did I do in the last six weeks that would get you guys attached to me?” she asked before quickly shaking her head, “No no, don’t answer that. I’m sure its something embarrassing.” She whined.Once more she pondered what else to ask before she pressed her lips together. “Solomon. Have you been watching since last night?”
Yes. Why do you ask?
She glared down at the phone, “When’s the last time you’ve slept?”
Ah. That’s what this is about.
I’ve been busy perfecting the summoning ritual the past few days.
So… since before then?
She looked down in disbelief, “Are you kidding? You haven’t slept in days? Solomon, I have time before I’m off work. Go take a nap for God’s-“ she paused on her expression before amending, “For Diavolo’s sake!”
Haha, already worried about my sleep?
It’s alright, I can take a nap later, I don’t mind.
She tsked, “No, not later. Now. You may be basically immortal, but you are still technically human. Satan is competent. I’m sure he can take over whatever it is you’re doing right now. It won’t kill me or anyone there if they wait for you get some rest.”
Ah. You really are quite insistent.
Very well. I will hand over the spell maintaining our messages to Satan for the time being.
But I will be back as soon as you’re done with work.
She tsked again but figured that was the best compromise she’d get from the sorcerer, “Fine. Just get some sleep. You won’t do anyone any good if you collapse from exhaustion.” There was a pause, rather then the near instant replies she had been receiving before another message appeared.
This is Satan, Elizabeth. We’ve sent Solomon off to sleep in the other room.
She let out a breath before hmming, “Technically… I have no way of confirming that’s true and I wouldn’t put it past Solomon to lie so he could keep working, but I’ll choose to believe you for now.” She spoke.
Fair. Solomon can be pretty shady, right?
But I assure you, this really is Satan.
Also, I believe your time is up on your break.
She glanced at the time before swearing and quickly rush out of her car back to work. This time, she forced herself to avoid looking at her phone… and failed only half of time. In her defense, Satan seemed to enjoy leaving her little messages commenting the dogs in her line of work, earning him a few little chuckles through out the rest of the day.Finally, the moment she was done for the day, she rushed to her car, quick to head home and whipping out her phone she close her door behind her. Even as she was looking at the device she spoke, “If Solomon’s still sleeping, let him rest longer. I don’t mind waiting and just talking.”
Too late. He just walked back in.
Sorry, we all already know your schedule.
Settling herself in her living room this time, she huffed, “Just how intently did you watch me the last six weeks? Because I won’t lie, that’s just a touch bit creepy.” She glanced at the ceiling for a moment considering a thought before adding, “Although, I guess it’s only fair considering what I’ve been doing to you all the past year.”
Apologies, but we were trying to find anything unusual about you previously.
This is Solomon again, by the way.
“Welcome back.” She greeted him. She had to admit, she was quickly getting used to talking words on a screen. “So, what now?”
Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to try the summon ritual with you again.
Everyone is here again, so you can just think of anyone.
Close your eyes and let me know when you’re thinking of them.
Elizabeth fiddle with her phone for a moment before closing her eyes, “Alright.” And in a quieter voice, “Might as well go in order then.”Once more, there were a few seconds of still silence before a loud voice bolstered out in front of her, causing the woman to jump in her seat, “Ah ha! Of course, you’d think of the Great Mammon!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Ya should’ve summoned me first anyways, human!” the white-haired demon chastised her, his chest puffed out as he rested his hands on his hips.She gave him an amused look, unable to hide the small grin on her face from his overly dramatic entrance, “I’m so sorry. At least I decided to summon you second, right?” she asked, though the sarcasm in her voice wasn’t all that well hidden. It didn’t seem to bother him none however, “Damn right ya should be sorry!” he huffed before carelessly waving a hand, “Now what are ya going to do to make up for your mistake?”She crossed her arms, raising a brow at him. Before she could reply, however, Mammon’s D.D.D. rang out, indicating a call. He scoffed, answering it and flipping on the speaker just as Lucifer had done so the previous night, “Yeah, whaddya want?”Lucifer’s stern voice returns in kind to Mammon’s greeting, “Mammon was probably not the best choice.” Clearly not speaking to the owner of the D.D.D. he called.Elizabeth tsked with a disappointed look, “It’s not like I’m here trying to solve a logic problem. You said the ritual is supposed to bring me to whoever I’m thinking of, right? Or is there more to the ritual after it obviously backfires and sends them to me instead?” she asked.There was a pause of silence from other end of the call and Mammon gave the woman a surprised look at her conclusion. After a few long moments, Lucifer finally speaks up, though he wasn’t speaking to the two in the room, “Solomon. Is the ritual backfiring?”“Well, that certainly could be the problem, yes. Like I’ve said before, it’s not like this spell has been tested across, uh, dimensions before. That being said, if it is backfiring, it’s highly unlikely it’s from our end. It would likely be because of something with Elizabeth herself, or possibly the dimension itself.” The sorcerer theorized, “Did you feel anything odd while you were with her?”“Actually,” Lucifer started, “It felt a bit suffocating there. But not the air itself. Or rather the magic in the air, or lack-there-of would be proper.”“Lack-there-of? Of magic?” Elizabeth questioned, “Well, I’m pretty sure there isn’t any magic in my world. I mean, demons and angels certainly don’t exist here. Nor sorcerers or magicians or whatever you want to call yourself.”Mammon scoffed, “Plenty of humans from the human world in our universe don’t think magic and demons exist either. Doesn’t mean we aren’t around.”She snorted back, “Oh please. Humans are like extremely snoopy rats. It doesn’t matter how well you hide; someone will find it and present it to the rest of the world. It just depends on whether the rest of the world believes it to be true. And I feel like if magic and demons existed here, people would be going crazy about them.”“Ya a human too, you know…” Mammon stated, giving her a slightly concerned look. She avoided his gaze, frowning a bit as she grunted, “And? Doesn’t change what humans are.”“Regardless,” Solomon interrupted them, “If there’s a problem with the ritual, it’ll be somewhere in your dimension, Elizabeth. It’s probably for the best that whoever gets sent over to you uses their time to cement the connection you have to us. The stronger our connection, the easier it’ll be to bring you here.”“Now hold on.” The woman crossed her arms in mild irritation, “I’ve let it slide since the start because I was still trying to keep with all that was happening, but you guys keep bringing up that you’re trying to pull me into your world. Last I checked, though, not once have any of you bothered to ask me if I wanted to leave in the first place.”It was deathly quiet over the call as she finished talking as she brought up the obvious glaring issue to them. The awkward tense in the air so thick she could’ve choked on it.Finally, it was Mammon who spoke up, “Do ya not wanna be with us?” She glanced at his face, having been avoiding looking at him when she had spoken and immediately regretted it. His face looked like she had kicked his puppy and spit on it afterwards. She visibly flinched and looked away, trying keep her face from looking guilty for making him look like that, “I-I never said that.” She stuttered before clearing her throat to muster up a bit strength in her voice, “Just, what makes you guys so sure that I’m ok with leaving?”It was Mammon’s turn to look guilty, quickly avoiding her eyes this time and immediately looking suspicious, drawing out a frown from her as she narrowed her eyes. Surprisingly, it wasn’t any of the three she was already talking to that replied to her.“We’ve been watching you for about six weeks now, my dear.” A soft voice spoke over the D.D.D. making her pause as she furrowed her brow for second, “Simeon?” she asked. “Correct.” Came his answer. She tsked after, “Ok, yeah, we’ve already established you guys have been watching me, what of it?” The angel seemed to hesitate to say what the others could not, “There are enough of us to always have an eye on you. Do you not recall how you’ve spent your time?”She sighed, “At all times of the day?” she muttered, thinking back over the past weeks. If she was honest, remembering was difficult for her. Days easily blended when all she wanted to do when she returned home was curl up in bed pretending that she was ok. It wasn’t like she wanted to remember that she tended to spend most nights letting her thoughts reduce her to a depressed mess- oh. Her thought process ceased as the realization dawned on her that her nights weren’t considered normal for more emotionally stable beings. Her eyes glanced back at Mammon, who was still trying his best to watch the already dry paint dry further on her walls. Well shit. No wonder they were all so awkward about this conversation and trying their best to skirt over the reasoning. Nobody likes to talk about emotions after all. Especially not these emotionally constipated boys. Her face paled as she glanced down to the ground, her irritated demeanor swiftly deflating, “I see. So, when you said you saw everything, you really saw everything.”Simeon spoke up again, “Dear, we aren’t judging you, please understand. We originally thought we wouldn’t be able to talk to you before bringing you here, much less ask you to come.”She tsked, “So if you’re not judging me, its out of pity?” Her arms wrapped around herself, as if trying to protect her mind from the high it was falling from. How silly of her to think they’d want to bring her back to their world because they liked her or something. How immature could she be?“Oy!” Mammon grunted, grabbing at one of her hands, “Don’t be stupid. We wouldn’t want to bring just any ol’ human home just ‘cause of pity.” She glared back at him, but didn’t pull away as he continued, “Ya don’t get to go around making us like some dumbass robot thing without consequences.” A blush suddenly formed on his face as his mind caught up with the words he was saying. Elizabeth just looked confused, “What? You mean MC? What are you talking about?”Lucifer sighed over the call, “What that idiot is trying to say is while your game and the orders to gave were fictional to you, they were very real to us. As well as the emotions that came with them. I’m not saying we’re trying to bring you here to force you to take responsibility exactly, but do you really want to stay in that world alone when we are offering you a home here instead?”She blinked, unsure of how to respond, prompting the first borne to continue, “We’ve seen how you feel about us. Call it whatever you want, but we want to bring you here in hopes of making you happy. Besides, it is easier to ask for forgiveness then it is to ask for permission.”Taking a moment to ponder over the demon’s words, her free hand moved over Mammon’s own, lightly tracing her fingers against his knuckles and causing him to sputter incoherently, though he didn’t pull away. Finally, she replied, “That’s true. About forgiveness and permission anyways.” She sighed, “It’s true, I’d probably drop everything in a heartbeat to follow you back to Devildom. Well, not probably. Definitely. There isn’t really anything here for me anyways.”She released Mammon’s hand, who whined softly at the lack of touch, “Kind of wish you hadn’t seen me at my literal worst to get to that point though.”“Darling, that just means we’ll love you more at your best!” Asmo declared, his voice sounding a bit far off from the D.D.D., causing Elizabeth to blush slightly before she threw herself back onto her couch. “Right, right. Let’s just… establish that I gave you guys permission to kidnap me, ok? And call it there.”She opened her arms to the second borne in a silent offer of a hug. An offer the demon quickly accepted, pressing himself against her side and front as he rested his face into her neck to try to hide his warm, red cheeks. “Anyways, back to the important bit, right? The whole making sure I have a strong connection with you guys, what do we do about that?” she asked, having taken Mammon’s D.D.D. in the mist of his tight hug to hold it.“Well, considering the fact we’re trying to pull you here with magic, a magical connection would work best.” Solomon replied, quickly hopping back on the track of the topic she offered.“Why not make a pact then?” Mammon asked, lifting his head up from her neck so the others could hear him. Once more, there was silence over the call, prompting Elizabeth to speak up, “Uh, the game doesn’t dive much into the pact thing, so I wouldn’t know, but would that work? A pact with someone?”“I didn’t think Mammon was capable of a good idea.” She heard Satan comment, also sounding a bit far off like Asmo had. “Who would’ve thought that the idiot could have a decent idea every once in a while?” Belphie’s voice then called out.She grumbled, “Guys…” but was interrupted by Solomon, “I’d have to agree with Mammon, actually. A pact would create a firm connection with her while she’s in her dimension and whichever demon she has it with in our dimension. In this case, since it was Mammon that suggested it, shouldn’t it be him that creates the pact?”The white-haired demon sat up scoffing, “I never said I wanted a pact with her! Why do I gotta do it?” Causing her to scowl and shove his shoulder away from her, “Geez, don’t spare my feelings or nothing.” He flinched, immediately back tracking on his words, “I mean, even if I don’t wanna, I’m probably the best demon to have a pact with. After all, I can protect ya better than the rest of those weaklings. I’m the second borne after all.”She rolled her eyes at him, though there was a hint of a smirk on her face as she listened to how quickly he tried to amend his words, “Are we making a pact or not? Can you even do that with me if I’m not from your universe?” she questioned curiously.“We won’t know until you try.” Solomon offered up. Mammon glanced between you and his D.D.D. before taking it back and setting on the table besides her own phone, “Right well, ya just have to say some words.”After teaching her a few phrases to speak, he slipped his hand into her own, speaking his part in a deep, guttural language she didn’t recognize. That certainly wasn’t in the game. A glance from him indicated it was her turn, allowing her to speak her bit before a shiver ran up her spine before settling somewhere on the upper right side of her back, leaving a dull burning sensation there for a few moments.“Breathe.” The demon reminded her, causing her to let out the air she had been holding without thinking, “What the fuck was that on my back?” She muttered while turning her head, using a hand to move her shirt to the side. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see anything from her position and now had a furiously blushing demon shoving her shirt back in place, “Don’t just go show everything off.” She huffed back at him, “I just wanna see what happened to my back, prude.”“It’s probably Mammon’s pact symbol. Mammon you should at least check to make sure the pact went through.” Solomon then spoke, making the demon grumble. Elizabeth picked up her own phone, opening the camera app before offering it to Mammon, “Take a picture too, please. I wanna see it.” she asked, quickly turning around to face her back to him.Reluctantly, he tugged her shirt over her shoulder and nudged her bra strap to the side as she held her hair out of place, taking a picture as Solomon commented over the call, “Oh, that’s a pact symbol alright. Looks like that works correctly, at least. Hopefully this will work with the ritual the next time we use it.”Handing back her phone and avoiding her gaze, Mammon just tucked her shirt back into place. She hummed contently, tugging him gently with his shirt back into the hug before looking over the picture. It looked like a surreal tattoo on her shoulder blade, in the shape of three gold feathers with a few coins mixed between them, the gold of the tattoo almost shining slightly. “Damn.” She pondered, “I never thought of myself as a tattoo person.”Lucifer finally spoke up again, “With that, I don’t think there anything else to worry about until the next attempt. Unless you had more questions for us?” he offered. Pulled out of the slight daze from starting at the photo, she hummed, “Mammon will be here temporarily, right? I know just the one time isn’t enough of a testing pool to guess how long, but there’s a good chance he’ll be around for about five hours, right?”“That would our guess as well.” The demon on call confirmed. She hummed, “Then, after he goes back, should I be trying to think of him for the next ritual, since we have this connection?” Solomon spoke this time, “Yes, we should test to see if the pact is enough.”There were a few far off complaints in the background of the call, sounding mostly like Levi and Asmo whining about Mammon having two turns to which Elizabeth chuckled, “Technically, if I end up over there instead, it would still be the one turn, guys.”Amidst more complaining, albeit without a leg to stand on, Lucifer grumbled, addressing the rest of the room on his side of the call, “Enough. I’m ending this call now so she can rest. We will talk to you later, Elizabeth.”With that, he hung up, Mammon’s D.D.D. fading to black after a moment as the woman leaned back in her seat, one of her hands idly playing with his white hair, “I feel like the quiet I used to live with disappeared the day you guys messaged me.” She hummed to the demon still clinging to her. “That a bad thing?” he asked warily, making her shake her head and give him a small pat on the temple, “Nah, nah. This is nice. It was boring when I was alone. And depressing. You know?”Before he had a chance to reply however, she gently pushed him off as she stood up, “Anyways, I haven’t eaten all day. I’m going to make some sandwiches. Want some?” With an eager nod, Mammon lounged back on the couch, “Where’s ya remote then? If I’m stuck here for the next couple a hours, I don’t wanna be bored.”With a roll of her eyes, she motioned to the remote off to the side, then headed off to the kitchen.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The sky had finally darkened from the sun’s disappearance when the warm body pressed against Elizabeth’s side seemed to just blip out of existence. It was so silent and subtle that if she hadn’t been playing with the demon’s hair, she wouldn’t have realized he was gone. With a frown, her hand plopped against her side, missing the soft locks as the woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Well. That was anticlimactic.”Her phone buzzed with a notification shortly afterwards, making her lean over to pick it up.
Mammon’s returned. It was five hours exactly, just as we thought.
She tapped a finger against the back of the phone idly. “Ok. Well at least whatever this summoning thing is, it’s consistent.” She commented, “Should we do another one right away? Or wait until tomorrow? Does this ritual thing use your magic or something, so you need to recharge?” she then questioned.
I can do another one. The ritual itself doesn’t use up a lot of my magic.
And even if I use too much, I can use some of Asmo’s magic to assist.
She hmmed softly, “But you’re also not sleeping, you workaholic. I don’t know how your magic works, but I’m pretty sure using it for some ritual and then not sleeping is bad for you. Are you at least eating and drinking water?”
Do you not want to try again?
She clicked her tongue again, narrowing her eyes, “Don’t change the subject.” She grumbled before crossing her arms, “But fine. I’ll go again. Mammon again, right?”
Yes, if you would.
She set the phone down on the coffee table and closed her eyes, “Alright. I’m ready.” There were the moments of silence once more before she suddenly felt a twinge in her abdomen. Making her flinch as she curled into herself in confusion.“What the fuck?” she said out loud, opening her eyes to see Mammon standing before her once more, a concerned look on his face, “What? Did ya get hurt?”She blinked at him for a moment, trying to figure out just what she had just felt inside of her for a moment before she shook her head to the demon to appease his concern, “No, I don’t think so.” She muttered, rubbing her stomach, “Its just, while I was thinking of you, and when you appeared I think, I felt… something. I don’t know, it kinda felt something inside me was trying to pull me somewhere? But it didn’t feel very strong.” The demon walked over to sit beside her once more just as her phone vibrated again.
A pulling feeling? That should be the feeling of being summoned.
So then, it would appear your pact with Mammon was a step in the right direction.
But it doesn’t seem to be strong enough to overcome whatever is keeping you in that world.
She rested her head in her hand, “So the pact isn’t a strong enough connection? What else could I do to tie myself to your dimension? Your ritual is literally the only way I get anything or anyone from your side to mine.”
Then you’ll just have to keep making connections with those you pull to you.
“You mean more pacts then.”
That is the easiest and most convenient way, yes.
Elizabeth rested her arm on Mammon idly, “Well, I guess there’s no shortage of demons to make pacts with…” she said before pointedly raising her finger, “However! I don’t know who’s there at the moment, but just to be clear, I don’t want to force anyone into anything they don’t want to be in. If I’m going to go around collecting pacts like you’re Pokémon, its going to be because you guys want them. Not because you feel you have to.”Mammon grumbled, “Like they’d say no to getting ya back home.” She rubbed his head to appease him, “Don’t look so disappointed. You’re my first man, right?” she smirked, eagerly using the title the game gave the Avatar of Greed. Of course, his eyes lit up at once, “Right! I’m ya first man and ain’t no else is.” She glanced over at the sound of another notification.
It is just Beelzebub, Belphegor, and Lord Diavolo with me here right now, but I’ll be sure to pass along the message in the morning.
She brought up her finger again, as if to waggle it in front of Solomon by using the phone as a proxy, “Make sure you say it word for word.” After a moment, she lowered her hand, “Also, hi guys. I bet Belphie's asleep, huh?”
Oh, he’s been asleep most of the day. Beelzebub and Diavolo say hello, though.
Her lips turned into a small smile before she propped her chin in her palm, “Solomon. Your viewing thing only shows the room my phone is in, right? It is the same for the sound?”
Yes, that’s correct. We can only see the room around the phone.
As for sound, its about the same radius as sight.
“Alright then!” she said, standing up and walking to her bedroom, leaving a confused Mammon on her couch. Returning a few moments later with her phone charger, she plugged it near her television, which was still on. “I’ll leave my phone out here for now then. And I’ll leave the tv on too, so you guys aren’t bored.” She explained to them, switching her television to an documentary channel, “This will keep you entertained, right?” That was, unfortunately for them, a rhetorical question, as proven as she walked over to Mammon without glancing back at the phone. She grabbed her pact demon’s hand, dragging him up to stand and heading back to her room, “I’ll check on you guys in the morning. Good night.” She hummed pleasantly.Closing her door behind her, she deliberately ignored the now flustered and floundering demon’s protests, “What are ya doing dragging me into your room like that? I mean, of course ya can’t resist the Great Mammon, but ya can’t just go about doing that.”She scoffed at him as she picked through her drawers for her pjs, “Oh calm down. I just figured since you’re here again for presumably the night, you’d sleep in my bed too.” She muttered, definitely not keeping her face turned from so he couldn’t see her own red cheeks. Nope, definitely not for that reason. “Now turn around so I can get changed.” He sputtered more incoherent words but swiftly spun around so she could exchange her clothing for something more comfortable.Once more comfortable, and after a quick trip to the bathroom for her nightly routine, she opened her laptop settled on her desk, setting an alarm for the morning on it and turning the screen away from her bed. Finally done for the night, she settled herself into her bed and looked at Mammon expectantly, “You going to come lay down or what?” she asked him.There was hesitation and obvious flustered glances before the demon finally tossed his jacket to the side and placed his sunglasses in one of the pockets, finally slipping into the bed with her. As he settled himself partly on top of her, resting his head against her chest and greedily wrapping an arm around her midsection, she spoke up, “To be honest, I left the phone in the other room so we could have a bit of privacy. Because I wanted to ask you something.”He made a small noise of acknowledgment, which she took as approval to continue, “I wanted to know why exactly you guys feel so strongly about me. Or at least you anyways. It’s not like we’ve actually spoken before today.”Mammon didn’t reply immediately, though she could feel the heat on his face against her chest. “We’ve spoken before. Through that dumb robot thing.” He muttered. “But that’s not really me. Hell the things it said aren’t even my thoughts. They were preprogramed into the game as choices to pick.” She countered. In return, he gave her a grunt, “But ya still picked them. Ya chose to keep playing too, instead of forgetting about us. And after we started watching ya, we saw how ya chose to still care about us, even if we were just a bunch game characters to ya.” He haphazardly explained.She considered his argument for a moment, “I won’t lie, I’m pretty sure you and the others are just projecting the love you grew for ‘that thing’ onto me.” The demon was quick to whip up his head to deny that, being stopped as she continued, “It doesn’t really matter to me. Not right now anyways.” He shot her a confused look and she explained, “To be honest, I don’t know yet how I feel about you guys. A few days ago, all of you were just fictional characters that I used to fuel my daydreams of greener pastures, guilt-free. Now that you’re real, I have to acknowledge that you guys have thoughts and feelings; thoughts and feelings that might not line up with the expectations that the game built in my head.” She paused then said, “Sorry if this is a bit much. I thought this over today at work.”Mammon rested his head back on her, pressing his arm tighter around her, “… its fine. You’ll give us a chance, right?” he asked softly. She hummed softly, moving a hand to his head for more petting, “Of course. I’d be crazy to ignore the affections from a group of really hot supernatural beings. Especially from my First Man.” The First Man in question practically purred over top of her in response, “Of course! The Great Mammon’s affections should be the only ones you should be concerned about anyways!”With a soft laugh, she relaxed back under the sheets, “Good night, Mammon.” And the two of them settled in for the night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“With this catalyst, I can maintain a spell that will allow us to communicate through the already established connection that thing has with our world. Just as the Viewing Oculus taps into that same connection to give us a peek into the other side.” The sorcerer explained to the group behind him. He continued into the logistics and details of his spell, his fingers fiddling with the large, old-looking book being used as said catalyst, the words and diagrams on the pages swimming around oddly before finally settling into a keyboard format for convenience.However, the Avatar of Greed had long since tuned out the sorcerer’s words, in favor of idly playing with the edge of his jacket. They were almost ready to finally pull the source of whatever the hell that thing was into their world and hopefully stop these compulsions, this acting, they were all forced to do. It was Satan who had suggested they connect with the phone that connected the two sides before trying to summon the woman; a suggestion that prompted Solomon to set up the catalyst near the Oculus.The white-haired demon glanced up at the image of the woman idly tapping away on her phone in her bed. The Oculus in question looked a lot like a large oval mirror, though the surface rippled occasionally like it was made of water, evidence that it wasn’t made of glass but rather of magic. Still, seeing her there reminded him that she was ignorant of everything happening at their end. Ignorant of the currently missing Lucifer and Asmodeus, off acting out whatever the scene she was playing demanded of them. Once more, like all previous times before, he stared at her features, as if trying to commit them to memory.
He knew. He knew, but he refused to admit it. She was still his. He had been her first pact. He would be the one to protect her. It didn’t matter how much trouble they got into, he was ok as long as she stayed with him.

It didn’t matter that when he looked at her, he couldn’t pick out a single distinct feature. He just refused to look at her too hard or for too long. It didn’t matter that, whenever she appeared, he felt like he had no control over his words or actions. If she was happy, he’d be happy, right?
The woman in the image finally set her phone down, settling herself into bed. Must’ve been an ok day if she wasn’t crying, he noted internally. Hopefully, that was a good sign for what they were about to do. A few moments after she had settled, Lucifer burst through the door, grumbling as Asmo quickly followed behind his brother, “Let us hurry this up. I don’t want to be pulled into another one of those.” The first born huffed, motioning to Solomon. In turn, the human grinned, “Which one was it this time? She looked rather happy so it had be something loving, right?” he cheekily asked, earning a glare and firm reprimand, “Solomon.”
He had seen the confusion in their eyes; the confusion that had quickly settled into anger, sorrow, and curiosity. But still, he refused to acknowledge it. He heard the others talking, whispering about “that thing” when she was away. Talking about how she couldn’t possibly be real. That she was a curse meant to control them. But if she wasn’t real, wouldn’t that mean his love for her wasn’t real? Or that her love for him wasn't real? No, he refused to think about it. If they didn’t want her, he’d keep her to himself.
Solomon in turn laughed, waving his hand dismissively, “Its not as if we all haven’t also been pulled into similar situations.” He said as he turned back to the catalyst, peering over at the Oculus in front of him, “Let’s see if this works then.” He then added, his fingers reaching out and tapping against the book, as if it were a computer keyboard.Mammon’s eyes followed the human’s movements as he typed out the message, a simple “Hello,” and sent it off, causing the phone in the Oculus to vibrate from the notification. He could hear everyone in the room collectively hold their breath as the woman reached for the device.
Slowly, more and more of his brothers and others fell from the illusion’s charms. Slowly, more and more of the others around him went out of their way to try to ignore or fight the urges she gave them. He ignored the pitying looks they gave the Avatar of Greed. Poor Mammon. Clearly, he’d never realize what was really happening. The one-time Satan and Simeon had approached him to subtly hint that she wasn’t as he thought she was, the second born rudely scoffed at them, blowing them off.
As she peered at the phone in confusion, Soloman typed up another message: Elizabeth? Can you see this? Asmo squealed from behind Mammon as the woman’s reaction denoted that yes, she could in fact see their messages. Everyone at once tensed as her hand went to the phone’s screen, Solomon’s fingers already typing swiftly against the book and sending another message to stop her: Wait! Don’t open it!
It wasn’t until he overheard Lucifer, Diavolo, and Solomon talking about how to find the source did the second born allowed himself to think over her. Solomon seemed to explain that she wasn’t alive, certainly, and seemed to be a projection from someone else. Someone else was behind every action and word she said.

Did that mean that, even if she wasn’t real, there was still someone who felt that way about him? And if they brought that person here, couldn’t that mean he could have something real? Someone who really did want him.

He didn’t hesitate. He walked over to the three in discussion, cooly stating, “So then how do we get to ‘em?” to everyone’s surprise.
Finally. Finally, they were talking to the one behind the illusion. Of course, they already knew she had no idea what she was doing, but she… she was a real person. A real person that Mammon would be able to talk to; a real person he could touch.Soon. Soon Solomon would be able to summon her over to Devildom. Soon, he wouldn’t feel the pain in his chest anymore. He just had to wait.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Once more, she awoke alone. Slowly stretching her arms out in front of her, she grumbled, ignoring the alarm sounding from the laptop on the other side of the room for a moment before finally picking herself up and drowsily moving to the source to shut it off. Yawning wide, he headed out to the living room, turning off the tv and grabbing her phone to peer for any important messages in the night.
Mammon returned earlier this time. About three hours in.
You won’t see this until morning, but it would seem subsequent summonings shorten the time.
If that’s specific to people or just in general, I don’t know yet.
Elizabeth frowned. He returned earlier this time. Would this affect later attempts? Were they on a limited body count now? She rubbed her forehead with a groan. She really, really wasn’t a morning person and she didn’t want to worry about this right at that moment. Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted by a vibrating phone.
Good morning.
A bit rude of you to leave us in the other room.
She clicked her tongue, “Maybe I didn’t want you to watch me sleep.” She replied drily before heading back to her room to get ready for the day, “It’s a short day at work today.” She then added, “So I’ll be home around noon instead.”
I am aware. We know your schedule, remember?
With a huff, she set the phone down on her bed to resume her morning routine in the bathroom once more, returning with a, “Still feels a little creepy, but I guess it makes it easier.” Tying up her hair she peered down at the device, “Are we going to try with another demon then today?”
Yes, but tonight we’d like to you pick a specific demon.
“Oh? Pushing someone ahead in the line?” she joked.
Well, perhaps. We can talk about it more after your day.
“Fine, fine. We’ll discuss it later then.” With that, she stuffed the phone into her pocket and headed off to work once more.Once more, she had insisted Solomon take a nap, though she had said so just before heading into work. This time, however, he had mentioned that he was being replaced by Barbatos instead. Sitting in her car before her shift, she commented, “Barbs? I’m surprised you’d be there watching me rather than insisting on working.”
Is that supposed to be a nickname?
And yes, normally I’d be serving Lord Diavolo’s breakfast at this time, but he insisted I take the day off.
She hummed, “Well, I’d rather you’d your days off to relax. And sorry, do you not like that nickname?”
No, the name is fine. It is surprisingly cute.
And I am relaxing. Watching over you is relaxing enough.
I’ll need to be here when you get home regardless.
“Huh? Why? Oh wait, answer that later, I gotta head in.” she questioned before rushing to head into the building.A fairly uneventful and short shift later, she headed back home and eagerly tugged the phone back out, “Let me guess, he already awake?” she asked, doubting she needed to clarify.
Awake and already back in place.
She snorted, “You came back fast.” Settling back onto her couch she let out a breath, “Alright, what are we doing today?” she asked.
This time, if you could specifically think of Barbatos, please.
“Barbs? Is there something specific he needs to do?”
You’ll see. Tell me when you’re ready.
She huffed before closing her eyes. “Alright then. I’m ready.” Once more, the room was quiet for a few moments. She didn’t feel any pulling sensation this time, however, as a pleasant voice spoke, “Ah, here I am.”Opening her eyes, she hummed and smiled to the demon butler, “Heya Barbs. What brings you to my neck of the woods?” she asked, motioning for him to sit with her. Smiling back to her, he gracefully settled himself besides her, pulling out a D.D.D. from his uniform’s pocket and settling it in her hands, “A gift, actually.”She blinked in surprise, tilting her head at the device, “A D.D.D.? Like, my own?” she asked. He nodded. “We considered, since our D.D.D.s work across dimensions, we could give you one for easier communication when one of us weren’t present.”She examined the device in her hand, running a finger along the side before resting a finger on the small seal on the back left corner of the D.D.D., “What’s this?”“That would be the royal family’s seal. It denotes that this D.D.D. was from them and give you priority when it comes to service.” The butler explained before flipping the device in her hand, “We decided I would be the best choice to teach you how to use it.” He then tapped a button, turning on the screen and unlocking it for her.Her mouth opened to a small ‘o’ as she watched his movements, “From the royal family? But I’m just a human? A human from a completely different universe that accidentally cursed you guys? Or something like that anyways.”He looked up into her eyes, giving her a reassuring smile, “Don’t underestimate how much we care for you, Elizabeth.” She glanced away, ignoring the heat in her cheeks as she coughed, “Ri-right. That’s still a little… new to me.” She muttered before clearing her throat and looking down at the D.D.D., “Anyways, this thing.” Her free hand reached over to fiddle with the apps on the screen, “It looks pretty much like the game on my phone. Except for the little digital figure, though.”Barbatos tilted his head slightly, “Digital figure? What do you mean?” he asked.She scrolled through the contacts on the device idly as she explained, “Obviously I can’t show you at the moment, but on the home screen of the app I play on, you can pick one of you guys to show up. They say cute little lines and stuff based on your intimacy level.”“We’ve already put all of our numbers into this device for your convenience.” Barbatos said as he watched her scrolling, “Did you want one of us on your home screen?” he then asked. She shook her head, giving a nervous laugh, “No, it’s fine. I get to chat with the real deal now, right?” she replied, “Though I really did like Lucifer’s lines best. He had some really romantic stuff to say.” She then added in the softest mutter. Of course, she forgot that, not only was her current companion a demon, but most of the others watching her also very good hearing, as noted by the sudden messages appearing on her D.D.D.Barbatos chuckled and rested a hand on her own gently, “If you want romance, Elizabeth, you can simply ask. Any one of us are willing to give you what you want.” She made a small, embarrassed noise, stubbornly keeping her eyes on the device, even if she wasn’t really looking at the new messages, “That- That isn’t necessary. I’d hate to make anyone do anything.” she muttered.He didn’t reply, merely chuckled some more before reaching over and pointing to another app the device, “This one is for phone calls. Feel free to call any of us at any time.” He motioned to few other apps, “This is the alarm, settings, and the D.D.D. comes with the Akuzon and Akuber apps, but I don’t believe they will function properly since you are in another dimension.”Calming down a bit while he was explaining the apps, she hummed at the last two apps, “If they delivered to me, I’m sure we’d have a way easier time trying to get me over there.” Finally, she opened the messenger app, raising her brow at all the new messages. Everyone had sent her at least one message, likely to add them into her D.D.D., and she had been added to a few group chats.However, she hesitated to open the messages just yet, glancing over at the demon butler, “I can look at these later.” She said, putting the device down as he gave her a look. “I don’t mind. Feel free to respond to them.” She shook her head, “You’re here right now. It’s rude to ignore my guest like that.” She frowned at him, and he took one of her hands into his own, “We have plenty of time. Feel free to take a few moments to explore the D.D.D.”She sighed, still hesitant to ignore him like that but he didn’t seem like he was going to relent to her, “Fine. Just for a few minutes.” She gave in, picking the device back up and opening the messages. 
Mammon
 Hey! Mammon here!Don’t you dare ignore me!✓ Wouldn’t think of it, Mams 
Asmodeus
 Hello darling! I can’t wait until I can finally see you in person~I bet you’re simply dying to talk to me, right?✓ Of course, Azzy✓ Looking forward to getting to Devildom! 
Beelzebub
 I hope you get here soon.I want to eat some food with you.✓ You’re sweet, Beel.✓ I can’t wait to see what Devildom’s food tastes like. 
Lucifer
 This is Lucifer.
✓

Diavolo
 Hello there!I hope the D.D.D. got to you ok!✓ I heard it’s from the royal family.✓ You didn’t have to, but thank you! 
Satan

✓

Leviathan
 Hurry up and get over here.I wanna show you this anime I was reminded of.It’s called That one time I learned I had twelve past lovers that found me and insisted on dragging to their home world, but I couldn’t recall any of my memories of them!You’re ok with that, right?✓ Of course!✓ I’m eager to see how good it is! 
Belphegor

✓

Simeon

Hello there, my dear.I hope you are well for the time being.✓ As well as I can be while waiting for this ritual to work properly. 
Solomon

Hey there.It’s me, Solomon.
✓

House of Lamentation (8)
 ✓7 Isn’t this group chat for people actually living in the House of Lamentation?✓7 I.e. not me?Asmodeus: You’ll be living with us when you come over, won’t you?Mammon: Yeah! Might as well put you in the GC now!Satan: We figured it would be easier if we added you now.Leviathan: You already know we have a spare room. It’s not like MC is using it.✓7 She isn’t? Is she not around?Lucifer: MC doesn’t show up until it’s needed, likely for your “lessons.” Otherwise, it simply doesn’t exist.✓7 Oh.✓7 That’s a little weird.✓7 At least she, or I guess it’s, not messing with anything now that I’m not playing any lessons. 
Everyone (12)
 Solomon: Mammon returned earlier than expected this time.It stands to reason that resummoning people will shorten the time frame.Diavolo: That is unfortunate. The shortened time frame won’t pass to other summons?Solomon: I can’t say until we do another.Satan: I believe we agreed to have Barbatos go this time? To give her the D.D.D.?Barbatos: That would be correct. She should return from work within the hour.✓10 Do you have a spreadsheet of my schedule or something?✓10 I’m not that predictable, am I?Belphegor: It’s not like you do anything other than work, eat and sleep.Asmodeus: That’s right! You never go out!✓10 Depression is a killjoy.Mammon: When you get over here, I’ll take ya out and show you a good time!Satan: With what grimm, Mammon?Leviathan: LOL. Everyone knows Mammon’s broke!Mammon: Shuddup! I have grimm! Enough to treat her better than you could.Diavolo: She can come to the castle. I’ll host a party to welcome her to Devildom!Everyone will be invited of course!✓10 This GC is just going to be chaos, huh?Lucifer: Did you expect anything less?✓10 No, not really.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Finishing up returning messages, she glanced up from her new toy, only to frown and peer around in a confused manner. “Barbatos?” she asked, the demon in question no longer present in the room.“In your bedroom, dear.” Came a reply from said room. She stood up, heading over as she muttered, “Well at least he wasn't de-summoned, or whatever.” Peeking in, she balked as she watched the demon nonchalantly cleaning up her room, “Barbs? What are you doing?” she asked in horror.“I’ve noticed that you tended to forget or ignore the state of your home. Especially when you’re not feeling well.” He explained simply, deftly avoiding her attempts to push him out of the room and somehow managing to settle all the clothing about into a hamper at the same time. “That is unnecessary, Barbs! I can clean up after myself just fine!” she whined in return.Pausing for a moment to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder, he smiled graciously at her, “We both know that you won’t. Don’t worry, I know nights are hard on you.” He said, much to her dismay, “Look, I know I get… lazy when I’m sad, but I always clean up… eventually.” She continued to whine to him.He waved her away like he was waving away her concerns, “I simply wish to ease the burden your mind sets on you. Is it wrong to do so?” he asked. She pouted, “Would you stop if I say yes?” He merely gave his polite smile, “Certainly not. I am a demon after all. Not an angel.”Her shoulders slumped, “This is embarrassing though! I’m depressed, not a child.” She was grasping at straws now for her arguments. He moved his hand to cup her cheek, giving her an affectionate look that she hadn’t expected, “Everyone has their battles they must fight. That does not mean they have to fight them alone. If doing the cleaning that you don’t have the strength to do assists you, then I will be more then happy to do it.”She could feel her face heating up at his words as she nearly choked on air in surprise. Before she had time to recover, however, he was back to work, picking up the hamper of clothing and heading out of the room. Standing there for a moment, her mind struggled to function before she finally recovered, immediately whipping around to follow him, “Its your day off! Shouldn’t you do something relaxing? Like, I don’t know, read?”They both ended up in the side room she used for her washer and dryer, Elizabeth walking in as he was setting up a load to wash, “Do you have my house layout memorized along with my schedule?”“We saw your house enough over the weeks we were watching you.” He replied, furrowing his brows a bit as he peered into the container with her laundry soap. Hesitantly, he picked up the squishy, multicolored pod, “Is this what you use?” he then asked. The look of bewilderment on his face was just too much for her, the woman bursting out in laughter, “Y-yeah.” She said between breaths. He waited patiently for her to finish, though he couldn’t hide the smirk on his face.Finally, she continued, “You just toss it in. The material around the soup inside dissolves away so the soap can mix in with the water.” She explained. He hummed thoughtfully as he dropped a pod in on top of the clothing, “Interesting. Lord Diavolo would enjoy hearing about such things. What are they called?” he then asked. “Uh, just pods.” He gave another thoughtful hum.Before she could even blink, though, he disappeared again, practically giving her whiplash as she twisted around to find him again, “Gods, Barbatos, I knew you were Devildom’s best butler, but this is ridiculous.” She sighed. “I’m flattered you think of me so highly.” Came the reply from her kitchen. Following the noise, she tsked as she found him already in the middle of preparing lunch, cutting away vegetables she didn’t realize she even owned.“How do you do that?” she asked him. He glanced at her, clearly still smirking, likely enjoying the passive game of hide and seek he was playing with her, “Do what exactly?” he asked innocently. She narrowed her eyes, “Move around like that. You’re so fast. And where did those carrots come from? I don’t even like carrots.” He moved on to dicing up potatoes as he spoke, “I am a demon, dear. And you had them in the back of your fridge.” He stated simply. She sat herself on a stool she had near the counter, propping her chin in her palm as she rested her elbow on said counter, “Oh did I now?” she hummed. “You did, yes.”She didn’t say anything more, choosing to quietly watching the demon at work, who didn’t appear to mind the audience of one as he set about tossing a roast, that she definitely knew she didn’t have before, into a pot somehow already started with a broth he had prepared. Finally, as he was tossing the various veggies he had cut in, she spoke back up, “Barbs, can you do me a favor?” she asked.He turned his head slightly to peer at her, raising a brow in question but answering, “Certainly. Anything you wish, dear.” She hesitated before speaking again, willing herself to ask while keeping a straight face, “Can you say, in your most sultry voice, ‘I’m simply one hell of a butler?’”He full on tilted his head in question to the request this time, clearly confused by the request, but intent on fulfilling it. Covering the pot with a lid and having nothing else he needed to do with the food until it was done cooking, he turned and waltzed over to her, leaning over slightly as he ever-so-gently took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting it up to look at him. In a low, smooth voice he spoke, “For you, my lovely, I am simply one hell of a butler.”Elizabeth held her breath the moment his fingers touched her chin, her eyes wide as she was left gawking at him. Truly, she had thought asking him to say the line would be hilarious, but instead her breath was literally taken away and the only thing going through her mind at the moment was the sheer desire to kiss the demon before her. She knew that he knew that’s what she wanted too, considering the knowing grin his mouth settled on as she glanced at it.Unfortunately, her trance she brought upon herself was broken as her D.D.D. pinged out a notification, making her jump slightly in his grip. Her senses coming back to her, she stuttered and glanced away from his face to try to hide the blush that this demon seemed to just continue to pull out of her. She cleared her throat to try to muster up the words she wanted before bashfully stating, “That.. that sounded a lot better than I thought it would.”He slipped away from her, quickly settling back to more work as he started on the dishes she hadn’t touched in several, or maybe many, days, “I aim to please.” He chuckled, not looking back at her. “I can tell.” She nearly whispered before finally glancing at the D.D.D. 
Everyone (12)
 Asmodeus: So unfair, darling! You left your phone in the living room and walked off!I wanna see what naughty things you and Barbatos get up to! Mammon: Hell nah, I don’t wanna see any of that. Leviathan: Second that. Keep us in a separate room or the PDA police will come out. ✓10 Guys, we’re not even doing anything.✓10 Scratch that. I’m trying to make Barbatos do nothing, because he’s dead set on cleaning everything.✓10 He’s already got laundry going and lunch being prepared.✓10 And I think at some point he organized the bookshelf in my room when I wasn’t looking.✓10 It’s literally been less than an hour. Satan: That sounds par for the course with him. Diavolo: Indeed! Barbatos has always been excellent at the work he does. ✓10 But it’s his day off.✓10 Ah fuck. I lost him again. She glanced up mid tetx to find the sink completely empty, dishwasher already going, and a missing demon butler, “Holy shit how is he so quiet about it?” She muttered in wonder, standing up to, once more, look for him.This time, she found him in her study, organizing through the various books and collectible figurines she had on display, not that she had many of the latter. “Do you plan on sitting at all the entire time you’re here?” she asked him, watching his movements as he dusted around. Where did he get a duster to begin wit- “I may take a five minute rest in a bit, after I bring your home up to acceptable standards.” He replied. She huffed, “But not to eat?” He laughed softly, “I can sit to eat, yes.”He paused, however, as he left the shelf of books and figurines looking far better then it originally had, “Actually, there is something else I am to do before I return.” He offered, walking back to her. He offered his gloved hand to her, leading to her looking up at him in confusion, “What’s that?” she asked, resting her hand in his regardless. “The pact, of course.” He answered.She choked again. This man really was just here to give her mental whiplash, huh? “Pact? I- are you sure? I thought it would just be the brothers?” she asked. He frowned a little, “Do you not want a pact with me? I would assume the more you have, the more likely Solomon’s ritual will work correctly.”She waved her free hand, “No, I mean yes! Ah, I don’t mind having a pact with you, I just… uh.” She paused to collect the words she wanted, “In the game, the only pacts the player gets are the brothers, so I guess it’s just surprising that you’d offer. After all, you are pretty high up there in Dia- er, Lord Diavolo’s court. It would be dangerous to give a mere human like me pacts with the seven lords and the lord’s trusted servant.” She stated, pleased with how she said it.He brought the hand in his grip to his mouth to lightly kiss her knuckle, “I’ve already discussed this with the others and we all believe that the best possible chance to get you home would be to make your connection to us as strong as possible. In fact, I believe Solomon and Simeon are contemplating ways they can create a connection with you as well to assure there are no issues.” Twisting his hand until his fingers brushed against the inside of her wrist he continued, “So I, and all the others, have no issue with you, how did you put it, collecting us like Pokémon?” he chuckled, “Now do you remember the phrases?”Elizabeth pressed her lips together for a moment before she nodded, “Yeah I remember.” She tightened her grip on him a little, “I’m quickly understanding that I can’t really argue with any of you, can I?” she asked him.He merely gave her one of his signature smiles before speaking in that guttural language Mammon had used before, the woman speaking her parts before shuddering and flinching slightly as she felt the familiar shiver end up on the inside of her upper left arm. Once he released her hand, she lifted her shirt sleeve to glance at the new mark; An infinity symbol that looked to made of Barbatos’ tail, in a teal green to black ombre coloring.“Simple.” She hummed softly, caressing the mark with a finger as she observed it, as if committed it to memory. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Barbatos rolling his shoulder and tensing slightly, making her pause instantly as she drew a connection. “Can you… sense me touching it?” she asked him. He glanced at the mark before replying to her, “There is… a feeling. Pacts bind two souls together and, while there are many things you can do with a pact without the use of the mark, the mark does reach out to its owner at times. Especially when you touch it.”A timer sounding from Barbatos’ pocket sounded, interrupting anything else they wanted to talk about, “Ah, I must go bast the roast.” He remarked, swiftly stepping around her to head back to the kitchen as she sighed, “Back to work for him, it seems.” She huffed to herself.~~~~~
Everyone (12)
 ✓10 Barbs made a pact with me.✓10 And organized literally everything in my house.✓10 And cooked the most amazing pot roast I’ve ever fucking tasted.✓10 I adore this demon. Mammon: Oi! Oi! I’m still your favorite because I’m your first man, right? Satan: First man? You didn’t tire of being forced to say that? Asmodeus: Of course he didn’t. I bet he’s first in other areas too considering the two of them went to her bedroom alone. Without her phone~ Beelzebub: What other areas do you mean? Belphegor: Don’t worry about it Beel. ✓10 Ignore him Beel. We just slept.✓10 You’ll still be first to eat Devildom food with me, Beel. Beelzebub: Oh good

Solomon
✓ Btw, I didn’t feel any pulling when Barbs came over.✓ Was I supposed to?Hmm, that’s probably normal, considering the one you were thinking of didn’t already have a connection with you.Hopefully, with enough pacts, we can pull you through later.We can try again when you have four or five, just to be safe. 
✓

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Silently, he stood just a few feet from the desk his lord was slowly losing his composure on. He hadn’t said a word, prepared any tea, or otherwise done anything for the red haired royal, instead allowing him to process his thoughts and come to the same conclusion the butler had arrived at several days previously.“Barbatos. Are they… are they even real?” Diavolo asked his trusted confidant. He hadn’t spoken a word about who he was talking about or how he came to ask such a question, but Barbatos already knew exactly what he was talking about, “I don’t believe so, my lord.”
At first, he hadn’t cared when the fog lifted from his mind. Sure, it saddened him a little that this inconsequential human wasn’t really what he thought they were. The tea times and small conversations he had with them previously felt empty now, but his emotions were kept in check.
Diavolo didn’t reply, his face clearly displaying the dismay of his realization as he rested his forehead in his hands. Barbatos didn’t give anything away on his face as he quietly watched, waiting as he should. He didn’t give anything away, no, but his heart did break for his lord’s anguish.
Then, his ire came. As he realized just how deeply not only his lord, but all the others felt for the very same false being, his irritation grew. And it swelled as he watched the others’ minds catch up to his realizations, each one with another look of betrayal of various emotions. Had he any control when the being was around, he wouldn’t have hesitated to rid them of it himself.
Finally, Diavolo lifted his head, looking to the butler with a more composed look once more, “We need more information. We need allies. The others are affected by this thing, correct? Should we attempt to pull them out of it, do you think? I’d hate to see their minds shattered because we pulled on a thread that shouldn’t be moved.” Barbatos nodded his head slightly, “I agree, though I have seen a few of them already starting to clear the fog in their mind. It shouldn’t be long before more of them realize what is happening. Solomon should be of great assistance here as well.”
Then, the sorcerer finally managed to create enough of a link with whatever was controlling that thing. A way to see just who or what had cursed them to create this story of lies.

And it was simply a girl. No, a human woman. But he watched over her, along with the others, regardless of what the cover of this book showed them. He searched for some reason to really hate her. But it was clear: she didn’t even know what she was doing to them.
The prince nodded, tapping a finger against his desk as he pondered over their situation, “Is it a curse? It doesn’t really feel like one. I’m not imagining that as well, right?” he asked, seeking affirmation. The butler nodded, “It doesn’t feel like one, no, but there doesn’t seem to be any other name for it.”With a sigh, Diavolo leaned back in his seat. “Then for now, we will just have to continue to play along with it. Not that it appears we have a choice.” he said dismissively, though his voice sounded more tired than he was willing to show. Barbatos nodded once more, “For the time being, yes.”
It wasn’t until they had witnessed a conversation the human had with one of her parents, her mother it sounded like, over her phone did the demon butler give into any emotion other than irritation. It had not been a pleasant conversation, with the mother on the line shouting things that even many demons he knew wouldn’t say. Loud enough that everyone who had been watching heard every word. And just as everyone else had done as they watched her hang up and cower under the blankets of her bed, he bristled with anger for her, his heart breaking for her state.
Normally, this servant knew what words were needed to soothe his lord’s wounded heart, but in this very moment, he wasn’t sure of what to say. Not when he himself was starting to question how he should really feel for the being that fooled them all.
Was it pity that caused his heart to ache from her sobs? Or did the warm emotions he had grown for the false being simply transferred to her the moment he saw her as it’s master? Rather than waste energy on pondering this, he eagerly awaited the moment she would be brought to them. Then, and only then, did he believe he would understand.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“At least we know your time wasn’t shortened because Mammon came here twice.” Elizabeth remarked as she peered down at the tea she held, her mug having the printed words, “Getting ready to meet fourteen werewolves behind the McDonald’s,” along the side. Somehow, the demon butler had found the one box of tea she had bought on a whim and promptly stuffed it to the far back of the cupboard. Must be part bloodhound or something.“Indeed. We should be coming up on the five-hour mark here shortly,” said bloodhound demon replied, elegantly lifting the very out of place mug with the phrase “You’re never alone when you have anxiety demons,” to his lips after, the two basking in the lull in conversation.They had previously just been talking, a surprisingly pleasant experience for the woman. It felt odd as well, considering Barbatos had settled for simply asking such small, mundane things about her, such as her birthday or her favorite color. She was unused to others taking an interest in her, especially not a highly important and powerful demon like Barbatos.She glanced over at the time on her D.D.D., her original phone sitting just next to it so that the others could clearly see her, and more importantly, Barbatos finally relaxing on the couch of her living room. As she saw the clock ticking down, said D.D.D. rang out, the caller ID showing Solomon’s name, “Impatient, wizard boy.” She commented idly, reaching over to answer the call.“Wizard boy? That’s a new one, Elizabeth.” The wizard boy in question said before she could acknowledge him. She tsked back to him, “He’s still got like, ten minutes, Sol.” She ignored the false indignation in his voice, “Assuming that this summon thingy settles back to five hours.”“While that is true, I was calling you for another reason, though it is still about the ritual.” Solomon explained, glossing over the nickname she used for him, “I wanted to let you know that we’ll have to wait a few hours before we can use the ritual again, simply so I can take a break from the magic I’m using up. I had also wanted to ask who you wanted to call for this time, so we don’t have to bring everyone over for it.”She glanced at the butler quietly sipping his drink and furrowed her brow a little, “How exactly do you do that ritual thingy?” she asked. Solomon responded, “The person you’re thinking of must be present at the summoning circle we’re using for it to work. If you think of someone not here, nothing will happen and the energy I, and anyone else who puts in energy to cast it, will simply dissipate into nothing. Probably. Just… let’s make sure whoever you’re thinking of is here.”She leaned back on the couch, “Huh.” She hummed before piping up again, “Ok. I assume there’s more to the ritual, right? But I don’t know anything about magic, so I assume you’re sparing me the extra details because of that reason.”“You assume correctly.”She tilted her head a bit, clearly in thought for a moment before shrugging, “Well…” she hesitated in her words, making the currently present demon turn his head towards her in a silent question at her pause. She bit her lip, her eyes meeting the others for a moment before she let out a sigh, “So here’s the thing… I think I should talk to you guys about something quick.” she finally said. “Well, everyone except the ones I’ve already summoned, anyways.”She could feel the curiosity coming from Solomon when he didn’t reply right away. She could certainly see Barbatos’ own interest in her since he was in front of her. Finally, Solomon spoke up, “Alright. Other than those that have already been there, there are a few of us out, but I can call them over. Satan should be in the library a few hallways down and I’m sure Lord Diavolo is working in his study or somewhere else in the castle. I’ll ask them to head over.”Within seconds, there were a few pings from her D.D.D., leading her to assume that he used the group chat to do just as he said he would. A few more pings after that and Solomon spoke again, “They should be on their way.”With a soft clack as the demon set his mug down on her table, he glanced at her, “I will have to hear what you have to say there. I do believe my time will be up shortly.” He said before taking her free hand to bring it up to his lips, kissing it once more, “I hope the next time I see you, it will be in Devildom.”And just like that, her hand dropped to her lap as he disappeared before her eyes, much like he seemed to do while cleaning her house, but this time he wasn’t in her universe anymore. It made her a little sad as she felt the immediate emptiness in her heart that he seemed to leave behind. She always did get attached fast, but this had to be a new record for her.It wasn’t too much longer after that, a few minutes if the ticking time on the currently ongoing call on her D.D.D. was any indication, before Solomon spoke up again, “Ok. Everyone you wanted here is here. What is it you wanted to say?”She took a deep breath, setting her cup down and crossing her arms on her knees as she leaned over, staring intently at the device, “So, everyone. Don’t get insulted or anything but something had been bothering me.” She paused, both for dramatic effect and to figure out her words, “I guess I don’t know what it’s been like over there, what with the, uh, fake thing? MC? Whatever. And the whole spying in on my life for the past six weeks and anything else that might’ve been happening, but I find it just a little bit weird that, well… you all seem… ok? With me?” she narrowed her eyes, struggling with her words towards the end there.“What do you mean ok with you?” piped up a deep voice that sounded like it belonged to Beelzebub. “I think she means we should be angry at her.” Satan’s own voice replied.She chirped in quickly, “Yeah, exactly. I mean, I’ve thought it over. If I was forced to do scenes like they show in the game, I’d hate whoever was making it happen. Even if I knew that they had no idea what they were doing…. Well, I probably would anyways.” Immediately as she finished speaking, she gasped, “Wait! Do you guys act out the events too?” she asked quickly.“Events?” This time it was Belphegor’s voice, sounding surprisingly close. She tapped her fingers nervously together, “So like, there are these events that happen all the time, you know, because they need an excuse to get you, the player, to hop on everyday and spend ludicrous amounts of money on them.” She explained, “Look, we can make this easy. Do you recall if you’d had to play in a Super Smash Devil’s tournament recently? Or…” she hesitated for a second, worried about how her next words would sound, “Did Asmo and Mammon recently have to compete in a Dames contest for the Queen of Roses?”Naturally, it was Asmodeus that responded quickly, gasping dramatically, “A Dames contest?! That sounds amazing! What better way to display my beautiful complexion then through a competition that I would obviously win?” She was positive, she knew exactly how he was swooning over himself at that very moment.Satan cleared his throat, the irritation showing through his words as he answered her properly, “No, I don’t think any of us recall having done either of those things. As far as I know, none of us have forgotten anything we’ve been forced to do, even whatever it was from before we realized what MC was.”Elizabeth hmmed softly in thought for a moment before she pouted, “Ah damn. I guess that means none of you went to work at The Fall in Bunny Boy outfits, huh?” she asked before regretting her words as she heard many different responses to that.She could definitely tell that Belphegor found it hilarious, and even thought she heard Simeon and Solomon chuckling a bit in all the noise. On the other hand, Leviathan and Satan didn’t sound very pleased about it. Diavolo just sounded intrigued as she caught a “What is a Bunny Boy outfit?” from him, though she wasn’t sure who he was asking.Attempting to coral all their attention and hoping to quickly gloss over what she just brought up, she cleared her throat and spoke a little louder, “Anyways! So, the events don’t affect you. I’m glad to hear that considering there were a few that I opened several times. For… reasons.” She didn’t allow any of them to talk as she was quick to continue, “But we’re getting off track from what I really want to talk about. You know, the whole… ‘are you angry at me’ thing.”“We have had at least six weeks to think about this situation, Elizabeth.” Simeon replied to her. His voice was soothing to her, but she bit lip, fighting the urge to just accept the angel’s words as is, “Ok, that’s fine and all, I get it. I’m new to the whole thing and all and you guys aren’t at this point, but I know anger doesn’t just dissipate because you decided to… feel whatever you feel about me. Pity, love, whatever.” She huffed, “And, I’ll be really blunt here, other than Lucifer, who I summoned blindly, I think I’ve already summoned my safest options. Except maybe Diavolo too.” She then hummed.“You don’t trust us?” Beelzebub’s definitely heart-broken voice asked her, making her resolve to talk this over waver before she pressed her arms closer to her chest, steeling herself. “It’s not… that I don’t trust you.” She sighed, “It’s just, you must realize that all of you are far stronger than me. And if any one of you are annoyed, or just plain pissed at me for what’s happening… that could just be the end of, well, me. And I know I tend to be reckless for… reasons, but I am most certainly not stupid.”“You believe I could hurt you too? I’m human like yourself, Elizabeth.” Solomon asked with a curious tone. She clicked her tongue at him before correcting him, “No, you’re an immortal human that uses highly powerful magic who comes from a world that is seeped in said magic. I’m a human from a world where magic doesn’t even exist. And if I’m being honest, if you’re like how the game depicts, you have a tendency to be selfish in the name of the world you come from or for your own interests. Certainly not in the name of the human world I come from.” He merely hummed a noise in acknowledgement.Not sensing any argument from him, she continued, “Look, guys, I’m not saying I don’t trust you. I’m not saying I won’t keep pulling you guys over here, because damned if it isn’t lonely over here. What I am saying is if there’s something you’re annoyed about, or hell, if you need to at least talk it out, do it before you come here or I go over there if you even have the slightest worry that you could do something you’d regret.” She paused once more, noting the uncomfortable silence on the other end, “I’d hate to assume that you are exactly how the game depicts you, considering the fact that I’m sure it overexaggerated things, but most of you are demons. Demons with strong sins. If you guys are anything like how I’ve seen over the past year, at least a few of you should be willing to kill me. I’m honestly surprised Lucifer didn’t want to.”She was starting to feel bad about how her words came out, but with the shock of how her life changed over the past few days finally fading, her logic was starting to catch up to her. Still hearing nothing, she added another bit, “And I’m sure none of you want to say anything in front of everyone else, so how about instead of doing another ritual tonight, we wait until tomorrow morning. I know you guys already know, but I don’t work tomorrow.”“This will give you guys, and me, plenty of time to chat now that I have a D.D.D.” she finally offered, internally hoping that she hadn’t hurt any of their feelings or egos. Satan was the one who replied, one of the ones she was most worried about, considering his sin, “I think that is a good idea. It would both clear the air and put you mind at ease if we took the night to talk.”“I agree,” Solomon then offered, “Both to give my magic a rest, as best we can at the moment anyways, and for Elizabeth’s sake. I’m worried that if she had any doubts during the ritual, it could lead to more… dangerous results.”Her eyes widen slightly, “It can? Oh damn.” She muttered, “I’m glad I brought this up then. I hate talking about emotions as much as the next… demon, but open communication is important.”She allowed Simeon’s soft voice to soothe her this time as he spoke up again, “I’m glad you brought this up, my dear. It would do you no good to keep your worries to yourself.” Even as she listened to him, though, she worried about the voices she wasn’t hearing, such as Asmodeus, Belphegor and Leviathan.That on her mind, however, she stood up, picking up the D.D.D., “Alright then, does everyone agree? Or are there any arguments?” Finally, Asmodeus and Leviathan both spoke up with a “No,” and somehow, they both sounded dejected, tugging at her heart a little. She paused, waiting to see if she’d hear from the twins, but hearing nothing she finally finished up with, “Ok, then we’re in agreement. If you need to talk to me, or hell, if you just want to vent, message me tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll pick someone in the morning. With that, I’m going to leave my phone in the living room again and I’ll keep the D.D.D. on me.”Allowing them a few moments to say their goodbyes, she replied in kind with her own bye before finally ending the call. Immediately forgetting that they could see her, she heaved a heavy sigh and flopped back in her couch with a soft, “Fuck.” Ah yes. Swears never ceased to ease her burdens.Just as quickly as she had forgotten, she remember the fact that she was being watched, the woman pushing herself up to stand and plugging her phone back into the charger she had left out. With that settled, she took the D.D.D. with her to her bedroom, despite how early it was still in the evening, preparing herself for a night of what had the possibility of some heavy chats.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Beelzebub
 Are you worried that I’ll eat you?I’ll try my best not to.  ✓ What? No, that not what I meant, Beel. ✓ I don’t think you’d want to eat me regardless. ✓ Look, start with this. ✓ Just tell me exactly how you feel about me. Ok.I like you.When you would cry, I wanted to hug you until you felt better.  ✓ You really are the sweetest demon. ✓ Think about the whole “forced acting” thing now. ✓ Satan said you guys remember everything. ✓ So, I’m sure you remember the whole fiasco about Lilith. ✓ How do you feel about the curse thing dredging that up? Not good.I feel hungry now.But it isn’t your fault.And you were the one who told me that her death wasn’t my faultDo you believe that? Even if its just what MC said?  ✓ Of course, I believe that Beel. ✓ Because it’s true. ✓ It wasn’t your fault. 
Brains of the Operation (4)
 
Elizabeth has created Brains of the Operation.

Elizabeth added Diavolo to the conversation.

Elizabeth added Barbatos to the conversation.

Elizabeth added Solomon to the conversation.
 ✓3 Right, so I’ve gathered you all here today for something important I should ask.✓3 And I figured you three would be the least likely to get angry about what I’m going to ask. ✓3 And also, least likely to have some sort of existential crisis. ✓3 I hope. Diavolo: What seems to be the problem? Solomon: Existential crisis? Must be a heavy question. Barbatos: I assume this has something to do with our world then? ✓3 Yeah. ✓3 This is going to sound weird, but I wanted to…✓3 I don’t know. ✓3 Check that your world is real? Like, this game didn’t just poof you into existence, right? Diavolo: Ah, yes that would be a heavy subject to broach.What would prove to you that our world is real? ✓3 Well… Dia, you lived through the Great Celestial War right? ✓3I guess something in your memories of that, or anything pre-MC that I don’t know, would work. ✓3 Not to pry of course. ✓3 I’m sorry if I’m sticking my nose somewhere it shouldn’t be. Solomon: I assume you’re asking this question because you’re worried what would happen once you’re here if this world isn’t real?Or because you’re worried this world would disappear if something happened to your phone?  ✓3 Exactly that, actually. Barbatos: That is a reasonable worry, dear. Diavolo: I’m not sure what exactly you know of the past, since I don’t know what everything they bring up in your game.But if it helps, I will try to assist.Let’s see…I recall that the War was so devesting that the aftereffects of the battles could be heard across the Devildom’s skies.There were more aftereffects in the Human World as well.But humans then were far less advanced and populated than they are now. Barbatos: I believe during that time humans thought their gods had been angered.They performed many sacrifices and useless rituals in efforts to appease them. Solomon: Unfortunately, I wasn’t around in that time, so I can’t provide much.  ✓3 Ah right, you became fancy pants King Solomon around three thousand years ago, right? Solomon: I’m surprised you know that.  ✓3 Mom’s super religious. Forced me to read on anything and everything Bible related. ✓3 You were one of the few things I had some interest in. ✓3 Even if you weren’t technically part of the whole Christian thing. ✓3 And technically you’re not my world’s King Solomon. Solomon: I’m flattered.  ✓3 Anyways, I think this enough. ✓3 I’m pretty convinced that your world is real. ✓3 I guess my phone is somehow transmitting through space and time. Solomon: That’s the best guess we have for the moment.  ✓3 Another reason I had to ask all this. ✓3 Is because I wanted to make sure all the stuff the game mentions about the past actually happened. ✓3 Since I’m sure I’ll end up talking about all that. ✓3 Especially with the brothers.
 
Diavolo: Everything mentioned about what happened with Lucifer and his brother did happen, yes. Solomon: Oh? What exactly are we talking about here? ✓3Don’t worry about it Sol. ✓3 Family therapist stuff.✓3 And I follow the Doctor/Patient Confidentiality agreement.  
Solomon
 You said you wanted everyone to talk, right?Does that include me then, even though I’m not a demon?  ✓ Of course it includes you. ✓ It’s clear you really want to bring me to your universe. ✓ But why? I’m not exactly special other than this whole phone thing. ✓ And that ends if the phone is destroyed. ✓ Probably. ✓ I guess I don’t know what will happen. Well, you are fascinating for one.Originally, I did wish to end whatever this curse is.And when I first brought up the Oculus and saw you, I didn’t really care who you were.But you clearly didn’t know what you were doing.And I can’t blame you for something you didn’t intentionally cause.  ✓ I’m getting that a lot, you know. ✓ I know that I didn’t know what I was doing when I played the game. ✓ But we still don’t know what exactly created this whole curse thing. ✓ Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me over there so you can experiment on me? ✓ Or like… lock me up? Well… the thought of some experimentation may have occurred to me.But I do genuinely wish to get to know you.Rather than this thing that pretends to be you.  ✓ Did you love, uh, that “thing?” … I couldn’t say.If I recall, I was one of the first to realize what it was.Or rather who it wasn’t.Diavolo and Barbatos knew before me.  ✓ But you don’t find it weird that you’re not angry at me? ✓ That you’re just ok with everything I’ve done? … I’ll admit it is a little unnerving how quickly I and the others have accepted you.But I, and the others, haven’t detected any magic that can manipulate our emotions and feelings.It was just the magic that compelled us to act.If there is something that is easing the transition in our feelings for youIt is either extremely powerful or just completely undetectable.  ✓ Right. Well at least I’m not crazy for thinking you all got over this fast.  
Simeon
 I will admit to you,I had some anger when it came to light that MC wasn’t real and that there was someone behind it all.But when I realized you had nothing to do with the curse, I couldn’t direct that anger towards you.I do wish we knew exactly who created this curse set upon us.  ✓ I suppose I was little unfair including you in my category of “dangerous for my health” boys. ✓ But I know angels aren’t inherently good, so you kinda just ended up in that conversation. ✓ Sorry about that. ✓ But thank you for coming to me with your feelings. I don’t mind. I simply wish to settle your worries and fears.I am happy that I don’t strike fear in your heart though.I like you very much.Perhaps more than I should, as an angel.  ✓ Are you talking about how angels shouldn’t fall in love with humans? ✓ Like the whole thing that cause the War. Yes.Since then, it has been one of our rules that angels cannot love another species.Human, demon, or otherwise.  ✓ I kinda get that rule. ✓ Since love makes people/angels/demons do some really dumb things. ✓ But not everyone is the same so not everyone can follow the same rules. ✓ Ah, ignore me. ✓ I just have problems with authority. It’s fine.Most of this conversation borders on blasphemy anyways.  ✓ Are you ok with that? …. If it is for you.  ✓ Whoa. Don’t do anything rash. ✓ At least wait until I get there. ✓ Then we can deal with the fallout together <3 You’re awfully accepting of my admission of sin to you.  ✓ Can’t help it. ✓ My “problems with authority” involve religion too. ✓ Sin away, Shoulders.  
Satan
 I assume I’m one of the ones you’re most worried about hurting you?Because of my sin.  ✓ I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, yeah. ✓ But that’s just because I don’t know if your control is as good as the game shows. ✓ I don’t doubt that you have good control though. ✓ Just, you especially had to be one of the demons most angry about being controlled, right? … it’s true, I wasn’t happy when I realized what was happening.I have had plenty of time to cool off, however.I wouldn’t dream of harming you.No matter how I felt about the curse.  ✓ Again, I’m not doubting you. ✓ And I doubt I’m careless enough to manage to tip you over the edge when we finally meet. ✓ How about this, ✓ You’re analytical. From what you remember acting out, how accurate would you say the game showed your personality. Extremely accurate.If you recall, none of us realized what was happening for a long time.That’s because the acting itself was all things we would actually do.Or words we would actually say, based on all of our personalities.So, no one noticed anything.This curse’s fatal flaw was in the thing that couldn’t replicate a living person.That thing you refer to as “MC.”  ✓ Ok. So I’m convinced that you wouldn’t lose control around me. ✓ As long as you aren’t actually angry at me. ✓ Which brings me to my next question, are you mad at me? ✓ Its ok if you are, even if you do or don’t think it may be irrational. … These are starting to sound like therapy questions.  ✓ Don’t ask. ✓ Maybe I’ll tell you about it later. ✓ Just answer the question please. Very well.I… am a little angry, yes.But I can differentiate between you, a victim like me, and whatever unknown being is screwing with us.  ✓ Good enough for me. ✓ To be honest, I’d trust you less if you had said you weren’t angry. ✓ Because I won’t be able to think that you weren’t lying to me. Honesty seems to be the best option with you.  
Asmodeus
 Surely you didn’t mean to lump me with the others when you were talking about being mad at you, sweetheart?Could you really imagine me being angry with you?  ✓ Absolutely I could see it, Azzy. ✓ I have no idea if your charm power works on me either. ✓ And if it does, that’s dangerous. ✓ And don’t deflect on sharing your feelings. There’s nothing to share though!I suppose other than telling you how much I love you~Which is almost as much as I love myself.  ✓ Reign in the narcissism for just a few minutes please. ✓ Just think about how you initially felt when you realized MC wasn’t real. ✓ You don’t have to tell me about those feelings. ✓ You just have to think about if it’ll affect how you’ll interact with me when we meet. Ugh, but what is there to think about?Obviously the first thing we should do when we meet is work on your skin care routine.Just imagine how much better your skin could look if you used Hellfire Bee’s vemon like I do.  ✓ I don’t even want to imagine what that could do to my face. ✓ Please double check that its safe for humans BEFORE you try to put it on my face, thanks. Don’t you want to look lovelier, darling?Beauty comes from pain.Of course, you already look beautiful, but we can always strive for perfection!  ✓ Ok, I’ll be the first to admit, ✓ I’m about to turn into full-on hypocrite here. ✓ But beauty doesn’t come from pain. ✓ It comes from accepting yourself; flaws and all. ✓ Also, I’ve never been one to care how someone looks. ✓ I tend to like people for how they act. ✓ And before you ask, ✓ Yes, I do like you. ✓ Ignoring your appearance for a moment, ✓ I like you because you’re an energetic, lovable magnet for attention. ✓ You might be narcissistic, but your flaws just as important as your strengths. ✓ After all, absolute perfect beings are boring. ✓ … Asmo? You there? Sorry, sweetheart.I just needed a moment to fix my makeup.You really know how to make a demon feel special.All the more reason why I adore you <3  ✓ … were you crying? ✓ I’m sorry I didn’t mean to go overboard on you. ✓ I just don’t like how worrying so much about your appearance tends to ruin someone on the inside. It’s fine, darling.I wasn’t outside so no one saw anything.I can’t wait for the things we’ll do together~  ✓ Ah yes, there it is. ✓ The sexual innuendo I was waiting for. ✓ I think it’s safe to say you’re not all that upset though. ✓ At least not with me. Of course not!Was that ever in doubt?  ✓ I… ✓ Never mind. ✓ I look forward to your SAFE skin care routine, Azzy.  
Diavolo
 I’m happy to hear that you’d trust your safety with me.  ✓ Yes, well. ✓ According to everything I’ve been hearing, or reading in most cases, ✓ The game was pretty accurate with you guys. ✓ And as far I remember, ✓ You’re probably one of the demons with the most control. ✓ Right after Barbatos. I wouldn’t be fit to be king one day if I couldn’t control myself.  ✓ Right, right, royalty and all that. ✓ But how about we pretend you’re not a prince for a moment. ✓ Are you sure that you’re fine? ✓ I’m sure knowing MC isn’t real must mess with your goals for peace, right? That’s true.It’s not really an exchange program if the second human student isn’t even real.I suppose it also hurt that someone I thought to be my friend wasn’t real.But wouldn’t these problem be fixed when you come here?You can be the second human exchange student.And my friend, if you’re not opposed.  ✓ Of course, I’m not opposed to that. ✓ But don’t go around thinking I’m a replacement, alright. ✓ People, humans, don’t really like feeling like replacements. ✓ Humans prefer to be liked for themselves, not because they’re filling some hole in your heart. I see.I will keep this in mind.I apologize if there was any offense.  ✓ It’s fine. ✓ I know there’s a… disconnect between demon/angels and humans. ✓ It’s just something the three races have to work to overcome, right? I was wrong.You are not a replacement.You are far better than anything that MC could be.  ✓ Damn, Dia. ✓ You’re going to make me blush.  
Leviathan
  ✓ Levi? ✓ I know you can hear your D.D.D. ✓ Talk to me. ✓ If you don’t talk to me. ✓ I’m going to bribe Mammon to bug you until you reply. What do you want?Aren’t you afraid of me?  ✓ Nah I’m not afraid of you. ✓ I said those things earlier because I’m worried for you. ✓ I’m worried you’d do something you’d regret if we met. ✓ Aren’t you angry to know that you’re in a game I’ve been playing? ✓ Or maybe you’re into that? ✓ I guess you do like games. Why would I be angry about being in a game?That sounds great!  ✓ Lemme rephrase than, ✓ Forget the game part. ✓ Aren’t you mad that your friend wasn’t real? ✓ And before you start... ✓ I am more then happy to be your friend. ✓ And no, I’m not lying to spare your feelings. I bet you preferred my brothers over me thoughWhy would you want to hang out with a gross otaku like me unless the game made you do it?  ✓ Damn it Levi. ✓ None of the other brothers are going to give me anime recommendations. ✓ Also, I don’t have TSL in this world. ✓ Who’s going to marathon it with me? ✓ Because I really want to see it. Really? You want to marathon TSL with me?  ✓ Of course, Levichan. ✓ The game only gave bits and pieces of the show and books. ✓ Not enough to really enjoy, you know.

You’re a true friend, aren’t you, Elizabeth?  ✓ Call me Liz, please. ✓ I haven’t really said anything to everyone yet. ✓ But only my parents call me Elizabeth at this point. ✓ Or Henry works too I suppose.

✓ I get it, I get it. ✓ Love you too Levi.  
Belphegor
  ✓ Gonna make me message you first, huh? There’s nothing for me to talk about.  ✓ Bullshit, Belphie. ✓ I know you remember exactly what happened when you came out of that attic. ✓ I need to know if that’s you, or just the curse. Would you hate me if I said it was me?  ✓ I don’t know. ✓ I can understand why you would feel that way about humanity. ✓ Not that I think it’s reasonable, ✓ I just understand you. ✓ The important part here is, ✓ If that was all you, even with the curse making you do it. ✓ What’s going to stop you from killing me too? ✓ I’m human. ✓ And I’ve done less the original reason you hate humans. ✓ No one died from this curse. ✓ That I know of. You just know us all inside and out huh?Because of this stupid game you’ve been playing?  ✓ I’m not saying I know you because of the game. ✓ Or that I expect you be a certain way because that’s what the game would have you be. ✓ I’m more then happy to hear about how the game got you wrong. ✓ Tell me everything. ✓ Because I’d love to actually meet you. ✓ As long as it doesn’t end in a hug that literally takes my breath away. Hah.That’s pretty dark.  ✓ Dark jokes too much? Nah, it’s fine.… I don’t want to kill you.I guess I’m just tired of hating humans.  ✓ Yeah? Hate is an emotion that takes a lot out of you. Can I ask though.Do you know if that stuff about Lilith’s descendant…Is it true that she was reincarnated and lived a happy life?  ✓ You didn’t asked Lucifer about what happened to her when she died? I didn’t want to talk to him after I realized about MC.And there wasn’t really any time to bring it up anyways.  ✓ Well, they did tell me that her reincarnation really happened. ✓ And I don’t doubt that she lived happily. ✓ If you want, when I come over there. ✓ I’ll be happy to help you find any of her descendants. ✓ Actual people anyways. ✓ As long as you promise not to choke them. Hah, shut the fuck up.Alright, I’ll hold you to that.

Lucifer
  ✓ I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about what I’ve said to the others this afternoon? About your concerns?Diavolo mentioned them to me.Why are you bringing this up to me if you’ve already summoned me?  ✓ I’m going to have to summon you again you want to make a pact with me. ✓ Though I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t want to. Oh? And why do you think that?  ✓ Hey now. I’m supposed to be asking the therapy questions here. ✓ Not answering them. AhYou want me to talk about my “feelings” then.There’s nothing to discuss.  ✓ Don’t go closing yourself off like that, Luci. ✓ You can’t tell me you weren’t livid when you realized MC wasn’t real. ✓ Or pissed at me when you found out who I was. What do you want to hear Elizabeth.Yes, I want to rip off your head for the constant stupid lines I’ve had to reenact?Yes, I’d love nothing more than to leave you as a pile of ash in your bedroom?And don’t call me that.  ✓ Well, I wasn’t looking for details. ✓ And I’m less worried about you killing me here in my world. ✓ And more worried you’d like… lock up me up or something to stop the curse. I have no desire to do that.Unless that is what you want?  ✓ Gods no. ✓ I like freedom, thanks. ✓ Now stop deflecting. Did you force answers out of the others like this as well?  ✓ Believe it or not, they all answered me out of their free will. ✓ Well, except Asmo, but I know how to read between the lines with him. … right.Fine. I will admit, I was ready to end your existence the moment your face was shown to me.Does that scare you?  ✓ I sense a buuuuut… ✓ Also, duh, it scares me. ✓ But at this point, I’m nothing if I’m not reckless. ✓ Also, you can’t get to me at the moment. ✓ So I’m more then happy to get cocky about my existence. You are infuriating.  ✓ It would be boring if I wasn’t! ✓ Now give me the but already. ✓ … good thing this isn’t a chat with Asmo. I can’t say for certain because none of us have felt any other magic then the compulsionsBut my rage did quiet quicker then I thought it would while I was observing you.It is a little… unnerving.It is as if just seeing you soothes any anger I have.  ✓ That’s… concerning. ✓ But helpful I guess. ✓ At least I shouldn’t die because I pissed someone off, right? I wouldn’t test that theory.Especially in a world where we cannot assist you.  ✓ Ah, physical pain is nothing. ✓ I’ve been through worse. And you continue to worry me.Solomon better hurry and bring you to us.Before you do something stupid to yourself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Leviathan
 ✓ So, since it’s established that we’re such great friends,✓ You’ll be fine if I pick you to summon this morning, right? Now? But it’s so early.How can you wake up so early? ✓ …It’s only an hour after when I normally get up.✓ I’m not a morning person, but when you’re used to waking up at a certain time, your body does so.✓ Everyday.✓ Anyways, I have some movies and anime we can watch while you’re here.✓ Because I don’t think five hours is enough time to watch all of TSL, right? No, no, we would need at least eight hours for all the movies.Plus, if we factor in the spin off show, that show’s OVAs, and the cut scenes from all three… ✓ Ok, I get it.✓ We’ll need days for that stuff.✓ Just be ready to be summoned, yeah?✓ I’ll make you some breakfast when you get here. A brief chat in the morning to her demon of choice for her next ritual now out of the way, the woman yawned wide, heading into the living room and picking up the phone on the table she had left it on. Without waiting for a greeting from who she knew was watching her, she spoke, “Good morning Solomon. Unless you fell unconscious. Then keep sleeping.” A quick message from him indicated otherwise: 
Solomon
 I’m quite awake, thank you.Have you picked who to call for next? ✓ Yeah. Levi.✓ I already texted him to head over for it. Then I will let you know when he’s ready.  She grunted in response, moving off to the kitchen with both devices in one hand, settling them down on the counter so she could dig through her fridge for the food she needed to prepare. By the time she had everything set out on her counter to make some spam and scrambled eggs with toast, her D.D.D. pinged again with a message from Solomon that he was ready with Levi now. With a hum and a nod of her head, she closed her eyes, leaning her hip back against her counter, “Kay. I’m thinking of him.” She announced to her far-away audience. The process was the same as the other three times she went through the first-summons, though this time she heard a fairly loud yawn to her side as she opened her eyes. She offered a grin to the purple haired otaku. Normally at this time of day she was passively quiet at best and cynically cranky at worse, but there was something about having cute company over for breakfast that put a little pep in her step this morning, “Morning, sleepy boy.” She hummed contently in a greeting. The boy in question gave her a rather incredulous look, “I thought you weren’t a morning person?” he asked her, throwing himself on the stool by that counter and leaning his entire upper body on said counter, looking quite sleepy. “I’m not. Not normally.” She replied, turning back to the pan she had prepared and, after turning on the oven, she started cutting up the spam and cracking eggs, “I don’t know. Maybe I was just looking forward to seeing you?” she then offered an explanation, knowing full well how the awkward demon would react. With her back currently turned to him, she only heard the sputtering from him, making her smirk a little while she cooked, “Wh-what? Why m-me? I’m not that g-great, not like my brothers.” She tsked at his words, “Don’t lie. Aren’t you the Avatar of Envy? Third most powerful of your brothers? Who can summon the powerful Lotan?” she asked him, turning her head slightly to glance back at him, “Which, by the way, please don’t do that here. I can’t pay to replace the carpet if it gets flooded.” Looking at him now, she could see the obviously flushed face of the third born, noting that it might be just a touch too early to be teasing the poor demon. “I wouldn’t do that!” he declared, his eyes unable to meet her’s as he continued in a softer voice, “I don’t think I could do that here anyways.” “You couldn’t? Why not?” she asked curiously. He tapped his nails against the counter, his cheek resting on his outstretched arm, “There’s something about being in this world.” He muttered, “It feels like I don’t have enough… energy to summon him or something. But like, it’s slipping away before I can get any more.” He tried to explain. She shut off her stovetop as she finished up the food, trying to decipher his words, “Slipping away? Not enough?” she considered out loud before tapping her spatula against the side of the pan, “Oh, this world doesn’t have magic, right? And Lucifer said he felt like he was suffocating? Maybe my world is leeching your magic off of you?” she asked. The implications hit her shortly afterwards, “Wait, so then you all are weaker in my world then. Does that mean it’s hurting you to be here?” she asked, frowning. Levi finally glanced at her face, frowning as well as his tapping paused, “Uh… I don’t think so? I guess I don’t know. I know anime and video games. I don’t know much about magic.” He crossed his arms under his chin, “I’m not as great as the others about all this, after all. I couldn’t even help when they were trying to contact you after all…” “Nah ah!” a light thwack against the demon’s elbow ceased any more self-depreciation, as she made a mental note to talk about the magical issues to some of the others later, “No more of that now. Your ability is just in other areas. Don’t bring yourself down so much. Besides, I didn’t ask for the others this morning, did I? I asked for you.” His flushed face returned as he turned it away to hide it from her, “Y-yeah. Sorry.” He whined. Having quickly plated for the both of them, she nudged his hip with one of her legs, “Let’s go to the living room so you can rifle through my DVD collection.” She spoke. He was slow to get up, clearly still tired, but followed her. As she placed the plates down on the coffee table, freeing up her hands to motion to the drawer in the stand below her TV, “My collection is in there. The anime is on the right hand side, but feel free to look through everything else too. I’m sure I don’t have a lot compared to you though. Most of it was… salvaged from my parents.” He was still behind her as she spoke so she didn’t notice the way he tensed at the mention of her parents, his eyes peering at her as if looking for her own reaction to the mention of them. After a second though, and before she turned to sit herself on the ground in front of the couch, he slipped over to the drawer, eagerly pulling it open to peer in. As he pulled out cases to look at the covers of the DVDs, she picked at the food, her eyes following his movements like she was studying the details of his face and hands. Every time she pulled another denizen from Devildom into her universe, it stuck her how good looking they all were in person. Maybe it was because most of them were literally made by that universe’s God? She quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts as she looked back to the “organized mess” Levi was quickly making. Clearly, he was sorting the DVDs into piles, though she couldn't exactly decipher what they were sorted by, “You know… you could just pick one to start with…” she snickered a little. He tsked back at her, “Some of these I’ve seen before.” He explained, motioning to a relatively small pile on her left end of her table, “And some I’ve heard of but haven’t seen.” The pile in the middle, “And these are the ones I’ve never heard of.” The right-hand pile, the largest of the three. She frowned, picking up one from the right-hand pile, “Really? You haven’t even heard of Avatar? Blue Aliens? Everyone in my world, geeks and nerds galore went wild over this.” She said, “It was one of the most popular movies when it came out.” She replaced it before picking up one of the left-hand pile, “But you’ve seen Mad Max?” she tilted her head inquisitively. She considered for a moment before she glanced at him again, “How about anime. Have you seen Bleach?” she asked. He brightened up a bit, “Yeah! I enjoyed that one! Not enough romance though.” He criticked. She chuckled, “Well, it’s not a romance anime, so there’s why. Ok, how about Sailor Moon?” she then asked. His face immediately contorted into confusion, “Is that one that came out recently? Never heard of it.” Immediately, she nearly choked on the bite of egg she had taken, “I’m sorry? Did you just say you never heard of the decades old, one of the most popular anime? I’m pretty sure it was one of the original inspirations for the whole magic girl transformation anime.” She said in disbelief to him. He pouted and shook his head, “Never heard anything like it. Ruri-chan is the better magic girl anyways!” He complained, clearly put out by the way she reacted. She waved a hand dismissively, “Sorry. Uh… maybe it’s a Mandela effect thing? Like, our worlds share some things and others either don’t exist or are completely different?” she pondered out loud, “Anyways, I don’t have anything on Sailor Moon, unfortunately. Otherwise, I’d show you that.” He pouted again and she tapped one of the DVDs in the “unheard of” pile, “How about we watch Ouran High School Host Club. It’s a good slice of life kind-of romance. One of my most favorite.” She offered to him. He hesitated, but nodded, quick to pop the disc into the player connected to the TV and sat next to her, finally digging into the food she made. Elizabeth tugged out her phone and D.D.D. she had stashed in her pocket, placing both on the table after setting up a quick alarm to remind them when he would be leaving and finished off her plate. The demon next to her was very quickly engrossed in the lighthearted anime, much to her pleasure. Having seen it so many times before, she didn’t feel the need to stare quite as intently at the screen as he did, instead choosing to peer at him once more. It was after the ending of the second episode did he speak up again, a little more life in his voice and movements now that he was definitely more awake than he was before, “A-ah. We should, um. You know, the pact… Unless you don’t want a pact with me.” His voice shrank as he continued speaking, his eyes downcast to the ground. Once more, she tsked at him, “You’re doing it again, Levi. I called you for a reason. Because I wanted to hang out with you specifically.” She explained to him before offering her hand to him, “Of course I want your pact. You want me to come to Devildom, right? I wanna go too. Help me out?” She then offered a soft smile to him as he looked up at her questions. Ah yes, once again, flustered demon boy was back, but he still took her hand into his. It took a little more encouragement from her to get him to start; Yes, she really did want his pact. No, she wasn’t embarrassed or asking for it out of pity. Finally, he spoke out his part in that familiar rough language. Having done this a few times before, she was more prepared with her part, not needing any prompt from Levi for her to finish the binding before she felt the all-to-familiar tingling, this time drifting down her back and landing on her upper left waist. Immediately, she lifted her shirt, “Don’t show me! P-put your shirt down!” and eyed the bright orange mark on her left hip, the coloring slightly shiny. The shape was one she had seen in mythology before: a snake eating it’s own tail, leading her to ask the bright red demon who couldn’t look in her direction, “Are you the World Eater or World Serpent or something, Levi?” His eyes glanced at her face, clearly avoiding the shirt she still had lifted, “Uh, well, there was a time a bunch of humans had summoned me and started calling me ‘World Serpent.’” He replied in a hesitant voice. “Don’t know what they wanted though. I was annoyed they pulled me out of my room.” She snickered a bit, “Is this common with all your brothers?” she than asked, “Do they get mistaken for figures from other religions?” He paused, thinking over her question for a moment before nodding, “I think so, yeah. There was that time Satan was called Ares. Or the time Mammon was worshiped as some guy called ‘Plutus.’” The woman pressed her lips together before she replied, “Sometimes I forget how old you all are.” She whispered before shaking her head free of the thoughts, “That’s kinda cool though. That you all are over here being worshipped in other religions.” Leviathan shrugged and grimaced a little however, “Eh, I’d rather they’d leave me alone. I don’t want to make some dumb deal when I could be watching Ruri-chan or raiding. Why would they want to worship someone like me anyways?” She pouted. Oh, how quickly he dived into the poor attitude of himself. Thinking it over for a second, she reached for her phone, “Well, are you sure you don’t want worship?” she asked, “Because in my world, you could say you get all kinds of worship thanks to the game.” Pulling up her gallery of saved images, she offered the phone to him, picking out a specifically named album, “In the form of fanart, fanfiction, and the like. You’re on the internet all the time, I’m sure you know what fans are like.” She then smirked at him. He looked surprised, like he hadn’t even considered that there would be a fanbase for the game of him and everyone else in Devildom. Surprised enough, in fact, that he easily accepted the phone and glanced at the name, “You have an image album of just fanart of me?” he squeaked out. She smirked and snickered at his response, “Hell yeah, I do. I have one for every one of you guys. You’re popular, you know?” she said, watching him as he clicked on the first image, clearly studying it in awe. She pushed herself up to stand, “Let me go get my laptop and I’ll show you more of the fan works, yeah?” she then said, idly patting his head lightly before moving around the table to head to her bedroom, taking her D.D.D. with her, just in case. She took her time, however, grabbing said laptop. Taking a bathroom break before flipping open the computer to turn it on so she could open up her favorite fanfiction website to get it ready to show the demon, she was interrupted by the ringtone of her D.D.D. Surprised by the sudden call, she glanced at the ID, confusing her more as she accept it, “Lucifer? What is it?” she asked. “Can I ask why you simply had to open that stupid game again and force me to greet that irritating thing once more?” a clearly very irritated demon asked.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“What? I didn’t open the game, Lu. I don’t even have my phone with me ri- Oh no.” Elizabeth froze for a moment as she answered the irate demon on the other end of the call, quickly turned to the door of her room once Lucifer demanded, “Oh no what?” “Levi has my phone right now.” She quickly replied, picking up the laptop as she snapped it closed and heading back to the unsupervised demon in her living room. She could practically feel the dangerous vibes the first born was giving off through the device in her hand as she burst into the room, “Levi? Did you open the game?” The culprit in question jumped as she called out to him, a very guilty look on his face as he hid the phone’s screen against his chest, “Wha-what? No! Never!” He replied far too quickly for her liking. “Really?” she asked, motioning with the D.D.D. that was still on call with Lucifer, “Then why is Lucifer on my D.D.D., yelling at me because he had to greet the MC?” she then asked with a raised brow. Levi’s face whitened considerably as he kept that phone pressed against himself, his response a scrambled mess of noise. Before Lucifer could spew into his threats and lectures to Levi through her D.D.D., she spoke to him, “Lucifer, what exactly did you say?” “Is that really important right now?!” he rather literally snarled back to her, making her shiver at the sound, though she swallowed and kept her voice strong, “Yes. Please?” She pushed. There was a heavy, irritated sigh before he replied, “I said ‘Excuse me. I'm afraid I'm not a morning demon.’” Elizabeth hummed softly, “I see.” Before she continued her thoughts, however, she turned to the clearly terrified and teary eyed third born, “Levi. Why’d you open the game?” she asked in a soft voice. He peered up at her, having been hugging his knees to seem as small as possible. It seemed just feeling the rage from her D.D.D. had really spooked him, “I-I-I didn’t think-“ Lucifer growled out to interrupt him, “That’s right, you didn’t think!” To which Elizabeth tsked at the call, “I’m muting you Lucifer, until he finishes his explanation.” “Don’t you dare, you hu-“ And her D.D.D. was muted with a click. She knew she’d probably end up paying for this in dividends from the eldest brother, but she wanted Levi to have the ability to explain himself. She glanced back at the demon in question, “Its ok, please continue.” He clenched onto the phone in his hand, glancing at the screen for a moment, “You-you had said it was something cal-called lessons that made us react, so I thou-though if I just didn’t open them, it… it would be fine.” He stuttered in a small voice. She had to step closer to him to hear everything, crouching down in front of him, “It looks like it’s more than just the lessons, Levichan.” She hummed to the other, “But why open it and risk anything in the first place?” “Because it’s a game, isn’t it?!” he explained suddenly, his voice surprisingly strong now, “I’m suppo-supposed to be the best at any game compared to anyone else! I was s-so useless when we kept acting out those scenes, but I thought I could help now!” his shouts devolving a bit into whines. She reached a hand out slowly and gently, letting him see her movements, before resting it on his head, “Shh. You’re already helping, Levi. You’re here with me, keeping me company. You gave me your pact. I know you’re great at games, but maybe you should’ve asked me what I knew about it first?” He didn’t replay, instead burying his face into his knees as she took the phone from him, glancing at the open home scene for a second, something inside of her flinching at all the little red blips on all the apps to call her attention. Forcing herself to resist the urge to check all of them, she closed the game and turned off the phone’s scene. Only once the phone was set to the side did she unmute Lucifer, “You’re unmuted.” She said simply, preparing herself for the reaming that he’d no doubt give them both. Instead, she was surprised with a much calmer, albeit still annoyed tone of voice from the eldest brother, “I understand why you opened the game, Leviathan, but attempting such a thing was foolish. We have been calling it a curse for a reason.” Levi only made a small whine in response, allowing Lucifer to continue, “There are other ways to assist us. And Elizabeth was correct in saying that you should’ve asked her about the game first.” She raised her brow and made a soft noise, unfortunately and unwittingly reminding him of her presence, “This will be the only time I will let such behavior pass, Elizabeth.” He warned. She couldn’t help but to snark back, “Because I was right about letting him fully explain?” “Don’t let this go to your head.” He just growled back. Before she could say anything else or hang up on him herself, the first born had already hung up on her. The moment she realized the call had ended, her body shuddered harshly, “Holy shit, that felt intense.” She muttered, “I’ve never felt anything like that before and that was just him being angry over the phone.” Before either of the two could speak further, not that Levi seemed to want to, Elizabeth received another call, this time from Solomon. She sighed, waiting a second before she accepted the call, “Yes, Sol?” she asked. “Are you feeling alri-“ “Are ya ok, human?!” The poor sorcerer was interrupted by a very rude, but concerned Avatar of Greed on the call. “Huh? I’m fine. Just got off the phone with a very annoyed Lucifer. Your demon auras are no joke if I can feel his mood from the D.D.D. alone.” She replied, her voice calm and clear at this point. Solomon tsked and there was the sound of some movement on the call before he replied, “It was just me for a while before Mammon here came bursting in saying that you were terrified. I assume he must have felt your fear through the pact.” There were some more noises, likely from whatever Solomon was doing to keep Mammon from interrupting him. “Oh. You guys can feel my mood through the pacts?” She asked. “Just intense moods. They should be able to feel pain as well.” The sorcerer added for her. “I see. Sorry about that, Mams. It was just your brother.” There was a grunt from Solomon, probably from whatever the white haired demon did to be allowed to talk again as he exclaimed, “What the hell did he do? I’ll beat him up myself if he said something stupid, I swear!” Elizabeth snorted, “You’re going to beat up Lucifer? Really?” she asked him. There was some hesitation and she was positive that the second born had to be rethinking his words but he surprised her with, “Ye-yeah! I mean if I need to. If it’s for ya.” She chuckled, “It’s fine, Mams. It was just a dumb mistake, that’s all.” “I’m surprised you sound fine after that, Elizabeth.” Solomon then spoke up, “Most people would be quite shaken up, even if it was only over the phone.” “I’m used to recovering from fear.” she said in a dismissive voice. Just as Mammon was trying to ask her to clarify, “What does that mean, hu-” she glanced back to the still cowering Levi, “Anyways, to summarize what just happened, Levi opened the game on my phone when I wasn’t looking. I guess the greeting line that the home screen figure says is something that activates your curse thing, so Lucifer had to go greet MC. Which lead to him calling me.” “I see.” Solomon replied, giving nothing away in his voice. There was a moment of pause from him (though Mammon was still complaining in the background) before he spoke up again, “I suppose if nothing else works to get you over here or to end this curse after you are here, we can look to the game as a last resort.” Elizabeth shrugged, “Yeah. Anyways, I’m good. Levi’s scared, but he’s ok, so I’m going to hang up now, ok?” More complaining from Mammon was heard, but the two humans were ignoring him at this point, “That’s fine. I’m still watching over you, so you’re free to continue your show.” She threw out a “Thank you Mams,” before she ended the call in hopes of pacifying him for Solomon’s sake, setting the device on the table next to her original phone. Finally, she sat herself back besides Levi, “Hey, you’re good now. Crisis averted; you don’t have to worry so much.” She tried to comfort the purple haired demon, passing over the detail that Lucifer had free rein to do whatever he wanted to Leviathan once he returned. He mumbled something into his knees and she poked one of his arms, “You’re either going to have to speak up, or lift your head, amigo, because I can’t hear you.” It took a few quiet moments before he finally lifted his head slightly and spoke again, “I just wanted to help.” She left her hand against his arm, offering a bit of physical comfort without overcrowding him, “I know that. I’m sure Lucifer knows that too now. I’m sure that’s why he sounded less… rage-y after I unmuted him. You were just a little overzealous, is all. Mistakes happen.” He didn’t seemed to react to her hand, though he did just bury his head back into his arms and knees at her words, so she gave him a pat, “How about we go back to watching the show for now? Stop worrying about the past, and live in the present, right?” she offered to him. There was some more silence, then a nod from the buried head. Satisfied, she resumed the episode they had paused before she went to her bedroom and, not wanting to pressure him, she kept her attention to the tv. It only a few minutes later did she hear Levi ask a question, “What about you?” She blinked, turning her head back to him, the demon having removed his head from his arms and his eyes on the show as if he hadn’t just said something. “What about me?” she asked. “Aren’t you still worried about the curse?” he elaborated on the question. “You… you have a small flinch whenever someone talks about the curse.” She frowned and turned back to the show to avoid looking at him, “Well, this isn’t about me, right? We’re trying to get me to Devildom to fix the curse that’s set on you all. It doesn’t affect me, so I should be doing my best for all your sakes.” Levi frowned, but wasn’t sure what else to say, not exactly sure how to deal with “normie” feelings like her own. ~~~~~ 
Barbatos
 Are you alright?I felt an intense wave of fear from you.And saw Mammon racing off to the room Solomon was watching over you in. ✓ Oh yeah, I’m fine.✓ Levi opened the game which made Lucifer go talk to MC.✓ So, he called me all pissy and stuff.✓ You demons are intense, even over the phone. I see.Well, I assumed it had something to do with the curse.Since Lucifer was in a meeting with Lord Diavolo and other high-level officials.He suddenly left the meeting without a word with the same dead stare that everyone gets when they are compelled to talk to MC. ✓ Oh shit, no wonder he was so angry.✓ He’s gotta be mad that others outside of the loop saw him. No worries. Lord Diavolo explained away his sudden leave.None of them will question our lord.I’m glad you are ok, however.I didn’t think Leviathan would allow any harm to you however.That’s why I didn’t come to the Viewing room to check on you. ✓ No worries, Barbs.✓ You’re a busy demon.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He fiddled and toyed with the console controller in his hands, the purple haired third born finding the clicks of the buttons and the smooth rotation of the thumb sticks soothing to his current state of distress. A state of such great distress that he couldn’t bear to bring himself to play or watch anything to distract himself like he normally would do. 
They were his friend. His best friend! They wouldn’t lie to him. They wouldn’t dare. They were his one and only Henry. Henry would never lie or deceive him. They just… couldn’t.

The tears streamed down his cheeks, his body accepting what his mind had not. Internally, he continued to fight against the truth lies that Satan had told him. His Henry was real; he knew that they had to be. That dumb blond was just jealous of the bond he shared with his Henry! 
When he had first seen her, the one behind it all, he was huddled as small as he could in the corner of the room. He was too confused about his feelings to really react to the reveal. Should he be angry like he had been at first? Rage around and attack anything he could in hope that his rage would reach her? Or should he be pathetically sad, like his feeling had morphed into after his rage? With no one around to take the blame in front of him, he could only hide away in his room and lament the loss of the only one he thought was his true friend.

His tail whipped behind himself, carelessly slamming against the floor and walls, tossing about his collectables, DVDs, and other memorabilia. At the moment, none of it mattered. He’d always be alone, wouldn’t he? What would it matter if his Rurichan Figurine was thrown across the room. His energy seemed to just drain from his body. He was still mad, livid even, but his body had other ideas. It had been true, he couldn’t recall anything… real about his Henry, just like Satan said. Could someone really make something like that? Just to mess with him? 
He didn’t want to go back to watching her after that first day. But the very same brother that had pulled him out of the fog practically shoved the depressed third born back into the room. He didn’t know what day it was. He never bothered to look at the time anymore. He just… laid in his tub and stared at the ceiling whenever he wasn’t forced to act for that… fake friend.

“Happy Birthday, Levichan!~” The phrase he heard as he entered the Viewing Room made him freeze in place, his eyes snapping to the Oculus to watch the pleased looking woman tapping away at her phone. He didn’t know what to say, what to do, other than to watch the entirely too happy woman hum away.

Finally, with what little strength he had left, he dragged himself into his tub bed, pressing into his pillow and curling up into as small as ball as he could. Of course, he was still angry. Of course, he still wished he could grab what had been his Henry and demand why they were doing this to him. But… it was just too much to deal with at that moment. He wouldn’t be able to sleep, but he could lay here until the ground swallowed him up. 
Was she really celebrating his birthday? She didn’t even think that he was real. And yet she looked so happy. It couldn’t possibly be because of him, could it? “Almost wish there was something in this world that could pass for Rainbow Pizza. I don’t think I could handle the spicy part though.” She said, speaking to herself out loud.

His hands shook as he stared at her, a firm grip on his arms as one of his brothers caught him before he collapsed. They helped him to a seat in the room, quietly letting him watch the woman, just as they all had been since the start.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Elizabeth shoved the handful of DVDs into Leviathan’s arms, “Take these with you.” She said, “This way when I come over there, I’ll still be able to see my favorites.” The purple haired demon glanced at the eight or so rectangular cases, “Why me?” he asked, giving her a little surprised face. “Well, one, watching Ouran reminded me that I won’t have it when I go to Devildom. Two, I know you’ll take great care of them. And three, so you can watch them if you want. I noticed almost all of them were in the 'haven’t seen' or 'haven’t heard of' piles.” She ticked down a finger for each point. Without giving him room to argue, she then pointed to the top case; Ouran High School Host Club, “I know you liked it and we couldn’t finish it. I’ve seen it plenty of times so you can finish it on your own and message me about it later, yeah?” she then tilted her head slightly as she flashed him a wide grin, causing the demon’s cheeks to flush and glance away, “Ye-yeah. Sure… sure.” He simply muttered in response. She glanced back at the time, humming out, “T Minus one minute, Levi. Hopefully my things actually go with you.” She noted before starting a call with Solomon, who answered rather quickly, “Less than that.” The sorcerer simply remarked. Almost at once after finishing that sentence, Elizabeth turned her head to glance at Levi, only to find he was already gone. As well as her DVDs, to her relief. “Welcome back Leviathan.” Solomon then said, his voice sounding a little distance as he directed it away from the D.D.D. he was on call with. There were some far off noises of acknowledgment from the demon in question before the sound of a door opening and shutting. “He looked quite enamored with those cases you gave him, Elizabeth.” Solomon said, the mirth obvious in his voice. She clicked her tongue, “Call me Liz. Please. Every time one of you guys call me Elizabeth, I keep thinking it’s my mom talking to me.” There was a moment of silence on the other end before he spoke up again, “Why not call yourself Liz in the game then?” he asked, though his voice only had genuine curiosity. “It’s only text that says my name. The player character’s name isn’t voice acted. I’m more used to seeing my full name then seeing my nickname.” She explained it to him. “Actually, now that I think about it, the few bits of voice acting there is in the game is in Japanese. Even the songs you- er, the characters, sing are in Japanese. But all of you have been speaking English?” Solomon ho hummed in response, “Oh, that’s simple. All of us know multiple languages. I believe Lucifer, Satan, and Simeon know the most out of all of us, but every one of us know at least Japanese, English, and Spanish. And since we heard you speaking English before we actually started talking to you, we assumed that you would prefer, well, English.” “Oh. Wait, so when you guys are compelled to talk to MC, is it in English or Japanese?” “Japanese.” She huhs, looking off to the side with a thoughtful look. He interrupts her thoughts with, “You know Spanish as well, right? We’ve overheard you speaking it before.” With a pained look that only lasted a second, she replied, “I understand it, but I don’t speak it very well.” She tapped a finger against the table idly as she willed her face to remain neutral, “I can use a bunch of phrases and simple conversational pieces here and there, but I’d say I specialize in insults and curses.” “That being said, I live in an area heavily populated by people whose ancestry is white colonizers, so Spanish doesn’t come up around me often. Except with, er, family.” She then quickly tacked on to her explanation. “Family… right.” Wizard boy replied, thinking pondering something for a moment before he spoke up again, changing the subject, “Anyways, thoughts on whom you wish to summon next?” Before she could even reply that she hadn’t actually thought about it yet, another voice cut in, “Oh, oh! Me, me sweetheart! I’m dying to come over there!” She looked a little surprised before she let out a chuckle, “Azzy? I’m surprised it took you so long to say anything.” “Solomon said if I bothered him too much, he’d use the pact to make me sit in the corner in silence!” the fifth born complained loudly, making her chuckle some more, “You poor thing. I can’t imagine you being forced to stay quiet for so long.” Solomon sighed and with a few indistinguishable noises and a muttered, “Get off of me already, Asmo,” he resumed talking to Elizabeth, “So, before he complains more, you should probably contact whoever you wanted next.” She pretended to hum and really ponder her choice as she heard Asmodeus continue to whine in a cute pouty voice, Don’t you want the Avatar of Lust with you? How could anyone else compare to-, really “torturing” the poor demon before she finally announced, “No, actually Azzy was next on my list.” “I was thinking of him next before he spoke up.” She lied. You know, like a liar. But she knew the strawberry blonde wouldn’t like to know that she hadn’t thought to summon him until he spoke up, even if it was just because she hadn’t thought about any of the others yet. There was a happy squeal from said demon, much to both humans’ displeasure as Elizabeth flinched and held the D.D.D. at arm’s length, “Ok, ok Azzy. Please spare mine and Solomon’s eardrums.” She protested. Her ears were ringing slightly. She could only imagine how bad Solomon’s had to be, right next to the source. “I cannot wait, Liz hun! I’m going to take you shopping and we’ll find the cutest things for you to wear, and you absolutely must model them for me!” Ignoring her protests, the fifth born went off on a tirade about what he wanted to do with her. Solomon hadn’t said anything yet, likely still recovering from the destruction of his ears. “Ok, Asmo, how about less talking about what you want to do and more getting ready to come here?” She then tried to interrupt him. “Oh, you’re so right! Solomon! Hurry up and get the ritual ready!” There was some sounds of repeated movement and she definitely caught the sorcerer grumbling and complaining at the demon’s treatment of him before he finally spoke up so she could hear him, “Give us a moment to get ready, Liz.” She sat back on her couch, idly watching the time tick up on the call timer as she listened to various noises of movement and the continuous chatter from the excited demon. Through it all, another voice spoke up to her in a sleepy, almost bored sounding tone, “Jeez, when are you going to call for me? Or are you too scared to because of that dumb game?” She sat up in surprise, “Oh, Belphie?” she asked before making a small noise and pressing her lips together, “I’m not scared. Well, no that’s a slight lie. It’s more like I’m a bit worried that’s all.” She admitted, “But, if you’d like, you can go next. It’ll probably be tonight after Azzy’s gone.” There wasn’t an immediate response from him, just talking at a distance from Asmodeus and other sounds. Finally, he spoke again, “Don’t worry about it if you’re scared. I’m sure we can get you here without my pact.” She tsked and quickly responded before he could leave, “No, no, I want to meet you face to face, Belphie. What better way to face those stupid worries than head on? Besides, you want to come, don’t you?” Another pause. Then he replied, “Yeah. Sure. Remind me in five hours then.” Shortly after that response, and before she could say anything more, Solomon’s voice spoke up, at a distance like Asmodeus, “We’re ready. Tell me when you are, Liz.” She stood up, letting out a breath before closing her eyes to think of the strawberry blonde demon’s face before replying in a decently loud voice for the sorcerer’s poor ears, “Ok, I’m ready!” Once more, another quiet moment. However this felt more like the silence before the storm, considering, before she even opened her eyes, she felt a body weight launch into her, knocking her back onto the couch with a wheeze, the body in question squealing and cooing happily over her. “Jesus fuck, Azzy.” She breathed out between crushed breaths, her hands pushing firmly at him to ease the weight off of her, though she didn’t push him entirely off, “At least warn me before you attack.” “I simply couldn’t help it, darling!” he simply replied, resting his chin on her chest and giving her a cheeky grin. She huffed, catching her breath as she heard over the still going phone call, “Don’t break her, Asmo. Or everyone here will break you.” From the sleepy seventh born. “Oh Belphie, I’d never do anything she didn’t enjoy.” Her current companion cooed in response, winking at her as she rolled her eyes in response. She reached a hand over the demon on top of her, speaking as she hovered over the end call button, “Right, well, I’ll talk to you guys in about five hours, right?” Solomon’s voice spoke up this time, “Of course. Enjoy yourself, Liz.” And with a goodbye to them both, she tapped the screen and set the D.D.D. down. She glanced at the demon who seemed to have his full attention on her. Now without the distraction of talking to the others, she became keenly aware of the other’s touch on her. His body was still mostly on top of her with one of his hands gently resting on her waist and the other lightly dragging along one of her arms, and that chin still resting on the cushion that was her chest. Despite being the Avatar of Lust, his touch felt awfully chaste, though it was that very feeling of being touched just for the sake of contact that made her cheeks heat up. “A-Azzy, you can get off now. We can’t go anywhere if you’re on top of me.” She said, willing the blush she knew the demon could clearly see to go away. He pouted up at her but surprisingly didn’t complain. Rather, he pushed himself up to a sitting position besides her and took one of her hands in his own, palm to palm and intertwined their fingers, “Pact first, darling!” he declared. She raised her brow, pulling herself up into a sitting position as well with his assistance, “Already?” “Well, we certainly could do this while we’re shopping-“ “No wait, you’re right. I live in an area that’s more religious than they need to be. It will not go over well if I did something like this in public.” “Not to mention I want to see the pact! And I don’t mind seeing skin even in public, but I don’t think you want to show off.” She winced, “Yeah, you’re right.” She pushed her lips together for a moment before asking, “Its not going to be a tramp stamp, is it?” He shrugged in return, “The location of pact marks differs from pact holder to pact holder.” That didn’t alleviate any of her worries about the mark. “Right… ok, go ahead and start then.” He grinned brightly at her, his hand still gently holding her’s the lover’s hold, unlike all the others she had made pacts with. He spoke out his words in that low tone, though it sounded odd combined with his higher pitched voice. Like his throat wasn’t made to speak in that language. She recited her part a beat after he finished, shuddering in her seat a little as her eyes widened once she realized where the tingling stopped on her body. She immediately glared the cheery demon boy down, “Asmo…” she grumbled. “Literally the one place I said I didn’t want it to be and it just so happens to end up there?” she asked him. His face somehow brightened up even more, “Oh. My. Diavolo. Is it a tramp stamp?!” he asked, far too excited for her liking. She sighed, releasing his hand as she stood up, tugging her shirt up with a hand and twisting her head around in hopes of seeing the mark that had settled right on her lower back, just a few inches above her pant line. Asmodeus giggled happily, his hand pulling his D.D.D. out to snap a picture as he held up her shirt a bit better with his other hand, surprisingly careful not to touch her skin. Tempted to stop him, she relented, allowing the photo before swiftly tugging her clothing back down to prevent more than one. “Don’t you dare send that to anyone, Asmo.” She immediately warned him, “And let me see it please? I’m not flexible enough to see it by myself.” He glanced up from the photo to wink at her, “Oh, we can work on your flexibility, darling.” Ignoring the flirting, she sat back down to tug his wrist over, looking at the mark in the picture. It was a front facing scorpion with a twin set of symmetrical tails and it’s beady little eyes hidden in its large pincers and pink in coloring. Looking at it for a moment, she pondered what it reminded her of before it came to her suddenly. She snapped a finger and declared, “Its in the same shape as a uterus.” He snickered besides her, “Really? A scorpion reminds you of that?” he asked her, wiggling his brows at her as she blushed slightly. She released his wrist to shove his face away from her a bit, “Anyways.” She started, clearing her throat, “I know you want to go shopping, but I’m not rich or anything to I can’t buy a ton of things.” She then warned him. He scoffed at her, pausing as he took her own wrist in his hand and lightly kissed her palm, “You talk as if you’ll be paying for anything, sweetheart.” She frowned at him, doing her best to ignore his flirtatious nature for the moment, “Asmo, I don’t think any cards from your universe are going to work in mine. The accounts they're connected to don’t exist here.” He gave her a melodious laugh before continuing to nuzzle into her hand as he spoke, “Of course those probably won’t work here. You use US currency, right?” he then asked. Without waiting, he used his free hand to pull out his wallet from his pocket, finally releasing her hand to whip out the multitude of green bills and handed them to her, “The moment we realized that we’d be coming here to you, I had some money exchanged for the right currency.” She could see that, even with the surprisingly large wad in her hand, he still had more in that wallet. Peeking at the bills, she balked and unabashedly gaped her mouth, “Asmodeus. These bills are hundred dollar bills. Wait, these few are thousand denominations. How did you even get those? I’m pretty sure those are discontinued.” He just smiled at her, pushing her hand back at she tried to give them back, “Oh, this is nothing. Keep it! I know you could use it!” She just stared at him, holding the money that she had to wonder was real. For a moment, she wondered if she really did have a reality break that first night with Lucifer and it was still going. Finally, she just sighed and muttered, “Fucking rich people.” ~~~~~ 
Leviathan
 Hey, I just finished what you gave me for Ouran.Normally I don’t ask for spoilers but I didn’t see a season two.Haruhi and Tamaki end up together right?!Because clearly they should’ve kissed in that carriage scene!But they didn’t!Though I guess I can see Haruhi ending up with Hikaru too. Hahah.Feel the pain of hundreds of thousands of fans who are still hoping for a season two. Really? It’s in production hell?!

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The car ride over was filled with Asmodeus’ excited, endless chatter. She didn’t get a chance to get a word in until she had finally parked the car. Granted, it was only about a fifteen-minute drive. She reached over and pressed a few fingers to his lips to hush him long enough to talk, “Azzy, I’m just going to warn you ahead of time, this is a relatively small city. You’re not going to find any fancy boutique places here.” He scoffed under her fingers, “I can work with what I’ll get, darling.” Giving a few kisses to each finger tip on his mouth, he added, “Besides, even if we don’t find much here, I can just go all out when you come to Devildom!” She sighed softly, pulling her fingers away from his mouth to prevent more of his idle affections, stepping out of the car with him quick to follow suit. “Anyways, this is the largest shopping mall we have around here. It’s not going to be very big compared to larger cities’ malls.” He hummed in acknowledgment, his hand swiftly snaking over to intertwine fingers with her own as he slipped up next to her while they made their way to the entrance. She glanced down where their hands connected for a second, raising her brow, but didn’t pull away. She didn’t want to let go of his hand despite being in a public space and she wasn’t quite sure why she felt that way. It was a weekend afternoon, so the place was populated, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing for her or not. She could only hope they didn’t see anyone she knew. “So what shops do you normally go to?” the strawberry blonde demon asked her as they walked into the building. She motioned with her free hand to two shops across from each other; the names rhymed with “Pot Socket” and “Denver’s.” “I’ve always preferred t-shirts and darker clothing.” She explained as he glanced into each store section, “Though I guess I’m not opposed to brighter colors. I just don’t like pastel stuff.” Asmodeus pressed his lips together for a moment before tugging at her hand, “We’ll come back to them then. For now, I want to see what other places this mall has.” She nodded, easily relenting to his whims. The two of them moved through the wide corridor, occasionally pressing into each other to avoid other groups of people as she pointed out every clothing orientated store. Eventually, they found themselves right where they started, the mall just one large circle to loop in. Having seen all the options, the demon was quick to tug her into the most expensive store, which really wasn’t saying much, but it was also the largest one. She was mostly quiet after showing him everywhere, allowing him to pull ahead of her slightly as he kept a firm grip on her hand while they walked, which allowed her to idly observe the demon in his element; the shopping center. The moment they reached the women’s section, however, he released her hand, quickly diving into various blouses, shirts, pants, and other clothing, occasionally turning to her to press them against her body to check how’d they look. Still, she didn’t say much, opting to just watch him do his work as he chatted away about what colors would match best with her hair, or something she wasn’t quite following. Each piece of clothing that got pressed to her was either placed back in disapproval, or placed onto her arms in approval. Finally after a sizable pile was collected in her arms, he nudged her over to the fitting rooms, “Now, try those on for me, won’t you sweetheart?” he asked her. She pressed her lips together firmly, “All of this? This is a lot, Azzy.” “You’ll be fine! I’ll be right here for you!” She sighed, resigning herself to her fate, though before she claimed a room, she managed to tug out her original phone and handed it to Asmodeus, “I don’t really want anyone watching me get changed.” She muttered in explanation before closing the door. A few moments later, she came out in the first outfit Asmodeus had prepared, said demon looking quite pleased as he pressed both hands together, “Oh you look so pretty in that, darling!” he cooed. He motioned with his hand for her to twirl for him, a command she followed as she awkwardly twiddled her fingers together. It was hard to accept compliments for her, and Asmodeus seemed to have a never ending supply of them for her. If he noticed her awkward response to each compliment, he seemed to only respond by piling more and more on her, as if believing exposure therapy would fix the problem. After the third or fourth outfit she modelled for him (she lost count at this point), she came out to Asmodeus joined with a middle-aged woman, one she had recognized as also had been using one of the fitting rooms. The two were happily chatting away about fashion when Elizabeth had opened the door, though the demon’s attention quickly snapped back to her, “Red makes you look gorgeous!” he declared, his new conversation partner clapping her hands together, “Oh yes, your girlfriend is such a lovely young woman!” Elizabeth’s cheeks flushed brightly at the woman’s words as Asmodeus quickly turned back to the other with a bright grin, “Isn’t she? She’s the loveliest around, just after myself, of course.” He cheerfully declared, making the middle-aged woman chuckle, looking between the two knowingly, “Young love is so nice.” Elizabeth coughed and pressed a hand to her cheek in a vain attempt to hide her face, “I, I’m going to try on the next outfit.” she said quickly, turning right back into the room to cool her face. The demon’s conversational partner only stayed for a few more outfits afterwards, offering even more compliments, though her’s were more so geared to how good the two looked together or how well Asmodeus seemed to treat his “girlfriend.” She couldn’t bring herself to correct the woman’s assumption, but more so because she wasn’t quite sure what their relationship was at this point. Finally, having shown off the last pieces he had picked out for her, she changed back to her original clothing. Asmodeus left for a moment to, in his own words, “find her some special pieces,” so she was alone while she gave the reject pile of clothing to an attendant. Turning around to wait for her partner to return by the fitting rooms, she nearly ran into someone, grunting as she stepped back, “Oohp, sorry.” She apologized without thinking. She glanced up to see who she ran into just as he decided to speak, “Finally stopped moping and hiding away in your house, Liz?” She grimaced at she glared at the taller man, “Did you need something, Colin?” she asked coldly, crossing her arms as she leaned away from him. He stared down at her with a cocky smirk and idly all she could think was that Lucifer wore the smirk better. “I’m just surprised the hermit came out to go shopping. I thought you hated people. Or wait, you called it depression, right?” He took a step closer to her and she took a step away, trying to keep him out of her space. Before she could retort back, though, both shuddered. The air felt like it had suddenly dropped a couple dozen degrees and she felt like she had just been dunked into an ice bath. Glancing to her side, she spotted the demon she had been waiting on, though his eyes were deadly cold as they glared at the man in front of her. Asmodeus approached the two of them, a cool smile on his lips though his tone was frigid as he spoke up, “What business do you have with my darling?” he asked, emphasizing his term of endearment. Colin couldn’t seem to reply, frozen in place by the demon’s glare as he stared back with wide, fearful eyes. Elizabeth was the first one to move, pressing her hands against Asmodeus’ arm and tugging at him a little, “Azzy,” she spoke in a quick whisper to him, “Remember, he’s human. Tone. It. Down.” His eyes darted to her, immediately softening as he looked at her, “Shall we go pay then, darling?” he simply asked, now ignoring the still frozen man, and wrapping his arm around her to pull her away. “Of course, of course.” She smiled at the fifth born, turning to tug him away from the confrontation. At that moment, Colin seemed to pull himself out of his dread to speak again, “Didn’t realize you were dating, Lizzy.” She flinched slightly, but turned her head to glance back at him. Before she could reply, Asmodeus did it for her, “It’s none of your business if my sweetheart found someone better than you.” With that retort, he pulled her away before she could say anything more, the two heading to the register. She waited until she was out of earshot before she hissed, “What in the hell were you talking about, Asmo? He doesn’t want to date me; he hates my guts.” He gave her a look of disbelief, “Liz. I could feel the lust radiating off him in waves. If Levi was here, he’d probably have a field day with his envy.” She blinked in surprise at him, “What?” Instead of further explaining, however, the fifth born shoved the pieces of clothing in his arm not around her towards her, which she hadn’t noticed until he had done so, “More importantly, look what I got you!” She flushed immediately, unable to handle the sudden topic change, especially when it was colorful sets of lingerie he was showing off to her, “A-Azzy, I’m not modeling those for you!” “Oh, it doesn’t have to be here, silly. We can do that at home!” was his reply, hardly assisting the bright red on her cheeks. Her face remained red as he paid for everything, lingerie included, and she couldn’t look the cashier in the eye as Asmodeus gushed about how eager he was to see her wear everything while handing over his cash. Finally, with clothing in bags around their wrists (thankfully not made of transparent material), they headed out of the store. She cleared her throat, feeling the warmth on her face cool a bit as she spoke up, “Do you want to head to the food court for some food?” He cooed, slipping his arm around her own, “Definitely, hun. Time for a lunch break!” It was only after they had picked their food of choice and found a table to settle at, did she bring up, “You’re not going to ask about him?” Asmodeus glanced at her, “I assume you mean the thing that was leering at you?” She tilted her head, “Leering? Actually, you mentioned before that he was full of lust for me, right? Are you really sure about that? Because he’s hated me for decades now.” He scoffed, his expression souring a bit, “Hun, he can hate you all he wants. His desire for you is disgustingly strong.” His gaze softened a little as he looked back into her eyes, “I won’t ask if you don’t want to talk about it.” She grimaced, “Well… let’s just say lots of people know each other in this city. And people either don’t go far when they leave their parents’ nest, or they go far, far away.” She paused between the fries she was eating, speaking a faint tone, “I hope he doesn’t go blabbing to Madre.” Of course, her current companion wasn’t human so he easily caught what she said, “Will it be a problem if he does?” he asked a dangerous light in his eyes, “I can make sure he’s unable to say anything. Ever.” She panicked a little, “No, no, it’ll be fine. He probably won’t even say anything to her. I mean, did you see his face?” she was quick to assure him, offering a small smile. “More importantly, I noticed you’re not only fine with calling me your girlfriend, but enthusiastically embraced the term?” His expression quickly changed to a bright grin once more, “Of course! I almost love you as much as I love myself after all!” After a moment, however, his face fell a bit, “Unless, you didn’t like it? I’m sorry I didn’t ask if you liked it before…” She blushed and waved a hand reassuringly, “No, no! I mean, I, ah…” she stuttered and avoided his eyes, “I don’t mind it. I guess, erm, I guess I didn’t know what exactly our relationship was.” She played with one of her last fries between two fingers, “Actually, I guess I don’t know where I stand with everyone, now that I think about it. A bunch of you keep saying you love me, but wouldn’t it be unfair for me to… erm… love more than one of you guys?” she fumbled with her words. Asmodeus snatched away that fry between her fingers, cheekily eating it as she protested, “Darling, we all adore you. I promise you that we’re all happy to be whatever it is you want to be with us. If you want to date more then one of us, we’ll be happy to make it work.” He then winked at her, “Polyamory is common amongst demons. And Solomon certainly doesn’t mind. And I’m willing to bet Grimm that Simeon won’t mind either.” Instead of continuing to be flustered, she pondered over his words, “I guess I’ve never really given thought to loving multiple people… but I’m not against the idea.” She finally hummed, pulling herself back out of her mind to find the rest of her fries gone, “Hey! Those were mine, you thief!”

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It was the multiple messages from his brothers that alerted Asmodeus to Elizabeth’s predicament. Just the spamming from Mammon, there’s some douchebag harassing her, Asmo, get your ass back to her!!, was enough to cause him worry as he immediately spun around and beelined right for the fitting rooms where he had left his precious human. 
He didn’t really care about the things his brothers were saying about them. Sure, he’d noticed for a while now that every conversation, every hug, every touch, felt just the slightest bit… empty. It didn’t matter though. He always had himself. No one could be more perfect than himself.
 He could feel his sin before he spotted the man leering over his precious one. The first moment he spotted the threat, his gaze hardened to the iciest glare he could muster as his heart grew cold with a fear he didn't realize he had. Not just because Elizabeth looked far too uncomfortable with the man’s presence, but for reasons he didn’t want to think about. 
Others' touch always felt empty to him. After all, he was perfect unlike everyone else. Everyone could only wish to be him, to be with him. They always wanted his body. Sure, they- that person, that thing, never tried to sleep with him. Never really sought him out for his body. And sure, it felt nice to think that they were content with his mind alone, but wasn’t it all fake anyways? The one person he thought didn’t desire him for what was between his legs alone; wasn’t that just a stupid lie?
 Even as he dragged Elizabeth away, he ignored the small voice at the back of his mind. The one that worried she’d end up wanting someone more like her. Someone human. After all, as perfect as he was, he was still a demon. So many humans were terrified of him before he even opened his mouth. 
He can just continue his life. Even with the interruptions forcing him to act out those scenes. He didn’t want to admit it, but the actions that used to warm his heart fed into the cold feeling in his chest. He wasn’t sure what that feeling was. Surely it wasn’t loneliness. It couldn’t possibly be loneliness. Even still, he went out every night, found himself company every night he could, hoping it would fill his chest with warmth once more.
 After they finished eating, every chance he could, he found some way to keep physical contact with her. Holding hands, an arm around her waist, a light brush to her arm, resting his cheek against her shoulder as she led him through her own favorite store; it didn’t matter as long as he was touching her. He knew she was touch starved; the fact that she unconsciously leading into his touch told him that. He just hoped that if he kept giving her what she wanted, she wouldn’t forget about any of them. That she wouldn’t forget about him. 
It wasn’t until Solomon dragged him to the castle to show him the source of that… thing, did he give just a little acknowledgement to the feeling. There was a pang in his chest as he watched the girl on the magical screen, but the first few days, he didn’t want to care. He remained indifferent. He ignored his own desire to meet her, because what would the chance be that she’d love him.
 It was the warm laughter from her as they headed back to her car that filled his chest with warmth; that eased the worry he refused to show or acknowledge. It was the gentle smile she gave as she earnestly thanked him for shopping with her that day that made his heart pound. It was the firm hug she pulled him into just before his five hours were up that made it a little harder to breathe. 
She found such enjoyment in the little game that cursed them. But it wasn’t enjoyment in the curse, no, he could tell that she felt a little less lonely whenever she had her attention glued to her phone. He could tell that she sought to fill the emptiness like he wanted to. It may be with a different method, but maybe if she was here, he could give her what she wanted. Surely, giving her everything she’d want would be exactly what he needed.
 … Five hours wasn’t enough time. He wanted all of her time. He wanted her to come back with him to Devildom. He wanted to keep holding onto her until he was dragged back and take her with him. But he didn’t want to admit that he was feeling as greedy as Mammon had to feel. No, he would just have to be patient. He knew the others would find a way. He knew the desire for her that he felt from everyone else would find a way.

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Elizabeth set all the clothing Asmodeus had insisted on buying for her in her bedroom, not bothering to put them away yet as she kept her D.D.D. propped between her chin and her shoulder. She was in a call with Solomon and the others with him, trying her best to soothe several frazzled demons (or other species). “Like I told Azzy, he’s just someone I went to school with that’s always hated me.” She explained with a sigh to the loudest voice, “He’s never done anything to really worry about though, Mammon. Just a bunch of stupid, pathetic harassment, some hair pulling when we were kids, and some dumb notes he’d always pass me back during classes.” “I don’t care, don’t let him come near you! Asmo said he could feel him dripping with lust and humans do stupid shit all the time.” Mammon exclaimed into Solomon’s D.D.D., likely having commandeered it from the sorcerer. “Mammon, she is human, dumbass.” Belphegor grumbled before growling, “She should be more worried that he’s an idiot like you. Idiots do stupid shit all the time.” She frowned, “Mammon’s not as dumb as this guy is. This guy doesn’t have the intelligence to do something I should be worried about. Plus he's too scared of doing anything while he attends the same church that mi Madre does.” She explained, “If anything I should be more worried about him spreading shit tomorrow when he goes to service.” “You don’t attend this service, right? We’ve never seen you go to any religious event.” Simeon’s voice took her by surprise, since he hadn’t said anything up to this point, “Ah, no. I stopped following mi Madre’s catholic religion a while ago. Got a bit of flack when I declared myself as agnostic.” “What would she do if she hears about this?” Solomon asked in a calm tone. She didn’t reply right away, thinking of the many things that woman would most certainly do. “Nothing, really. Just yell at me probably.” She pathetically muttered out a lie before they grew too concerned. “Don’t worry about it.” She then added, “I’m an adult, I can handle myself. It’s not like this world had any demons that want to eat me, or monsters.” She gave them a weak chuckle at her lame attempt at a joke. They didn’t laugh. Instead, Simeon responded with, “My dear, the monsters in your world may not be demons and creatures, but they can still hurt you. You should be careful.” “Indeed. We don’t even know if your pacts can summon any of the demons if you end up in trouble in your world. As it stands, if something happens to you while none of us are with you, we won’t be able to help you.” Solomon then offered, “Please be careful.” She sighed, rubbing her arms to keep her hands occupied as she sat on her bed and stared at the wall, “Okay, okay, I promise I’ll be as careful as I can.” She assured them, “Besides, Azzy’s the one who basically confirmed to Colin that we were a thing. And practically snapped his spine with his eyes alone. Why yell at me about it?” Asmodeus scoffed and complained in the background of the call, “He needed to know to back off! If I hadn’t done that, he’d think he’d still have a chance.” Though it sounded like her most recent pact giver was trying to defend himself to the others rather than to her. Largely ignoring the fifth born’s complaining, Solomon responded to her, “We’re not yelling at you, we’re just worried. Can you blame us? Other than the ritual, we’re practically powerless over here when it comes to you.” She glanced down at her hands as her fingers moved to pick at her nails, “Sure. Sorry. I’m just… not used to there being people that worry about me, I guess.” She sighed. She wanted to move past this conversation, though, so she quickly added, “Anyways! Can we do the ritual already? I already decided on Belphie next, and I’ll need to get everything ready before the sun sets.” There was some sort of loud conversation in the background on their side of the call between Asmodeus and Mammon, though they sounded far enough away that she could only pick out the occasional word. Solomon, and likely Simeon and Belphegor, were already ignoring them. “What are you preparing?” the cynical cow demon in question asked. She tsked in response, glad he took the bait for the topic change, “You’ll have to come here and find out.” She hummed out happily. Someone sighed on the other end of the call before Solomon spoke up once more, “Alright, we’ll get ready then. Stand by.” She set her D.D.D. down as she ruffled through one of the many bags of clothing currently on the ground while she waited, half listening to the argument the second and fifth born were still having in the background. “Why do you get to say you’re her boyfriend?! You weren’t even with her when that sleazebag came up on her!” “I didn’t see you there either! And she said she didn’t mind dating me!” “I wasn’t even in the same universe! And she said she wanted to date all of us-“ Solomon’s voice interrupted her “eavesdropping” on the two, “Alright, we’re ready. Let me know when you’re ready.” She hummed, repeating her own little ritual for the process before letting the other know that she was ready. This time, she felt a body land on the bed next to her before she opened her eyes, glancing over to the sleepy looking demon. Of course, he brought his own pillow with him. Was he ever without it? She chuckled softly as she spoke into the call, “He’s been delivered alive and in one piece.” She declared, “Good work as always, wizard boy.” Said wizard boy scoffed, “Glad to hear it. I’ll let you go before those two idiots back there do something stupid.” “Who are you calling an idio-“ Click. The call ended before whoever was indignantly shouting could finish. Now in silence, Elizabeth glanced over at the demon who looked like he had already fallen asleep. Reaching over to wake him, her hand hesitated over his head, a bit of doubt creeping into her heart for a moment. “You can touch me.” Belphegor said without even opening his eyes. She gasped softly before clicking her tongue and finally resting her hand on his head, settling her fingers between his dark locks, “I didn’t ask to bring you here so you could fall asleep on me less than a minute in.” she complained. She could feel him leaning into her touch as she played with his hair a bit, “I’m not asleep.” Was his simple response. She huffed in return before removing her hand to tug at his sleeve, “Then come on. You can help me get what we need.” He opened an eye at this, raising hie brow at her, “For what exactly?” “Just help me out.” Was her reply as she stood up, taking her D.D.D. with her, but leaving her phone on her bed for the time being for their privacy. Not wanting to chance him actually falling asleep, she tugged at his arms until he finally relented and stood up as well, following her to her closet. She tugged out a large, thick blanket, stuffing into the other’s arms to hold before dragging him to the kitchen next, glancing out the window as they walked, “The sun should be setting soon. We should be able to start seeing stars by the top of the hour.” She wasn’t facing him, but she could hear him perk up as he asked, “Stars? So, we’re going to look at the stars?” She nodded as she riffled through her cupboard until she found her hot chocolate packets. She was far too lazy to make it homemade. “I believe Devildom’s stars are different than the human world’s stars, right? I don’t know if my universe’s sky will be the same as the human world from your universe, but it’s worth a look.” She said while whipping out two mugs, “Do you like hot chocolate?” she asked him. He nodded, looking over the mass of blanket in his arms as she filled the two mugs, which read “Either Let Me Drink My Coffee or Give Me a Shovel” and “You Call Them Swear Words, I Call Them Sentence Enhancers,” with milk and warmed it in her microwave. She continued, “The sky here is really clear too. Since it’s not a super populated place so there isn’t a ton of pollution.” Finishing up their drinks, she led him out the back door to her backyard, setting down the mugs on the flattest bit of ground she could find before taking the blanket back. Spreading it out for them, she tugged at the corners to give them plenty of room, the sun’s last rays of light turning the sky a brilliant gradient of oranges and reds. Finally, she settled herself on her side of the fabric, patting the spot next to her to invite him to join her as she picked up the mugs again. As she gave him his drink, she spoke up, “I have a confession: I don’t actually know a ton of constellations. I never was one to go out at night. Or much at all, really.” Belphegor settled himself next to her, turned slightly in her direction as he took a sip of the warm sweet drink before replying, “That’s fine. Which ones do you know?” She hummed, glancing up, “The Big and Little Dipper. Orion’s Belt.” She motioned to the first star to show up, “And the North Star. Although that one is more so for survival purposes. You know, in case I, the hermit that never leaves home, ends up stranded somewhere or in the middle of the ocean.” She smirked a little as she kept her eyes up at the sky. He glanced up with her, “We’ll have to wait a little longer, but if this sky is the same, I can show you a few more.” She perked up, taking a swig of her own hot chocolate to fight off the slight chill in the air as day settled into night. “Am I one of the people you wanted to love?” he suddenly asked, causing her to choke on her drink. She coughed thanks to the liquid that went down the wrong pipe and hit her chest a few times before she looked at him. The demon that surprised her was staring intently at her, making her flush slightly under the gaze, “You’re one of the last people I’d expect to ask that.” She replied, “I would’ve thought you’d wait for me to come to you about the subject.” He just looked at her for a moment before finally looking away to the sky, “I didn’t think you’d want to be alone with me.” He replied simply. She didn’t need any other words to know what he was talking about. She set her mug down and rested her arms over her legs as she leaned forward, “Well, you haven’t given me a reason to not bring you over.” “Plus, the others know what you… could do to me, and yet none of them have brought up any protests to me calling you here. Other then Mammon’s dog jealousy, anyways.” She then continued, “I’ll admit though, it’s pretty dumb of me to just… allow you to be alone with me. I just… I guess I just want to trust you. Inevitably, it’s up to you to prove to me whether my trust was misplaced or not.” He hugged the pillow in his lap, quiet for a few moments before replying, “You’re almost as dumb as Mammon.” She clicked her tongue in disapproval at his words, but he continued before she could retort, “It’s fine. Just make sure you’re not dumb enough to trust any of those idiots in this world that actually will hurt you.” She rolled her eyes, “I’ve gone twenty-six years without letting an idiot into my personal life and this town is full of them. I think I know how to keep them at arm’s length.” He tilted his head for a moment, as if thinking over her words, “Including your bedroom?” At that question, she blushed slightly and avoided his face, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she huffed. He wasn’t fooled by her tough façade though, “Really? Never slept with anyone?” Her cheeks were growing warmer as she rested her hand against her cheek to hide them, pretending she was just leaning against it, “Shut up. The choices here aren’t great and whenever there was someone I was interested in that way, mi Madre was the world’s best cockblocker.” “Well, at least I know that she’s not a complete and utter bitch if she saved you from being with someone who didn’t deserve you.” He replied, smirking at her as she finally glanced back at him in surprise, “Strong words for someone who’s never met her.” She pressed her lips together for a moment, “And hopefully never will. I don’t think any of you guys would have enough patience to deal with her without it getting… out of control.” “From the phone calls we’ve seen you have with her before we contacted you, I’d say you’re right.” He grumbled, digging his fingers into his pillow a bit as she flinched, “Right… there were a few calls.” She muttered back. She cleared her throat, “I wouldn’t worry about her. And tell the others not to worry about her either. I mean, I won’t have to deal with her once I leave, right?” she then spoke up, offering him a small smile. He frowned a bit, “But what about until we get you there? Don’t you still have to deal with her?” She shrugged nonchalantly, “It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I can manage it. It’s not like she’ll come over just to… never mind.” She shut down that thought process quickly before she spewed out things that she didn’t want him to know, “Weren’t you going to show me the stars? They’re out now.” He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicion and concern on his face as he ignored her question, “Just to what?” he asked, “What does she do to you?” She turned her face to the sky, trying to ignore the question, “Let’s see, there’s the North Star, so I should be able to find the Little Dipper with that.” He reached out and firmly gripped her wrist to pull her attention back to him, “Elizabeth. What does she do?” he asked again, the slightest growl in his voice. She swallowed, doing her best to avoid his gaze as she bit her lip, “Don’t worry about it Belphie. It hasn’t happened since I moved out.” She replied, refusing to name actions she didn’t want to think about. After a moment of tense silence between them, she finally took a deep breath and looked back into his purple eyes, resting her free hand on his grip, “Look, I promise I’ll be fine until we can get me over to Devildom. I just… don’t want to talk about it, ok?” He glanced between her hand and her eyes, taking her in for a moment before finally relaxing. However, instead of letting go of her wrist, he slipped his hand over until his palm was pressed against her's, “Then accept my pact. I’ll feel better if I was connected to you.” She gave him a smile, squeezing his hand in her’s, “Of course. I was waiting for you to offer it, after all.” He just grunted in response before he spoke the guttural phrase on his part, glancing at her when it was her turn. A few words later, and a very familiar tingling sensation later, she released his hand to tug up the hem of her shirt slightly. Settled on the lower left side of her stomach was a front facing bull with large horns and closed eyes. She hummed happily as she brushed the tips of her fingers against the deep, royal purple color, “I always knew you were a cow demon.” She snickered, pleased that he was too busy shuddering from her touch to the mark to reply to her. She took his hand back in her own after pulling her shirt down to avoid the slight chill in the air, “Now, will you teach me some constellations, or am I going to have to make some up and butcher then in front of you?” He tsked at her, though his hand gently squeezed her’s, the demon pointing up to the sky, “Fine. Firstly, the Little Dipper you pointed out is usually called Ursa Minor.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Next to Ursa Minor, you can find Draco. There halfway wrapped over the end that doesn’t have the North Star. It’s kind of hard to see because many of the stars that make it up are dim.” Belphegor explained. His hand had migrated from holding Elizabeth’s hand, to wrapping loosely around her shoulder as she leaned against him. She didn’t want to tell the demon, but she was steadily losing the contest with her will to stay awake. He seemed too focused on pointing out the stars, however, to notice her dropping eyes. It was only after she had stifled her third yawn, did he acknowledge her current predicament. “You can go to sleep.” He said, not even looking at her. She frowned and pressed her cheek against his shoulders, “But the stars. I want to learn about them. Besides, you’re cute when you’re excited about something, and I don’t want to miss that.” Despite her drowsiness, she didn’t miss the slight blush she managed to put on his face. He scoffed at her, pretending that he wasn’t affected by her words, “Just go to sleep.” She pouted and turned her head to bury it into his neck, muttering out, “But there’s so much I have bring inside and it’s not like I work tomorrow.” She pulled her head away to glare up at him, “Is this some sort of sin temptation thing for you?” she then asked, “Are you doing this for some sort of self-satisfaction?” He gave her a confused look, “Self-satisfaction? What are you talking about? I can induce my sin in humans, but that’s when I have power. This world makes it hard to do anything here.” She avoided his eyes, “Ah, right. That was a fanfiction I read once.” She muttered before sitting up. Or rather, she tried to. Belphegor quickly pulled her back down before she could go anywhere, pressing her against his chest, “I said go to sleep. I can take care of this.” She whined again, “But it’s cold out here.” He sighed, seemingly thinking for a moment before he pushed himself up to stand. Once up, he suddenly dipped down and slipped his hands under her body, lifting her with surprising ease as she yelped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling. “Warn me when you do that!” she complained as he adjusted her so she could also wrap her legs around his torso, her front pressed against his front and his hands under her thighs. He just grunted a small noise back to her, carrying her into the house and leaving everything outside to her annoyance, “At least let me hold everything.” He nipped at her neck in response, since his hands were occupied, “I’ll get them after I put you in bed.” He said simply, smirking from the embarrassed noise she made in surprise from the playful bite. He carried her right to her room, unceremoniously dumping her onto her bed before grinning, “You have until I get back to change into your pajamas because I’m not letting you go afterwards.” He warned before spinning on his heel and heading back out of the room to ignore any of her protests. She didn’t move right away, a little slow on the uptake since she was still pretty drowsy. Finally, she pulled herself off the bed and, after moving her phone to her side table to charge for the night, she grabbed a change of clothing and slipped into the bathroom. He was on her bed when she came back out, the D.D.D. she had forgotten outside right next to her phone and connected to its own charge cord. The sloth demon already looked like he was asleep on her bed, but as she approached, he reached out his hand and firmly tugged her into the bed with him while she let out a surprised yelp. “Fuck, Belphie, don’t ambush me like that.” She grumbled. She tried to adjust herself as best she could, but his arm was like a vice grip around her waist, so she settled for having him pressed against her chest. “Be happy I waited until you came out to drag you to bed.” He replied simply. She wrapped her arms loosely around him, lightly running her fingers against his back as she huffed in response, but didn’t say anything. Of course, now that she was in bed, she didn’t feel as sleepy as she had outside. “Belphie.” She started with a soft voice, waiting for a small sound of acknowledgement from the demon before she continued, “Have any of you in Devildom given thought to what’s going to happen to me when I do get over there?” He didn’t respond right away, making her wonder if he fell asleep while thinking of a response. Finally, his voice spoke up against her neck, “The others have been talking about it. Most of them want to leave most of what happens to you up to you. I know Lord Diavolo already had a house in the Human World for you, if you’d rather stay there, but all my brothers think you should stay in our home.” “And what do you want?” she asked curiously. He paused again, though she felt it was because he was reluctant to give words to his feelings, “I’d like you to stay with us.” He then whispered. She continued to rub his back, hmming back to him in response as her thoughts continued to wander. Finally, she brought up another question, “Another thing. This is just hypothetical, of course, but what will everyone do if we really can’t get me to Devildom? Or, say, if we find out that bringing me to another universe that isn’t my own is, I don’t know, bad for my health?” The demon suddenly tensed and tightened his grip around her. She could feel the frown against her neck as she tried to soothe him with those back rubs, “Solomon insists he can bring you over. There’s no reason to worry about that.” “But just for the sake of the hypothetical.” She replied, “Also, he’s never guaranteed that it would be perfectly safe for me.” “He wouldn’t do it if there was a chance you’d get hurt.” He swiftly retorted. “And for hypothetical’s sake, we’d find another way. After all, if we can come to you, there had to be a way you can come to us.” “And if that’s only for hours at a time like you guys?” “The others will find a way to extend the time. Or make it last your lifetime.” She frowned, letting him win this one as she sighed, “You have a surprising amount of faith in the others.” She remarked, one of her hands moving up to his hair to gently brush through it in hopes of relaxing his tense grip. “I’ve seen how they look at you.” Came the muffled reply. She blinked in surprise. “Just how do they look at me?” Once more, there was a pause though Belphegor moved his head slightly over her. It took her a moment, but she realized he was looking at the side table where her phone and D.D.D. were charging. He spoke up again after the glance, “Like you’re the only thing any of them could ever want in life. Like if you died, they’d want to follow you to avoid going without you.” She tensed a little this time, taken by surprise by the demon’s words. “Does that include you?” she whispered. There was a pause, but he nodded against the crook of her neck. Given some food for thought, she leaned her head back against her pillow. She wasn’t sure how to feel about such strong feelings. It still felt so odd that they were already so… dedicated to her at this point. But she also felt a sense of familiarity from each one of them when they visited. She had assumed it was because of the game since it wasn’t like she’s met fictional characters before. Every time she was reminded of their feelings for her, it brings the slightest nagging feeling at the back of her mind. She didn't know if that was because she was worried that these ethereal beings would end up growing tired of her, or if she was just afraid of love from others.  After a few moments of mental gymnastics, she shook her head a little to clear her thoughts, only to have Belphegor speak up this time, “Are you just saying you want to come to Devildom for our sakes?” he asked her. She glanced at his hair, since his face wasn’t viewable in his position, “No, I genuinely want to go there. And to stay. Like I’ve said before, there’s nothing for me here.” “Nothing at all?” he asked, “Six weeks of watching you doesn’t give us the full story…” She pressed her lips together before sighing, “I don’t know my extended family. My father died about a decade ago. Mi Madre went off the rails after he died and got even more strict with her religion afterwards. I’ve never dated anyone seriously. I had a cat once, but she's passed on. I guess if there was anything still tying me here, it would be the student loan for the year I failed college that I still have to pay back.” She grumbled. The demon scoffed, “We can pay that off.” She rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I know. You’re all a bunch of rich people. Azzy made that obvious.” There was another moment of silence between them, though Belphegor had only relaxed slightly from the start. Finally, he brought up another question to her, “So… hypothetically…” She raised her brow, “Go on.” She encouraged him. “Hypothetically, if we really couldn’t bring you to Devildom. What would you do?” She hummed, pondering the question for a moment, twirling a lock of his hair between her thumb and index finger for several long and quiet moments. Finally, she responded, “I guess… I’d probably break the phone. It’s seems like it’s what’s causing the curse, so if it’s gone, you guys shouldn’t be affected anymore.” Belphegor’s reaction was immediate, the demon sitting himself up to stare down at her, “Don’t you dare break it.” He hissed, “That is the only thing keeping us connected to you.” She jumped, flinching at his response, and pulling away from him a little, making his eyes widen, regret flashing across his face before he flipped over on the bed to face away from her. She could hear her D.D.D.’s notification noise going off in rapid succession, though she chose to ignore it for the moment as she pressed up against the other’s back, wrapping her arm back around him, “Hey, it’s fine. It was only hypothetical. I have total confidence that Devildom’s nine most powerful demons, a human sorcerer, and an angel can get one measly human to their universe.” She reassured him, “I promise I won’t let anything happen to my phone. No one will touch it, and I’ll take care of it like its more fragile than glass.” He grunted back to her, but didn’t move from his new spot for the time being, so she cuddled up against his back, “We’ll get me over there. Probably sooner then you think.” She then offered. Finally, she felt his body relaxing under her hold and she sighed softly. Sensing their conversation was over, she finally allowed sleep to take her. She could take care of the messages from the others in the morning.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It felt odd, to be back in the attic room he enjoyed stowing away in whenever he needed a nap away from the nose. It felt odd because he kept having to come back here and pretend he was still a prisoner for that thing that came to the door. It felt odd, because he was forced to recite lines he recalled saying before; lies he recited before to what he had thought was a stupid human. It felt odd because every time they met, he wanted nothing more than to squeeze their throat between his hands, but at the same time he just wanted them to go away so he could rest. 
He had been one of the ones that caught on quickly. How could he not when his mind seemed to flit between being a prisoner in the attic room and being free to roam the house again. It was a confusing mess for him when he realized he was reenacting past events. It was infuriating bewildering when he realized the being that kept visiting him at the room’s door wasn’t even real. They couldn’t be real. He couldn’t pick up a scent from them. He couldn’t recall any specific details about them.
 He lay on the bed in the attic room, staring at the ceiling, his ire rising as his body resisted his desire to sleep. He knew why he couldn’t sleep. He was due to another visit from that thing, and he had to be awake for that. 
That wasn’t completely true. There was one specific thing he could remember; he recalled the crunch of their neck as he squeezed his hands around it. When he had done it, he was elated, excited that he had rid everyone of another pesky human. But that feeling felt tainted when he had realized he hadn’t even really killed anyone. It was just all a part of some stupid game.
 His body pushed itself up to stand and lumbered its way to the door without his consent. He hated this feeling of helplessness. He hated speaking out whatever stupid line he was to recite to the being that stood just outside the door. He wanted nothing more than to reach forward just a little bit and snap that thing’s neck once more. 
The moment they had a face to the one responsible for this curse, he wanted to hate her. She was human, because of course she was. The moment Solomon had that Oculus up and running, he assumed residence in that room. Other than Solomon himself, he spent the most amount of time in the room. Everyone else assumed it was just because it was usually quiet, so it was a good place to nap, but he was paying attention to that human more than anyone else knew.
 It’s true, he wanted nothing more than to end his torment, but hating that thing, hating this curse, hating humans in general. It all felt so… exhausting now. He didn’t want to stop hating humans for everything that happened before… but he also felt so tired every time he felt that way. Eventually, he just wanted it to stop. 
By the time they were able to watch her, he wanted to hate her. And for a short time, he did, if only… lazily. He wanted to believe she had caused all this torment to them with purpose. He wanted someone to blame, even if he felt too tired to do something about it. He wanted to ignore the mounting evidence that she was innocent in all of this and believe that she was fooling them all.
 When that thing finally left him alone, he dragged himself back to his bed. He didn’t want to face the others. He didn’t want to listen to them complaining and planning around that thing. He didn’t want to plan his own revenge at this point. Hell, none of his brothers ever brought up anything about himself in the attic or the stuff that happened afterwards. Except Beel, of course, but it was easy enough to avoid talking about it with him. No one really wanted to bring up the hard things to talk about and even Beel always accepted his twin’s escapes from those conversations. 
It wasn’t until he recognized the signs she showed, did he accepted his interest in her. The naps that lead to sleeping for over twelve hours. The unwillingness to clean her home or take care of herself. The barely held together mask she wore whenever she was forced to interact with others so they wouldn’t ask questions. That dead look she had in her eyes except when she had that stupid game open on her phone. But unlike him, she didn’t have anyone there to pull her out of her disastrous spiral.
 
As much as he didn’t want to be invested in her, any thoughts of hating her seemed to melt away to concern for her. It wasn’t hard to see that everyone else could see her losing herself to her inner darkness. It wasn’t hard to see that her soul should be bright and strong, but seemed to be growing dimmer by the day. She only seemed happy when she was playing that game. Perhaps bringing her to the people that game was about could make her soul bright again. He wanted to hope, instead of hate.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Elizabeth awoke slowly, feeling like she didn’t get any real sleep, despite the clock on her D.D.D. saying she slept for just about eleven hours. Her body felt heavy as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, flinching as she peered at the messages on the device from the others, feeling bad for having ignored them for so long. Mammon and Asmodeus had spammed her messages, of course. They varied from pleas not to let anything happen to her phone, to compromises for her to promise to keep it safe. She sent them a few assurances that she would make sure the phone would survive until she made her way to Devildom. Solomon, Diavolo, and Barbatos had all given her reassurances that they could bring her to Devildom, which she had accepted and assured them that she believed them. From the lack of messages from the others, she assumed the rest of them hadn’t been present during that conversation. Shortly after she had finished sending her last message (a message to the group chat assuring everyone that she knew they were doing their best to bring her home) her D.D.D. lit up with a phone call from Solomon. She answered it without hesitation, unable to stifle the yawn she gave mid-greeting, “Morn-naaah.” She mumbled. “You’re still tired after sleeping for so long?” the sorcerer asked. She could hear concern in his voice, which confused her a bit, “I guess so. I heard sleeping too much can make you feel more tired too.” She replied, stretching her limbs a bit to help wake herself up. “You can be a little selfish for yourself sometimes, you know.” He suddenly spoke up. She blinked, her mind confused by his words a bit, “I’m sorry? Where’s this coming from?” “I mean, you don’t have to come to Devildom just to satisfy us. You can think of what you want, not what we want.” Solomon then clarified, “Even if the phone breaking is the easiest way to break the curse, which we don’t know at this point, but even if it is, you don’t have to sacrifice your safety and happiness just to end this curse.” She paused, frowning, “I… I know that. I mean, if I didn’t want to come to Devildom, if I didn’t want to leave here so badly, I would’ve broken my phone ages ago to save you guys.” “Anyways,” she started before he could say anything more, “Didn’t you say something before about trying to summon me over there again when I had five pacts?” she asked him. He hesitated, seemingly not keen on changing the subject so quickly before yielding. “Yes, actually, that’s what I was going to bring up.” Solomon confirmed, “Everyone you already have a pact with are already here, so we can do the ritual.” She hummed softly before asking, “Should I think of all of them then? So, all of my connections pull me at once?” Solomon made a soft noise before speaking, “Actually, yes, that should help center the ritual on everyone involved.” There was some noise in the call, and she could hear Solomon directing the others, as well as the usual complaints from Asmodeus and Mammon. She called out, “I’m going to get dressed while you guys are getting ready.” There was a sound of acknowledgment, but other than that they sounded busy on the other end. When she appeared from the bathroom looking a little more awake and dressed in some proper clothes, she pulled out her laptop bag, the computer in question already safely stored in it, as well as a few books and other sentimental items. Everything she wanted to take with her to Devildom. Solomon called out from the D.D.D. as she was finishing up stuffing her bag and slipping it over her head, “We’re ready, Liz.” She plopped herself on her bed, crossing her legs and leaning back with her arms behind her to prop herself up. She closed her eyes to think of the five she had made pacts with for a quiet moment before she couldn’t help but snicker out loud. “Liz?” Solomon asked at the sound of her giggling. She tried to hold in her giggles, “Sorry, but the easiest way to think of everyone is if I think of them in a circle, all holding hands like they’re in some stupid prayer pow wow mi Madre’s church likes to have. And imagining everyone holding hands and praying is hilarious.” She explained. She heard a couple of sighs from the others on the call and a grumble from Mammon, “We’re not holding hands!” “So, you are praying?” she snickered in response, leading to a scoff from the same demon before Solomon cleared his throat, “We should probably hurry this along, Liz, before we lose Mammon and Asmo’s attention.” She sheepishly turned her head away, “Sorry.” After closing her eyes once more and doing her best not to laugh again, she spoke, “Okay, I’ve got everyone on my mind.” Barely a few seconds after she spoke out, she felt a strong sensation, not too different from the pulling sensation from the last time she had tried a second summon with Mammon. This feeling was far stronger than before, her breath caught in her throat as she threw herself forward, doubling over and wrapping her arms around her stomach as she struggled to breathe. Immediately, she felt several pairs of hands on her, though she couldn’t hear anything at the moment. She felt like she was underwater for a moment, every noise around her heavily muffled and her chest trying to pull in air as her forehead pressed into the bed in front of her. She barely acknowledged the presence of other people with her as she kept her eyes tightly closed, trying to put a lid on her body’s panic at the lack of air as she hyperventilated, the woman concentrating on steadying her breathing once more. It felt like it took forever, but finally she could breathe deeply again in a steady rhythm, the pulling sensation having faded fairly quickly after the first attack, so she only had to deal with the sudden feeling of suffocation. Once her breathing had steadied, she became more aware of her surrounds again, hearing several voices around her. “Just breath in and out.” A calm voice said gently near her ear, whom she recognized as Barbatos. She assumed it was his hands rubbing up and down her back in a slow and steady rhythm while she heard Mammon’s panicked voice on her other side, “Is she ok? She’s ok right? She’ll be fine. She has to be fine.” She assumed the hands holding her shoulders while shaking slightly were his. Panicking along with the second born, she heard Leviathan and Asmodeus in the room, “Did we hurt her! This is our fault! It’s because I’m not strong enough, isn’t it?!” “Solomon, you said she wouldn’t be hurt by this ritual! What if this ruins her skin! How did you mess this up?!” She couldn’t even tell what the worried voices on the call were trying to say. She swallowed, willing her heart to slow back to a normal pace once more, finally pushing herself up to sit up once she felt her breathing had returned to normal. Everyone stopped talking immediately, even those still on call with her, and she noted Belphegor standing with the other two that had been panicking, all eyes on her as she pressed her palm to her forehead, “I’m fine. It’s fine.” she muttered. “Are you sure?” Barbatos asked her with a concerned tone, his hands still rested on her back as she glanced at him on her left, “Yeah. I’m fine, I swear.” She assured him. She closed her eyes again for a moment, rubbing her forehead some more. “What the hell happened to ya?” Mammon on her other side asked her, his hands holding onto her arm, still shaking a bit as he kept himself as close as he could. She took a breath before she replied, “I’m not sure. That pulling sensation from before was a lot stronger this time. But it felt like the air was kicked, or pulled? from my body at once. Which, I think, led to what felt like a panic attack.” “You had a panic attack?!” Asmodeus exclaimed, a little too loud for her liking, making Elizabeth wince from his voice. His voice was noticeably softer when he spoke again, “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” She waved her hand dismissively, before rubbing the corners of her eyes to clear the slight bit of tears that had formed from the attack, “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m not sure why I’d just have a panic attack out of nowhere like that, but I know how to deal with panic attacks; I’ve done it plenty of times before.” She nonchalantly said before regretting those words. No one said anything for a few moments, and she avoided all of their eyes, not wanting to know how they were looking at her at that moment. She could feel the pity and concern from them. Thankfully, Solomon broke the silence for them, clearing his throat over the call, “So, you were suffocating for a moment? Is that what happened?” She rested a hand on Mammon’s grip on her idly as she glanced back to the D.D.D., “Yeah, that sounds about right. It didn’t technically hurt, per say. The attack afterwards hurt more than anything, and that just because the hyperventilating and my body suddenly tensing and freaking out.” She explained. “Hmm, and this happened when your body responded to the summons then?” the sorcerer pondered out loud. “I’ll have to do a bit of research on this.” “If I may, I suspect the feeling of suffocation she suffered from may be similar to what we feel in this world.” Barbatos offered up. Solomon made a humming noise over the call, obviously thinking hard over the demon’s words before speaking up, “You think she has magical ability?” he asked, “If she does, and if her body was unconsciously blocking our attempts to summon her, it would explain what just happened.” “Yes, though instead of blocking, it appears she’s subconsciously diverting the summons and causing it to backfire, rather than expending more energy to completely cancel it.” The butler then offered. She furrowed her brows, glancing between him and the D.D.D., “I thought I didn’t have any magical ability? And why don’t I feel this way all the time, like you all?” she asked. Barbatos glanced at her, “It could be possible that, thanks to the nature of this world, we simply can’t sense it from you. As for why we always feel this way, as demons, we’re always using a bit of power to maintain this… more human look. You’re only using magical energy when you’re subconsciously defending yourself.” She sighed, pressing her palm against her forehead again, “Ah, great. More complications then.” She groaned. Solomon’s voice piped up, “Don’t worry too much about it, Liz. I’ll look into it and figure out a solution.” “I sure hope you do. I don’t have anything on this side to look into.” She grumbled. “At least now we know I can bring multiple people over here.” She then added, glancing around at everyone around her now. Every one of them still had concerned looks on their faces so she continued, “I really am fine, I swear. You don’t have to look like I’m dying.” Belphegor finally spoke up, “Why doesn’t she get this feeling every time we do the ritual?” he asked. The sorcerer spoke over the call, “That’s likely because just fighting the ritual from one person wouldn’t require a lot of energy on her part. As opposed to fighting the ritual from all five of you, who also have your connections to her to strengthen our side of the summoning. It simply needed more energy from her.” “So, we might hurt her if she makes pacts with everyone, and we try to summon her then?” the sloth demon then asked. Solomon hesitated before offering, “Maybe. Which is why I need to look into ways to get around that.” She sighed, “Great. Anyways. Next question. How long do you think everyone is here for?” she then asked. There was a quiet moment, then from the sorcerer, “Honestly, I couldn’t say. I don’t know if the shortened time for the summons still applies. Other than Mammon, this would be everyone’s second summon. Plus, the time might be affected by the amount of people that were pulled this time as well.” Elizabeth tugged at the laptop bag she still had wrapped around her, pulling it off and setting it to the side, “I suppose I’ll keep this packed for the next try then.” She muttered, mostly to herself, then spoke a little louder for Solomon, “Okay, so we’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing, right? I prefer having a plan, but we clearly don’t have enough info.” “We’ll have to, yes. Until we learn more.” Solomon replied, his voice sounding a bit more tired now. She frowned and picked up the D.D.D., “Make sure you have the others helping you, Solomon. You do need to sleep and eat sometime.” There was barely a noise of acknowledgment before she finally heard someone else speaking up on the other end of the call, “Don’t worry, Elizabeth! I’m sure everyone here will be more than willing to assist Solomon with research and maintaining the spell!” Diavolo’s strong voice assured her. Satan’s voice also spoke up, “I can look into any books that might touch on the matter.” Glancing at the others, she leaned back a bit into the two demons still touching her out of concern, “Thank you, everyone.” She hummed, “Now, I guess I’ll leave you guys to do all that. I have five guests to entertain now for heave- er… hell knows how long.” A few goodbyes on either end of the call later and she ended the call, plopping the device onto the bed as she let her shoulders relax. Barbatos was the first to move, “I’ll prepare some breakfast.” He said while walking out of the room. His spot was quickly taken up by Asmodeus, who settled on the bed behind her, one of his hands resting on her lower back as he pressed his face against her shoulder. Mammon was still clinging to her, one of his hands pressed a little higher on her back as well as he occupied the whole of her right arm. Belphegor moved himself onto the bed, slipping into her lap to wrap his arms around her waist while Leviathan settled himself on the floor next to the left side of the bed, worriedly staring at her and holding onto the hem of her shirt with an almost desperate grip. She raised her brow, “Guys, I’m not going to disappear.” She huffed, squirming a little under the three’s physical grips and the fourth’s metaphorical one. The two younger brothers clinging to her had their faces buried into some part of her as Mammon rested his cheek against her shoulder. It was Asmodeus’ muffled voice in her arm that responded, “We could feel what you felt, hun.” Elizabeth tensed a bit, “You mean… the panic attack?” she asked, the color draining from her face a little. Mammon and Leviathan nodded as she swallowed, “Shit, I’m sorry-“ “Don’t.” Belphegor interrupted her, his grip tightening around her as he looked up from her stomach, “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault you went through that.” “Well, it’s not your fault either.” She said. “Aren’t we the ones trying to summon ya over to Devildom?” Mammon replied to her this time. She furrowed her brow, ready to argue their logic before a loud melody echoed through the house to a tune of a famous video game song. All four demons jumped around her in surprise. She didn’t jump as well, but she was surprised to hear it at that moment. To the four looks of confusion directed to her, she explained, “It’s the doorbell.” Wiggling now to free herself of her koala demons, she slipped off her bed, “I better answer that, seeing as whoever that is probably knows I live alone.” As she exited her bedroom, she heard the others following her, making her turn and wave them away, hissing out, “Don’t be showing yourselves! Watch from the kitchen or something.” She walked a little faster to the door, barely beating Barbatos to it as she stopped him from answering for her, “Ah, I think I should answer it.” She shooed him away, waving him off back to the kitchen to join the others watching her closely. “Like a pack of hounds watching their master go to the bathroom.” She muttered to herself as she glanced at all of them, at once realizing that she forgot that they were demons that had far better hearing than she did, as made clear by the snickers and indignant gasp. She turned back to the door, carelessly opening it to help what she assumed was probably a Jehovah’s witness, only to choke on whatever she was going to greet them with and blurt out, “Colin? What the fuck are you doing here?” She kept the door just opened enough to block him from seeing too much inside from his current position, the sleazy man from the mall encounter standing with one of his arms resting on the door frame as he moved a foot to keep her from closing the door, a conflicted look on his face as he seemed to avoid her eyes. He didn’t reply right away, his face looking like he had been trying to find the words he wanted to say before he even rang her doorbell, and she could feel the thinly veiled fury emanating from all the demons currently in her kitchen. “I was… checking on you.” He finally settled on some words for her, making the woman scoff and look at him in disbelief, “Checking on me? What are you talking about? Since when have you cared enough to ‘check on me?’” she asked him. He faltered, still unable to look her in the eyes and pressing his lips together before speaking up again, this time a little more conviction in his voice, “Look, that guy you were with at the mall? He looked like one of those freaks that are too possessive of you. Like he’s going to induct you into a cult or something.” She blinked in surprised, staring at the man who finally met her eyes before straight up laughing in his face, “A cult? You can’t be serious. You can’t really think you can come up to my door and tell me that I have bad taste in men.” She snickered to him, “After all, I’m not the least bit interested in you.” He glowered at her, clenching his fists a bit, “I’m trying to help you. That guy’s bad news. You should stay away from him.” “Do you even know who he is?” she asked, “You don’t even know his name.” She felt a hand slip around her shoulder and a pleased voice to her side, “She’s not going to break up with me just to hook up with someone like you.” Asmodeus cooed. Colin looked taken aback by the strawberry blonde’s appearance, fear flickering across his face. Clearly, he still remembered the icy feeling of the demon’s glare at the mall. He cleared his throat to recover, “I never said I wanted to date her.” He muttered, “I’m her childhood friend. I have a right to be concerned for her.” Another voice joined, abrasive and loud as she flinched internally. Of course, he couldn’t stay out of this. “Childhood friend? From what she’s said, ya tormented her. What kinda friend does that?” Mammon growled, nudging himself through on her other side, forcing the door to open a bit wider. The poor human man looked even more taken aback now at the appearance of a second guy in her home, “Wha- Who the heck is this?” he asked.  Elizabeth jerked her head up, trying to answer before the rash demon could, only to be a second too late, “I’m also her boyfriend.” This time, she flinched externally as well as internally, avoiding looking at the judgmental look on the man’s face, “Also? You… Liz are you seriously into that polygamy shit?” “What’s it matter to you how she lives her life?” This time was Belphegor’s voice coming up behind her. Immediately, she tried to turn around and start pushing the three of them back into the house, “Ok, ok, I think that’s enough of that.” She grumbled, knowing they already made things far worse than she’d like. Being demons, they hardly moved from her efforts, all three of them glaring at Colin as he stuttered, “Wh-what the fuck, Liz? I knew you left the church, but I didn’t think you letting your life go downhill this much.” She whipped around and glared at him as well, “Shut up. Go away already.” She hissed before returning to trying to put the demon hounds back on their leashes. Once she spotted on the other side of the door, just out of the man’s view, was Leviathan looking furious but in his demon form with his long tail whipping about, she panicked a little, her hand holding the door to keep it from opening too much more to show off something that would definitely freak out Colin. She cast a glance at Barbatos in hopes that he would help her wrangle the boys back into the house. He gave her close eyed smile before walking over and pressing his hands against two of the boys to guide them back to the kitchen. However, because her back was to Colin, she didn’t see him reaching for her. She did, however, see Barbatos suddenly snap out his arm behind her, grabbing the man’s wrist firmly. She jumped slightly from the sudden movement before glancing over at Colin, who looked like he was in pain and was awkwardly trying to tug his arm away from the demon butler, “F-fuck, ow! Let me, ngh, go!” Barbatos still had that polite smile on his face, though it certainly felt chillier than before. He leaned closer to Colin slightly, his grip not moving an inch despite all of Colin’s struggling, “I suggest you leave before one of us does something we won’t regret.” He warned, “If you attempt to lay a single finger on her again, you’ll find that you will be lacking the offending appendage.” Colin’s face was white as a sheet at the demon’s words, shivering on her doorstep before stumbling backwards as Barbatos finally released him, falling flat on his behind. Without hesitation, the man scrambled to his feet and rushed off to his car, fleeing before the demon could make good on his threat. Elizabeth groaned, shoving away anyone in her way of closing the door before bonking her forehead against said door, “Damnit guys. Mammon! Really?!” she asked. She felt Mammon’s hand on her back, “What?! What I’d do?” She whipped around and glared at all of them, “Did you have to say that you’re my boyfriend too?” she asked, “It’s whatever if people go around saying I’m dating someone. It’s a whole other thing if everyone in town starts talking about how I’m involved with multiple people. I might be leaving as soon as we figure all this out, but I still live here until then. I don’t need to be a pariah the moment I walk out my house!” The guilty demon looked a bit sheepish, looking off to the other side of the room, while Asmodeus, Belphegor, and Barbatos looked perfectly fine. Hell, the two brothers looked smug. Leviathan, meanwhile, was now plopped on the floor of the kitchen, still very much in demon form with his arms crossed, looking like he was sulking. “Ah whatever. People will find out anyways if you keep taking us out on dates!” Asmodeus offered. Elizabeth just groaned again, moving around them and to the couch of the living to plop down and rest her hand over her face, replying, “But if you didn’t say anything, it would just remain as rumors.” Mammon was quick to join her on the couch, cuddling up to her side in some attempt to wordlessly ask for her forgiveness. Asmodeus and Belphegor, of course, were right behind him, occupying her lap and other side. Barbatos had returned to making a breakfast of eggs, bacon (where did he find that, she definitely didn’t have bacon) and toast, stepping around the moping Leviathan. “Oh, don’t worry so much about it darling! It’s not like we won’t be here to protect you!” Asmodeus hummed, his hand reaching up to play with her hair. Belphegor grunted against her stomach, his cheek pressed against her, “You should have a way to protect yourself with the pacts. You’ll have to ask Solomon though.” She grumbled a bit before resting a hand back on the seventh born’s head, “It’s just the inconvenience that this’ll bring me at work and going out.” “Then quit? We’ll give you all the money you need until we get you home.” The fifth born offered a suggestion. She glanced at him, “I don’t mind quitting, I really should do that actually. Leave them with notice rather than just up and disappearing on them…” she muttered before clearing her throat, “I just think you don’t understand how stupid or irritating these church people can be.” She finally glanced over to Leviathan again, “Levi, would you get over here? What’s wrong?” His tail twitched, the only sign that he heard her, and Mammon replied for him, “Ah, he’s just mopey because he didn’t get to say you’re dating him to the stupid human.” Leviathan flinched and whipped his head around to glare at him, “No! Shut up, Stupid Mammon!” At this point, Barbatos handed him a plate of food, “Perhaps you should go eat with Elizabeth like the rest of us?” he asked the grumpy, and now flustered, demon. Without waiting for an answer, the butler picked up the other plates he prepared, bringing them into living room and handing everyone their own plate. Elizabeth raised her brow, but when her stomach growled at the scent of food, she thanked him instead of questioning his calm demeanor, digging in with the others as Leviathan poked through her DVD collection once more.

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It was shortly after they had all eaten that Elizabeth noticed how closely the demons were watching her or how touchy they seemed to be with her. She tapped Belphegor’s head, “You all really act like dogs when you’re with me.” she remarked. The demon she touched glanced up from her lap, “What?” Ignoring Asmodeus’ and Mammon’s indignant replies, she said, “It seems like all of you have to have a hand on me at all times. I’m sure Levi’s not touching me because he’s not big on touch and Barbs is just too polite to just cling to me like that, but you three are wrapped around me like you’re my clothing.” Barbatos smiled from his seat in her lone armchair, “I don’t see a need to crowd you, unlike them. I can wait until we have more time with you.” Leviathan didn’t reply, pretending to be too invested in the anime he had put on the tv, but you saw the slight head twitch of acknowledgment when you had first spoken. Mammon scoffed, “We ain’t crowding her. Right?” he then turned his head back to Elizabeth and pouted at her, making the woman avoid his gaze, “It’s not that I mind it or anything. I’m just surprised.” she replied, her shoulder rolling a little under Mammon’s warm hand. A thought then occurred to her as she realized Asmodeus’ hand never left her lower back either, “Do you guys like touching your marks on me or something?” Barbatos spoke again, “That would the case yes. When we touch our marks, there’s a comforting feeling with it. Perhaps because these particular pacts were made with our feelings on you in mind.” Mammon and Leviathan’s face blushed heavily after the butler’s words, though Belphegor and Asmodeus looked unabashedly at her as the woman blushed slightly herself, “I… I see.” She cleared her throat, “Well, like I said before, I don’t mind all this clinging. For now, anyways. As long as you aren’t doing it all the time when I get over there.” “No promises.” Belphegor muttered as Asmodeus nuzzled into her neck, making her shudder instinctively at the feeling of his breath against her skin, “Oh darling, don’t you worry, my bedroom will be open to you whenever you want to come to me.” He hummed against her. “Why would she want to go to your bedroom?!” Mammon growled, holding onto her arm a bit tighter as he pressed into her protectively, “Obviously she’ll want to come the Great Mammon’s room.” “She already promised to come to my room to watch TSL with me!” Leviathan then piped up, now fully invested in their conversation. She sighed, the three now up in arms around her about whose room she was going to visit first as she glanced at Barbatos. The quiet demon merely glanced knowingly at her in return and Belphegor was already asleep again in her lap. She stifled a yawn, pausing for a moment as she wondered how she could still be tired at this point, but didn’t dwell on the thought for long as she interrupted the loud argument around her, “I’m more than happy to visit everyone’s room. Eventually.” Her body forced another yawn on her, interrupting whatever she was going to say next, and she groaned, “Why am I so tired all of a sudden?” Asmodeus tsked and nudged Belphegor’s head, “Don’t go making her take naps!” The sloth demon grunted and swatted away the hand, “It’s not me. I can sense how tired she is, but I’m not doing anything to her.” “Perhaps it is from summoning all five of us?” Barbatos offered, frowning slightly as he watched her. Elizabeth fought the urge to close her eyes, “Wouldn’t that mean keeping you here is making me-ngh.” She yawned midsentence again, “Making me tired.” Mammon wrapped his arms around her, ignoring fifth born’s protests, keeping her body warm with his own, “Go to sleep then.” He muttered. “But, that rude to guests.” She grumbled back to him, but the drowsiness was overwhelming her surprisingly quickly. She couldn’t help thinking that it really felt like something was literally draining the energy from her body. “… don’t have to worry about us…” it was hard for her to understand the voice talking to her now, much less figure out just who it was talking. Finally, as she slouched against the body next to her, she muttered, “…maybe just a short nap.” And just like that, she was out like a light. When she woke up, everyone was gone, and the sun was low in the sky. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the start of a headache, likely from dehydration, and the groggy displacement from waking up somewhere other than her bed. She wasn’t even sure where she was for a few moments. Slowly, everything that occurred that morning came back to her, and she grumbled, “Ah, fuck, I hate midday naps.” she muttered, stumbling a bit as she stood up. She took a moment to rub the sleep out of her eyes before stretching her limbs, only to be interrupted by the sound of a call from her D.D.D. She patted her pockets until she found the one the device was in, fishing it out and answering in a tired voice, “’llo?” “Are you alright, Liz?” Solomon’s voice asked as she plopped back onto the couch. She ran a hand through her hair, “Fine, fine. Just a little out of it because of the unexpected nap.” she muttered. “I think that was our fault.” Solomon replied, “Shortly after you fell asleep, everyone returned here. It’s very possible that summoning us drains your energy.” She blinked, her mind lagging behind his words a little before she spoke up again, “Then, uh, hold on, I’m trying to keep up here.” She heard a chuckle from him, and she scowled, “Oh quiet. Let’s see you keep on top of your game after a nap like that.” After his apology, she finished, “So then, I do have some magical... stuff, right? It takes magic to summon, right?” “That would be the assumption, yes. The only question is how much you have and whether we can overcome that when the time comes to call you over to us.” She grimaced, “I wish there was something I could do or study on my side to make this easier. This is a lot of work for you guys compared to me.” “If we didn’t think you were worth it, we wouldn’t do it.” The sorcerer assured her. “For the night, I think we should let you rest, so I won’t ask you to do another ritual.” She hummed to acknowledge him, and he continued, “You work tomorrow, correct? We can continue afterwards if you want us to. Do you have an idea who you want to bring next?” She didn’t answer right away, still a little drowsy. Finally, she asked, “What about you Sol?” The sorcerer gave a little surprised noise before clearing his throat, “I wouldn’t oppose, of course, but if I may request that I come a little later down the line? I have something in mind to help in the ritual but it’s not quite ready yet.” She pressed her lips together, “Something in mind?” “A connection for the both of us. Since I’m not a demon, I have to get a little creative to bind our souls together.” “Oh. Sorry, didn't think of that. Yeah, let me know when you’re ready with that then.” She pondered for a moment, “If that’s the case, do you know if Simeon already has something, or does he need more time too?” The angel in question interrupted Solomon before he could answer, “I do have something, actually.” His calm voice assured her. She blinked in surprise, only now realizing that she had been too drowsy to acknowledge the soft talking in the background of the call. Clearly, Solomon wasn’t alone there, but the lack of loud interruptions meant some of the louder demons weren’t there at the moment. “Oh? If you’re ready then, I’ll request you come over tomorrow then.” She replied, smiling a bit to herself. Simeon sounded as pleased as she felt, “I’d love to come visit you then. I can’t wait, my dear.”

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Other than taking a moment to make herself a light meal, Elizabeth didn’t spend very long awake after her phone call with Solomon. There were a few texts she exchanged with the boys, mostly assuring the ones that ended up leaving her earlier that day that she was fine, just very tuckered out. She was quick to settle herself into bed, even after so many hours of sleep in the last 24 hours. Her body felt heavy, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep until forever, a notion that spooked her a little. She had felt that way before, but it had been a mental exhaustion, rather than the physical exhaustion she felt now. In the end, she woke up about an hour before her alarm was set. As she lay in bed, unable to get herself to fall back asleep, she sighed and rested her arm over her forehead, staring up at the ceiling. Were it not for the D.D.D. charging on her bedside table, she’d continue to question if everything that’s happened to her recently was just some sort of delusion. But her mind couldn’t be so far gone that she’d make up a physical item like this. Finally, she sat up, stretching her limbs to the sky and moaning softly. She certainly felt better now. Refreshed, even. Slipping out of her bed, she glanced around before noting that all the clothes she had received from Asmodeus had already been removed from their shopping bags and put away. “How do you even do that, Barbs?” she muttered in amazement. Having the extra time, she prepared a decent breakfast before getting ready for work and pulled out her laptop, typing out a document and printing it out on a wireless printer she had prepared in her room. She didn’t like it, but she had to be a responsible adult sometimes, even if she currently had nine demons, a human sorcerer, and an angel currently tempting her to ignore all her responsibilities. Stashing away the letter she wrote in her pocket after getting dressed, she headed off to work for the day. Other than a few greeting messages from some of the boys, she didn’t do a lot of chatting with them while at work. (Though it is fairly hard to do a lot of chatting between wrangling and grooming canines.) It wasn’t until lunch that she messaged Simeon. 
Simeon
 ✓ So, what’s this fancy thing you’ve got ready for me? I apologize, but it would be best if waited until I’m there to tell you.Not because I don’t want to tell you,But because we should be safe from any… prying eyes and ears there. ✓ Ooh.✓ Not sure if I should be concerned for either of us after that.✓ But I can wait.✓ Assuming you’re here for the five hours like everyone else’s first time, would you like to go to a café?✓ I know a place that is right next to a small bookstore.✓ Technically next to a computer place too, but I think I’ll keep you out of there.✓ No offense. Hah, none taken.I would enjoy anywhere you’d like to go to. ✓ Don’t say that.✓ I’m a hermit so I tend to pick the option of my bedroom every time. I’d enjoy your bedroom as well. ✓ … You know, I think I accidentally made some implications. Oh. My implications were not an accident. ✓ Oh.
✓

Elizabeth blushed in her car as she set the D.D.D. down, her hand coming up to cover her mouth a bit. Simeon was more… mischievous then she had expected. Well, she supposed there wasn’t anything stating that as an angel, he had to be explicitly innocent. She wasn’t sure she was going to be mentally ready for him. Many hours later, she finally left to head home for the day, her D.D.D. sounded off a call the moment she closed her door. Answering it, she said, “You don’t believe in wasting a minute, huh?” Solomon chuckled in response over the phone, “Actually, I called you quickly because I could see that you were impatient. It’s all over your face, Liz.” She flushed slightly, “What, are you saying I wear my emotions on my sleeve or something?” “Hmm… well, not technically, but that saying would certainly work here, wouldn’t it?” was his cheeky reply. She scoffed, “Don’t we have a ritual to get to?” The sorcerer laughed before speaking up, “Ah, I look forward to when I get to visit you, my dear girl.” She flushed a little more, clearing her throat, “You look forward to teasing me, you mean.” Someone cleared their throat on the other end of the call and Simeon spoke up, “Solomon, I do believe we have a ritual to get to, no?” “Oh, you’re impatient as well, Simeon?” Solomon replied back to the angel. She could feel the smug little smirk in the sorcerer’s voice. She cleared her throat, “Don’t be jealous because your whatever-binding-thing isn’t ready yet, Sol. It’s not like I won’t meet you at all.” She heard a tsk from him before there was some movement, “Over here Simeon. I had just about everything prepared.” She smirked a little before leaning back against the kitchen counter, having moved rooms while talking with them. Solomon then spoke, “When you’re ready, Liz.” Repeating her own little ritual of closing her eyes and thinking of a handsome boy, she hummed out, “Ok, I’m ready.” She waited a few moments, then went ahead and opened her eyes, smiling wide at the bare shouldered angel before her now, “Ah, there you are shoulders!” she hummed happily. Simeon chuckled, “Again with my shoulders. Is it odd to have exposed shoulders?” Elizabeth held up her finger, putting their conversation on hold as she glanced down at her D.D.D., “I’ll let you go now, Sol. I’ve got a date with an angel. Talk to you later.” There was a chuckle on the other end before Solomon answered with his own goodbye before she hung up. She then turned back to the angel, “It’s not… uncommon to have exposed shoulders. It’s just an interesting design choice for an angel. A being usually associated with… more conservative ideals. Not saying I want you to be conservative or anything. I happen to like your shoulders.” He smiled at her knowingly as she realized she was rambling a bit. She turned and placed her phone and D.D.D. on the counter before motioning to him to follow her and headed over to her bedroom. “Anyways, we can go to the café after whatever this thing you have in mind.” she said, leading him into her room. He didn’t reply until her door close, the angel stepping closer to her before he asked, “May I touch you?” She blinked in surprise before replying, “I think you’re the first one to ask first.” She didn’t hesitate, however, as she nodded to him. The angel gently took her hand in his own, bringing it to his lips for a light kiss before replying, “I believe it is polite to have permission. I wouldn’t want to do something you wouldn’t like.” He smiled at her warmly as she flushed under his gaze. Simeon cast his gaze to her hand after a moment, “I’m glad you left your phone in the kitchen. I don’t believe anyone watching at this moment would be happy with what I’m about to do.” He then said, perking her curiosity. “Just what are you going to do?” she then asked. He gave her a small smile, “Elizabeth. I’d like to make a covenant with you.” He then said. She gave him a confused look, her gaze drifting to the side as she struggled to recall the significance of covenants in her religious upbringing. “Weren’t covenants made with humans by God? Er, your Father, I suppose it would be in this case.” She asked him. He hummed softly, his gloved fingers slipping between her own fingers as he idly played with her hand, “Yes and no. I am unsure if it is different here, but in our universe, covenants were made through angels on behalf of our Father. Any angel of substantial power may make one, but to do so without permission would be… highly disapproved of.” She pressed her lips together, trying to ignore the way he was fiddling with her fingers, “Then won’t you get in trouble making one with me?” “None of the other angels can see us here in your universe.” He explained. “Also, once the covenant is made, it remains hidden unless the bearer is in contact with the angel that gave it.” “I see. And what exactly is this covenant then? All I know about them is that they're a promise that your Father makes to someone.” “That’s not far off. It is a promise that the angel gives to whomever the bearer is to be. The promise can be anything. Since it is usually made in the Father’s name, it is usually a promise to protect and further whatever the human wished to do. In my case, I wish to promise to protect and stay by your side until you no longer wish me to.” Her eyes widen a bit, “That can be a long time, Simeon. Are you sure about this? What’s the consequence if you can’t keep that promise?” He glanced away, “The punishment for failure does tend to be… harsh, but I am prepared to take that on.” “And if an angel from your universe finds out about this?” “Well, I will likely already be in trouble for the item I took previously. I might as well continue to break the rules, right?” She chuckled a little, muttering, “Go big or go home.” A few moments later, she realized what he was talking about, “H-hold on! Item? Are you talking about the Ring of Light? Simeon, did I make you take it because of the curse?!” she panicked, the color draining from her face. He frowned slightly, gently holding her face in his own hands, “It’s okay, don’t panic, Liz.” He hushed her, bringing her head to his chest to calm her. “It’s true, I was compelled to take it from the Celestial Realm, but it’s not your fault.” She slipped her arms around him, resting her cheek against his chest as she forced herself to take deep breaths before answering, “But you did something that could get you in massive trouble… for what was basically no reason, considering the person you technically did it for isn’t even real.” “Actually, I believe I have a good reason for it now.” He said, one of his hands tenderly brushing through her hair, “You see, I can’t make a covenant with just any human. The word of an angel’s promise alone can be too heavy for a human without magic. However, if you had a powerful item that could carry that weight for you, I can safety make a covenant with you.” She glanced up at his face, “Isn’t the ring Lucifer’s to begin with? Did you talk to him about this plan?” He sheepishly avoided her gaze, “I… have not.” She narrowed her eyes at him, and he cleared his throat, “To be fair, with or without the ring, I don’t believe Lucifer would be pleased with my plan. As I’ve said before, a covenant is a heavy promise, to both you and to myself.” She stood there for a moment before she pulled herself away from him, holding his arms as she frowned and stared up at him, “Simeon, don’t you find it odd?” “What do you mean?” “I mean, just how far you’re willing to go for me? The human from another universe you literally got to meet for the first time like ten minutes ago. The human that’s been playing a game that cursed you to steal a highly valuable item from the Celestial realm.” He frowned, giving her a confused look and she sighed, “Hold on, let me rephase then.” She glanced away, pondering her words for a moment, “Okay, you’re a writer, right?” He nodded and she continued, “Okay, so imagine you’re writing a book. Let’s go with an action adventure with a friends to lovers couple, okay? Let’s say, instead of filling the book with their adventures, showing how they get closer and writing out the little interactions that show how their relationship grows closer, you jump right to the end where one of them takes a bullet for the other. Doesn’t that feel…. Off? Disingenuous? Like you’re missing the reason that should make you care that they took that bullet for the other?” He quietly listened to her, contemplating her words as she spoke before nodding as she finished, “Yes, I see what you mean…” he hummed before taking her hand in both of his again, “I assume then, the couple with missing backstory is you with me? Or even you with all of us?” She nodded in return, and he glanced to her hand, returning to idly fiddling with her fingers, “It is… difficult to explain, but if we use the same hypothetical that you proposed, to me is feels like we have that backstory. However, it simply isn’t written for anyone, including ourselves, to see.” She tilted her head, now looking confused before putting the pieces together, “So then… you feel like we’ve met before, and we just don’t remember anything?” He smiled, “Something like that, yes. I’d have to assume everyone else feels that way as well, even if they don’t realize it.” She pressed her free hand to her chin, “If that’s the case, there are… some worrisome implications with that.” She then moved her hand to her forehead, groaning a little, “Never mind. The more I think about that, the more questions I get and more my head hurts. Let’s just… worry about that once I get to Devildom, yeah?” He kissed her finger lightly and nodded, “Agreed. That is something we can worry about later. Now on the note of getting you to Devildom; will you accept my covenant when I give it to you, Liz?” he then asked her. Her eyes returned to his as she hesitated, “Won’t Lucifer get mad? It is his ring.” “I suspect he’ll let it slide once he knows the reason I gave it to you.” “But you’re not completely sure. Otherwise, you would’ve brought it up to him before coming to me.” Once more, he avoided her eyes sheepishly and she sighed. Finally, she firmly held his hand in her own, “Alright. How does this work?” His face brightened at her words, his other hand slipping into his pants for a moment before showing her a golden ring with a simple design and a single small diamond. As she peered curiously at it, on the inside she noticed the phrase “Blessed be the Bringer of Light” engraved. She glanced up at him for a moment before hesitantly taking the ring, “Do I have to wear it all the time?” she asked him. He shook his head, “No, as long as you keep it on your person, it’ll be enough.” She peered at the item a little longer before she turned walked away from the angel, heading to her closet for a moment before pulling out a small jewelry box she kept tucked away. Fishing out a simple golden chain necklace, she slipped the ring on it and handed the chain to Simeon, “Could you put it on me?” she asked him. He nodded and she turned around, moving her hair out of his way as he slipped it around her neck, snapping the clasp into place before stepping back to allow her to turn back around. She picked up the ring, holding it between two fingers as she gazed down at it, “Good thing I can wear it like this then… Wearing rings at work is irritating.” She looked back to him, “So now… this covenant thing?” He nodded and held out his hand for her, which she took without hesitation, “It’s just as simple as a demon’s pact, if not simpler. I will simply recite my promise to you in Enochian and at the end, in any language, you simply say that you accept my promise.” She made a small noise in return, nodding to him. He then placed her hand between his two, his eyes looking into her's as he started to speak a language she definitely didn’t recognize. It sounded light and beautiful to her ears, even if she couldn’t understand it. After speaking his promise to her, that she didn’t even know exactly what his promise contained, he nodded for her to speak. “I accept your promise, Simeon.” She said simply. In that moment, she gave a short gasp, and he released her hand. It felt like something heavy had just settled on some part of her within her body, like she had a weighted blanket inside of her. After a few moments of this feeling, it suddenly lifted and she felt like she could breathe again, her brows furrowing together, “That was the covenant?” she asked the angel. He nodded, “It went away, right? The ring should’ve absorbed most of the power that comes with it.” She nodded in return, one of her hands against her chest as he kept speaking, “Good. It’s not gone, of course. The ring should be holding most of the power that came with the covenant for you. Now that you have the ring as well, when you come to Devildom, I’m sure you can learn how to use your magic as well.” He then took the hand he held once more, her right one, and motioned for her to look. On her skin, she could see a light blue band made from feathered wings wrapped around her wrist and she raised her brow, “So I guess that’s your covenant mark?” she asked him. He hummed, “Yes, that would be correct.” Before taking his hands away to show her the mark fading the moment he released her, “And when you’re not in physical contact with me, it doesn’t show itself, nor is it detectable.” “Convenient.” she muttered. She then peered back at the ring again, quietly eyeing it for a few moments before speaking up, “All of you are really trusting me with a lot of power.” she noted, frowning a little as she looked back to the angel. He gave her a reassuring smile, “The fact that you are worried about having that power means our trust isn’t misplaced.” She huffed, “I doubt that. But I suppose if I want to get to you guys with the path of least resistance, this would be it, right?” Without waiting for his answer, she took his hand again, “Well, anyways, we get going to that café before whoever is watching my phone starts to wonder what we’re doing in my bedroom for so long.” She then snickered and he chuckled in return, “I certainly wouldn’t mind staying here for as long as you want, my dear. I will go wherever you wish to go, however. Please, lead the way.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Elizabeth’s Harem (12)
 Asmodeus: Liz! You always leave your phone in the other room and leave us to miss all the juicy details!How unfair! Satan: I’m afraid to ask. Asmodeus: She took Simeon with her into her bedroom, and it’s been foooreeeever! Mammon: What?! I’m not there to watch and angel boy drags her off alone?! Satan: Didn’t he say he had some way of binding the two of them together like us with our pacts?Maybe it’s some sort of ritual involving intimate procedures? Leviathan: What?! Simeon’s gotta sleep with her?! Mammon: Grrr, hell no! She doesn’t need any of that! Solomon: I don’t believe it’s anything like that. Lucifer: Calm down. I’m sure it’s nothing like that.Though I find it odd Simeon has refused to say what exactly he had planned. Solomon: If it helps, does it matter what it is? ✓8 Guys, wtf. I talk to Shoulders for a little bit in my room and you assume we’re banging?✓8 Asmo, it’s been like, ten minutes.✓8 That’s not enough time to enjoy anything. Asmodeus: Speak for yourself, darling.I could do a lot with you in ten minutes~ Belphegor: Gag. Satan: What did Simeon do to bind you two? ✓8 Don’t worry about it.✓8 Nothing all that interesting.✓8 Anyways, I gotta drive.✓8 Don’t text and drive, boys.  Answering the group chat once she returned to her devices with Simeon following after her, she paused right front of her door and turned to glance at him, “Ah… maybe I should get you a jacket?” she pondered out loud. The angel tilted his head and she explained, “I enjoy seeing you in your celestial grab and all that, but in public, you’re going to look like you’re in cosplay or something. Namely, your clothing calls attention to you.” He pouted a little, “I apologize for that. Just a second.” He said before raising his gloved hand for a moment. Before she could really blink, his clothes changed, the angel now in the white suit vest that Elizabeth knew the game called his human world look. “O-oh. You can just change like that?” she asked, eyeing him for a moment. He smiled, allowing her to look as much as she pleased, “I can, though it’s not just into anything. More so, I can switch from my celestial grab to this when I need to be more inconspicuous.” She glanced away as she realized she was staring a bit too long and turned back to the door, “Well, now we can go out without worrying then, huh?” she muttered awkwardly, spinning her car keys on a finger as the two slipped into said vehicle. The drive was short, but Simeon almost immediately started asking her questions the moment she started the car. “I’m sorry, but would it be okay if I asked you about yourself?” he had started. She raised her brow, casting him a glance before shrugging, “Sure. I don’t mind.” “Lovely. When’s your birthday?” “Oh, ah. October fourth.” “Perfect. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind. I do hope you don’t mind celebrating it with us this year?” “Sure. If everything goes to plan, I should be in Devildom then, right?” “Yes, hopefully. What genre of books do you prefer? I know you enjoy reading from all the books we’ve seen in your home, but you seem to have a variety.” “Uh, well, I like to study stuff that interests me, so I have a bunch of info books. But if I had to pick a genre, it would probably be romance. I, er, have a weakness for fluffy romances. Although I like a good tragedy once in a while.” He looked at her confused, “Fluffy? Do you read romances about animals?” She flushed brightly, “No, no, fluffy means it’s like… wholesome, Simeon.” He nodded his head, “I see. Romance is a popular genre. How explicit are your tastes in that genre?” She practically choked as she stopped at a light, “Ex- explicit?” Her cheeks seemed to only blush brighter before she replied in a small voice, “I… might enjoy a good smutty romance…” He smiled at her, seemingly unaffected in the turn of conversation, “I know a good series you may enjoy when you come to Devildom then. And I’m sure Satan will have many titles to recommend to you as well. He wasn’t there when I left, but I can pass along your preferences when I return.” He moved onto his next question before she could even say anything and she pulled into the parking lot across the street from their destination shortly afterwards, interrupting the angel’s current inquiry about what she learned in her religious studies. She motioned for him to get out before doing so herself and speaking once she had exited, “I’ll tell you about all that religion stuff later, kay? Bringing up that stuff up in public tends to end poorly.” He nodded pleasantly, happily taking her offered hand after she walked around the car to him so she could lead him to the crosswalk and through the door of the café. The place was part of a larger building with other various shops such as the computer repair store and bookstore she had mentioned before, but the outside was unassuming enough that it was practically hidden unless you were looking for it. Still holding his hand, primarily because she liked the feeling and didn’t want to let him go and he didn’t seem inclined to let go either, she walked them to the counter. Simeon pressing lightly against her side as he glanced at the written menu boards; one small one for a short list of foods, and one larger one for a long list of drinks. She leaned back against him a little, her hand squeezing his gently, “I don’t know how you like your coffee, but there’s plenty to chose from here. Don’t worry about paying either. Asmo’s technically paying.” She scoffed that last sentence before adding, “I hope they can break a hundred.” Already knowing what she wanted, she stepped back a little, so she was behind the angel a bit, glancing over at his face as he peered at the boards, “I’ve gotten so used to Devildom’s drinks that I’m not sure what these are anymore.” He chuckled, his head turning slightly to look back to her. She jumped slightly at being caught staring and glanced at the board to avoid looking guilty, “Ah, well, I don’t really know much about the drinks myself. I usually just get a hot chocolate or a frappe if I want something cold.” She said. The person in front of them finished ordering as she finished speaking, so the two moved up, the young woman at the register looking to the angel and offering a smile, “What I can get for you today?” It didn’t elude Elizabeth that the woman didn’t seem to notice or acknowledge her at all. Polite as ever, Simeon returned the smile as he ordered his drink of choice, turning his head to Elizabeth after to allow her to order her hot chocolate as well. The woman nodded at her order, but otherwise didn’t say anything to her before turning back to Simeon to recite the total to him. This prompted Elizabeth to step closer and pull out her wallet to pay, a little irritated at the barista’s attitude, but she respected the service industry too much to be rude, “I’m sorry, but I only have a hundred. Can you break it?” The woman frowned a bit, before glancing between the two of them and smiling again, though Elizabeth knew a “customer service” smile when she saw one, “Of course, it’s no problem at all.” Returning with one of her own “service” smiles, Elizabeth replied, “Oh thank you so much.” Once she received her change, she took Simeon’s hand again, making sure the woman could see her doing so, “Let’s take a seat. Do you have a preference?” she asked. Simeon brought her hand to his cheek, nuzzling against it lightly as he gazed into her eyes, “As long it’s with you, I don’t mind where we sit.” He replied. She flushed and tugged him over to a booth by the front window, trying to hide her face from him. She didn’t want to admit it when he first appeared, but he really had a weakness for his face and charm, especially when he said things like that. And she might’ve been pleased he said that in front of the cashier that was obviously into him. Settling herself in the seat with him opposite her, she reached up a hand to press against her shirt where the ring rested under it, hidden from view. “Worried about it?” he asked, peering to where her hand rested. She hummed softly, pondering for a moment before shaking her head, “No, it’s just an odd feeling. I haven’t worn a necklace in a long time, much less one that had something dangling from it. I usually just wear earrings rather than necklaces or rings.” She replied, careful not to mention the item in question. She didn’t doubt that the boys had to be watching them carefully, especially after those messaging in the group chat she was currently ignoring. He tilted his head slightly, his face void of emotion for a moment, “Do you regret accepting it?” She furrowed her brow, “Why would you ask that?” she asked in return, “I don’t regret accepting it, I just regret not knowing what I was doing to you for the past year because of that curse.” He looked a little sad as he took her free hand, once more playing with her fingers, “What I gave you can be a great burden. Had I any other choice, I wouldn’t have given you that burden. And now, I can’t take it back or get rid of it if you do end up regretting it.” Before she could say anything in return, the barista called out their drinks, the angel slipping out of the booth, “I’ll grab yours for you.” He offered, back to smiling and heading to the counter once more. She pouted a little, leaning her chin on her hand as she watched him accept the drinks from the woman. She narrowed her eyes as the woman batted her eyes at him, saying something she couldn’t quite hear before handing the drinks off to him. He didn’t seem to really react to the barista’s obvious flirtations, remaining his polite self before heading back to Elizabeth. As he set the drinks down, she glanced at his, reaching over to tug the paper that was wrapped around the cup and glancing at it, raising her brow at the phone number and name on it. She pressed her lips together in a frown before placing the paper back on Simeon’s side, “I guess no matter what you’re wearing, you’ll attract attention.” She huffed. He grinned at her, holding the paper for a moment, “Are you worried I’d leave you?” he teased. She turned her head towards the window as she scoffed, “It doesn’t matter if I’m worried or not. You’re not mine to dictate who you can talk to or call.” She replied if a bit sulkily. He laughed softly, taking her hand once more to nuzzle into her palm, “You’re wrong, my lamb. I am most certainly yours. My heart and soul belong only to you. You may ask anything of me.” She really couldn’t hide the blushing now as she rested the back of her free hand against her cheek, feeling the warmth there, “Damnit Simeon. You can’t just say things like that.” She muttered, “I’m weak to words like that.” Even as she avoided his eyes and blushed, she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips. He nipped her palm, so she’d look at him, showing her as he crumpled the phone number in his free hand before placing it to the side, “There is no need to be jealous. Though I admit, I enjoy that you would be jealous for me.” “Come on, Simeon. I know you know how handsome you are. You could probably get just about anyone you wanted. I’m just a random, average jane doe from another universe.” She flicked the ball of paper a little, “And at least throw this away before we leave so she doesn’t get some random person calling her.” He rested his cheek in her hand in his possession, humming softly against her as he watched her take a sip of her drink before replying, “If I can get anyone I want, I’d like you then.” She choked a little, her cheeks continuing to remain warm under his adoring words, “Simeon. You have to know what you’re doing to me, right? You’re doing this to me on purpose aren’t you?” His knowing smile and avoidance of her questioning eyes was all the confirmation she needed to know that he was definitely doing this on purpose. “What can I say, Liz. I find you far too adorable with such a bashful look on your face.” He replied, “If you look like that simply from me telling you the truth, I’m happy to give you all of my adoration.” She tsked her tongue at him, “You’re going to be the death of me. Actually, you and all of the boys might be the death of me.” She then tugged her hand in his gentle grip a bit, “Let’s go to the bookstore next door already. They allow outside drinks and I’m tired of seeing that barista staring at you.” He offered one last kiss to her palm before releasing her hand so she could get out of the booth and followed after her, taking care to toss the paper as she had told him to, not appearing to care if the woman who gave it to him was watching or not. He slipped his hand into her’s the moment they stepped out of the café, the two of them holding their drinks in their free hands as they walked a bit down the street to the shop next door. The bookstore was only slightly larger than the cafe and quiet, with plenty of shelves of books and a small seating area with comfortable armchairs that already had a few people seating in it. She glanced back at the angel as she tugged him to the large section (compared to the other genres) of romance novels, “You know, I don’t know what genre you like. I should’ve asked, sorry.” She said in a soft voice. He shook his head, resting his arm against her’s as he glanced at the novels on the shelf, “No worries. I enjoy romance as well, though I’ve been reading more adventures as of late. Perhaps as reference for my own works.” “Ah, right. TSL, right?” she asked, and he nodded. She glanced at a few titles before her as she spoke, “You’re still writing that?” Simeon tugged out a book to glance at the synopsis, “Technically no. But my agent in our human world has been suggesting I write a spin off or something still within the universe of those books. I’m still on the fence on that, though.” He explained. He paused reading on Mad, Bad and Dangerous in Plaid to tilt his head ever so slightly, just as Elizabeth noticed a coupe of woman appearing to want to approach the two of them. She tsked her tongue and spoke in a lower voice, “You really do just attract attention no matter where we are, huh?” He gave her an apologetic look, “I’m sorry. I can tell them to leave us be if you’d like.” He said and she shook her head, “Let’s see what they want first. They look excited." The other two finally approached them, “Excuse me?” Simeon turned towards them, offering them his signature smile, “I’m sorry, are we in your way?” he asked, and the two women immediately giggled, one of them speaking, “Oh my god, your cosplay is on point! You are in cosplay, right? As the angel from Obey Me?” He didn’t reply right away so Elizabeth jumped in, moving up to his side, “Oh, yeah, isn’t it spot on?” she asked the two, who nodded excitedly, looking between her and the angel. The other woman spoke up, “He looks exactly what I’d imagine Simeon to look like. Is he in character right now?” Elizabeth nodded, “Oh yeah. He takes it seriously too. He won’t let me call him anything other than Simeon right now.” She chuckled, glancing back to his confused face, and winking at him. After a moment, the angel bowed his head slightly, “Ah, yes. Apologies, ladies, I was just unsure what cosplay was for a moment.” The first woman spoke up again, this time to Elizabeth, “Oh, you’re so lucky to have a boyfriend that’ll cosplay like that with you! I’d love to have someone that would do that. Especially in the bedroom.” She snickered. “I bet you two have fun.” Elizabeth flushed, opening her mouth before she felt Simeon’s hand wrap around her waist and press his face into her neck for a kiss, making her jump and let out a small noise of surprise. “As much fun as she likes, yes.” He answered for her as the two women giggled at Elizabeth’s reaction. “Could we possibly have a picture with you?” one of them then asked with a hopeful look. Elizabeth gently nudged the angel with her elbow, “One picture couldn’t hurt, right?” she asked. He nodded his head, his cheek brushing against the side of her face before he pulled back a bit. “I can take it for you.” Elizabeth then offered before one of the women waved her hand, “No, no, you gotta be in it too! We can take a selfie together, it’s fine!” She looked a little surprised, but didn’t move from her spot as both women moved in on either side of her and Simeon, one of the girl’s lifting her phone up to get all four of them in a selfie. After a few pictures to make sure they got the perfect picture, the two women thanked them and left the store, fawning over the picture and sharing it between each other. Elizabeth chuckled a little as she watched them leave before being reminded of her current angelic company as he rested his chin on her shoulder. She turned her head to look to him, her breath catching a bit at how close his face was to her’s before managing to speak, “Ah, did you want to browse a little more? Or maybe pick something out to skim or buy?” He glanced at the second cheesy romance book he had just picked up, Desert Prince, Defiant Virgin, before replying, “Would you like me to be honest?” he asked her. She raised her brow but nodded her head, “Of course. I don’t want to bore you or anything.” He hugged her waist a little tighter, “You could never bore me.” He replied before bringing his face a little closer to her ear, “I was going to say I’d like to reenact some of these novels with you rather than read them.” She flushed brightly, quickly turning her head away and glancing around to make sure no one was near by as she tried to recover, “I don’t know if its because you’re an angel and I don’t expect those kinds of words from you, or if I’m just weak to your words, but you really keep me blushing, huh?” she muttered. He laughed, his body pressing against her back so she could feel his laughter against her. Giving her another kiss to her neck, “I also might be enjoying having you all to myself for a while as well.” He then admitted. She narrowed her eyes, “So then you’re also trying to get everyone jealous too?” He hummed softly before shrugging against her back, “I… can’t deny it.” She sighed before smiling, “If there’s anything you’d like to take with you, we can buy it and head to my house since you’re soooo eager.” He offered her a rather cheeky smile before picking out a few more cheesy, and mostly likely explicit, novels, “I can take these home with me so you can read them later too, then.” She chuckled, “Did you even read the titles before you picked them?” she asked before shaking her head, “Oh never mind. You’ll be reading them first. You can tell me if they’re any good then. Let’s go pay.” She then added before dragging him over to the register.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the Ring. The Ring that had tipped off to Simeon that what he was doing, who he was doing this for… It wasn’t real. More accurately, it was the moment he was to hand off the Ring to the nondescript being that flicked the switch for him. The angel had walked into that room ignorant, but had left enlightened. Or maybe horrified was the more appropriate word.

Of course, he was angry at first. Who wouldn’t be displeased to know that one of the worst decisions of their life was forced upon them by someone else. To know that the one they risked their whole being for, his whole being for, wasn’t even real. Was it all a game to the mastermind behind it all? Did they laugh? Did they even care that they might’ve caused another war?
 He had handed the Ring to them, the being that was supposed to be the one he adored. He knew the Ring had left his grip. And yet, the moment he left that room after his compulsion ended, he found the Ring once more in his pants pocket. And now, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. He had risked his everything for this item, only for it to be for… nothing? 
Watching her was therapeutic for him. The more they saw her, the more he’d realize that she had no malicious intent in the chaos she caused all of them. The more he’d realize just how ignorant this poor lamb really was. The more he realized that he had no right to direct any of the anger he held in his heart onto her. And the more he realized, the more he sought out the room so he could content himself with observing her.
 Lucifer had found him later; hinted that the one he gave the Ring to wasn’t real and the angel had simply sadly smiled to his former brother-in-arms, “You knew as well?” The demon hadn’t asked about the Ring, whether it was because he simply forgot, or assumed the angel no longer had possession of it. In his anger, shame, and confusion, Simeon hadn’t mentioned either, choosing to simply keep it safe; keep it hidden. 
He could tell her soul was brilliant. Strong. And yet, she was hurting in that world. She lived alone and didn’t appear to leave her home for anything other than work and food. There were days she had when she’s start cleaning, only to appear to lose the motivation to simply stay awake. There were some days she’d start a book, or typing on her laptop, only to stop and stare sadly into nothing for hours at a time.
 Sometimes, he’d pull the Ring out of where he had it hidden to observe it, as if he couldn’t believe that it was real. More so, he couldn’t believe that Michael hadn’t noticed it was gone yet, or at least suspected Simeon if he had noticed. Maybe it was the effect of the curse? The Ring was real, this he knew. The power he sensed from it just by touching it made it clear that it really was the Ring of Light. 
When she had first summoned Lucifer to her world, he couldn’t help but feel envy, though he hid it well. Of course, she would think of not only one of the demon brothers, but the eldest of them. Any one of the demons would be able to give her the attention she wished, unlike him. As he thought about his own limitations with her, he realized that he wanted more. More than an angel like him should ever desire. And yet, he couldn’t help but to want to be greedy. Truly, his sins continued to compound on him the more involved everyone became with the woman from another universe.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

More than half the room was fuming, or pretending that they weren’t fuming. The rest were simply amused, either by the “show” they were watching of the angel and human’s date, or of the chaos that was currently occurring because of said date. The only people that had been in the Viewing Room at the time of Simeon’s summon had been Solomon (of course), Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor. Despite the Lust demon normally being loud, the room had been relatively quiet. However, as Asmodeus whipped out his phone after they had been left in the kitchen for longer than he’d like, he typed out a text, complaining about his lack of a show. And thus, the pin had dropped. Shortly after Elizabeth had finally replied and mentioned that she had to stop to drive, the others arrived at the room. “The hell this angel thinks he’s doing with her?!” Mammon complained loudly, standing near the Oculus much to Solomon’s annoyance. Lucifer had entered the room with Diavolo and Barbatos, though he insisted he had only come to keep Mammon in check. The eldest brother grabbed Mammon’s scoff, dragging him away from the Oculus, “Be careful, Mammon. You’ll shatter the magic keeping it up.” He growled before tossing the second born to a corner of the room, “Better yet, stay on the other side of the room.” Leviathan was pouting in a corner, finally leaving his room just to jealously watch the little café date, “She keeps blushing. Of course, Christopher Peugeot is good at charming her. I bet he could charm her as well as Asmo could.” He muttered. Satan had his lips pressed together, the irritation bleeding through his usual façade of calm, but the notes he had taken on his phone of her book preferences were still visible. Asmodeus squealed with every flirtatious line the angel gave her, clapping his hands, “Oh, look at him! I didn’t even have to teach him anything; he’s a natural!” he cooed, “I hope they bring the phone into her bedroom this time if they decide to sleep together!” Solomon enjoyed seeing her so easily flustered, though there was the lingering envy in his heart as he watched them that he was sure Leviathan would’ve been able to sense… if he wasn’t already busy with his own envy. Regardless, the sorcerer kept himself busy with the connection, his fingers on one hand drifting up and down as he delt with the fluctuations in the magic keeping it active. Beel didn’t even really appear to be paying attention to the couple’s words, rather he was observing the drinks they had before noting as she was driving back to her home, “Oh, that looks like a good place to eat. I should ask her to take me there.” He turned to Belphegor, “Do you think she’d like to go there, Belphie?” The demon in question was wide awake, glaring quietly at the Oculus like he was planning a murder, his trance broken by his twin’s question, “Huh? Oh, I’m sure she already had places planned to bring you to. She had something planned for me after all.” he muttered, clenching his pillow tightly to his chest. Diavolo was watching with intrigue, settled in a seat with a cup of tea that Barbatos had prepared. There were many other cups ready to be filled for the others, but the butler hadn’t filled them after noting that everyone there appeared to be too busy glaring at the angel. The demonic prince smirked as he eyed the woman, almost certainly taking his own mental notes before remarking, “She seems quite taken by the angel. A shame that in this universe he won't be able to do any those flirtations in public like he can there.” The prince paused before humming low to himself, “Though I suppose I cannot do same in this universe either. Perhaps I should enjoy my time with her as well?” Lucifer’s attention snapped to the Oculus as the couple talked about whatever Simeon had done for her and he frowned, momentarily distracted from Mammon’s antics as he listened to their conversation, hiding the concern from his face. In that time, Mammon got free and stepped back closer to the Oculus, “Stop touching her, ya damned angel! Just because you’re in a magicless world now doesn’t mean ya can do whatever ya damn please with her!” “Mammon, neither of them can even hear you, remember?” Asmodeus said, rolling his eyes before continuing to watch them, enraptured by the display of affection. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little jealous as well. Maybe he should’ve asked to do something more affectionate with her when he had his time with her. Having been reminded of their current position, Mammon whipped out his D.D.D., immediately typing into the group chat. ~~~ 
Elizabeth’s Harem (12)
 Mammon: You damned scoundrel! Get your grubby hands off of her!! Simeon!! Satan: Mammon, he’s not even looking at his D.D.D.He’s doing a good job of distracting Liz from her own too. Belphegor: Weren’t you all over her when you were with her? Mammon: I’m her first! And I didn’t do nothing without her permission! Solomon: I’m sure Simeon asked for permission first. Can you really imagine that angel doing anything she didn’t want? Leviathan: Not the Great Christopher Peugeot! I bet she’s thrilled to be touched by him! Lucifer: Don’t say it that way, Levi.I’m sure she was asked, considering how she’s acting. Diavolo: I’m sure Simeon is just excited to be in a world where he can touch her without punishment.I see no reason to ruin that for him if it’s only for five hours.In fact, I can’t wait until I can visit her as well!

Barbatos: That world is surprisingly freeing. Despite the lack of magic. ~~~ When they returned to her home, Elizabeth had gone to her bedroom closet and dug through the boxes she had in storage there before fishing out a very pretty looking book and handing it to the angel, “Here. I have like… six Bibles, so you can have this one. It’s the most expensive one. I only know that because mi Madre always complained that she spent soooo much on it only for me to leave the church.” He peered at the book curiously, leafing through the pages, “I wonder if it is like the one from my universe. I aided in writing the original work there when it was called The Torah. If I don’t exist in this world, I have to wonder how it was written here.” She opened her mouth, staring at Simeon after the casual history lore drop from him like he was telling her about some casual random fact of his life and not a possibly history altering tidbit of knowledge. Finally, she shook her head, choosing to just skip past it, “Right. Uh, well, I can make us a few sandwiches for your remaining time here. You’ve got just under couple hours yet.” she offered. He nodded eagerly, following her to the kitchen before contenting himself with settling himself against a counter to skim through the offered holy book while she made them food. Once she had finished, she nudged him towards the living room, and he slipped the book into the bag with the cheesy romance novels. Settling themselves on the couch to eat, she finally pulled out her phone and D.D.D., setting them on the table though she didn’t check them, knowing exactly what they (Mammon) were filling the group chat with. Simeon glanced at the D.D.D. as well before she caught a small smirk on his lips while he ate, “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” she asked him. His gaze turned back to her, and he smiled wider for her, “I am, yes. This world may not have magic, but that suggest that I also am safe from prying eyes here.” He replied. She blinked, “Oh. Oh! So, the other angels can’t see you or your Father, then? No wonder you’re so open about being affectionate.” She chuckled a bit. He nodded, setting his cleared plate on the table after she did so as well, “Indeed. One could even say that technically, I could sin as much as I like here.” He then said, his eyes drifting to her phone before reaching over to nudge it slightly, “Well, as long as it’s in another room then this, of course.” She blushed, glancing over to the phone as well, “I feel… I feel like you’re implying something.” she muttered, stubbornly refusing to simply state it out loud. He grinned knowingly at her, “Certainly not, my dear. Nothing too scandalous, I swear to you.” He reached over and picked up the plates before moving to stand, “If you’ll allow me, I’ll take care of these as apologies for all the teasing.” He then said, with a more apologetic look. She blinked at the sudden movement, unable to stop him from heading to the kitchen before tsking as she glanced at the two devices on the table, then standing up as well and following after him, “Simeon wait! You’re my guest! Don’t go pulling a Barbs on me!” He glanced up as she entered the room after him, waving her off, “No, no, I’ve been a bit of a terror to you, haven’t I?” he asked her. She hesitated as she stopped besides him while he rinsed the plates, “Well… it’s nothing I haven’t enjoyed.” she muttered, avoiding his eyes. He raised a brow as he placed the plates to dry before turning fully to her, leaning closer to her, “Oh? You left your phone in the other room, right?” he asked cautiously. She nodded, looking back to him questioningly before he spoke again, “Well, I recall stating an interest in reenacting some of those novels we picked up.” She narrowed her eyes at him, “Simeon, I’m nearly positive at least one of those was just pure smut.” He gave her a knowing look, “I am aware, I read some snippets.” She blinked in surprise before blushing heavily, “I, er…” she stuttered and fumbled with her words, “Um, I haven’t. I just. You know.” He chuckled softly and gently rested one of his hands on her arm, the other resting on the counter beside her waist, “I won’t ask anything of you, my dear. I swear I am only teasing you… until you are the one who asks for more.” She glanced up into his eyes before swallowing, taking a moment to regain enough of her mind to form a coherent sentence, “Um, well, I’m… open to… some stuff. Just, I can’t, er… I don’t want to go all the way… right now.” He paused, his face neutral for a moment as he studied her face before moving the hand on her arm to her chin, rubbing his thumb along her jawline, “May I kiss you then?” he asked in a soft voice. She leaned into his hand a little, enjoying the warmth of his touch for a moment before her eyes met his and she nodded. He closed the distance between their faces fairly quickly, tilting his head slightly to press his lips against her’s in a gentle, chaste kiss that lasted a few divine moments as they both closed their eyes. When he pulled his head back to look at her again, the two shared a silent gaze, their breaths mixing together between them. After a moment of silence, Elizabeth slipped her hand up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, pulling the angel back in as she tilted her head for him, this kiss deeper and more enthusiastic than the earlier one. Simeon slipped his hands around her, resting them on her hips to press her closer to him as his tongue tentatively pressed against her mouth, as if asking for permission for more from her. Permission that she eagerly gave as she opened her lips for him, deepening the kiss for them. The two of them remained like that for a while in their bliss, a fact that didn’t occur to Elizabeth until she heard the alarm from her phone in the other room, pulling her head out of the fog it was currently occupied with. Finally pulling herself away a bit and panting softly, her arms fell from his neck to his arms, tugging at his sleeves a bit as his lips had migrated to her neck, placing tender kiss after kiss along her skin, causing her to shudder in pleasure. Finally, she spoke up, “Simeon.” She breathed, “That, that was the alarm for the five hours.” He grunted softly in response, clearly reluctant to stop his affections as his kisses turned to light nibbles along her collarbone and she tugged on his sleeves some more, “Si-Simeon. You don’t want to pop back as you are, do you?” she whined, just as reluctant to be the voice of reason. He sighed softly, “I’m sorry, my dear. I couldn’t help myself.” and finally lifted his head to place one final kiss to her lips before slowly releasing her and stepping back to adjust his clothing so it didn’t look like he was just all over her. She did the same, though she couldn’t will away her flushed cheeks as much as she’d like to while the both of them finally returned to the living room. Once back, she picked up the phone, glancing at the alarm before pausing and furrowing her brows. After a second, she turned around to look to the angel, looking more confused as she looked at him, prompting him to tilt his head, “What is it?” he asked. “We…er, spent a little too long getting over here.” She started, “The alarm sounds five minutes before five hours is up, but it says it’s been seven minutes since it went off. The summoning thing has never been late taking you guys back before, not even by a minute.” He looked surprised, “So it’s been longer then five hours now?” he asked, her D.D.D. ringing out from a call shortly after he spoke and she picked it up quickly, “Solomon, I don’t what’s happening.” She started. “Simeon, did you do something? How did you extend your time there?” Solomon’s voice asked. Before the angel could even say anything, Lucifer’s voice spoke up in a tense voice, “Simeon, what did you do?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Elizabeth peered out the window to the dark sky, crossing her arms as she frowned. She turned her head to glance at the angel sitting on her couch. Of course, she was happy he was still here, but not knowing when, or if, he was going back was a bit concerning for her. “While it is great that you don’t appear to have a time limit, it is concerning. I believe we established that when we come to her world, it uses her energy. If there isn’t a limit, I’m worried you’ll keep draining her until you can’t anymore. And I can’t guarantee that you’ll return once she has nothing left.” Solomon was explaining to Simeon. The angel frowned, glancing at her and meeting her eyes for a moment, “I apologize, my lamb.” He said to her. She waved a hand, “We’re not even sure it’s your fault.” Elizabeth protested. “What did he do to bind you two together? It couldn’t be a pact, so it’s the only thing different from your previous encounters. It must be the cause of this.” Lucifer demanded. The woman and angel exchanged a look and Elizabeth muttered, mostly just to Simeon, “That’s really up to you if you want to tell them.” The angel looked down at the D.D.D. on the table, pondering on his choices as Solomon spoke up again, “What could he have possibly done that he couldn’t tell us?” Lucifer was the one who spoke up next, in a low, calm voice, “Simeon. You didn’t.” Simeon, in turn, looked a little nervous as he avoided speaking. “Simeon. You need permission for that. This could be worse than what you did during the curse. How did you even stabilize it-“ Lucifer paused as he seemed to come to a realization and Elizabeth could hear Mammon in the background, “What?! What did he do to her?” though the second born appeared to be ignored by everyone. “Did you not return it, Simeon?” Lucifer asked. The angel hesitated before simply replying, “No. She currently has it.” (Once more, Mammon was yelling in the background, “Has what? The hell are you guys talking about?!” as well as some indecipherable yelling from a few other demons.) She heard a groan from the eldest brother, “Simeon, this could end badly.” The angel responded with, “Then it is a good thing I did it here, in a world they do not have eyes on me.” “By chance, could you let the rest of us know what’s happening?” Solomon asked, only to be swiftly shut down by Lucifer prompt reply, “No. This is between Elizabeth and Simeon. And for her safety, it shouldn’t be mentioned in our universe at all.” Elizabeth flinched a little and Lucifer continued to speak, “What exactly did you say?” Simeon replied, “That I would stay by her side and protect her for as long as she wished me to… And a few other details.” A sigh this time, from the demon before he spoke to Solomon this time, “Then it is the promise to stay by her side that is likely keeping him by her side. That, or it is the… object she currently has in her possession that is likely making it easier for her power to keep him there.” “… May I at least know what this object is?” the sorcerer asked, and Lucifer grunted, “I will leave that up to Elizabeth to decide if she wishes to tell us.” “Even though it’s clear you know?” she asked in return. There was a grunt of affirmation before she sighed, tugging the necklace out from under her shirt, “It’s Lucifer’s Ring of Light.” She said simply. “Oh.” Solomon said in surprise, “Ah, I recall having mentioned the Ring sometime during the curse. I hadn’t realized Simeon had actually acquired it.” He seemed to think it over for a moment before he continued, “It makes more sense now, actually. I’m sure I’m missing the reason Simeon gave you the Ring, but it’s probably stabilizing your magic right now and opposing whatever that universe does to it. Which, assuming the summons are dependent on your power in some way, could lead to a longer time.” She frowned, already a bit lost in his explanation. (Everyone was also ignoring the yelling in the background by what she assumed were the louder, chattier demons.) “Ah, ok. So then, it is just a longer duration? Or is his presence here bad for my health?” she asked. Solomon hummed for a moment before replying, “I can’t say for sure, but I think we’re safe to wait overnight to see if he returns on his own. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to forcibly summon him back, or we’ll be hard pressed to find a way to get you and him here ahead of schedule.” Elizabeth pressed her hand against her forehead, sighing softly, “No offence Simeon, but I hope it’s just as simple as a longer duration, because ‘I’m having my energy sucked out by an angel I summoned’ isn’t a valid excuse for missing work tomorrow.” Simeon gave her an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry to burden you, my dear.” She quickly waved her hand dismissively, “No, no, you’re not a burden by any means. I’m just… worried. Maybe a little stressed. Maybe.” She plopped herself on the couch besides him, “I guess it’s a good thing I gave work my notice today.” She then said, “It sucks to leave my clients but since we’re serious about getting me to Devildom, I can’t just up and leave them high and dry.” Simeon rested a hand on hers as Solomon spoke up on the D.D.D., “I suppose we don’t have anything else we can do for now, other than wait overnight and see where Simeon ends up in the morning.” She scoffed, “You make it sound like he’ll teleport somewhere else completely.” “Well, there is a factor of unknown for me since I don’t know what he did exactly.” Lucifer interrupted their conversation, “And you won’t know. Don’t worry about it, Solomon.” “So touchy, Lucifer.” Solomon replied, curiosity obvious in his voice. Clearly, the angel would likely be both scolded by a demon and interrogated by a sorcerer on his return. If he returned. Elizabeth sighed and leaned against Simeon, “Well, I should plan to have you overnight then.” She said, reaching to the D.D.D., “I’ll hang up for now than. If anything changes, I’ll call you guys back. Tell everyone there I said hi too.” Solomon hummed in return, “Alright. Pleasant dreams, Liz.” He said, the two of them ignoring the incessant yelling in the background of the call. To Elizabeth, all that yelling sounded like a problem for her to deal with another time. With a tap, she ended the call, setting the device down on the table besides her phone before returning to lounging against the angel, who seemed more then happy to slip an arm around her shoulders as she yawned, the woman starting to feel her body growing weary. “Would you like to head to sleep right away then?” Simeon asked, his chest rumbling against her head that rested against him as he spoke. She grunted at first, reluctant to move from their current position before she finally leaned back and moved to stand, “Yeah. I don’t know if it’s the whole extra complication, or if I just that tired, but I feel exhausted.” “Maybe it’s the summon? You were out pretty quickly after you summoned five demons yesterday.” He offered, standing up after her and following her to her room. She clicked her tongue, “But that was five demons. Five times as many as today.” She replied, “Though I guess you have been here longer than everyone else has.” She plugged in both devices on her side table before moving to her dresser for her pjs, only to pause as she glanced at the angel, “Ah, I’ll be right back.” She muttered, slipping into the bathroom to change. When she returned, he was dressed down with his vest and tie placed off to the side. She slipped into the bed, patting the blanket for him to join her, which he did so eagerly. He slipped under the blanket with her, hesitating before she pressed up against him, tugging him in closer as she pressed into his chest. “For an angel, you slipped into my bed pretty easily.” She couldn’t help but comment, smirking a little as she cuddled up to him. She hummed contently against his warm body, and he chuckled, “Well, I enjoy being close to you.” He admitted, his arms tenderly curling around her body as she relaxed against him. She couldn’t stop the yawning as she closed her eyes, too tired to reply to him. She had never been one to fall asleep quickly but every night she spent with one of the boys, her body seemed to head off to sleepy time junction quickly. In no time at all, she dozed off on top of her beautiful angel companion. ~~~~ When she awoke, she was disappointed to find herself alone in bed; disappointed, but not surprised. Stretching her arms out in front of her as she yawned, she pushed herself up on her elbows, crawling over her bed a little so she could reach her phone and glance at the time. Only twenty minutes before her alarm was due to sound this time. She grunted before switching the phone out for the D.D.D. as it vibrated with a message. 
Solomon
 I believe it would be safe to say that Simeon’s summon was tied your consciousness.Or whatever you were doing unconsciously to keep him there ceased when you fell asleep. ✓ So, he went back when I fell asleep? A few minutes afterwards, yes.Needless to say, he was disappointed he didn’t get to sleep with you.And was stuck in one of Lucifer’s lectures for several hours. ✓ Hah, poor angel.✓ Did he mention anything else? Are you referring to how he bonded you two?No, he didn’t say anything, even after I asked.Lucifer even kicked me and everyone else out of the Viewing Room so he could yell freely without anyone being able to see or hear it. ✓ Oof.✓ Is there magic that blocks sound?✓ And whatever the Celestial Realm does to watch Simeon? Yes.Naturally, this room in particular has many, many protections to ensure no one other than us can know of your existence.At least until you come over and we’re ready to reveal you to the worlds.We includes you as well. ✓ Yeah, I guess randoms finding out about me would lead to them finding out about the curse.✓ And I can’t imagine that would go over well with demons or angels. Indeed.By the way, do you have an idea who you’d like to summon today?I am unsure if the Ring will affect the time like Simeon’s yesterday, but we won’t know until we try another. ✓ Your thing isn’t ready yet, right? No.I was delayed because of yesterday, unfortunately. ✓ Then I’ll go with Satan today.✓ I’ll text him too. Alright. ✓ Anyways, I gotta get ready for work.✓ Since it’s one of my last days, I have clients to say goodbye to. 
Satan
 ✓ Heeeeeeey, Avatar of Cats. If only.What is it? ✓ Would you like an all expenses paid trip to my universe for an unknown amount of time? I suppose since I don’t have to pay for it.Unfortunate that the time isn’t concrete.Thanks to the angel. ✓ Hey now.✓ For all we know, you get more time than everyone else does.✓ And if what Solomon thinks is right,✓ You get to stay until I fall asleep.✓ Maybe. True. The five hours seem to be guaranteed, at least.I have a couple novels I’d like to lend you, if that’s ok? ✓ By all means!✓ I can’t promise I’ll read them completely by the time I get to Devildom though. That’s fine. You can read them whenever.Is there anything else I should bring?I assume you had plans for our time together as well? ✓ I do!✓ I’m sure I know the answer, but how do you feel about bookstores that houses a cat shelter? That sounds like paradise. ✓ I’m glad you’re looking forward to it then!  Finishing up her conversations, Elizabeth rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, jumping up as she glanced at the time and realized she wasted just a tad bit too much time talking to the two on her D.D.D. She hurried to get dressed and headed off to work for the day, rushing out the door. Eight relatively uneventful hours later, Elizabeth slipped back into her home, rolling her shoulder, and flexing her hand from holding scissors and handling dogs all day. She tugged out her D.D.D. as she felt it vibrating, picking up the call from Solomon quickly, “You know, you call me every day at this point.” “Do you not want me to do?” he asked. “Well, no, you’re fine. I’ve just answered more phone calls in the past week or so then I have in my whole lifetime.” He laughed, “Once you get to Devildom, you won’t have to worry about another call. Unless you want to make them.” She tsked, “Calls suck. The anxiety from them makes it not worth. You’re just lucky I like you enough to answer them.” “Elizabeth, we all adore your banter, but I was promised books and cats.” Satan was quick to chip in and she laughed, “Sorry, sorry! Let’s hurry this ritual thingy along, Sol. Avatar of Cats over here is impatient.” The sorcerer also laughed, “He’s been antsy all morning and afternoon and came here shortly after you messaged him. I had wondered what you said, but I see why he was acting that way now.” The fourth born made a noise of irritation, clearly more than ready to get going as Solomon’s chuckling grew quieter, clearly moving away from his device to get ready. Elizabeth slipped into her living room, settling herself on her couch and crossing a leg over the other as she set the D.D.D. down, content for waiting for the sorcerer’s que. After a few moments with various noises over the call, he called out to her, “Alright, Liz. We’re good here.” She hummed, closing her eyes once more before replying to him, “Ok, send him over!” She waited a moment before an idea popped into her head and she called out, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Satan right over!” As she finished that line, she opened her eyes and motioned in front of her with her hands, smirking at the appeared blonde demon’s confusion. “Red Rover? Isn’t that a children’s game?” She giggled, “Yeah. But looks like it worked!” He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her as she stood up from the couch, picking up the device on call, “Well, he got here fine, Sol, so I guess we’ll see how long it takes for him to leave.” “Alright. If you start to feel tired, don’t hesitate to go to sleep. We don’t need you getting too drained from these summons.” The sorcerer replied. She tsked, “I’ll be fiiiiiine.” She declared before saying her goodbyes, hanging up once Solomon was done with his goodbyes as well. Turning to the blondie, who she now noticed had a couple of books in his arms, she motioned for him to come sit with her on the couch, the two settling themselves down as he spoke up, “I took note of the books you preferred when you were talking to Simeon, so I brought you a couple novels I recommend.” He explained, offering her the two books. She glanced at the novels as she took them, humming softly, “I’ll make sure to take them with me when I finally get to Devildom so I can return them when I’m done.” She replied, skimming over the synopsis on the back of one. When he didn’t reply, she glanced up at his face, noticing his hesitation, “What is it?” she asked him. The demon paused before offering his hand, “Ah, it’s nothing. Would you like my pact?” he then asked, quick to divert her attention. She narrowed her eyes a little, but let it pass as she took his hand, “Of course, since you’re offering.” She replied, giving him a smile. She noted a slight flush on his cheeks as he glanced down to their hands, his own gripping hers a little more firmly. He spoke out his bit, his low voice fitting the demonic language well before he glanced up at her face, acknowledging that it was her turn. After her part was spoken, she squirmed a little in her seat, that tingling feeling having moved down past her hip to settle on her upper thigh. She pressed her lips together, still holding his hand as he raised his brow at her, likely waiting for her to reveal her new mark. When she didn’t move to show it, he spoke up, “Is there something wrong?” he asked. She hesitated, glancing at the phone on the table, “Ah, no. Well, did you want to see the mark?” she asked him. He nodded, looking a little confused at her before looking between her and the phone, “Where did it end up?” She didn’t immediately answer, hesitating a little more before she stood up and tugged at his hand to get him to follow her, “If you want to see it, we should go to the other room. I’m not a fan of showing a ton of skin to an audience.” She said simply, understanding flickering in the demon’s eyes. He readily followed her, but spoke, “Ah, I’m sorry, it ended up somewhere you don’t want to show off then? You don’t have to show me if you don’t want to.” She tsked, pulling him into her bedroom, “Nah, I think you have a right to see it. And I don’t mind showing you. If you don’t mind seeing… a little more then just the mark.” She explained, turning around to face him. Pulling her shirt up slightly to get it out of the way, she used her other hand to tug her pants down just over her hip and down her thigh a bit until she caught sight of the emerald green outline side view of a horse’s skull with colored in green flames in the eye and mouth. “Oh, that’s pretty badass looking, actually.” She commented, glancing up at him, only to snicker as she saw his fairly bright red face. Clearly, the poor thing was trying to avoid looking at her choice of black panties she had on today, trying to keep his eyes focused on the mark on her thigh, but she suspected that it was a bit hard for him to do since it was so close to that article of clothing on her. “Come on now, Satan. You act like you’re a virgin.” She teased him, emboldened by his flustered state. His eyes glanced up to her face, frowning at her a little, “I’m not a virgin.” “Good for you.” She replied, smirking at him, still not moving her pants back into place, “You can have all the experience in the world, I don’t mind. But when you act like that just for me showing some underwear, you can’t expect me not to tease you about it.” His eyes narrowed at her and he took a step towards her. Without thinking, she took a step back, having already noted that, despite his cheeks still looking a little pink, he looked less flustered now and his gaze looked a little more predatory at her, “Its not about the fact that you had to show your underwear.” He commented. He continued to step closer to her a few more steps, the woman automatically stepping back as well before she ended up hitting her bed, falling back onto it. He leaned over her, pressing his hands down on either side of her into the bed as he stared down into her eyes, “It’s about the fact that you shouldn’t tempt a demon like that.” Her breath caught for a moment as she stared back up at him, her own cheeks definitely pinkened now as he smirked at her now, before moving one of his hands over to gently touch the mark on her thigh for a brief caress. Then, he swiftly tugged her pants back over her hip and stood back up, “Now, I believe you had a bookstore you wanted to take me to?” he asked, grinning down at her. Still a little taken aback by the demon’s own teasing she blinked at him for a moment before scoffing, trying to ignore the warmth on her cheeks, “Y-yeah. It has a little cat shelter inside so people can play with them, and they try to adopt them out.” She explained, trying to ignore the small feeling of disappointment that he had pulled away. He offered her a hand to aid her up and she took it, allowing him to pull her back to her feet as she continued, “It’s a decently sized bookstore too, compared to the one I took Simeon to. It has a little coffee place connected to it as well.” Her disappointment quickly faded as she noted how his eyes seemed to light up, “I’ve heard of cat cafés, but I didn’t think someone would put cats and bookstores together.” He said, following her out of the bedroom as she went to retrieve her devices. “Well, technically the cats aren’t allowed to roam the bookstore part. It’s too big to let them go wild there. But there are chairs and toys in the little cat shelter area so patrons can hang out with the cats.” She added. Whipping out her keys to prepare for the drive, she pocketed her phone and D.D.D., “It isn’t that far, so let’s get going.” The demon nodded, excitement clearly on his face, even if he seemed to be trying to keep his mask of calm on his face as he walked after her out the door.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Satan was clearly excited, that much Elizabeth could tell. If he wasn’t trying so hard to seem calm, she was sure he’d be bouncing in his seat as she drove. “I believe you mentioned you had a cat before?” Satan asked out of the blue shortly after she started the drive. She glanced over at him, “Yeah. I’ve had one cat and I’ve lived with a few dogs. I couldn’t bring myself to get another cat after mine passed.” She explained. He hummed, “My condolences.” He offered, “May I ask about them?” She chuckled, “Sure. I got her a little over seven years ago. She was a pretty little calico that was overly attached to me.” She saw him tilt his head out of the corner of her vision, “Oh? What was her name?” he asked. She started to reply, “Li- Li, Lily!” she stuttered, realizing that it probably wasn’t a good idea to say her fur baby’s full name to a demon who would associate with someone else. Her behavior wasn’t missed by the fourth born, “Lily?” he asked. She kept her eyes on the road. “Yup. Lily. My baby.” She replied quickly. “It’s been a few years since she’s been gone now. I guess her absence would be one of the reasons I’ve kinda been… just going through the motions.” She could feel his gaze on her as she drove, finally turning her head to him as she stopped at a light, “Don’t go pitying me now. I haven’t known what to do with my life for decades now so I’ve kinda always been like this.” She huffed. He raised a hand defensively, “I’m not pitying you.” He said, hesitating before resting that hand on her arm, “It is simply understanding.” She didn’t reply right away, the light turning green as she pressed on the gas slowly. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again, “Well, I guess you would have a lot more experience than me, being… what? Five thousand years older than me, grandpa?” she asked, her lips twitching slightly in a smirk. He tsked in return, “I’m not a grandpa.” He started. She interrupted with, “To a human like me, you’re like a grandpa with fifty ‘greats.’” She snickered at him. He grimaced again, this time hardly trying to hide it from her as she pulled into the parking lot, “I’m pretty sure human standards and demon standards are different.” She pulled the car into park and turned to face him, “Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that you, and everyone else, are my elders. Maybe I shouldn’t be everyone’s babysitter and I should be the kid that has to be watched?” she asked before motioning to leave the car. The demon scoffed as he followed after her, slipping out of the car and moving to walk by her side, “I hardly think I need a babysitter. Maybe the others but not me. And I don’t think you need a babysitter either. You’ve been quite mature through all of this. Especially for having to deal with all of us.” She spotted his hand flexing at his side, and she raised her own, palm up, smiling as she offered her own to hold. His brow shot up in surprise before he smiled in return and took her’s as she finally replied, “Yeah, well, I had to mature fast. And an unusual case deserves an unusual response, don’t you think? Maybe I should’ve freaked out a bit knowing that I had eleven supernatural beings watching me from another universe, but I’ve never been a person to have a lot of fucks to give, you know?” she snickered. He snorted, walking into the large building with her and she lifted her free hand to point, “Over there is the separate room with all the cats. It’s got this little room in front of it to help keep the cats from escaping.” She explained, then motioned to an area close to the first one, “That’s a little seating area for people that just want to read books.” Then she pointed to the opposite end, “And over there is the little coffee place. They should have all the genres labelled, so we can find whatever we’re looking for.” His eyes lit up as he peered around the store and she released his hand to pat his arm, “You can pick what genre you want to look at first. Or we can go straight to the cats first, if you’d like.” He glanced back at her, and she had to try really hard not to giggle at the face he was making. It looked like she had just given him the hardest decision of his life. Finally, he sighed and motioned to one of the bookshelves, “Let’s look at the books first. Once we’ve picked some out, we can spend the rest of the time with the cats… if that’s ok?” he then asked at the end, glancing over at her. She really couldn’t help the small giggle she let out now, holding a hand to her mouth as she smiled at him, “Of course. I bought you here because I wanted you to have a good time here. We’ll do whatever you want to do.” She motioned for him to go ahead first and walked after him as he beelined for one of the shelves. Once he paused in front of the horror section, she raised her brow, glancing at the book titles and pulling out I Held My Breath as Long as I Could. “Horror? Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised.” She hummed. He glanced at her between looking at the book spines, pulling out one simply named Skin and spoke, “I prefer psychological thrillers, or horror that mixes in a little bit of romance as well.” He said simply, “Romance and horror tends to make a more… desperate undertone to the romantic plotline which I find appealing. Sometimes I enjoy some fluffy plot lines though.” “Or books on cats?” she asked with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes at her before turning back to the book in his hand, “… yes.” She laughed softly, “I like horror too. Though mostly just books. I tend to get jumpy with movies.” He raised his brows at her as he looked back to her again, “Oh? We could watch a horror movie together. I’m sure it would be easier with me there.” He grinned at her. She tsked at him, “You just want a reason to have me in your arms, right?” she asked with a knowing look. He paused, pressing his lips together before stepping close to her and smirked down at her as he rested his free hand on the bookshelf behind her, “Maybe. But do I really need a reason to have you in my arms?” he asked in a low voice, smirking at her as he noticed her now flustered cheeks as she looked up at him. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to ignore how her body responded to him and lifted a hand to bop his nose lightly, “No, I suppose if you asked, I’d hold you anytime you wanted.” She replied, “Now, what do you want to drink? I can grab us something while we’re looking.” She didn’t want to show it, but she was trying to distract him and herself from how close he was to her now. Unfortunately, it was clear from Satan’s knowing look that he knew why she changed the subject. He leaned back, however, keeping his arm on the bookshelf as he grinned at her, “You can just get me whatever you’re getting, I’ll drink it.” He replied, turning his attention back to the book in his other hand. She stuck out her tongue at him, slipping out from under him, a gesture he definitely noticed as he glanced back to her smirked, “Don’t tempt me.” He said simply and she huffed, turning away from him, tossing back a, “I’ll be back, don’t run off.” As she walked away. Slipping into the coffee shop, she ordered two hot cocoas, quick to head back to where she left the demon boy with both drinks in hand. Upon returning, she raised her brow to seeing said demon speaking with a blonde woman. Her back was turned to Elizabeth, so she couldn’t see if she knew them, but she didn’t hesitate to walk up to the pair, moving to Satan’s side to hand him his cup, “Here you go.” She said before peering at who he was talking to. “Elizabeth! There you are! I knew that was you I saw walk in here earlier. I wasn’t sure though, considering I got distracted by your boyfriend here.” The woman chuckled as she glanced between the two of them. Elizabeth blinked in surprise, noting that she knew the woman was familiar, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on how for a moment, not replying as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. Luckily, it came to her before she accidentally made it awkward, “Oh! R… Rachel, right? Sorry, it’s been a while. Last we talked was graduation, right?” Rachel nodded, “Oh yeah, it’s been almost a whole decade at this point, hasn’t it? Time just flies. I came back into town for a bit to visit family, so I was going around to see what’s changed.” Elizabeth nodded, “Right. You went out of state for college, right?” “Yup! I’ve got a few more years before I get my medical license.” She beamed and Elizabeth smiled at her, “That’s good to hear.” Rachel then motioned to Satan, “I had just approached your boyfriend here because I thought I saw you, so we were talking about you.” Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose as she glanced at Satan, who maintained a steady calm look, giving nothing away. While she was concerned with what the woman was telling him about her, she was also worried about what he said his name was too. “R-really? Like what exactly?” she asked. “Oh, I was just telling Stan here about how you kinda kept to yourself in high school. Didn’t even date anyone, can you believe it?” the woman’s attention turned back to Satan, giving Elizabeth a moment to process that he had told the other that his name was Stan. She struggled a little to hold in her laughter as Satan raised his brow at Rachel, “Really? She didn’t date anyone at all?” “Oh no. I mean, you could ask her yourself, but everyone in class said it was because her mom freaked out any boy that even tried to talk to her.” Elizabeth paused at the other’s words, avoiding looking at Satan as she frowned, “She still tries to do that.” She muttered and Rachel replied, “Really? You should’ve left this dead-end town years ago. You know, it’s not too late.” Satan replied to her this time, “Actually, I’ve been talking to her about leaving here as well.” He spoke. Rachel perked up a bit, “Oh? Does he know about your mom and you?” she then asked Elizabeth. The woman nodded, “Yeah, he understands a bit.” After a pause, she could help but to add, “He hates his father too.” She ignored the stare she could feel from the demon on her, knowing she’ll pay for that comment later as Rachel sighed, “Well, at least you’re with someone who understands. Everyone around here never understood, right? I always felt bad that I couldn’t do anything back in school.” Rachel didn’t give the other a chance to reply before speaking again, this time to “Stan,” “But you should help her get out of this town, for sure. Honestly, a whole other state would be better. You are from another city, right?” Elizabeth cleared her throat, “I already have plans to leave.” She said simply to the curious look Rachel gave her. “With your boyfriend? I’m happy for you!” Rachel then declared before pausing and giving her another curious look, “Could I ask something? I don’t mean any offense of course, but I heard a rumor around our side of town that you’re one of those… what do they call them? Poly-something? Swingers? You have multiple partners or something?” she asked. Elizabeth’s face whitened a bit and she felt Satan wrapping an arm firmly around her to steady her, letting her reply to the question. “I… I don’t really want to answer that here.” She said finally. Rachel lifted her hands, “Hey if you are like that, I’m not judging. You know I’m not a part of those people here in town.” She said, “All I wanted to say was that I’m jealous. I can’t even find myself a pretty girl to love and hold and you’re sitting over here with what I heard was multiple hot guys.” She then sighed with an envious look. Elizabeth blinked in surprise for a moment before sighing softly, relaxing under Satan’s arm visibly, “Ah, right, sorry. I forgot you came out a couple years ago. Even still I don’t really talk about this stuff in public. Those people seem to pop up out of nowhere when I’m out.” She explained. Rachel gave her a pitying look, “Still? Even after all these years? Well, I guess being the daughter of one of them doesn’t really help, huh?” she asked before offering her a wide grin, “Well, I’m glad to hear you’ll have them out of your hair soon anyways.” Her phone chirped from her pocket, and she pulled it out to glance at it, “Oh! That’s my ride! I have to get going. Message me sometime on Facebook?” she asked before turning around and running off before Elizabeth could answer. The woman sighed softly in relief as the other ran off to the store’s entrance, leaning against the demon’s side a bit as his hand squeezed her shoulder. Without looking at him, she explained, “She was one of the most popular girls in my class. Almost always had a boyfriend. We didn’t really talk much. She left for another state shortly after graduating too, so I thought I’d never see her again. I guess her family’s still in town.” He didn’t reply right away, holding her against him. A little impatient, she glanced up at his face and pouted, “What exactly did she tell you about me anyways?” He paused, clearly thinking over what to tell her, “Just, some interesting bits from when you were a teenager.” He replied and she narrowed her eyes, “Nothing embarrassing I hope?” She paused before frowning, “Actually, I didn’t do much of anything in school like she said.” Then she muttered, “Well, I guess there was that one Halloween party in junior year. Or the fence incident in sophomore year…” Of course, he was a demon, so he caught every word she muttered, “Oh? What happened during the Halloween party? And what’s the fence incident?” he asked with a smirk. She glared up at him and gently tapped her hand against his shoulder before slipping out from his arm, “I’m not going to tell you. They’re embarrassing. Damn your demon ears.” He laughed, catching her hand before she could completely slip away from him, “Oh, but I already live in what you humans call hell.” He said, pulling her back and pressing her up against his chest, “I’d like to know everything about you. The good, the bad… the embarrassing.” He then added in a hushed tone, grinning down at her. She puffed out her cheeks and turned her head away from him, knowing she’d only get flustered by how close he was to her, “But if I told you, that would mean everyone would know. Or did you forget that we’re being watched right now? And I definitely don’t want Sol to hear about those events of my life. I’d never hear the end of it.” A vibration in her pocket confirmed that at least Solomon was, in fact, watching them. She tugged back just enough to put a little breathing room between their faces, but allowed him to keep holding her hand, “Did you pick some books already, or were you distracted with digging into my ‘dark backstory?’” she asked, raising her brow at him. He chuckled at her words before turning back to the shelf, “Actually I had a question. I was looking over the bestsellers and noticed one author named Stephen King kept popping up. One of his books,” he pulled out a thick novel with a clown face on it, “Reminds me of something from my universe, but it had a different name.” She peered at the book before huffing, “It? Oh yeah, I think I remember something being mentioned in the game about a movie similar to It. It was called That in the chat log. I found it hilarious.” She replied. He raised his brow, “So this would be another case of… what did you call it with Levi… the Mandela effect?” She nodded and shrugged, “Yeah. If you want, we can get all of King’s books for you to read. He’s a bestseller for a reason and you could pick apart the differences.” He looked excited and started picking through the books for them. She added, “Though, I should warn you, he has a lot of books. I can point out the really good ones if you want.” He waved his hand dismissively, “No no, I’ll take them all, its fine.” A few minutes later and with both of their arms full of books of various sizes, she led the both of them up to the register, surprising the cashier with all the books they placed on the counter. Shooing Elizabeth away when she pulled out her wallet, Satan paid for all the books with several hundred-dollar bills, making her roll her eyes before they picked up the many full shopping bags of books. “Now, for the cats, yes?” Elizabeth asked the demon, who nodded eagerly, and she led the way once more to the door to the shelter, transferring some bags to her other arm so she could open both doors for the two of them, passing by the sign that claimed no responsibly for the damage the cats could cause to any bought books and any damaged books that were unsold had to be bought by the one who brought it in. There were only a few other people in the cat section, other than a couple employees, so the two were free to settle in a corner of the room with their bags. Immediately, several of the braver, more curious cats approached them as Elizabeth settled on the ground, crossing her legs. A particularly large brown Maine Coon slipped right into her clearly offered lap, head butting right up against her hand as she smiled wide at the display. Satan followed suit after her, settling himself on the ground as well. Before he even got a chance to watch Elizabeth with envy, three cats padded right up to him. The largest one, a black and white tuxedo, propped itself with two paws on the demon’s knee, extending its neck to sniff curiously at his face. Another one, a pretty and small calico, kept pacing in a circle around the demon, as if unsure if she wanted to approach him. The last one, a fairly chill orange feline, just settled itself in front of him, lazing out on its side like it belonged there. Elizabeth giggled as she watched Satan’s expression, her hands idly dragging along the Maine Coon in her lap to give it attention, “You’re pretty popular for someone who’s never been here before.” He glanced over at her between rubbing the head of the tuxedo and clicking his tongue to the calico, “If I could stay here forever, I would.” She laughed again, earning an indignant meow from the cat in her lap and a cute paw tap to her chin, “Unfortunately, not possible, but there are cat cafes in Devildom right? We can go to them when I come over if you’d like. And if not, I bet you could convince some demons to open up some, or maybe open up a bookstore like this.” He grinned at her, clearly in bliss, “Absolutely. I will hold you to that promise, Liz.” He replied. She smiled at him before her gaze drifted to a laminated paper velcroid to the wall near them. Leaning over a bit to reach out and snatch it, she held in her hand, “Looks like a name chart for all the current cat residents.” She hummed, skimming through the pictures for her own lap companion, “Mine is called Sir Meowington. How adorable.” Satan glanced at the paper, but she held onto it, “Your hands are busy, I’ll look for you.” She chuckled, watching him scratch the needy tuxedo and the orange cat. “Let’s see… the calico watching you is called Kitty Purry.” She snickered. “The orange one is Bologna. Creative.” She skimmed a little more before finding the last one’s picture and cackling in laughter as she read the name. Satan frowned and tried to glance at the paper without moving too much for the two cats that now occupied his own lap, “What? What’s the tuxedo’s name?” She smirked at him, “Are you sure you wanna know?” she asked. He pressed his lips together and nodded, “It can’t be that bad.” She smirked a little wider, “I beg to differ. His name is Lucifer.” She couldn’t stop the laughter from his immediate scowl, his hand on the tuxedo pausing his scratching for a moment. However, Lucifer the cat noticed this and meowed loudly in protest, head butting his hand aggressively and Satan relented against the feline’s greed, “He’s better then his namesake, of course. Any cat is better than him.” He then grumbled. Her giggling started to die a bit as the calico, Kitty Purry, ever so cautiously started to step on her legs, the woman pausing to make sure she didn’t make any sudden movements and scare the feline away. After a few hesitant movements, the calico moved onto top of one of Elizabeth’s knees, since almost the whole of her lap was occupied by a very content and purring Sir Meowington. They remained there for a while, the woman content to wait until Satan had his fill of felines for the day, even if she knew that likely meant they’d be there until close. However, more people started to filter into the room as the store became busier and she wiggled in place to tug out her phone to check the time. She hummed for a moment, prompting Satan to glance over at her, “What is it?” he asked, petting as many cats as he could, a few more of the shyer felines having made their way to him in the hours they’d been there. “Ah, it’s getting close to the five-hour mark since you came here. I still don’t know if you’re only here for five hours, or for until bedtime, so I set the alarm anyways.” He pouted in response, clearly reluctant to leave all the felines climbing over him. She gave him an apologetic look, “I mean, we can just stay if you want to just pop back as you are now… Though I don’t know if you’d pull the cats with you. And you’d have to hold onto all the bags too…” she said, thinking out loud. He sighed softly before hanging his head slightly and gently nudging a cat here and there to ease them off of him so he could push himself up to stand, “No, no, we should get back to you house, right?” he asked her. She nodded and took his offered hand as he went to help her up as well. There were many indignant meows around them as they prepared to leave. After many minutes of goodbyes to all the cats, they finally left out the door and started making their way to her car. Elizabeth glanced at him before chuckled and brushing her hand against his front, “You are just covered in cat hair.” He scoffed at her and brushing his hand along her side and stomach, “So are you.” A car ride later and they finally returned to her home, closing the door just as her alarm sounded from her phone and she glanced at the device, “Ooh, T minus five minutes, Satan. Moment of truth now.” He grunted, picking up all the bags and moving to her living room to sit on her couch as she followed, placing her phone and D.D.D. on the table before settling down besides him and crossing her legs as he spoke, “You still didn’t tell me what happened during the Halloween party or the fence incident.” She grimaced, looking away from him, “And I won’t be telling you. Not with less than a minute left.” He grinned at her, leaning closer to her, “And if I don’t leave? Would you tell me then?” She rolled her eyes, “I’ll think about it. But that was probably just a Simeon thing yesterday.” “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” He replied, raising a hand to tap on her phone as her reminder alarm sounded off, noting that five hours had passed. She huffed at him before reaching for her D.D.D. just as Solomon’s ID lit up the screen from an incoming call. “Looks like Simeon’s case is the norm now.” She remarked to the sorcerer after accepting the call. “He’s here until I go to bed.” She ignored the smug look on Satan’s face as she kept her eyes on her D.D.D. “Indeed. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad though, however. There’s a good chance we might have to take breaks between summons at some point. I can’t imagine taking so much energy from you everyday would be good for you.” Solomon replied in a thoughtful tone. “By the way, since he’s still there, you’ll talk about the fence incident and the Halloween party, right?” the sorcerer then added, and she could imagine the mischievous smirk on his stupid face. She groaned out loudly, picking up the D.D.D., “You know what, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Solomon.” She said, refusing to answer his question, or acknowledge the eager stare Satan was currently giving her. Hanging up without giving wizard boy a chance to reply, she set the D.D.D. down and stood up, picking up her phone and plugging it in with the extra cord she had in the living room before picking up her D.D.D. and heading to her bedroom. During this, Satan set all the bags down on the couch before standing up to follow her with a smug little smirk, calling out as she started to walk away, “I’m pretty sure you said you’d tell me about those events if I stayed.” She scoffed at him, slipping into her room, and moving to her dresser to change, “I said I'd think about it. Don’t you have books to read? Those are far more interesting than my teenage years.” He closed her door behind him, noting that she left it open for him before leaning against the wall besides the bathroom door as she entered to get changed, talking to her through the door, “Oh, kitten, there’s nothing more interesting to me then you.” He replied. She was glad she was out of his sight because she instantly became very flustered at his choice of pet name for her, calling out, “Y-you really shouldn’t use that name, Satan.” “Why not? I think it suits you. You’re quite cat-like.” She hesitated, willing the heat in her cheeks to go down before leaving the bathroom once fully changed, “Because… it has implications.” She said simply. His brows shot up in interest, “Oh? What implications could those be? As far as I know, there’s nothing to imply from kitten. Unless it’s something you know that I don’t?” She avoided his eyes, setting her D.D.D. on the side table and muttered, “It’s usually used in spicy fanfiction about you.” Truly, she hasn’t learned her lesson about his excellent hearing. “Spicy fanfiction? Oh right, Levi mentioned you read that, though he never mentioned it was spicy stuff.” He smirked as he walked closer to her until she could feel his breath on the back of her neck, making her shiver a little, “What happened in these fanfictions you read then?” She flushed brightly; her hands raised up to cover her cheeks as she thought about how she got into this mess. She was happy she got him to drop the embarrassing teenager stuff, but now he was asking about what felt like worse things. “No-nothing interesting, Satan.” She stammered, turning her head away as she felt him lean over and rest his chin on her shoulder, his front just barely touching her back. As flustered as she was, she was unwilling to pull away from him and she knew he knew that. Hell, he could probably feel her heart beating a mile a minute at that moment. His deep chuckle rumbled against her through their contact, “Really? So uninteresting that it’s got you all red just thinking about it?” he asked in a low voice. She furrowed her brows and spun around to face him, pouting at him, “You’re the one who’s making me like this!” she declared, “Don’t go mistaking things.” He leaned back to allow her to turn, grinning down at her as she spoke before bringing his face close to her’s, “So I have this effect on you? I’m happy to hear that. What other expressions could I get out of you?” he asked, his hand coming up to rest against her chin and keep her face tilted up towards his. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized facing him was a mistake if she wanted to save any face. She glanced away from his eyes and his tsked at her, “Ah ah, look at me. I don’t want you to hide from me.” Her eyes snapped back to his own and she swallowed as she stared back at him, “I… I wouldn’t hide from you. I’m just… inexperienced.” She grumbled. He looked a little surprised before giving her a look, “And you teased me for acting like a virgin? When you actually were one?” he asked. She huffed and tugged chin a bit, as if trying to get away from him, but she wasn’t really trying, “So? I like teasing too. I just… get nervous with anything past that.” His gaze softened a bit as he watched her expression for a moment before speaking again, “How far are you ok with going?” he asked softly, and she couldn’t help a small gasp. Going back to avoiding his gaze, she hesitated before answering in a whisper, “I… I don’t think I could go all the way just yet.” Then she reached up and rested her hands on his arms, holding onto him, “But I don’t mind… a little exploration.” She finally concluded. He hummed in response, making her shiver a little under his searching gaze before he brought his face right in front of her’s, “Then tell me if I go too far, or push me away. I’ll stop when you want me to.” He whispered in return. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything else before he pressed his lips against her own with the lightest touch, his hand moving back to rest on the back of her head and the other pressing against the small of her back to press her against him. Elizabeth hesitated at first before her hands clenched onto his sleeves before relaxing against him and leaning into the kiss. Feeling her reciprocating, he pressed his lips against her’s harder, his fingers curling into her hair as she tilted her head for him. Her lips automatically opened for him when his tongue drifted along them, allowing him to press in deeper. Their kiss only broke when Elizabeth moved back just a bit too far and fell back onto the bed, her hands bringing the demon down with her so he was looming over her; the same position they were in before they had left to the bookstore. She panted under him, catching her breath from the kiss as she laid there and Satan grinned down at her, his forearms pressing into the sheets of the bed as his face hovered just above her’s. He stared down at her for a few moments, allowing her to breathe before leaning his head down again and pressing a gently kiss to the corner of her mouth. However, he pulled back and pressed another kiss to her chin, the demon slowly trailing kisses down to her neck. Her hands reached up to his sweater, his jacket having been long since discarded, and gripped the fabric as she leaned her head back for him, her body trembling in pleasure from every kiss he laid along her neck. As she felt his teeth dragging along her collarbone, she whined softly, her fingers digging into that sweater, “Sa-Satan.” She tried to speak, taking a moment to swallow before continuing, “Satan I need to work tomorrow.” He rumbled against her before speaking, his breath brushing against her skin, “No you don’t.” he replied, “You have alternating Wednesdays and Saturdays off, right?” He lifted his head to look down at her, his eyes dark with desire, “You had last Saturday off, so now you have Wednesday off now.” Her head was a little too clouded with her own desire to be able to recall that information at the moment, she so laid there for a moment, looking up at him with a slightly confused face before her mind finally caught up. “Oh. Ri-right.” Was all she could say at that moment. He smirked devilishly at her, “Words escape you?” he asked, and she nodded, turning her head slightly to avoid his eyes before he nudged her face back with a hand, “Oh, don’t be bashful now.” He didn’t move for a few quiet moments, his eyes peering down at her as she silently kept avoiding them. Finally, he asked, “May I touch the mark?” She glanced at him, blinking at the sudden question, and opening her mouth for a moment before simply nodding in response. She didn’t move to help him as he lifted himself up slightly so he could look down to her hip, his hand resting just above her pants and hesitating as he touched the skin on her waist. He waited a moment to see if she’d stop him or pull away, but when she didn’t move, he slipped a few fingers under the hem of her pants, tugging them down over her hips until her thighs were exposed for him. With that green mark now on display, his hand moved over it, his fingers just barely brushing along her skin there, making her shiver a little from the touch. She didn’t know if he was just ignoring how close his touch was to her core, but she was trying her best to ignore it herself. After what felt like an eternity of the demon caressing and gazing at the mark on her, his eyes returned to her face, a look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher. The closest she could think of was some sort of mix of awe and desire, but she wasn’t sure. Without saying anything else, Satan pushed himself off of her a bit more, gently pulling her over on the bed so she was laying properly on it and moved onto it after her, settling himself besides her so he was spooning her, and his hand could return to resting on the mark on her thigh. He nuzzled into her neck, kissing and nipping along her skin as she eeped in surprise, mostly from the sudden change in position. “I’ll respect your boundaries, of course.” He whispered against her ear, “But don’t expect to sleep much with what you’re letting me indulge in.” She opened her mouth again, trying to think of something to say but it was difficult with him constantly nuzzling into her neck, so she finally just said, “You demon.” He gave her a low chuckle before giving her a firm bite against her skin, “Well, out of all my brothers, that would be the most true, wouldn’t it?” he replied. She sighed, both in content and exasperation, “That explains a lot.” She grumbled before trying to let herself relax. “I only have until you fall asleep, after all. If I can keep you up, I get to stay here longer.” He added, the hand on her thigh splaying out against her skin before he trailed his fingernails along her skin to tease her, “You’re so incredibly tempting, you know.” “So, I’m starting to realize.” She huffed at him, doing her best to try to fall asleep despite all his touches, though she didn’t really want to stop him. She held back most of the noises she wanted to make from everything he was doing, but her body was more honest than she was as she struggled to sleep. “I… I suppose I’ll try to fall asleep.” She then grumbled to him, making him laugh softly against her neck. He didn’t bother replying to her verbally, rather simply kept up at her neck as she closed her eyes. She didn’t know when she finally fell asleep, but she did catch a “I love you, Elizabeth.” sometime before she finally drifted off.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He watched her as she opened that dumb little game she obsessed over and checked like clockwork every day on her phone. He grimaced as he watched whoever was chosen by the curse leave the room with a blank face. He was thankful it wasn’t him this time. He knew they had long deciphered that she wasn’t some sort of devious mastermind, but it didn’t stop the twinge of anger settled within him. Even if he knew she didn’t deserve his fury, it was still a part of him inside. Rip. How dare, how fucking dare, whoever is behind this curse think they could control him! Break. The sheer audacity they had to think they could get away with forcing him to say these stupid lines. Destroy. To think they could get away with messing with his mind and his emotions like this! Observing her interaction with his brothers, he was impressed with her ability to keep her cool. No, not keep her cool… hide her panic; hide her anxiety. He knew most of the others may not immediately catch it, but that’s because they didn’t know how to hide themselves behind a mask. He knew the signs of someone who wasn’t completely truthful with how they felt. Of course, he of all people would see it first. Yell. Did they really think they’d control the Avatar of Wrath?! Scream. He’d hope they didn’t expect to live very long once he found them. No, even better, he’d make sure they’d live long past when they’d think to die. Rage. He’d make sure they’d live the rest of their miserable life sating the rage they brought upon themselves. He’d insistent with himself that he’d keep himself objective about her. And he was doing well with that. But she was quick to address his glaring issue, or rather the rage he was still struggling with. He hated to admit it, but she did seem to know him, and everyone else, better than someone they’d never met should. And when he finally met her, when he finally stood before her, he didn’t feel an immediate urge to attack, to rage. No, he felt surprisingly calm with her. 
He didn’t know how long he’d been lost to his rage. The wrath within him settled a bit now, enough that he regained enough sense to glance around the room. Books were thrown and mangled everywhere. Many of his chairs were in shambles. He didn’t have a standing desk anymore. His mattress and sheets were nothing but tatters at this point. Even several of his lights were shattered. His hands shook as he silently took in the room, barely registering the scratches and cuts along his body from his actions.
 He didn’t have to try very hard to keep his mask of calm with her after being summoned to her world because it somehow felt natural to simply be with her. It felt natural to stay by her side and hold her. It felt natural to want her. Maybe it was because she brought him to a place he adored. Maybe because he enjoyed that bashful little face she made when he teased her. He didn’t want to admit it, but maybe it was simply because he loved her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Another morning, another missing cuddle partner from her bed. Elizabeth yawned wide, groggily pushing herself up to sit on the edge of her bed. She wasn’t completely awake yet, her hands rubbing at the sleep in her eyes as she tried to wake up her brain. After a few moments of lazily staring into the distance that was the other side of her room, her mind finally registered that she should go through her usual morning routine. She pushed herself to stand, wobbling a little and pausing just before the bathroom, considering something for a moment before turning on her heel and heading to the living room instead. From there, she picked up her phone charging in the corner, noting that her body once again woke her up earlier than she would’ve liked, but she didn’t really want to go back to sleep. Satisfied with her detour, she turned and headed back to her room with phone in hand, setting on top of her blanket before pausing as her D.D.D. sounded off in an incoming call. She frowned, her usual grumpy morning mood making her abhor any socialization of any kind, but, in her head, she reasoned that she liked anyone who could be calling her on that particular device at the moment. Sighing, she caved and answered the call, mumbling out in a slightly irritated tone, “What.” “Morning Sleeping Beauty.” Solomon’s voice greeted her. She didn’t even dignify his greeting with words, choosing to just grunt back in response to him. In the background of the call, she could hear a door opening and Solomon spoke up again, in a hushed tone, “Oh, Liz, you might want to hide the evidence before Mammon sees or I’ll never hear the end of his complaining.” Confused by those words, she tilted her head and stared at the device, “The fuck are you talking about?” she asked simply, her mental filter currently down for maintenance. “Evidence of fucking what?” As she asked that question the urge to stretch overcame her and she lifted her arms up high, tilting her head to the side to crack her neck and groaning softly from the excursion. “The ‘ell is on ya neck?!” Mammon’s loud voice sounded through the call, and she winced, “Tone it down, greed boy.” She grumbled, turning her head the other way for another crack. Immediately, she was rewarded with another complaint from the demon, “The fuck did Satan do to you?!” She rubbed her forehead as she scowled, “Mammon, what in the seven hells are you talking about?” Solomon was the one who answered, “Liz, you might want to look at yourself in a mirror. Specifically, your neck.” She rolled her eyes, picking up the D.D.D. with her to the bathroom to humor him and setting it on the sink’s counter before glancing at her tired looking face in the mirror. She caught on pretty quickly once her eyes caught sight of the many bruises that decorated the skin on her neck. Those same eyes widened in surprise and her hand quickly reached up and tugged her shirt over, revealing many more blemishes littered all over her neck and collarbone, the right side having almost twice as many as the left. Still quite tired, she didn’t quite register what they were right away, her brain struggling to process it before she recalled the night before. At once, her cheeks flushed up brightly and she cursed out loud, “Goddamn it, Satan.” she muttered. Having been too preoccupied examining herself and pondering over the cause of her blemishes, she hadn’t been paying attention to the loud complaining and laughing coming over the call, her eyes looking back down to the D.D.D. once she finished taking in the damage. “Who does he think he is?! Leaving that many hickies on her? How dare he leave any at all, that pervert?!” Mammon was going on and on with his complaints and Elizabeth remarked, “Mams, I’m pretty sure if Levi was there, he’d sense his sin all over you.” The demon sputtered and, from the sounds of things hitting other things, probably flailing about before having enough of a capacity of mind to respond, “If he was here, he’d faint!” She tilted her head in thought for a second, then nodded, “Oh yeah, probably. No, wait, maybe not faint. Maybe if I undressed right now and he was here, he would, but maybe not just for some hickies. I mean, it’s not like Satan did anything other than suck on my neck like some lovesick vampire.” Her metaphor earned herself a cackle from the sorcerer who had been just cracking up the entire time, his laughter renewed. She tsked, ignoring the laughter to add to the demon, “So sorry you didn’t think to do the same when you were here, Mams.” Her filter was still in maintenance and her field of fucks to give was pretty barren. She’d kill to see the flustered greed demon at this point, his voice loud and stuttering, but it was difficult to decipher any words out of whatever he was attempting to say. She leaned on her elbows on the counter, choosing to let the two over the call recover from whatever they were going through now, and opened up a chat to contact her next demon summon. 
Beelzebub
 ✓ Hey there bud.✓ Wanna go eat some places out of business?✓ I.E., you wanna come over to my universe today? Yes please.I’ll be ready in a few.

The sixth born having replied so quickly, she tuned back into the phone call shortly after, noting that Solomon seemed to be trying to get Mammon to quiet down. She spoke up, “Mammon, calm down already. You can leave as many as you like when we finally get me over there.” This succeeded in making him sputter a little more before finally quieting down in what she assumed was his embarrassment. She talked once more, this time to the sorcerer, “I’ve already messaged Beel about having him come over. He said he’d be ready shortly.” Solomon made a small noise of affirmation before commenting, “Not me? Or are you going to wait until you think I’ve forgotten about asking about your school stories?” She grimaced, standing back up and taking the D.D.D. with her back into the bedroom so she could pick out her clothes to wear, “Ugh, you should forget about it, Sol, because I’m not telling you about them.” “Aw, but I’d love to know more about you, Liz. We’d all love to know more about you.” Solomon complained. She tsked, “Then you can ask other things like everyone else has. Like my favorite food.” She replied before pausing mid step towards the bathroom, “Wait, no. Not my favorite food. I don’t want you trying to surprise me with home cooking.” She took the D.D.D. with her into the bathroom again, making sure the phone was left on the bed while she got dressed. “You won’t want my home cooking?” he asked her. She could hear the panicking demon in the background; all the confirmation she needed to know that Solomon could cook as well as he could in the game. “Hell nah. From what I’ve seen, the game has you guys pretty accurate. Which means, if I eat anything you cook, I’m going to end up dying.” “I’m wounded, Liz. Rejecting me before you even met me face to face?” “Don’t over exaggerate, Sol. I’m not rejecting you. I’m rejecting your attempted-murder meals.” Their conversation was interrupted by an opening door, just in time for her to finish getting dressed and step out of the bathroom. “Oh, there you are, Beelzebub.” Solomon greeted the gluttony demon. Mammon grunted as well in a greeting to the sixth born. A third voice spoke up as well, taking her by surprise, “Oh hey Beel. Take good care of her.” She recognized Belphegor’s voice and raised her brow. He must’ve been napping the whole time. She cleared her throat before speaking up, “Hey, Beel.” She hummed happily. While the others had received a few short grunts of greeting in return, she got a soft and happy sounding, “Hey, Liz.” She smiled at his words and Solomon spoke, “Alright, give me just a moment and we should be ready for Beelzebub’s turn.” There was a short pause, then the sorcerer spoke up again, “This will be the first time one of us will be there all day, so if you feel tired, Liz, make sure you allow yourself to sleep and send him back. We don’t want to be pulling too much energy from you.” He warned. Elizabeth tilted her head before nodding, “Fine, fine. I think the worst of it was when I pulled five people over though. And that still lasted, what, a couple hours?” Beelzebub was the one who replied, “I don’t want you hurt though, Liz.” She smiled at his words, “Don’t worry Beel. I’ll make sure if I get tired, I’ll take a nap and end it. But don’t you want to spend as much time with me as you can today?” “Yeah, of course.” Solomon interrupted the two of them, “I’m ready, Beelzebub. Come here please so we can get started.” A few moments later, after some shuffling and movement noise over the call, Solomon noted to Elizabeth that they were ready for her and she plopped onto her bed and closed her eyes, letting them know when she was ready. After a few quiet moments, she opened her eyes to see the tall orange-haired demon in her bedroom. Standing up, she took a step closer to him and remarked, “Oh damn, you’re tall.” He tilted his head, looking a little confused, “Is that not ok?” he asked, a slight pout on his face. She shook her head, “No, I mean, its fine! I just… I don’t know, I didn’t realize how tall you’d actually be.” She peered up to him, pressing her lips together, “Just how tall are you?” she asked, “You’ve gotta be at least a foot taller than me. Maybe more?” “Two hundred and three centimeters.” He replied rather promptly, and she grimaced, “Ah damn. Um… what’s that in feet?...” she muttered before turning to grab at her phone to convert it for her. Solomon, however, spoke up on the call, “It’s six feet eight inches in American.” He clarified for her, amusement in his voice and she scoffed at him, “Oh, thank you.” “How tall are you?” Beelzebub asked from behind her, and she turned back to him, “Uh, five foot seven… Solomon can you convert that…” she then muttered. There was some laughter before the sorcerer replied, “One hundred and seventy centimeters.” “Now that I think about it, everyone I’ve summoned has been taller than me, even if it’s only by a few inches. Are demons and angels just really tall or something?” she asked, still eyeing her current demon companion’s height before an idea came to her, “Is it because you all were literally made by your Father?” she then asked, unable to resist muttering, “Only God could make a bunch of perfectly hot guys…” Beelzebub’s cheeks pinkened a bit and there was a short cackle of laughter from what sounded like Belphegor over the call, as well as quite a bit of embarrassed sputtering from what was likely a flustered Mammon as she clicked her tongue in annoyance, “Ah… right. Demon hearing.” Solomon, however, sounding like he was pouting, even if it kinda sounded fake, “What about me? I am neither angel nor demon.” She scoffed, “What about you, Sol? Clearly you just had good genes that let you be born attractive.” Clearly, her filter was still down for the morning maintenance. Before anyone else could say anything more, there was a loud growling noise in her room, making the woman jump in place, “What the fu-“ she muttered. Beelzebub pouted and rested a hand on his stomach, wordless giving her an explanation, “Oh, I’m sorry, Beel. You must be starving and here I am just chatting away.” He shook his head, “It ok. I didn’t have as much for breakfast as I usually do because I wanted to hurry here.” He replied. She frowned and picked up the D.D.D., “I’m going to end the call for now then, and get him some food before he starves.” She said to Solomon, who simply made a noise of acknowledgement. After a goodbye to everyone on the other end, she ended the call and turned to the demon, “Well, I have some food in the kitchen that you can hold out on until we can drive to a restaurant, if you want.” He nodded, smiling at her as she opened the door to her bedroom, and he followed her to the kitchen. She opened her fridge, motioning to him, “You can eat whatever. I’ll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow anyways, so it’s fine.” She offered to him, moving to the side to give him access to it. His eyes lit up happily as he immediately leaned down to poke his head in and start what little she had left in there. Seeing as how she hadn’t gone grocery shopping since the whole game reality break, she didn’t have a ton left. She walked away for a moment to finish grabbing everything she needed to go out, spinning her keys on a finger as she returned to the kitchen. She was only gone for a few minutes before returning to a definitely empty refrigerator and a pleased looking Beelzebub.

“Damn. You really can just inhale everything, can’t you?” she asked, looking a little surprised. “I thought maybe the game might’ve exaggerated you a little bit with that whole gluttony thing, but I guess not.” He frowned a little, glancing at the bare fridge, “I’m sorry.” She waved her hand dismissively, “No, no don’t be. I basically asked for this when I invited you to eat it all.” She then motioned to the door, “Why don’t we go out then? There are a few places that have these food challenges that I bet you’d destroy in no time flat.” Once more, he looked excited as he rested a hand on his stomach, “What kind of challenges?” he then asked, “Like, fighting?” Motioning him towards the door as they talked, she herded him off to her car, “No, no fighting. Like… they make a really, really big pizza or burger and you have to eat all of it in thirty minutes sort of challenge.” She explained. Beelzebub scoffed a little, ducking his head down to get into the car, “That doesn’t sound like a challenge. That sounds like lunch.” She snorted in return as she settled into the driver’s seat, “It’s a challenge to a human.” She retorted. “Though the first place won’t have one. It’s still breakfast time so most of the restaurants with those are still closed or aren’t serving that stuff quite yet.” She paused once she started the car, “We could also go to a sports bar later if you want. I know you enjoy that stuff, though it’s not going to show Fangol. It’s mostly just… softball season? I don’t know the seasons…” He smiled at her, “I’ll go anywhere you want to go. As long as there’s food.” She chuckled, backing out of her driveway, “Of course there’ll be food. I’ll make sure you have plenty of food today.” The look the demon gave her could only be described as unadulterated happiness as she drove towards their first destination.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Their first stop was a pleasant little diner that was known both for their pancakes in the morning and burgers in the afternoon. Since it was still pretty early in the morning on a weekday, it was fairly empty, other than one other table seated on the other side of the place after they had been seated. Settling into the booth they were placed at (after warning the waitress that they were about to order many meals so the kitchen could prepare for the gluttony demon), they both glanced at the menu. Elizabeth ended up only ordering a pancake breakfast meal, whilst, predicably, Beelzebub ended up ordering many, many meals, earning quite a look from the waitress. “You can just bring them out as they finish them.” Elizabeth offered to the waitress before she walked off with a slightly worried look. “I’m going to have to leave her a healthy tip.” She then muttered. Beelzebub glanced at her, his hands fiddling with the napkin wrapped utensils. She looked back to him and raised her brow, “Something wrong?” she asked him, sipping from the water the waitress had given her. He hesitated, looking down to the object he was playing with, speaking after a moment, “I can give you my pact, right?” She blinked before it dawned on her and she gasped, “Oh! I forgot all about that! I’m sorry, Beel. It was waaaay too early in the morning for me to function properly. It still is, honestly.” She replied before moving one of her hands to rest on his, “Of course I’d love your pact, Beel.” She then smiled warmly at him. She glanced around the place, noting the relatively dead place. Even the one other group was far away enough that they wouldn’t be able to hear anything, and the staff appeared to have disappeared for the most part. “Now would be a good time for it. I doubt we will really get a moment alone after this point, since we’re going to public places.” He nodded, flipping his hand under hers to hold it gently, his own larger hand engulfing hers. His thumb brushed against the back of her hand for a moment before he finally spoke in that deep, rough language, reciting his lines. She recited her own after him, keeping her voice quiet, just in case, and still glancing about the place. She wouldn’t put it past her luck for someone she knew to walk in at the worst possible time. The magical feeling ran down her spine before settling on the right side of her lower stomach, ironically on the opposite side of his twin’s mark. She released his hand to press against her shirt where the mark laid before pausing, “Ah… we can look at it later in the car, ok?” she asked him and he nodded, “I don’t mind. I’m glad I gave you my pact anyways.” She raised her brow, “Yeah?” she took his hand once more, holding it lightly, “Just because you want to bring me back to Devildom too? Or is there another reason?” He glanced down at her hand, holding it gently in return and grunting softly before responding, “Yes. And because I like you.” She flushed slightly at his bluntness, “O-oh, I see.” she muttered. He continued, “I like you, so I want to keep you safe.” Understanding him, she concluded for him, “And I should be able to use your pact to keep myself safe, right?” she asked in return. He nodded, the two of them releasing hands as the waitress returned with Elizabeth’s meal and the first couple of meals Beelzebub had ordered, placing them down in front of the two. As Beel dug right into his cheese covered omelet with hashbrowns, Elizabeth thanked the waitress before she went off to wait on the rest of Beelzebub’s food. Elizabeth glanced at him, watching him eat, or maybe consume is a better word for what he was doing, for a moment before she started on her own pancakes, sausage, and eggs. She fiddled with the black, fancy choker she had the foresight to wear out today, though she couldn’t help to worry that some of Satan’s marks from the previous night were visible. “They’re all hidden.” Beelzebub’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she glanced up at him a bit guiltily, “Yeah? Good. I’m pretty sure if I walked around without this thing on, I’d get all sorts coming after me.” He frowned at her and rested a hand closer to her on the table, “I won’t let anyone come after you.” He assured her. She smiled at him and patted his hand lightly, “Well, I don’t mean literally, of course. Society around here isn’t quite that dystopian yet.” She replied, “But I appreciate that I can depend on you, Beel.” He nodded to her before quickly returning to his food, already finished with the omelet, and moving onto his hot breakfast sandwich. She hadn’t even finished with her pancakes yet, much less everything else on her plate. She chuckled softly before returning to eating as well. The place was about half full by the time the both of them finished, or rather by the time Beelzebub finished with the five other plates that were delivered to them over the course of the next twenty minutes and Elizabeth had finished shortly before he was onto his second to last plate. She would’ve let him order more and really take all the restaurant’s food, but she wanted to drag him off to other places already, so when he cleaned off his last plate, she asked for the check. “There’s other places to head to.” She explained to the demon’s glance and slight pout, “Other foods to eat.” She then chuckled to him once the waitress had walked away. She pulled out her wallet to fish out some of the money Asmodeus had left for her, pausing as she noticed Beelzebub already had his wallet out and quite a few bills in his hand, “Beel? You don’t have to pay, you’re my guest here.” He shook his head, “It’s fine. I took these out for today.” She sighed, “You rich people…” she muttered before placing down one of the hundreds she had, “At least let me leave the tip. The waitress was pretty pleasant and patient with us today.” She then added. He easily relented to her, nodding before taking the check as the waitress returned, who directed him to the front of the restaurant to pay. After Elizabeth left the tip (hidden slightly of course, considering the amount), they returned to the car after Beelzebub paid. She leaned back against the side of the car, “Did you want to see the mark?” she asked him. He perked up a little, curiosity in his eyes as he quietly nodded. Glancing around to see if anyone else was in the parking lot, she lifted her shirt over her stomach, showing off the bright red shape of a top-down view of a fly with horn similar to Beelzebub’s horn set. The mark was settled just opposite Belphegor’s mark, on the right side of her stomach, rather than the left his twin’s was on. She chuckled a little as she ran a finger against it, making him shudder a little, “I should’ve known. Not only would it be a fly, but near your twin’s mark too?” she lifted her head to smile at him, “It looks pretty cool honestly.” He smiled back to her before his eyes returned to his mark and she caught something that looked like satisfaction in his eyes as he stared, “Can I touch it?” he asked. She paused, only hesitating as she recalled what happened with the last demon that wanted to touch his mark (Satan) and blushed slightly, “Ah, a little bit sure. But when get back to the house tonight, you can touch it all you want.” She promised him, though she kept her shirt lifted so he could lightly rest a few fingers against it for a few moments, seemingly fascinated by the mark on her. After just a few long moments of her watching him as he eyed the symbol, he finally pulled away and nodded his head, “Yeah, later then. Where are we going next?” She dropped her shirt and moved around the car to slip back into the driver’s seat as he dipped back into the passenger’s side before she spoke again, “Well, there’s a few places we can go. We can go to another restaurant where you can destroy their stock, or there is a burger place that I wanted to take you. They have this food challenge where you have to eat this ten-pound burger or something with fries and a milkshake within 30 minutes.” She said, “It’s not open yet, but later we can also go to this sport bar that serves some pretty good food. I believe it’s basketball season, but I think they also have some hockey games going on. I think you’d like hockey more then basketball, if Fangol is as violent as I think it is.” He quietly listened as she spoke, though he did look more and more excited the more she explained to him. Finally, his stomach growled out and she jumped slightly, glancing over to him, “Already?” she asked him, and he looked a little sheepish, “Sorry.” She shook her head, “It’s fine. You’re the Avatar of Gluttony. I don’t think you’re ever really full, right?” He seemed to ponder it for a moment before he shook his head, “There are some times. Not often though.” He considered. She started up the car, “Oh? And where to first? Burger challenge? Or another place? We can also go to the Y, er, a gym if you want. I don’t exercise a lot, but I’ll do it with you.” He considered for a moment, then said, “The burger challenge? If you don’t mind. I’ll need more to eat before I work out if we’re going to the gym.” She smiled, “Alright. I’m going to love seeing you destroy the time limit.” As it happens, he ate all ten pounds of burger, one pound of fries, and one massive milkshake in less than ten minutes, much to the restaurant’s staff’s surprise. Elizabeth had contented herself with sitting opposite him at the table, remarking to staff that she wasn’t here to eat anything, just to watch him take on the challenge. Having destroyed all that food, Beelzebub earned a t-shirt with the saying “I ate ten pounds of beef just to get this lousy t-shirt” and his picture in the Hall of Fame that littered along their wall. And then the staff was floored as the demon had the gall to ask for another burger and fries because he was still hungry, though the request made Elizbeth burst out in laughter. Unfortunately, while they didn’t have to pay for the first one because Beelzebub finished the challenge, they made them pay for the second meal, not that Beelzebub hesitated to pay for it. Elizabeth did take some time to return a few messages while Beelzebub was working on his second round of beef and fries. 
Satan
 I’m not a “lovesick vampire.”For one thing, I don’t sparkle in the sunlight. ✓ Hah, Belphie tattled on me? Or was it Mammon?✓ Eh, doesn’t matter.✓ And was that a Twilight reference? Was yours not a Twilight reference? ✓ Nah, I’m not so cruel to bring that series up and compare you to that wimpy ass vampire.✓ How do you even know about that series? I read it of course.Though I suppose you are right.The vampires in that series aren’t the best depictions of their species. ✓ Right, well, I only called you that because you left a bunch of *clearly visible* marks all over my neck. I did that on purpose.How else will anyone know what we were up to in your bedroom? ✓ You conniving, cunning son of a bitch. Well, everyone assumed you and Simeon were doing… inappropriate things as well, but there was no proof.I wanted to leave proof. ✓ I had to cover up to go out today because of you.✓ I’ll have to get you back when I get over there. I look forward to the marks you leave on me then.

✓

Diavolo
 Did you by chance know who were going to call upon tomorrow? ✓ Not really, but the fact that you’re messaging me makes me assume you’d like to be that person? That would be correct.Tomorrow would be a very opportune time for me.If that is alright of course. ✓ I work tomorrow, so it will be after work.✓ But I don’t mind at all.✓ Although, I do need to go grocery shopping now that Beel’s eaten everything.✓ If you want, we can wait until I’ve made a stop by the store. No, no that sounds perfect!Please, I’d love to come shopping with you. ✓ Really?✓ It would be boring though.✓ Compared to like… going to the arcade or something. I don’t mind.I think it would be fascinating. ✓ Alright then.✓ I’ll summon you over right after work then.✓ And we can go together.

As Beelzebub was finished up his second round, she finished up responding on her D.D.D., the woman glancing at the now large and empty plate, taking a moment to take a sip from the chocolate milkshake he had opted to share with her, though he still drank the lion’s share of it. “Man, you really just pack it all away in there somehow, don’t you?” she asked, looking back up at the very satisfied looking demon and ignored the stares of disbelief from the staff still working around them. He had finished this second round around the same time as before, if not a little sooner than the last time. He nodded, resting a hand on his stomach as Elizabeth glanced at her phone for the time, “Alright, the gym then? To burn off some of all this that you ate?” she asked him, looking a little amused at the very content look he had. He nodded again before picking himself up, following after her as she headed out. They paused to pay for the second round, of course, with Beelzebub insisting on using his money once more as she left the tip. Once back into the car, she glanced at him while leaving the parking lot, “There aren’t a lot of places to work out around here, honestly. Not good places, other then this one fancy place.” She started. “Fancy? How so?” he asked, “I’m fine with anything as long as it has equipment.” “It should. They have a section there with treadmills and weights and all that. There’s also a two-mile track that goes around a court. And a pool. And some other courts. It’s usually used for school trips and classes. But as long as you pay a fee, you can go in.” she replied, “I’ve only really gone there for a few pool classes, or when I really wanted to go swimming without someone around.” “You like swimming?” “Yeah, out of all exercise, that’s probably the one I’m most ok with. Don’t have my swimsuit though, so I think we’ll have to satisfy ourselves with either the track or the equipment, yeah?” “That’s fine. I have a routine I can do. You don’t have to do it with me though if you don’t want to.” He offered to her. “Nah, nah, I don’t mind, if you don’t mind me being a little… out of practice.” She said before muttering, “That’s implying I was ever ‘in practice’ actually.” He chuckled, glancing at the large building as they pulled into another lot and she parked, “It doesn’t bother me.” A half hour later, while they were both inside and running what Beelzebub called his “warm up routine” on the track and Elizabeth was panting like a dog trying to keep up with the demon’s jogging, she regretted offering to work out with him. “You can, huff, go fast-, hah, faster, Beel.” She panted out to him, struggling to keep the same pace as him, even as he had slowed himself considerably to keep pace with her. “I’m just, ah, going to walk, hah, now.” He frowned at her, “Are you sure? I don’t need to leave you alone. I can walk with you.” He replied, not in the least bit winded. She shook her head, immediately slowing to a walk like she said she would, “N- huff, no. I know, ah, the warmup is impo- ah, important. Go ahead.” He pouted a little, but nodded and turned, speeding up quickly to a decent jog once more while she lazy person walked on the track. By the time she had recovered her breath enough to not be embarrassingly panting, he was running past her on the track, lapping her. She watched him run by, picking at, and fanning herself with the collar of the tank top she had bought in the shop connected to the gym to cool herself. Fortunately for both of them, the shop sold enough clothing that they could just buy some gym clothes so they, or rather she, didn’t sweat in her normal outfit. Unfortunately for her, she was now sweating in the choker that she had covering all the marks still on her neck. Once he lapped her for the third time, he slowed back down to her pace, looking down to her, “Are you ok?” he asked, frowning as he watched her. She waved her hand dismissively, “I’m fine, really. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was, er, out of practice.” She tugged at the choker a little to adjust it, not enjoying the feeling of her sweat dripping onto it, “Anyways, did you have more you needed to run?” she asked him. He shook his head, “No, my warmup is done. I usually move on to weights now.” “Then let’s move over there, yeah?” she then asked, motioning to the glass door that led to where all the equipment was. He nodded and the two walked off the track to the room and Beelzebub immediately homed in on the weights, peering eagerly over the different weights before settling on some of the heaviest ones, carrying them over to a free barbell and platform, securing them into place with the provided collar, “Could you spot me?” he asked when he glanced over at her. She smiled and nodded, “Sure. I don’t think I’m going to be lifting any of these anyways.” She replied, walking over, and standing near him, “I haven’t really… spotted someone before, so what do you want me to do exactly?” she asked. “If you could just keep count of my reps.” He explained and she nodded, giving him the go ahead as well. She saw it as a win win, honestly. She got to sit on the little stool near him and just had to count every time he lifted the barbell and he had someone to watch over him. Not to mention she had a great view of the thick muscles that flexed every time he lifted, but she wasn’t going to say anything about that. The demon settled in an easy pace, lifting the weights in a smooth fashion despite the sheer amount of weight he piled on the barbell. She mindlessly counted each lift, not really registering the words after about number sixty. His pace didn’t really slow until she realized she was already counting into the two hundreds. He finally finished on three hundred and twenty-four. She whistled at him as he set the barbell down, her brows raised, “Fuck, do you even lift bro?” she said, and he gave her a look of confusion. She snickered and shook her head, “Never mind, it’s a joke.” She explained, “Anyways, I take it you need a break? Or are you done.” He rubbed his hands together, “How many did I get to?” “Three hundred twenty-four.” “Hmm, I usually do closer to double that.” She choked and looked at him in disbelief, “Seriously? You demons are no joke.” She said, “Are you going to keep going then?” “Nah.” He shook his head, “I think I’m done for today. I can do more tomorrow to make up for it.” She chuckled, “I’m not sure that’s how that works, but if you wanna leave, I’m fine with that.” She then motioned to the exit, “We can meet up at the front once we take a shower and change, ok?” He nodded, putting away the weights he was using before walking out of the room with her, the two heading to their respective gendered locker rooms. She had to remove the choker as she showered, the woman taking a peek in a mirror to look at the marks afterwards and pouting a little before being quick to latch the choker back into place as she heard other ladies entering the locker room. She hurried to get herself dressed, avoiding the others now in the room before slipping out to find Beelzebub already waiting for her. He smiled as he spotted her, making her grin back at him as she enjoyed the sight of what she compared to a faithful hound waiting for its owner. That line of thinking made her press her lips together in thought. She didn’t really want to be his owner, but damn if these demons didn’t continue to remind her of adorable dogs. “Another food place?” she asked him, offering her hand to hold before they walked out of the building, “Or, actually, the sports bar I was talking about earlier should be open now, we can go there.” The demon hummed, “Sure. I’m happy to go anywhere with you if there’s food.” She looked back at him, giving him a warm smile, “Oh, you’re adorable.” She cooed to him before they both got back into the car, the two tossing their now extra clothes into the back seat. Another car ride later, with Beelzebub cutely holding onto her hand the whole way, and they arrived at the bar. “So, like, confession time. I’ve been here like… once. The food was great, but I dipped out of there as quickly as I could because it was a work party, and I really didn’t want to socialize. So, I don’t really know much about the place.” He shrugged, “It’s fine. You said the food was good.” She sighed softly, giving him a little smile, “True. That’s the important thing, right?” They both slipped into the bar, grabbing a seat at a pub table to wait for someone to serve them, “Human alcohol doesn’t work on demons, right?” she asked him. He shook his head, “No, at least I don’t know any human world drinks that could affect us.” She tsked, “A shame.” He tilted his head, “You could drink though.” She was quick to shake her head, “No, no, I’m the driver, I can’t do that.” He frowned, “Then… do you have anything at your home? You could drink tonight if you really wanted to.” She paused to consider it, “I guess there’s that bottle of wine I haven’t touched. I don’t usually drink since you really shouldn’t drink alone, you know?” He tilted his head slightly, “Then I’ll stay with you while you drink.” Before she could reply, a waiter approached him, cheerfully greeting them and handing the two some menus and giving them some time to look it over. Elizabeth glanced up at the demon and smirked, “You’re going to order another six or so entrees, right?” He looked back at her, a surprisingly serious look on his face, “Should I get one of everything?” he asked. She jumped slightly at the question, “Could you really eat all that? After this morning?” He nodded, “I could probably have more. I’m really hungry after that work out.” “If you feel you need to order that, sure. But you’d probably want to ask them to stagger the meals. It’s not like this table can hold much more then a couple plates.” She pointed out to him. He glanced down at said table, the decision of what to order clearly weighting heavily on his mind, “Alright. Then… half of the menu then.” She couldn’t help a little chuckled at those words, “S-sure. I have chips and stuff as well at home, other then the now empty fridge, so you can eat that before you leave today.” He nodded briskly and placed down at the menu as she put her’s down. The signal was not missed by the waiter, who was probably watching them to be honest, with how quickly he showed up ready to take their order. “What can I get you guys?” he asked in his cheerful tone. “I’d like your bacon cheeseburger, please, no pickles. With a lemonade.” Elizabeth ordered, not at all preparing the poor guy for the demon’s words. Beelzebub pointed onto to the menu, “Can I have everything from here,” He pointed to halfway down the steaks list, “To here.” He let his finger run down the menu to the end of the burger list. The waiter looked taken aback by the order and Elizabeth clarified for the demon, “He’s not kidding. He wants all of that. If you could stagger the meals too, please. We don’t have a lot of room on this table.” She looked over at Beelzebub, “Every ten minutes? Or should we go down to six or so?” He considered it seriously for a moment before answering, “Somewhere in between.” She nodded and turned back to the surprised waiter, “Every eight or so minutes then, please. After the first one is finished. Though if I could get mine right away, of course.” It took the guy a minute to recover before nodding, “R-right, uh, I’m sorry, could show me which ones you wanted again?” he then asked the demon, who was more than happy to point out every meal he wanted once more. The waiter took a few more minutes to have Beelzebub clarify a few options for most of the meals before he walked away to put it in. Once he was out of hearing range, Elizabeth let out a giggle, “Damn, he reacted better then the waitress did this morning.” she remarked. He smiled over at her before glancing at one of the many TVs in the place, watching whatever sport that was currently on display. She looked over as well, “Oh, that’s hockey, I believe. We’re close enough to Canada that they like to show the Hockey season around here.” She spoke. He didn’t reply right away, watching until there was a rough looking fight amongst the players, “Looks kinda like Fangol.” He commented. She raised her brow, “Oh right, Fangol’s pretty violent, right? The game didn’t go into much detail about the sport, just that you played in RAD’s team and there were games that the boys liked to cheer you on at.” He nodded, “Fights among teams tend to happen during games. Like that.” He motioned to the TV they had been watching, “Though usually there’s more blood than what those humans shed.” She blinked and flinched, “Oh boy. And you all are just fine with that?” she paused, “Wait, right. Demons. You all are stronger than I’m used to. Just that work out made that obvious.” She slipped out of her chair, “I’m going to go to the bathroom really quick, don’t cause any trouble, ok.” she said, pausing their conversation and he nodded back to her quietly. Taking a moment to take out her phone and hand it to Beelzebub for safe keeping (and privacy), she headed off. The bar wasn’t very busy yet, since it was a workday and still early afternoon, but there was a low buzz of conversation noise as she walked through the tables to the bathroom. She was quick. She wouldn’t say it to his face, of course, but she was a little worried about leaving the demon alone here. As she was washing her hands, she overheard a conversation between a few girls just outside the bathroom, “He’s pretty cute. Think he’s here with someone?” “Yeah, didn’t you see? It was that one girl the religious nuts were talking about.” “What? You mean that lady’s daughter that basically got publicly disowned?” “Yeah. Something about not following God or whatever.” “Poor girl. Though I heard she’s got a whole group of guys living with her now.” “What? Multiple guys? What was her name anyways?” “I don’t know. It’s not like she posts anything on Instagram or something. I wouldn’t even remember her if it weren’t for that whole ass scene her mother caused with her a year or so ago.” Elizabeth flinched, hesitating to leave the bathroom before remembering that Beelzebub was waiting for her. She waited a little longer for the voices she heard to fade a bit before she slipped back out and quickly made her way back to the table. When she returned, she paused at the stern look on Beelzebub’s face, quick to wave her hand in front of it, “You ok?” she asked him. His eyes quickly focused back to her, the hard look on his face quickly fading back to his neutral expression, “Yeah. It’s nothing.” She didn’t get a chance to dig, however, as the waiter arrived with their food. The waiter, thankfully, seemed to have recovered quickly from his earlier shock, looking just as cheerful as before as he placed the plates down before them, taking a moment to ask if they needed anything else before adding, “And your next meal should be out in about the eight minutes as you requested, sir.” Beelzebub at least managed to acknowledge the waiter with a grunt before digging right into his massive steak and mashed potatoes, leaving Elizabeth to smile and thank the man for him. After the waiter left, she started on her own burger, watching the gluttony demon work his magic through his meal faster than she could even finish a quarter of her fries. Another, differently seasoned steak arrived just as the demon polished off his plate, the waiter quick to trade the plates to keep the demon happily eating. Each plate was traded just as the demon finished off the food on it, the waiter surprisingly keeping up with someone who wasn’t even human. Meanwhile, Elizabeth only finished as Beelzebub was working his way through his eighth entrée. She didn’t want to put more work onto their server, when he paused to ask if she wanted dessert, she was quick to order the chocolate cake melt. Just after the demon finished off his last plate (a deluxe double burger), she pushed the half of her dessert she didn’t eat over to him, giving him some to eat as well. The waiter returned shortly after, looking a little worse for wear from all the back and forth he was running, “Was there anything else either of you’d like? Or would you like the check now?” She peeked at Beelzebub, who for the most part, looked satisfied, so she shook her head, “No, the check please.” She replied. Once more, the demon insisted on paying for everything and she only relented once she placed down the tip (consisting of a couple of hundreds for the waiter’s effort) before they finally finished up there. It was already late afternoon as they returned to the car, the sun starting to get low in the sky as she buckled in, “Damn, time really flies by.” She muttered, “Back to the house?” she then asked him. He grunted before speaking, “Yeah.” He said simply. It was another drive before they finally returned to the house, the woman sighing in relief once she pasted through the front door with the demon just behind her, “I don’t know how, but I’m exhausted.” Beelzebub rested a hand against her back, as if to steady her, “Isn’t it because you pulled me here?” he asked her. She paused, “Oh right. That makes more sense than it being because of the lap I couldn’t finish this morning.” She moved over to the living room, plugging her phone back in before stretching her limbs up to the ceiling before she felt Beelzebub behind her, her head turning slightly back to him, “What is it?” she asked. He hesitated before asking, “Can I touch you?” She blinked in surprise before giggling a little, “Of course, Beel.” Without another word, he slipped his hands under her arms and, instead of simply touching her, he rather literally picked her up, making her squeal in surprise, her arms and legs reaching out and grabbing onto him out of instinct to keep her from falling. He didn’t let her go as he adjusted his grip to allow her to cling to him, the demon taking the both of them back to her bedroom. He then settled the both of them onto her bed, his arms caging her against him as he rested his face into her neck while he sat on her bed. His larger form meant he was practically engulfing her with his body as he held onto her, breathing in her scent as she quietly let him do as he wanted. After a few moments of silence, she gently tapped against his shoulder, “Either you’ve been waiting to do this all day, or you just really like to hug.” she remarked. He grunted before lifting his head to look down at her, “Sorry.” He muttered. She smiled at him and rested her hands on his cheeks, “No, don’t apologize. I gave you permission, you’re ok.” She assured him before slipping her arms back around his neck, “I have to admit, I feel very safe in your arms.” He gave her warm smile in return, “I’m glad.” They both were quiet again for a few more moments before he finally managed to explain, “Its just… after you took me all over and I saw you here… I really wanted to hug you.” He spoke. She lifted a hand to rub his head, “Yeah? Just a sudden urge to be affectionate?” she asked him. He pressed into her neck again, “Yeah.” There was another comfortable silence as they snuggled together before he spoke up again, “Can I do more then hug you?” he finally asked. She grunted before speaking, “Like what?” “Hmm, can I kiss you?” She grinned a bit, “Ah, I see. Of course, Beel. You can kiss me all you’d like.” He pulled his head back to look down at her face, a soft expression on his face before he hesitatingly pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. She sighed contently against him as she pressed a hand against the back of his head, petting his hair before he pulled away. There was a different look in his eyes now, a look she was starting to get familiar with considering her last two visitors had given her similar looks on their respective nights, “I don’t want to go all the way.” She warned the demon, “Not until I get to Devildom anyways. But anything over clothes is fair game.” Having given it some thought, and a little experimentation with the others over the past few days, she was a little surer in what to tell her current partner this time around. Beelzebub glanced into her eyes before nodding to her in acknowledgement, his head quickly dipping back down in for another kiss, this one deeper then the first one as he tilted his head. His hand pressed against the small of her back, keeping her body pressed against his larger one. His other hand rested gently on her hip, and she reached down, guiding his hand over so it was just under her shirt, resting against the pact mark he gave her earlier that morning. He groaned softly against her mouth in response, his thumb brushing along the symbol there as she shuddered a little against him. He broke the kiss again, this time moving his head lower to attach to her neck, and she was quick to toss the choker she had been wearing all day to the side for him to have access. She couldn’t help a small giggle as she felt him licking and suckling along the skin of her neck, “My neck is going to be covered thanks you guys by the time I get to Devildom.” He grunted softly, “Sorry.” She pat his head, “It’s ok. I’ll have to dig up some makeup for work tomorrow, that’s all.” She couldn’t stop a yawn coming from her body, however, her hand moving over to cover her mouth, “S-sorry.” She whispered to him, and the demon shook his head, “You’re tired.” He rolled the both of them until they were laying together, his arms still firmly wrapped around her, and she was nestled against him. She tugged at the collar of his shirt, “In my clothes?” she asked, and he grunted back at her before talking, “You can change later. After I’m gone.” She smiled before adjusting herself on him so she could at least plug in her D.D.D. and set up an alarm for tomorrow, “Fine, fine. You’re almost as bad as Belphie when it comes to snuggles.” She snickered at him. He didn’t reply, instead currently burying his head into her neck again, nuzzling against her and breathing deeply before muttering, “I like your scent… it smells sweet.” Unfortunately, she was quickly losing the battle to remain conscious, so she didn’t have the energy to respond back to him. Rather, she yawned again and pressed herself against him, allowing herself to surrender to sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The first time he heard them was at the table on the other side of the diner.“Isn’t that the girl that would come in with all those church people on Sundays?”“Yeah. Aren’t they a bunch of religious psychos or something? What’s she even doing here on a weekday?”She couldn’t hear them; they were too far away and too quiet for her limited human hearing. But he could hear them. He didn’t know if the magic watching them through her phone could pick it up either. He was sure someone would be having a fit back home if it did catch it. 
They… were always a little off. A little strange. He could never really pick up a scent from them. He wasn’t sure how they’d just end up popping up from now where. He’d get confused sometimes, when someone that was supposed to be human was simply… no where to be found.
 The second time he heard them, it was while he was devouring his second “massive” burger; a couple random patrons that were entering the place.“Oh, I know that chick from high school.”“Yeah? Your friend?”“Hell no. She never talked to anyone because anyone who hung out with her were harassed by her psycho mom to join some cult.”“Is she in a cult then?”“I don’t know. But we should probably avoid her in case she tries to indoctrinate us or something.”She was busy messaging on her D.D.D. to notice the frown that started to form on his face, or the way he hesitated on his burger, only to shove more into his mouth to hurry himself so they could leave. 
It didn’t really matter to him though. They hadn’t been like any human he’d ever known, but he didn’t see any threat from them. As long as they weren’t hurting his family, did it matter that this human was a little different?
 The third time he heard them was in the gym, while he was lifting weights, from a couple of people across the room after they had finished their own work out.“Yo, he’s lifting like crazy over there.”“Think it’s to impress that gal?”“Nah, she doesn’t need that much to be impressed. I’m pretty sure that’s the one poly chick everyone’s talking about.”“Poly? You mean she’s married to multiple people? What the fuck?”“Something like that. She’s from some religious group, they say. It’s probably in the ‘religion’ to fuck multiple guys.”His grip tightened on the barbell in his hands as he glanced over at her to see if she could hear them. It didn’t look like it. If anything, she looked like she was somewhere else completely mentally. Probably for the best. He decided it was best to finish there for the night, even if he knew he hadn’t even done half of his normal set. 
Even as he started to notice his brothers’ changes around him, he didn’t really put it together. After all, the not-human human had been so kind to him. They listened to him when he talked about Lilith. They comforted him. They brought his twin back to him and brought their family back together. How could they ever be any harm to his family after all that?
 The fourth time, and the fifth time, he heard them was in the bar. The fourth was the two woman that had been chatting far too loudly outside the bathroom she had just gone into. He knew her hearing wasn’t that limited that she couldn’t have heard them. The fifth time, however, was a conversation he overheard between their waiter and a few other of his co-workers.“Dude, aren’t you serving that one chick that’s been going on dates with different guys?”“Where’d you hear that?”“From that one guy that’s still dragged to church every Sunday by his family. His name is like… Kyle? Kelly? Something like that.”“Ok, well what’s her going out with a bunch of guys have to do with me serving them?”“What if she tried to pull you into her little… whatsitcalled, coven?”“That’s not what it’s called. And why would she do that in front of this guy?”“I don’t know. She’s related to some religious nut.”“Whatever. They’re ordering a ton of food, so as long as they pay for everything, what should any of that matter to me?”He wasn’t one to start anything, he knew that. But it had taken a surprising amount of control not to immediately pull her out of there. To not immediately pull her into his arms to cover her ears and protect her from everything they were saying. But he didn’t want to give anything away to her. He didn’t want her to know everything she couldn’t hear. 
He never realized, never knew exactly what the not-human human was until he was pulled into a room he had never been to in the castle by his twin. There, his brothers explained that this not-human wasn’t even a person. Still, he didn’t quite understand. But seeing the pained, sad, hurt, and angry looks on many of his brothers’ faces kept him from asking what they meant. In fact, it wasn’t until a few weeks of watching the actual person doing this did he finally understood. He finally realized that someone had been hurting his family through the not-human and pulled this innocent actual human into it too.
 When they finally returned to her house, he breathed a sigh of relief. He watched her, carefully making sure she hadn’t been hurt by anything those strangers had said about her. As he thought about all those words, he had the strongest urge to hold her. Of course, he asked her first, but the moment he could, he gave in and lifted her, taking her to the bedroom so he could hold her. He wanted nothing more than to cage her in his arms until they could bring her home where no one could hurt her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She woke up feeling fairly refreshed, despite still being in the same clothes she wore the day before. Maybe it was because she felt like she had fallen asleep in the arms of a large teddy bear. She slowly pushed herself to sit up, slowly blinking for a few moments to clear the sleep from her eyes before yawning wide as she stretched out her limbs. In the time it took her to do all that, her alarm sounded from her D.D.D. for her normal wake-up time. She reached over and turned it off before slipping out of her bed to get ready for work. She didn’t pick up her phone until after she had gotten ready for the day this time, settling it on the table as she took a few minutes to eat some breakfast. She shifted her hips as she heard her D.D.D. go off in her pocket, tugging it out to answer the message she had just received. 
Solomon
 Good morning.I know it’s still early, but I assume you decided on Lord Diavolo for your next summon? ✓ Yeah, how’d you know? He’s been in and out of the room since early this morning. ✓ Oh. I guess he’s excited. Hah. Something like that. ✓ Well, you’re coming over tomorrow, right? If that’s what you want. ✓ Of course.✓ I have a favor to ask though.✓ You have books on your fancy magic, right?✓ Do you have like… beginner books or something that you could bring with you so I could read them over? Oh? Interested in learning magic? ✓ Well, if what you guys say is true, I have magic ability, right?✓ What if I can use that to help get me over there? It could be helpful, yes.However, I’m not sure I’m convinced to bring them with me… 
✓

✓ You want something in return, don’t you?✓ My affection isn’t enough? Well, I’ll go easy on you and just ask for a story. ✓ Ugh, you still want to know about my high school stories?✓ Fine, I’ll tell you about the fence one when you get here. Not both of them?  ✓ No, just the fence one.✓ Take it or leave it. Well, better than nothing.Very well, I’ll bring some textbooks on magical spells and skills tomorrow. ✓ Great!
✓

Finishing up her food, (one of the granola bars that had been hidden away in a cupboard and therefor saved from the onslaught that was Beelzebub) she dashed out to work for the day. Later, on her lunch break, she was leaning up against the back of the building with her phone pulled out as she skimmed through new updates on various stories she was reading before she felt her D.D.D. vibrating. Frowning, she slipped it out and tilted her head as Diavolo’s name showed up on the caller ID. Tapping the accept button, she answered, “Dia? What’s wrong? Why are you calling on my break?” “Hello, Liz! I just couldn’t wait to hear your voice!” was the reply, only confusing her more. In the background, she heard a “Lord Diavolo, what are you doing?” She couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Solomon’s voice. “Really?” she asked him, her brow raised. “Yes, yes! Say, could I possibly ask a favor of you, Liz?” he then asked. She chuckled knowingly, “Yeah, as long as I can do it, sure.” She could hear the grin in his voice, “Excellent! Could you possibly run me through what you have planned today? Was it just the grocery shopping?” She tilted her head again, “Uh, no. Actually, I had something else planned, but I suppose it would be right in character for you to want to go shopping with me, huh?” she replied, “There was one other place I wanted to bring you too, but I didn’t really want to ruin the surprise.” She then added, her head tilted back as she looked to the sky in thought. When the demon prince replied this time, however, she heard his voice both through the device and right beside her, “Ooooh! I can’t wait to see where this is!” She jumped, literally jumped up in place, and held her hand to her chest in shock as her head snapped towards where his voice came from, seeing the demon prince on call with her standing next to her, still on his D.D.D., “What the actual fuck, Diavolo?!” she nearly yelled, her heart pounding in surprise as she leaned back against the wall again to keep herself from falling over. He immediately looked apologetic and worried, hanging up on the D.D.D. as he approached her, his hand out and ready to catch her if she fell, “Ah, I’m sorry, my dear! I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” It took her a few moments to recover, but when her heart finally slowed, she spoke again, “It’s fine, Dia, I was just surprised. But why are you here?” she asked. “Ah, well, I apologize for the bit of deception, but you did say that you wanted me to come today. Unfortunately, if I hadn’t been summoned right that moment, I likely wouldn’t have been able to come at all today.” He cryptically explained. She narrowed her eyes at him, “Wha… what does that even mean, Dia?” she asked with a confused look. “Actually, now that I think about it, I’m surprised Lucifer and Barbatos let you come at all today.” There was only a small hum from him as he glanced away from her face, looking to the building, “So this is where you work? With dogs, correct?” She raised both of her brows, “Dia… you did tell those two that you were coming today, right?” “I bet you could groom Cerberus excellently as well, couldn’t you?” “Diavolo.” He flinched a little, looking like a child who was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar, “Ah… I may have… forgotten to mention it last night to them. And this morning.” “I thought you refuse to lie, Dia.” “I never lied. I just didn’t tell them anything.” He finally admitted. She rested her face in her palm and sighed, “At least tell them now. I’m sure they’ll be worried out of their mind if you don’t let them know where you are.” He had already pulled out his D.D.D., “Oh yes of course. Allow me to message them really quick.” As he was typing and Elizabeth was nursing an impending headache, she ended up jumping again as the door behind her opened up and her boss called out to her, “Liz, are you out her- oh there you are.” Liz gasped and held her chest once more, “Fuck, everyone is just jumping out at me today.” She muttered before turning around to face the other, “Hey Cass…” she smiled, attempting to look innocent as she noticed her boss staring at Diavolo with a confused look. Cass replied, “Uh… who’s this?” “Hmm? Oh him? He’s a friend. His name is Dia. He uh… got stranded near here. And he knew I work here so he walked over to see if I could drive him somewhere.” She felt Diavolo move up behind her; his presence was hard to ignore. “I apologize for imposing like this, but I considered Liz here my best option.” He explained to Cass and Liz narrowed her eyes a bit. She supposed he wasn’t technically lying now…. “O-oh, sure, sure. Liz is pretty reliable.” Cass replied, “Speaking of which, is your break almost over, Liz?” she then asked. Elizabeth nodded in return, “Oh yeah. Uh, I’m sure Dia here can wait in the store next door or something.” she muttered. The demon prince slipped by Elizabeth and smiled charmingly at Cass, “I must ask, I’d feel much better if I waited with Liz, would it be possible for me to wait inside? I promise not to take up too much space.” Elizabeth glanced at Cass’s face, frowning as she saw any sign of doubt or resistance fade away fairly easily before she replied, “Sure, sure. As long as you don’t disturb anyone else, you can wait in here with her.” With that, Cass turned to go back inside, “I’ll see you inside, Liz.” The moment the door closed, Elizabeth glanced at the prince, “What was that?” she asked him. He turned and smiled at her, “What do you mean?” he then asked. She pressed her lips together, “Was that… that demon charm thing? The thing Azzy’s really good at?” He glanced away, like he was caught in the act of bad things again, “Ah… yes, that would be it. Asmodeus uses it best, of course, but other demons can certainly charm as well.” She nodded, “Right. The game did say that. I just… was surprised to see it, I guess. Or maybe surprised that you can do that in my universe?” He nodded “It’s true… it’s a bit harder to use magic here, but some basic abilities and magic are still possible.” She sighed, “You’d better use that on all my coworkers then. If you’re going to hang out here until I’m done for the day.” He grinned at her, pleased that she relented to allowing him to stay, “If you insist. I look forward to seeing you work up close!” She tried to hide the small smile before heading back into the building with him behind her. The rest of the workday went fairly well, which was surprising considering there was a very large, tall demon prince following her and settled near her worktable as she worked on her remaining dogs for the day. He asked questions frequently and, after a bit of demon charm during introductions to the couple other coworkers, he had everyone in the shop answering whatever he asked. Once she finished up with the last of her work and cleaned up, she gave her goodbyes to everyone and headed back to her car with Diavolo in tow. The demon prince had just a hard of time getting into her smaller car as Beelzebub had the previous day, as Elizabeth crossed her arms while she sat in the driver’s seat. “You let them know, right?” she asked him. Diavolo smiled at her as he settled into her car with a bit of adjustment, “I… left a message in our group chat.” He replied carefully. She sighed, “How did you even do this? I thought the ritual had to have Solomon doing it?” “I’ve watched him preform it many times. With enough magical power, one can do it alone.” He replied. She raised her brow, “You mean, you can do it alone.” He nodded and she continued, “And then you called me to get me to think about you while you were doing that then?” Once more, he nodded to her, “I apologize for the deception.” He then said. She frowned a little, “Ok, but why did you have to do it right at the moment?” Before he could answer that question, her D.D.D went off with an incoming call. When she glanced at the caller ID and noticed it was from Lucifer, her face whitened a bit. Diavolo noticed the ID as well and flinched ever so slightly, reaching a hand out and resting it on her own, “You don’t need to answer that if you don’t want to, Liz.” he said, giving her a reassuring smile. She quickly shook her head, “Dia, I still have to summon Lucifer. I can’t have him coming here pissed off at me.” She replied, answering the call as she finished speaking and greeting the demon on the other end, “It wasn’t my idea.” She immediately threw the prince under the bus. He was sturdy, he could take it. She was just a squishy human. The prince in question pouted at her and she shrugged, “If I didn’t have to summon him here in two days, I’d defend you more.” She explained quickly to him before Lucifer finally spoke up, sighing into the call, “How did he get there with you?” Elizabeth glanced down at the device, “You aren’t in the… what was it called, viewing room?” “No, I was busy searching for Lord Diavolo all morning for I received a message that he was currently with you, Liz.” She looked up at Diavolo, who gave her another apologetic smile before he responded for her, “Ah, well, a ritual was performed, and I was brought to Liz’s universe. The same as the others.” She could hear how tired the poor demon was over the call and she could only imagine the exasperated look on his face, “Lord Diavolo, there are many things that you still have to do today. What about the paperwork you’ve left behind?” “I’ve already done everything must be done by the end of the day.” Diavolo explained, “Besides, I won’t be able to leave until Liz goes to sleep. Might as well make the most of it now.” He then gleefully added. “And you didn’t tell Barbatos or I beforehand because...” “You would’ve stopped me yesterday when she asked for me. Or told her that I couldn’t come. Where’s the fun in that?” “Everyone is being pulled to her universe to attach their souls with her’s. With all due respect, I hope you don’t think of forming some sort of pact with her in the same way they have, Lord Diavolo. You are to be Devildom’s future king, and she already has my brothers and your most loyal subject in a pact with her. We can give her that much power over the Devildom like this.” “Of course not, Lucifer. I know I can’t do such a thing with her, no matter how I feel for her.” The prince’s face grew a bit more serious as he replied this time. Elizabeth glanced between the device and him, staying quiet for the moment. “Then why are you there? You cannot simply leave because you want to spend a day to goof off with her.” “There are other ways to connect with her soul without giving her control over me, Lucifer.” Diavolo simply explained. “And what ways are those? Should you not have talked these out with us beforehand?” Lucifer grumbled, clearly trying his best to remain calm. Instead of answering this time, Diavolo smiled up at Elizabeth, squeezing her wrist a bit, “Didn’t you have some shopping you had to do?” he asked. She made a small noise, with Lucifer protesting over the call now, “Diavolo, don’t do something rash-“ “Lucifer please, I have thought this over for quite a while now.” The prince interrupted the other, “I assure you, nothing I do today will impact devildom negatively.” The woman finally spoke up now, “Ah… right… So, I’m not all up to date on Devildom politics, but it’s not like I’d be dumb enough to let Dia do something stupid while he’s here, Luci.” Lucifer grumbled over the call for a moment before he spoke, “Fine. Its not as if I am able to do anything now.” He said simply, “I will trust Lord Diavolo in your care for today, Elizabeth.” She flinched and frowned as he used her full first name, but didn’t correct him, “Of course. I’ve done fine with everyone else so far, haven’t I?” she replied, then added quickly, “Ah… what Simeon did was his own choice, I had no way of stopping that.” The eldest brother grunted, but appeared to ignore her addendum, “Very well. I will leave you be for today, Lord Diavolo.” With that, he was quick to hang up the call, leaving the two in silence in the car. She breathed a small sigh of relief and Diavolo grinned wide at her, clearly pleased to have gotten his way. Even if he did technically muscle his way into being the only way. Leaning back in her seat, she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose for a moment before looking back to him, “You’re a handful, aren’t you?” she asked him. He tilted his head, “Well, I am fairly larger than you?” She gave a short laugh and shook her head, “No, no, it’s a saying. Never mind. What was this thing you wanted to do then? To connect with my soul?” He paused, considering for a moment before talking, “I think it’s best to wait until we can a more comfortable moment alone to discuss it. Perhaps after we are done with your shopping?” She regarded him for a moment, but relented, “Fine, fine. Let’s go to the store first and we can talk about it after we put everything away.” With a very clearly excited demon prince in her passenger seat, practically bouncing under his seat belt, she finally started the car and started on her way to the grocery store.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“By the way… why are you in your RAD uniform?” she asked the prince on the drive. “Hmm? Oh, if I came in the suit I wear in the human world, I likely would’ve given away my plan to Solomon. And Barbatos.” He replied, “Should I not wear it?” “Well, it’s not exactly… inconspicuous. And if we run into people that play the game, they’re going to recognize you immediately.” “Ah, that’s right. That happened with you and Simeon, correct?” “Yeah. I don’t suppose you have some sort of magic like Simeon does that you could change with?” He pondered for a moment, “Technically, yes. Changing clothing like that isn’t exclusive to angels.” “So then….” She glanced at him with an expectant look. He chuckled, “Very well, very well, give me a moment.” He lifted his hand, flicking his wrist. She didn’t catch the change itself, seeing as she had to keep her eyes on the road, but when she looked back to him, he was in a very professional black suit and red tie. She raised her brow before returning her eyes to the road and asking, “… Where’s the red jacket you use as that weird shoulder cape like Lucifer likes to do?” He blinked in surprise for a moment before laughing out, “Oh, you’ve seen this outfit before?” he asked her, “I didn’t think I’d need it today.” She pressed her lips together, “You guys have a lot of outfits in the game. Everyone has a casual wear that’s called their ‘human look.’” She explained in turn. She pulled into a spot by that point, parking them and looking back to him, “You still stand out… but I think that’s because you’re… what, seven feet tall?” “Two hundred and six centimeters.” Diavolo offered. She groaned softly and whipped out her phone without even bothering to try to do the math, “Hold that thought.” she muttered. A few taps on the screen and she converted it, “Six feet and nine inches. Fuck you guys are tall.” She slipped out of the car as she put her phone away with Diavolo following shortly after her, “My family has always been fairly tall. My father was much taller than me.” “Really?” she considered for a moment, “Did he keep his horns out all the time?” The demon prince nodded, “Back then demons didn’t hide away their natural forms. Oh… I suppose we are taller in our natural forms.” She absentmindedly offered her hand to hold, which he took readily, “… How much taller?” she asked as she led him to the store entrance, also adding in a quieter voice, “And maybe tone down the ‘D’ word.” He tilted his head in question before moving on to answer her question, “Ah, not that much taller. Certainly, taller than most hu- people like yourself.” He corrected himself quickly as they passed by people exiting the store with their carts. “We try our best to seem less intimidating.” Elizabeth couldn’t help but to snicker, “Obviously anyone who wanted to be shorter to be less scary never seen people who use hashtag monsterfucker unironically.” she muttered. She then remembered just a second too late that he was, in fact, a demon. She flushed and turned quickly to look back at him, placing her hand on his mouth just as he was asking, “What’s a hashtag mon- mmphh.” “Itsnothingdon’tworryaboutit.” she said quickly in one breath. “I really hope there aren’t any demons in the viewing room right now.” She sighed as she kept her hand against the prince’s mouth, “Maybe, maybe, we’ll talk about it later. But it’s not something to talk about here.” She said to him, only to eep and blush as she felt his tongue lap against her hand, quickly pulling it away, “Did you just lick me?” He grinned at her, “You didn’t remove your hand for me to answer you.” He said simply, like it was the most obvious answer. She sighed, “I will say it again. You boys will be the death of me.” He pouted at her as she grabbed a cart before leading him further into the store, “What?” she asked him. “I won’t really result in your death, will I?” he asked, gently holding onto one of her arms as he followed her and the cart. She smiled and patted the hand holding her, “It’s just an expression, Dia. Unless you’re actually trying to kill me, I doubt I’ll actually die from something you do.” Once he gave her a smile in return, telling her that he was satisfied with her answer, she pulled out her phone again, opening up the list she already had started, “Well, you’re going to help me grab these, right?” she asked him. Diavolo perked up as he looked down at the list of items she had on her device, “Yes, of course I can assist!” he declared happily. She chuckled, “Well, if we go by aisle, we can start with some of the canned stuff down here…” she hummed, leading her new assistant, “Can you grab some canned chicken?” she then asked, sending him off on his first task. A task he took very seriously if the look on his face was any indication. He nodded quickly and stepped down the aisle, peering at the items on display. Elizabeth tried really hard to keep herself from laughing at the display of the massive demon prince perusing the shelves in search of her requested item, but man was it hard. With such a serious look and single-minded determination, she really didn’t want to discourage his efforts. So, she elected to turn mostly away from him as she picked out other items to toss into the cart, only half keeping watch on him. When he finally returned to her, he had several different cans in his arms and a concerned look on his face, “Liz… I don’t know which one you wanted.” He pouted. She bit her lip for a second, keeping her composure as best she could before she stepped closer to him to look at the different brands, then picked up a couple she knew of and tossed them into the cart, “It doesn’t really matter which brand you grab.” She said, “I used to go for the cheapest one, but now that I technically have… nine? No, I’m sure Simi and Sol are also rolling in money… Eleven sugar daddies, we can get whatever.” “Oh! You’ve mentioned that term before!” Diavolo smiled, putting the rest of the cans back where he found them before walking next to her once more, “You said that they give money to those they like, correct?” She muffled a chuckle before nodding, “Yeah, that’s it.” As if on cue, he whipped out a wallet from a pocket and pulled out some American cash, “Ah, so then, if I give you a lot of money, does that mean I like you more?” he then asked, attempting to hand her the money. Looking surprised, she tried to push his hand away, “No, no, I mean, yes that’s generally what that means, but no, you don’t need to give me more money Dia.” He pouted at her, pulling out some serious puppy dog eyes and she could only think of the devilgram picture from the game. Unfortunately, it didn’t make her ability to resist him any stronger. She sighed, “Do you have any Grimm on you? I’d like to see what that looks like instead.” He brightened up once more, and went for another little wallet he had in another pocket. He shoved the cash he had in one hand into her hand that was trying to push it away, forcing her to hold onto it as he pulled out several kinds of golden-looking coins. Sighing and stuffing the money into her back pocket so it was out of the way, she glanced over the coins, only to raise her brow as he also whipped out some paper notes as well. “So… there’s different denominations for Grimm too?” she asked. He looked over at her as he showed off the money, “Oh yes. Was it not that way in your game?” he asked. She shook her head, “It’s just a counter. Considering players tend to end up with thousands to millions of Grimm. Especially once they’ve set up their team.” She replied. He gave her a confused look and she shook her head, “Never mind, it’s kinda a lot to explain.” She motioned to the Grimm, “So what are the denominations anyways?” He grinned and flicked up a coin. On one side there was skull, just like the icon in the game, and on the other was the number ‘100.’ “This one is the lowest I have; an one hundred coin.” He flicked up a similar looking one that had a ‘500’ instead, “This is a five hundred coin.” He extended the paper notes like they were a handful of cards, “And these, in order, are one thousand, two thousand, five thousand, and ten thousand notes.” She paused for a moment, taking in the information, not resisting as he handed her all that Grimm, “Sounds like it’s modelled after Japanese Yen.” She replied before pressing her lips together, “Ah, man, I never got the hang of that either.” He gave her a reassuring smile and rested a hand on her shoulder, “I’d be happy to help you with it when you come to Devildom.” He replied, “And you can keep all of this to study if you wish. I apologize for not having smaller value coins however.” She gave him a look, “I’m not surprised you don’t have anything smaller than a hundred. You’re a rich boy.” She said simply. He tilted his head in turn and she waved her hand dismissively before he could ask, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just saying you’re rich. Sugar Daddy, remember?” His signature wide grin returned as he nodded, “Now, what did you need next?” he asked her as she was struggling to fit all her newfound cash and Grimm into her pockets, “Oh... uh, this next one is chips so just… grab some you’d like.” From that point, it was her sending the demon prince off to find a certain item while she picked up several others on the shelves, though she did enjoy watching him going on his little fetch quests. As she was looking at rice, he spoke up, “Can you make many dishes?” She glanced at him, “Uh, kinda. I’m not great, by any means. Did you want me to show you how to make something?” He looked excited, “Could you? I’d like to enjoy your human world cuisine.” She smiled at his puppy dog excitement, “Sure. If I got one good thing from mi madre, it was her arroz con pollo recipe. (rice with chicken) It’s simpler than what you’d find in her home country, though, because it’s made so, er… well so people like my father could enjoy it.” She paused and looked back into the cart, “We’ll need a few other things that weren’t on my list though, so we’ll have to do a bit of backtracking.” “I can get it!” he declared, and she pressed her lips together, “Ah, not to doubt you, Dia, but I think just to be safe… ah, my safety of course, you should stay within my sight.” He pouted for a moment before nodding, “Oh, yes, I should stay near you. We can’t have anything happen to you now. I’ve heard there’s unsavory characters around here. Like that one human who saw Asmodeus.” She hummed in affirmation and nodded as she resumed pushing her cart, “Yeah, exactly. Don’t worry, we’ll come back for everything we need.” Thus, they resumed their shopping, or rather Diavolo’s series of fetch quests and Elizabeth collecting everything else. When they approached the check outs, she noticed Diavolo pausing to look at one of the many little stands of merchandise near the registers, usually covered in impulse merchandise. “What is it?” she asked, peeking around him, noticing that he was looking at memorabilia for various forms of media. He reached out and picked up a small keychain that had a silver dragon icon with broad wings that made it look almost diamond shaped on the end, and presented it to her, “I’d like to buy this for you.” He said rather matter-of-factly. She blinked in surprise, “O-oh, ok?” she said, a little stunned by the sudden decision, “Can I ask why?” “I think it would suit you.” He stated. She raised her brow, “Really? Well… I do like the game it’s from.” she said. He looked confused for a moment, and she explained, “It’s a very popular game that’s over a decade old but it’s been rereleased like twelve times already. But it’s a pretty good game. I’m surprised you don’t know anything abo- oh maybe it doesn’t exist in your universe.” “I haven’t seen any games that use this icon. Though I suppose I don’t often get the chance to play anything.” he said, frowning a little. “I’ll ask Levi about it later. Anyways, sure. I’ve liked the design anyways. And you remind me of a dragon anyways. I’ll think of you every time I see it.” She replied, smiling at him as he grinned at her response. She motioned him back to heading to one of the self-checkout stations, where she had the pleasure of seeing his boyhood excitement as she showed him how to swipe the items across the scanner and bag everything. Once they were finished, he pulled out yet more cash making her wonder just where he stored all this money, and looked at the machine in confusion, “How do I give it the money?” he asked with a bemused look. She was barely holding herself back at this point, snickering a little before she pulled herself together to show him where to feed the bills into. Not to mention, she was already resigned to him paying for whatever he wanted to pay for at this point. He looked thrilled to watch the change be spit out for him, eagerly picking up the coins and bills that the machine gave back to him, “Amazing! Devildom should get machines just like this!” She didn’t comment, but tugged on his sleeve to bring his hand to hold onto the cart so he could follow her back to the car. (Just like a child holds onto the cart, she pondered.) Having parked a decent distance away from the entrance, it was quite a walk, but she didn’t have to deal with being surrounded by cars as she popped open the trunk so Dia could help her load everything in. As they were finishing up loading, she directed the demon prince to push the cart into the clearly displayed corral, “Just push it in behind the others in there.” And turned back to close the trunk. As she did so, however, she felt a shiver go up her spine, like she was being watching and she shuddered, frowned as she glanced around for a moment. At once, she regretted looking at all as she spied the one staring her down, the blood draining from her face as her eyes snapped to the ground while a middle-aged woman approached her, “Mija (Darling), you never call anymore.” She didn’t look the happiest to see Elizabeth despite the term she used for her. Elizabeth flinched slightly as her mother came up to her, “I’ve… I’ve been busy.” She replied softly, avoiding looking at the other woman, who replied drily, “So I’ve heard.” Her mother crossed her arms, “It’s disrespectful that I must hear of those disgusting rumors of you at church. Tell me that they are only rumors, mija.” Her words sounded more of a command than a request. Elizabeth held one of her hands with her other one, caressing her fingers as she kept her gaze downcast, “You’ll have to elaborate.” She muttered in response. Her mother clicked her tongue and uncrossed her arms, making Elizabeth visibly flinch as she noticed the movement from the corner of her vision, “The rumors that you are living with multiple men! I did not raise you to be a puta!” (whore) Before Elizabeth could say anything in her defense, someone cleared their throat nearby and a large arm wrapped around her shoulders comfortingly, “My, a pleasure to you meet you. You must be Liz’s mother, no?” Diavolo had a wide, but somewhat strained smiled on his face as Elizabeth glanced up at him in surprise, his eyes trained on the older woman in front of them. Her mother looked even less pleased at his sudden appearance, glaring at him with surprisingly no fear in her eyes, “Is this one of those men you are sleeping with, mija?” she asked, her eyes looking at him with a judgmental gaze. “Is there a problem with how she lives her life?” Diavolo responded. Her mother hissed, “So then it’s true that she’s with many men?” she lifted her hand, signing the cross on her face and chest with her fingers as she continued, “Dios mío, vas a ir al infierno.” (My God, you’re going to hell.) “Espero que si estábamos trabajando para eso.” (I hope so, we’ve been working on that.) The demon prince replied to her, his grin growing a bit as her mother gasped in both surprise and horror at his words. Whether it was because she was surprised he knew Spanish at all, or because of the words themselves, Elizabeth couldn’t tell. “What are you, el Diablo?” her mother asked before clicking her tongue again and looking to Elizabeth, “Next you’ll tell me his name is Lucifer!” Elizabeth didn’t have any chance to say anything because Diavolo laughed out loudly, “Actually, my name is Diavolo.” He introduced himself, “Though I assure you Lucifer isn’t the devil you think him to be.” Leaving the woman sputtering at what she thought was nonsense. He then bowed slightly to her, cutting off anything else the older woman wanted to say, “If you’ll excuse us now, we have places to be.” He then said, gently guiding Elizabeth to the driver’s side and opening the door for her to get in. Her mother looked like she was fuming, but she turned and stomped off to somewhere in the parking lot, but Elizabeth wasn’t paying attention to her. Instead, she was easily guided to sit before Diavolo moved around the car to get in the other side, resting a hand on her leg once he squished himself into the passenger side. “I’d drive your car myself, Liz, but I don’t know the way back to your house.” he said to her, pulling her out of her stunned trance as she glanced over at him, “O-oh, right. The house. Right.” She muttered before going through the motions to start the car and get moving to their next designation. They didn’t speak during the drive. Elizabeth was simply stunned by the rather smooth exit Diavolo had provided the two of them, and Diavolo seemed content to allow her to process through everything that had just happened, his hand still on her leg in a means to comfort her. Once she was parked in her driveway, she turned off the car and just sat there for a moment, holding her keys, and staring at them. She could feel Diavolo’s eyes on her, but she found it hard to speak. Finally, after a couple minutes of silence between the two of them, she spoke up, “I… find it easier to just sit there and let her say whatever she wants.” She explained slowly, her voice low, “It’s easier if I let her vent out whatever she wants because she’ll leave me alone afterwards.” The demon’s hand squeezed her thigh gently in response as he spoke, “You don’t have to explain anything, Liz. Not if you’re uncomfortable about it.” She shook her head, “It’s fine. Just, ah… thank you.” “Would you like to go inside now? Or would you rather have a little longer in here?” he then asked her. She took a deep breath, trying to pull herself out of her current mindset, “No, no, let’s go inside. You’re only here for the day. No reason to waste it on my silly trauma.” He frowned at her, lifting his hand to gently rest it against her cheek, “My dear, your trauma isn’t silly. Don’t downscale it so.” She flushed slightly to the touch, though she leaned into it, “Ah, sorry. I don’t mean to, I just... I don’t know, I don’t talk about it.” She stumbled with her words. The demon prince returned to smiling, “Then you don’t have to talk about it. We may not know everything about your relationship with your mother, but we know enough that you don’t have to explain anything to us.” She sighed, leaning back in her seat for a moment before talking again, “I’m glad it was you I was with though. I don’t think she’d have gotten the chance to walk away in once piece if I was with almost anyone else.” She then opened the car door, “Let’s get everything inside already.” Diavolo was quick to assist her in grabbing all the bags, his larger arms carrying far more than she could, making it easy to take only one trip to get everything inside so she could start putting it all away. “We can make some food now if you want. I don’t know when you last ate.” She offered and Diavolo perked up, “Oh! Will you show me how you make your… arroz con pollo was it?” She chuckled and nodded, “Sure. We can make that for dinner. Then there was somewhere else I wanted to bring you to.” She paused for a moment, “Oh, and then there’s… whatever you wanted to do, right?” she asked him. He nodded, “If you’d like, we can do it after eating. I assume you are also hungry?” She shrugged, “Yeah, we should eat first. I didn’t eat at lunch today… seeing as I had a surprise visitor.” She teased him and he pouted, “I couldn’t have Lucifer and Barbatos finding me before I got a chance to come here.” She chuckled, leaving out the ingredients for the recipe, “I know, I know. You really just took me by surprise. I didn’t think you could even get over here without me explicitly helping. I guess you’re the demon prince for a reason.” “You wound me, my dear.” Dia replied, “I didn’t deceive you on purpose.” “I was referring to the creative way you got me to think about you while you preformed the ritual behind Sol’s back… while avoiding lying to anyone.” She remarked back, “Not so much the deception itself.” She motioned for him to stand by her once everything was put away, motioning to the things she had on the counter, “Anyways, let’s get started, yeah?” He nodded eagerly, joining her at the counter. Pulling out a decently sized pot for them, she started the rice for them, pausing as she spoke to him, “Do you have any experience cooking?” “Oh no. Barbatos never lets me near the kitchen.” He said, eagerly watching her ready everything. She narrowed her eyes, “You’re not going to end up like Solomon when you cook, are you?” she then asked and he pouted, “I should hope not.” She sighed and shrugged, “Well, I’m right here. I doubt you can mess it up with me here.” She walked him through preparing the rice as she did it before directing him to open the canned chicken, mixed veggies, and tomato sauce can with the can opener. “It’s an electric one, just put the can in place and push down.” He furrowed his brows as he placed the can in place and pushed the handle down as directed, looking delighted as the loud whirling noise emanated from the machine and spun the can in his hands, “Amazing! You don’t have to anything but hold it?” She chuckled softly, keeping an eye on him as he opened the cans, “Usually I’d use a whole chicken that had been cooked and just strip it clean of the meat, but the canned chicken is the lazy way.” She then explained. Once the cans were all opened, he returned to her as she tossed everything in together, “It’s as simple as this. Just mix it all together.” She stated before handing him the wooden spoon. “Think you can do that?” His eyes lit up as he took the utensil like it was precious before mixing everything as she directed. As he was busy staring down the food and mixing, she leaned back against the counter, a far off look in her eyes as she “watched” him and her mind drifting a bit as she recalled their earlier encounter in the parking lot. Before her mind really got away from her, however, she felt a hand grab her own, making her jump as she pulled from her thoughts. She blinked and looked up at worried looking Diavolo gripping her hand. “Ah, sorry, I was just thinking… about other things.” She said, glancing away from his gaze and he frowned from the edge of her vision. He held onto her hand in silence for a moment before talking, “About your mother?” She didn’t confirm it, but the slight flinch was all he needed to know he was right. That didn’t stop her from trying to lie though, “Noooo. It’s something else, of course.” “Elizabeth… you know I know when you’re lying.” She sighed in response, “How did you even know I was thinking about her? Just a guess?” He shook his head, placed the large spoon on the counter, “No. The… look in your eyes.” She looked at him in confusion, “What are you talking about?” He turned his head, looking down at the pot of food for a moment, “There’s… a look in your eyes when you’re sad. But not just sad. It’s the look you used to have before we started talking to you. It’s difficult to explain, but it looks like any life within you is gone when you have that look.” He tried explaining to her. She frowned and absent-mindedly she wished she had placed the phone in the other room. Regardless, she spoke up, “It’s what someone looks like when they’re broken.” She sighed softly, crossing her arms, “You know, depression. Anxiety. All those fun things.” She reached over to turn off the stove top to keep the rice from burning. His hand gripped hers again after she clicked the knob to off, “You are not broken, Liz.” He said, giving her a determined look, “If you really were broken, we wouldn’t see the light in your eyes whenever you see one of us.” She furrowed her brows and glanced at his face, “Then what am I?” she asked him. She wanted to look away from him as her sight started to blur slightly, but willed herself to keep looking at him. He held her hand with both of his, offering her a small smile of reassurance, “You are simply wounded. You just need time to heal.” He reached his hand over after a moment to brush his thumb under her eye, wiping away the tear that spilled over. She couldn’t bring herself to reply, knowing that if she spoke now, her emotions would likely spill over completely, and she hated showing anything that was under the mask. He didn’t force her to do anything, patiently waiting for her to process through everything as he held her hands while she closed her eyes, quietly concentrating on steadying her breathing to keep herself calm. Finally, she opened her eyes again, looking back to him, “I…” she hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I’m surprised she gave up so easily this time.” She finally got out. He frowned, tilting his head slightly, “Is she usually worse than what she displayed today?” “Yeah. And with all the… ‘disrespect’ I’m sure she thinks I’ve given her, I expected her to get… physical this time around.” She explained. She caught the look in his eye change slightly and she tugged at his hand, “It’s fine, she didn’t do anything but say some stupid things. I think it’s because she was surprised by you. So, thank you for that.” She gently pulled her hands from his so she could grab a few bowls for them to start eating and he watched her as he replied, “What will happen if you meet her again without any of us around?” Her movement paused for a moment before she turned her head to offer him a small smile, “I wouldn’t worry about that. I’ll just make sure not to run into her when I’m not with someone.” She replied simply. He didn’t look satisfied with that answer, but she silenced any more questions from him by passing him a bowl full of food, “Now, let’s eat the food you helped with.” He didn’t press any further and she pulled out her phone, leaving it in the kitchen before leading him to the living room to settle on the couch. As she started eating, she glanced at him, talking between bites, “So… how, hmmm, ‘heavy’ is whatever this thing you want to do?” she asked him. He looked a little confused at her word choice before understanding her, “Ah, hmmm…” he pondered his words for a moment, taking a bite of his own food and swallowing it down before speaking, “It shouldn’t wear on you at all, actually. Other then providing a strong connection to the both of us, magically and emotionally, it doesn’t draw on your power at all.” She raised her brow, finishing up another bite, “But not a pact?” He shook his head, “Not a pact. It is only a temporary connection. Without a recharge of my own energy, it will only last about a year.” “Recharge? What do you mean?” He placed his half-eaten bowl down for a moment to flick his hand towards her, palm up, revealing a small bracelet within. It looked like it was handwoven from a mix of some sort of dark red fabric and wicker material, though it was simple in design. She looked over the item for a moment before looking up at his face, “So… what exactly is it then?” He held out his other hand, a silent question for her hand, which she readily accepted, resting it in his grasp before he gently slipped the bracelet around her left wrist, one of the strings interwoven in it pulling firmly tight with a tug of his finger to keep it in place around her wrist. “This is… well, for some of my ancestors, it was simply a promise to keep in contact with someone they were close with. For others, it was a means to ensure those that were important to them remained in good health. And sometimes its… ah, an engagement token.” Her eyebrows shot up at his last words, but before she could say anything, he continued, “Simply put, it allows me to feel strong emotions from you, and vice versa. However, unlike with pacts, those feelings don’t affect either of us. We can simply… feel each other. As for the recharge, the connection only remains in place for as long as my magic remains in it. And I’ve put in enough magic to last about a year. As long as I can touch it, I can supply it with more of my power to continue the connection, however.” She lifted her wrist up to examine the piece of jewelry on her for a moment, “… Is this you proposing to me? Because I don’t think that’ll go over well in Devildom. I haven’t even been there yet, and I just know there would be so many demons that would be all over your case if you proposed to some random human.” He waved his hand quickly, “No, no. Unless you’d like that. A soul bound marriage with the future demon king would certainly bring you to Devildom faster, but the process is very… involved and would require a lot from you. So no, it is nothing of the sort. I am simply using it to provide a connection without fear of repercussions.” She set her bowl down so she could fiddle with the bracelet a little, adjust it around her wrist so it wasn’t too tight, “Ah… marriage isn’t something I’ve thought of. I think that’s something to worry about when I get over there, right?” she said, rubbing the material of the bracelet a bit, “I have to admit, I’m surprised it’s so simple if it supposed to be a royal family thing.” “It’s because I made it.” He provided, “The bracelet itself has to be made by the royal that wishes to give it to someone, but it can be as simple or as fancy as one wishes. I made it like this, simply because I did not have a lot of time to craft it. If you wish, I can remake with gold and jewels.” She shook her head quickly, looking at him, “No! No, this is fine. I really like it, actually. It’s simple, lightweight. It’s cute.” He smiled at her, “I can tell. I can feel a bit of joy from you.” She looked surprised, “You can?” He nodded, “Can you not feel my own joy?” She frowned a little and shook her head in turn, “No, I don’t feel anything different right now.” Diavolo raised his hands, holding them around bracelet and wrist for a moment before he talked again, “The connection is there. I can feel it. Perhaps you cannot feel anything on your end because of the same reason you cannot feel your own magical power in this world.” She wiggled her wrist about for a moment, as if testing how firmly the bracelet held on, “Well, as long we’re connected, that’s the goal right? I’m sure when I finally come over, it’ll function as normal.” He still looked a little concerned, but nodded to her, “Yes, it should. If not, we can adjust it then.” “And… neither of us will get yelled at by Luci or Barbs?” she then asked apprehensively. He chuckled, “Lucifer doesn’t know about the existence of this item. And I don’t believe Barbatos would oppose me using this.” “But you didn’t ask him about it?” “I did not. Because I did not want to give away my plan to slip away.” “Ah touché.” She snickered in return, before returning to eating, “You should hurry up and finish. I’d like to get to the arcade I wanted to show you before the evening rush gets there.” He perked up immediately, “Arcade? You’re taking me to an arcade?” he asked, quickly picking up his own bowl to finish eating and she replied between her bites, “Yeah, I figured you’d like a day to have a little fun.” He didn’t even bother to say anything more, quick to scarf down the rest of his food as she laughed at his excitement before trying to hurry up with her own food as well, so he wasn’t waiting for too long on her. The moment she finished her food, he offered to take her bowl to the sink and, even though she gave it to him, she followed him to the kitchen to pick her phone back up. She tried not to laugh, however, as he stood at the sink, looking quite confused about what to do with the dishes. Keeping herself composed, however, she leaned over and set them in the sink, “I can worry about cleaning them later. I’m sure you want to get to the arcade sooner than later.” He pouted a bit at her, disappointed in his ability to assist her. It didn’t last very long, however, before she started shooing back towards the door to get him back to the car, “Let’s get going, Dia.” She hummed to him, and he gave her a wide grin, eagerly squeezing himself back into her vehicle. The drive took them to the mall she had taken Asmodeus too during his trip to her universe, though to a different entrance to end up closer to their destination. He was quick to take her hand again as she led him into the mall and to the sizable section for the arcade there. This arcade in particular was geared more towards a teen to young adult audience, so it was mostly filled with adult sized machines to play at. She tugged him over to one of the token machines at the entrance, pulling out some of the cash she was practically drowning in at this point, pausing before she inserted one of the many hundreds she had, “Did you want to share tokens? Or did you want your own?” He looked a bit confused at her question and she almost kicked herself, “Ah, you probably don’t know anything, sorry. You buy a bunch of tokens from these machines, or actually a card that loads those play tokens in it now, and then you use those to play the games.” “Oh! I see. I don’t see why we can't share them.” He replied. She motioned to the prize counter nearby, “Did you want to share the tickets you get from winning too? You use those tickets to select prizes.” She continued to explain. He rested his hand against his chin as he examined the prizes available, “I don’t mind sharing those as well, if you want.” “Sure. I’ll probably just let you pick something out at the end anyways.” She nodded, turning back to proceed to buy their token before receiving her loaded card, “This card should record our winning tickets too.” She then added, “They’re surprisingly very high tech about all this here.” Of course, he didn’t know what a “low tech” arcade was like, so that comment didn’t really mean much to him, but she motioned out with her hand, “What do you want to play first?” At that point, she basically released him upon the place, which wasn’t as busy as she thought it would be during the evening. Diavolo wanted to play every game in the place, however, quickly working himself through the basketball hoops, then to the ski ball shots, and through one of many pinball machines. Each one he did surprisingly well at, earning them a considerable number of tickets loaded onto their card. She didn’t play many of the games herself, noting that she wanted him to have fun, though she did get pulled into a few games of air hockey with him. When they walked past a loud, musical machine that enticed the demon prince over to it, she was coerced into playing with him once more, since it had two slots for players. “You’ll play with me as well, right?” he asked eagerly. She sighed, though she didn’t stop smiling, “Of course, Dia. It’s been a while though…” He looked so excited, there was no way she’d say no to anything he asked at this point. He tapped his foot on the flat, brightly lit platform in front of the machine, “How does this work exactly.” While he was curiously cautious, she stepped right on hers, the platform lighting up under her feet where she stepped, “You get on it so the machine can register your steps.” She pointed to the screen, “Then, after we select a song, you follow the directions on the screen, taking a step where the lines direct you when they scroll down to the bar at the bottom of the screen. Slide when there’s a long line, and jump when it says jump.” He nodded to her instruction, getting onto the platform as well while she tapped on the keys just below the screen, “Do you care which song we do?” she asked him. He shook his head, watching her navigate the menu, “Then we’ll start with a warmup song, on easy so you can get the rhythm and I can get used to it again.” “So, you’ve played this before?” he asked curiously as she set up the song of choice. She nodded, “I played… a bit as a teen.” That was all the banter they got in before the song started and the marks began to appear on the screen. Diavolo floundered a little bit at the start of the song as he struggled to get used to the movements the machine demanded of him. After they started the second song, however, he was doing fairly well, as a beginner dancer. Elizabeth, on the other hand, took at least three songs of some stiff movements before her muscle memory started to come back to her. On the previous songs, Diavolo had a higher score than she did, so she had suggested that they up the difficulty for him. Now on their fourth song, and on a higher difficulty, her scores became much better. It was at the end of this song did Diavolo laugh out, “My, Liz, you are far better at this then the last song would suggest, aren’t you?” he asked, peering at her far higher score than his. She rolled her shoulder, panting slightly as she was unused to all the exercise all at once, “I’m used to the highest difficulties, actually. And I’m only really kinda good at a few songs.” She replied, picking out another song, “I got a lot of practice time after Dad died.” She added casually. He glanced at her for a moment before the next song started up. Now warmed up, and having picked one of her most played songs, her muscle memory was kicking back in as she nearly obliterated him in their scores by the end of the song. He laughed once more at the end and she joined him, grinning at him, “Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve done this.” She hummed softly, leaning against the stand at the back of the platform while she panted a bit heavier, “I don’t have as much energy to do as many songs.” He reached out to rest his hand against her own on the stand, “Should we stop?” he asked. Of course, the demon prince wasn’t the least bit out of breath. She moved off the platform, “You can continue if you want, but I think I need a breather.” He shook his head, “No, no, we can continue with other games. These machines don’t earn us tickets, either.” He replied, stepping off as well and offering his arm for her to hold on to. She chuckled, “I’m not an old lady.” She joked, though she took his arm anyways. He smiled at her, “I only wish to assist you.” They went around to several more games before they finally ran out of tokens on the card, the woman directing Diavolo back to the prize counter near the start, “I’d buy you some more tokens, but its really starting to get late.” She commented before stopping by a machine to tell them their ticket count on the card. After they had a number in mind, she pulled him to the counter, “You can pick whatever you want. You pretty much want to use up all the tickets we’ve earned.” She said to him, and he nodded, taking this choice of what to pick rather seriously as his eyes drifted along the items. The employee manning the counter came over shortly after, having finished up with another couple that had just finished playing and spent their tickets, “Can I see your card?” he asked, and Elizabeth handed it over so he could plug it into the machine which displayed their amount. “Did you already have something in mind?” he then asked. Diavolo immediately nodded his head, “Yes. That large stuffed dragon there.” He pointed to the item in question: a black and gold soft stuffed dragon that had to be at least three feet tall that was worth just under the amount they had earned. She raised her brow, but didn’t question his choice. However, once he was handed the dragon, he turned around and handed it to her, “This is yours.” he declared happily and she looked at him in surprise, “Wha-what?” she asked and the employee chuckled “You have a few tickets left, did you want to use them on some of the cheap items here, so you use them all? Or save them for another day?” Diavolo turned back and nodded, “Oh yes, a few of those candies, if you could.” He replied, pointing to the ones he wanted. She didn’t even get the chance to protest the massively large gift as the demon prince happily took the candies and turned back to her, “Shall we head back to your house then?” he asked her with a large grin. She took a breath before sighing as she resigned herself to him, “Sure, let’s get going then.” She replied, giving him a smile in return. After stuffing the obnoxiously large dragon into the back seat of the car to get it back to her house, she drove them back. On the ride, she spoke, “You should take that dragon with you back to Devildom.” He pouted at her, “Do you not like it?” he asked, and she shook her head quickly, “No, its not that. I just think it would be easier if it went with you rather than trying to bring it with me when I head over there.” She replied, “It’s kind of… unwieldy.” He rested a hand on his chin for a moment, “You have a point. And it would seem when we return, we tend to take whatever you decide belongs with us with.” He then remarked and she nodded, “I noticed that too, like the books Simeon bought. He didn’t have those when he left, but they weren’t there in the morning.” Since the ride to the mall didn’t take long, the ride back didn’t take that long either. Soon, the dragon was plopped onto her couch as she plugged in her phone in the living room and yawned wide, “Man the dance one really made me tired.” She muttered as Diavolo fiddled with the dragon’s limbs a bit before looking over to her, “Ah, is this the part where I get to sleep with you in your bed?” he asked excitedly. She blushed a bit at his words, “Ah, yes, I guess so.” She replied, motioning for him to head to her bedroom with her, “Nearly everyone else got to do that too when they were here at night. I don’t see a reason to stop that now with you.” He followed her into her room, already stripping off his suit jacket and undoing his tie so he could loosen the dress shirt underneath. She glanced at him after he exposed some of his chest and she flushed and quickly looked away. “Oh boy, it’s going to be a long night with that chest.” She said softly to herself. “What’s wrong with my chest?” he asked her, seating himself on the edge of her bed to wait for her to finish getting ready to sleep. Something she hadn’t even started because she had gotten distracted looking at the demon prince, “N-nothing.” She quickly said to cover herself, grabbing her pjs to change, “I’ll be right back!” She then excused herself before he could call her out on her lie. When she returned, he was laying back on her bed, completely bare from the waist up, making her choke in surprise as she spotted him, “Wh-where is your shirt?” she asked him. He simply replied, “Oh I normally don’t wear one when I sleep. And since you mentioned my chest, I assumed you had wanted to see more of it.” She took a breath, trying to avoid any obvious staring, and he raised his brow at her, “Should I put it back on?” he asked, and her head snapped back to him, “No! I mean… it’s fine. I don’t mind it. Just… let me mentally prepare myself.” she muttered. She took a moment, but then clambered onto the bed and looked down at him on her knees at the edge, as if trying to figure out just how she was going to settle into the bed with a demon that was taking up most of the bed space. He grinned at her and, without really saying anything, opened up his arms to wordlessly invite her to lay on top of him. She didn’t accept the invitation right away, looking as if she couldn’t believe that her life had led her to this point for a moment before she finally settled herself on top of him. She carefully slotted herself on top of him, her cheek pressed against his chest and her legs intertwined with his as he rested his arms over her. She could hear his breathing and his heartbeat as she laid on him and she closed her eyes for a moment before she couldn’t help but to utter out, “Dios mío (Dear God), if I die tonight, I will die happy.” She felt the rumble of laughter under her from within his chest in response to her words and she refused to lift her face to look at him in fear of showing him the bright red cheeks she no doubt had, “I hope you don’t die just yet, my dear.” Diavolo said to her. She just grunted in response to him before closing her eyes to attempt to get some sleep that night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He didn’t observe her as often as the rest of them. He flicked between page and page of his work, moving them from one pile to the next. Even Lucifer had more time to watch her than he had. But he had little choice. Even with the curse that had befallen them, enthralled them, and entrapped them, there was still work that must be done as the future king of Devildom. After all, the rest of the Devildom didn’t know anything about what they were currently struggling with. 
There was an odd… air about her when she interacted with one of the others. It was as if, despite never meeting any of them before the point she summoned them into her world, she was already quite comfortable with them. As if she’d known them for years. As if she was the being that had lured them into that curse and not just the person controlling it.
 He couldn’t allow the rest of the worlds to know what had happened to them. To allow outsiders, especially those of the other two worlds, to know that nine of the most powerful demons were not only at this curse’s whim, but unable to break it, would only mean disaster within his kingdom. 
Of the few times he had the free time to actually observe her himself, each time he could feel this strong… attraction for her. Not necessarily desire, but rather he wanted to seek out her attention, her approval. And he knew that was a cause for concern. He was a leader, the future king for his people. He could not give himself so easily to her, to someone not even of the same race as himself.
 He sighed as he leaned back in his chair, wanting nothing more than to take a break from the never-ending pile of papers on his desk. Lucifer had only been gone a few hours, being summoned to her world when the ritual hadn’t worked. But it seemed like his unexpected absence had caused so much more paperwork to litter his desk and now he felt buried by it. He almost felt a little jealous of Lucifer and not simply because he got the chance to get away from all this work. But because he still felt that strong desire to be close to her, to finally meet her face to face. 
He wasn’t sure if anyone caught on to how easily they all accepted her. To how easily she wormed her way into their hearts without even speaking directly to them. Was it because she seemed to already know them so well because of the game? Or was it a hidden part of the curse that they couldn’t detect? Was the false being that she had control over only a distraction for something larger, something far more cunning attempting to infiltrate itself into their world? As his father’s son, he couldn’t overlook anything, no matter how much he simply wanted to look past it all for her sake.
 He knew it was childish, and unbecoming, but he couldn’t help but wonder when he’d get to meet her. When he’d get to speak to her in person. When he’d get to hold her close, comfort her when she was trying so hard to keep up that facade, she wore all the time. He held these desires within his heart, but it was so hard to know if it was simply because he was a demon who always had desires in his heart, or if there really was something else at play. 
Inevitably, he knew he’d give into his own desires. He knew he’d assist in bringing her to this world, despite how he knew she should stay in her own world. Despite the problems that could arise from bringing a soul that doesn’t belong here. He knew he’d give into his curiosity about her. But he hoped, by bringing her here, they could learn more about whatever this was that affected currently.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Elizabeth awoke with a start as she had a sudden feeling of falling, her face pressing onto the sheets of her bed as her eyes snapped open. She was quick to push herself up on her elbows, looking around, very disoriented. Her mind certainly wasn’t all awake, even if she had only been asleep for ten minutes at best. Regardless, she tried to figure out why her bed not only suddenly felt softer, but like she had fallen a foot into the ground. What happened? Where was she? Who was she? After a few minutes of drowsy, confused looks around the room, she shrugged and rolled over in bed, pulling the blanket tighter. If it was important, she’d remember it in the morning.  Meanwhile… Diavolo pouted, landing on the ground on his back with a soft plop. Seeing as he was currently half naked, the rest of his clothing landed on top of his chest after him. Then, on top of that was the comically large gold and black dragon he had gotten for Elizabeth as that landed on him as well before rolling over and falling off to the side. Still, he didn’t want to move just yet. “Did you have fun, Lord Diavolo?” And there was the reason he didn’t want to move yet. Barbatos gave his signature closed eye smile down to the demon prince; the one that let others know that he may have been smiling, but he was anything but pleased. The butler was bent at the waist slightly as he looked over the prince, one hand rested on his chest and the other behind him, as if he was simply greeting Diavolo after returning home. Diavolo, however, could sense that he was not here simply to greet him. “I certainly hope it was worth it, Lord Diavolo. I expect there’s quite a bit of work waiting for you on your desk.” Ah yes… the other reason he didn’t want to get up. On his other side, Lucifer stood there, with his own “I’m smiling, but I’m actually very, very pissed at you” look. The eldest demon brother also peered down at the demon prince, his hands in a very similar position to Barbatos, as if they were two guards simply awaiting Diavolo’s arrival. Well, they certainly were waiting for him. Diavolo gave the smallest sigh before sitting up, “I think I’d find it was worth it, considering.” He replied, catching his clothing as it fell off his chest so he could pull it back on. “Oh? Pray tell, considering what?” Lucifer asked. “Considering I believe I was the first to see under her mask of calm.” Both attendants to the prince immediately frowned, but didn’t say anything right away, so Diavolo continued, “For all she knows, we’re trying to bring her over just to cage her or torture her for the curse that laid over us. Yet, she insists on not letting any of us see how much she’s hurting. Even when something like her mother crosses her path.” The two definitely flinched slightly. Barbatos still had a firm but stoic face, but it didn’t take a genius to be able to read the silent aura of rage he practically radiated. Lucifer was scowling, giving off his own dangerously pissed aura as well. Clearly, both had been present during the encounter with the older woman. “Her mother really isn’t pleasant, is she?” Solomon asked from his spot by the Oculus. Lucifer’s eyes snapped to the sorcerer, as if to warn him to stay out of it. Diavolo shook his head, “No, she isn’t. I’ve never understood humans like that; how she could be like that to someone of her family.” Barbatos returned to his “smile,” picking up the oversized dragon plushie, “Regardless, my young lord, I will place this in your room for the time being. I’m sure Lucifer will be happy to escort you to your office, seeing as you have much work to do tonight.” “Of course, Barbatos. I’ll be sure to stay with him for as long as it takes for him to finish.” Lucifer then replied, gesturing with his hand for Diavolo to head out of the room first, “I’ll make sure to keep an eye on him the entire time.” He then added, likely implying there was to be a lecture as well. Surrounded and cornered, Diavolo had no choice but to head to his office to attend to the paperwork he was sure piled up in his absence. Even if his absence was only a day. He sighed sadly, but thought the escape was worth the day with Elizabeth.  Earlier… Mammon was the loudest one grumbling in the room. “Why does Lord Diavolo get to go to an arcade with her? It’s not like he’ll be all that good at any of the games! I bet they’re all rigged anyways. He’ll never win her something good! She should’ve brought me there; I would’ve won her something huge and expensive!” And on, and on. Satan was irritated, though not because of Diavolo and Elizabeth but rather, “Shut up Mammon.” The phrase was repeated by the now restless seventh born demon. Clearly, he wasn’t getting any sleep with Mammon around, “Just shut up already, you idiot.” “If Leviathan was here, I’m sure he’d be swimming in all this envy Mammon has.” Solomon chuckled out, his eyes fixed on the magical book. “Speaking of Levi, why did he run out earlier in a hurry when I woke up?” Belphegor pipped up, giving up on sleep for the time being. Satan, Solomon, and Mammon had three vastly different reactions to the question. Solomon tried to muffle his laughter before giving up after a few seconds, launching into a loud cackle, but otherwise didn’t say anything. Satan visibly flushed, but had a slight smirk on his face, and refused to say anything on the matter either. Mammon, naturally, turned bright red and started stuttering and stammering about something barely comprehensible to the sleepy demon. Belphegor was intrigued, and about to start questioning the one most likely to break under pressure, Mammon, before he was interrupted by said demon flipping back to the Viewing Oculus and pointing at it, “Oi! Look at her dance! I bet she learned that from me in that stupid game of her’s!” “We don’t even know if there’s dancing in that game, idiot.” Belphegor scoffed. Satan pondered, having quickly recovered from the earlier question, “I think she’s mentioned something about ‘dance battles’ before… sometime before we started talking to her.” “Whatever, look at her! She’s amazing!” The second born excitedly exclaimed. “Maybe we should take her to an arcade like that one when she’s here?” Satan then offered. Mammon immediately latched onto the idea, “Hell yah!” He then paused as a thought occurred to him, whipping his head around to look at the other two, “That’s my plan! I claim it! I’m taking her on a date to an arcade, you can’t do that now! Only me!” The two rolled their eyes, the seventh born grunting, “Like I’d take her somewhere I couldn’t just sleep at.” And the fourth born scoffing back, “I’d rather take her to a cat café anyways.” Before there were any more loud complaints and comments from Mammon, the door suddenly slammed open to Lucifer walking in, naturally not in a very pleasant mood. Barbatos followed shortly after him, gently closing the door behind him in contrast to Lucifer’s entrance. “Get out.” Lucifer commanded his brothers. Mammon immediately was set on protesting before Lucifer raised his hand, glaring at the white-haired demon, “Get out before I string you up in front of the castle.” Satan and Belphegor scowled at the eldest, “Why should we leave?” the fourth born grumbled. “Because Diavolo will be returning soon and I’m sure none of you will want to be here for that.” Lucifer then warned all of them, the implication of a long lecture behind them. The other brothers grimaced, but at the threat of being forced to sit through a lecture that wasn’t even aimed at them, they decided to opt out, all three of them slinking out the door and leaving just Solomon still attending to his magical catalyst, Lucifer glaring up at the Viewing Oculus, and Barbatos preparing himself a cup of tea while he waited.  Even Earlier… Lucifer and Barbatos slipped into the room, or rather Lucifer made his loud, grand entrance and Barbatos entered after him to make sure the door closed fairly quietly behind them. It was the third time they had been in already, naturally checking up on the escaped demon prince that was currently displayed on the Viewing Oculus along with Elizabeth. Satan didn’t even look up from his novel and Belphegor didn’t even stir from his slumber, his head resting in the blonde demon’s lap with the book over his head. “What happened?” Lucifer asked them, “I just saw Levi and Mammon running away from this room in a hurry.” Solomon snickered from his spot and Satan smirked a little, a slight blush evident on his cheek. Belphegor, however, seemed quite checked out, still not moving from his nap. It was Solomon who answered with a shrug, “Nothing all that interesting. Something was said that embarrassed them, I believe, and they ran off to hide.” Lucifer furrowed his brow, hating that he wasn’t in the know, “What was said?” he asked, no, demanded. Satan opened his mouth for some sort of retort to him, only to pause as everyone heard a voice that made them all bristle and glare at the Viewing Oculus. While none of them had ever seen Elizabeth’s mother, they’ve all certainly heard her over those phone calls the woman occasionally had. Even if they somehow couldn’t tell that it was her, the strong feeling of fear the current pact holders felt through said pact was more than enough to put everyone in the room on the defensive. Satan stood up at once, his horns already out as he fought the desire to try to jump through the Viewing Oculus just to get between the older woman and Elizabeth. In his movement, he jostled Belphegor who, while already awake due to the connection he had with Elizabeth, rolled off the couch, his own horns out and tail thrashing against the ground. Barbatos’ eyes were trained on the Oculus… but only for a moment as he made sure to step between the other two pact holders in the room and the Oculus, as means to keep them from trying to rush the delicate magical catalyst. He was bristling with anger, yes, but remained ever calm. Lucifer and Solomon, being the only two still without a means of a connection with the woman cowering on the Oculus, were only slightly less angered then the other three… but just barely. Solomon also kept relatively calm, concentrating on making sure the catalyst remained intact as he kept an eye on the two currently volatile demons in the room, should they become reckless. Lucifer glowered at the Oculus for a moment, as if willing his glare to actually do damage to the older woman currently berating Elizabeth. He didn’t stand there for too long, however, moving the moment he heard and saw Diavolo approach the two to protect the woman. Once assured that she’d be fine, he turned to the two demons with their horns out, finally allowing his wings and horns to appear as he growled in warning to them, “Stand down.” Satan didn’t even speak words back to him, but rather opted to snarl in return. Belphegor, however, had choice words, “What’s the point in these stupid pacts if we can’t be there to keep her safe from humans like that?” he exclaimed, standing up as his tail lashed about. “Diavolo is there; she’ll be fine.” Lucifer simply said. Their argument rendered invalid for the moment, or rather Belphegor’s argument and Satan’s noises of frustration, they glared down the Oculus, barely relaxing when Diavolo finally pulled Elizabeth away and into the car, safe from the perceived threat. “Take a walk.” Lucifer commanded them, moving to block their vision of the Oculus at this point. The two demons glowered at the eldest for a moment before Satan sat himself back on the couch, pulling his book back into his lap. “Fuck off, Lucifer.” He muttered in response, starting to take slow, deep breaths to steady himself so he could reign his demon form back in. Belphegor grunted, grabbing his cow print pillow from the ground before standing there for a moment, then turning away to walk to the door, opting into taking the walk Lucifer had “recommended,” his horns and tail still out as he walked away. Barbatos hadn’t moved the entire time, though he hadn’t seemed to want to provide a usual snarky comment at this point, the only indication that he was still concerned for Elizabeth, even if he knew that she was fine Diavolo’s care. Solomon broke whatever tension remained by letting out a loud sigh of relief, “That was close. Good thing your lord was there, right?” he said, offering a slight smile to the two demons still standing between the couch and the Oculus. Lucifer turned his head to the sorcerer, his mouth open to growl something out to him before the door suddenly slammed open, moments after Belphegor had left the room. “The ‘ell happened to her?!” Mammon burst into the room in a panic, immediately looking to the Oculus for a look at Elizabeth and rushing to get closer to it. Lucifer intercepted him, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket and pulling him back to keep him from getting too close, “She’s fine. Lord Diavolo was there to keep her safe.” “But what happened?” Mammon exclaimed, flailing a bit in the demon’s grip. Satan piped up, his demon form finally gone, “A run in with her mother.” He said simply. “Her mom?! I knew she was bad, but she puts this much fear into Liz? What the fuck is wrong with ‘er?” Mammon was still panicking so Lucifer tugged at his jacket again, “She’s fine, leave it alone, Mammon.” He repeated, “Or can you not see it on the Oculus?” “I-I can see it fine.” Mammon grumbled, calming down as Lucifer finally released him. The second born plopped onto the ground, frowning as his eyes trained back up to Elizabeth on the Oculus, worriedly watching her, “I’ll just… stay here for a bit to make sure.” Lucifer scoffed, but didn’t argue with him any longer, spinning on his heel quickly and heading back to the door to resume what he had been doing previously. Barbatos waited a moment longer before he did the same, following Lucifer to resume his duties around the castle, leaving the last two demons to watch over her with the sorcerer.  Just a little before that… Leviathan fiddled on his game console, making a swordsman shield surf down a snowy mountain before grumbling as his character clipped against a rock in the snow, veering off course and right off a steep cliff. “Damnit, not again.” He muttered. Mammon grumbled, sitting on the arm of the couch since Satan was on one end and Belphegor took up the rest of the couch with his head in the blonde’s lap. “Why ya even here, Levi? You’re not even paying attention to her.” “I so am!” the third born protested, respawning in his game as he glanced up at the Oculus, “She’s shopping with Lord Diavolo right now though. What’s there to watch?” It was at that point that every demon in the room, minus the one that was fast asleep at the moment, heard Elizabeth comment, “Obviously anyone who wanted to be shorter to be less scary never seen people who use hashtag monsterfucker unironically.” The room became very, very quiet as Elizabeth attempted to keep Diavolo from asking questions no one wanted to answer for him. A pin could be dropped and even the human in the room would hear it. Leviathan was the first one to react, his entire face, no more likely his entire body flushing brightly as he struggled to comprehend what he heard her say. After a few attempts to speak, he sputtered out, “S-she knows about that?!” He didn’t wait for an answer from anyone, choosing instead to stand up quickly and rush to the door to run for the safety of his room and tub bed. Mammon wasn’t far behind Leviathan, though not quite an excessive reaction… compared to the third born’s. He was also bright red and sputtered out incoherent sentences before managed something along the lines of, “Gonna go out for a bit.” And swiftly bolted out of the room after the other demon brother. Satan was blushing as well, his book set down to the side as he avoided looking at the Oculus at the moment before muttering, “I’m glad Asmo wasn’t here for that…” Being the only two in the room that didn’t hear her comment, Solomon was confused, and Belphegor had half awoken to watch the two blushing demons leave the room. “What happened?” Solomon asked curiously, glancing back at Satan and Belphegor on the couch. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Satan said to the both of them. Neither of the two seemed intent on pressing the issue at the moment, even as Satan muttered to himself, “I wonder if she’s one of those people…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When she awoke next, she felt exhausted. Maybe it was because she woke up several times in the night, unconsciously mourning the loss of one of the best chest pillows she’s ever slept on (even if it was only for five minutes.) Or maybe it was because she rather literally fell into her bed when he disappeared on her and left her confused at the sudden empty feeling. Regardless of the reason, she rolled over and picked up her D.D.D., opting to check her messages she hadn’t looked at the night previous. 
Elizabeth’s Harem (12)
 Asmodeus: Liz! Darling?! What happened?!Solomon, what’s going on?! Beelzebub: Is this feeling from Liz?Is she ok?I’m coming over to the room. Mammon: Solomon! Satan! Belphie!What the fuck is going on?!I’m already in the castle, I’m coming over! Solomon: Everything’s fine, it was just a chance encounter.… Mammon’s not looking at his D.D.D. anymore, is he? Asmodeus: What do you mean chance encounter?!Was it that scum Colon again? Solomon: No, it was her mother. Asmodeus:  Beelzebub:  Leviathan: That’s what this feeling was?!She’s not hurt, is she?I should’ve stayed in the room watching her. Asmodeus: We would’ve felt pain if that woman hurt her at all.Who’s in the room right now? Solomon: Unfortunately, Satan, Belphegor, and Lucifer were here at the time.Barbatos was here too, thankfully. I don’t think I could keep all three of those demons from possibly breaking the Oculus if they tried to go after that woman. Satan: We didn’t even do anything. We didn’t have to. She had Lord Diavolo with her.She’s fine. That woman didn’t even get to come near her.We should’ve at least tried to teach her how to summon one of us through the pacts if she needed it. ✓10 Guys, I’m fine.✓10 Like Satan said, Dia was here.✓10 Besides, she’d never try anything in public.✓10 Not again anyways. Mammon: What do you mean, not again?!She’s done worse shit in public before?! ✓10 Don’t worry about it Mams.✓10 I am really sorry I didn’t reply to you guys after it happened though.✓10 I must’ve caused you guys a lot of worry. Lucifer: It’s fine, Liz.As long as you’re ok, we’ll be fine. Diavolo: Indeed!We will just make sure to have someone able to keep you safe whenever possible! Barbatos: My lord. I do believe you weren’t supposed to have your D.D.D. while you’re working on all the paperwork you’re behind on. Diavolo:   She felt really, really terrible, having not messaged all of them the night before when this had all happened. She cursed at herself for forgetting they all could rather literally feel her strong emotions, so of course they felt everything the moment she ran into her mother. She was quickly learning that playing a game about someone with pacts and actually having those pacts were two very different ballgames. More importantly, she skimmed over all the messages, noticing there was one person in particular that hadn’t popped into the group chat and probably should’ve felt something to concern him. In fact, if the read receipts meant anything, he wasn’t even looking at his D.D.D. 
Simeon
 ✓ Simeon?✓ Are you alright?✓ I noticed you didn’t really say anything in the GC.✓ And I know you said that, er, thing would have harsh punishments for not following through with your promise. I apologize for worrying you, Liz.I’m… a little out of it right now.And yes, it’s due to my promise. ✓ What do you mean by “a little out of it?” I shouldn’t worry you about the details, my dear.I’m just a little dizzy.I just need some rest. ✓ Simeon.✓ Please don’t spare the details.✓ I’ll send one of the demons over to check on you if I have to. … Please don’t. I shouldn’t worry Luke more than necessary right now.I gathered what happened from the Group Chat,But at the time you felt that fear, I felt an overwhelming urge to run to you.I wasn’t in a position to head to the Room, however, so I had to resist the urge.As a result, I became lightheaded and was put through some pain.Nothing I couldn’t handle, of course.But Luke did notice and insisted I head to bed early last night. ✓ Ah, right, you’re with Luke for the most part.✓ I’m really sorry, that must’ve been hard. Don’t blame yourself, Liz.This feeling is nothing I can’t handle. ✓ Would it get worse the worse the situation I’m in? … I believe so, yes.I haven’t been in… a situation like this before, so I have no experience in this,But previous accounts of similar situations show that the more distress and pain the holder is in, the worse it feels for the Angel in charge of them until they fulfill their promise.In rare worse case scenarios, if the holder dies in any way that isn’t peaceful before the promise is fulfilled, the angel in charge of them also dies with them. ✓ Oh shit, Simeon.✓ You literally put your life on the line for someone as squishy as me?✓ I mean, I adore you, but come on Simi.✓ Even you have to admit, that was kinda stupid to do. I wouldn’t take it back though.Do you regret accepting it? ✓ No.✓ But I won’t lie, I feel terrible that I can make you feel like shit just by being careless. Please don’t worry yourself.I promise, I will be fine.The best thing you can do is keep yourself safe until we get to Devildom. ✓ Of course.✓ I don’t really go out unless I’m with someone anyways, so that should be easy enough.✓ Let me know if there’s anything else I can do until I get there, ok? Of course, my dear.  With everyone checked in on, she pulled herself out of bed, glancing at her regular phone for the time. An hour before her first alarm. Were these boys screwing up her circadian rhythm? Her thoughts were interrupted by the incoming message sound from her D.D.D. 
Solomon
 You wanted me to come over today, correct? ✓ That’s right.✓ You’re not going to pull a Diavolo and just pop in on me at work, are you? No, no.Actually, I was going to ask if you’d like to summon me before you start work. ✓ Before? But then what would you do while I’m working?✓ Hang out at my house?✓ Wouldn’t that be boring? Not at all.There’s plenty of things I can do while you’re working.Besides, from the sounds of things at work, you only have a half day today because it’s your last day, correct? ✓ True.✓ But what exactly are “plenty of things.” I was hoping I could look into the status of your universe and magic.To see if I can find any other ways to make bringing you over easier. ✓ Ah.✓ Experiments. I should’ve known. Hah, yes. Experiments. ✓ You already have someone there to cover the… whatever it is? Of course. Lucifer and Satan will be here for most of the day.And Barbatos will be keeping an eye on things as well. ✓ … you have Lucifer and Satan working together? Oh no. Liz, you have Lucifer and Satan working together. ✓ Hmm, touché.✓ Ok, I have time before work.✓ If you wanna come over, now’s the time.  Shortly after she sent that last message, the sorcerer’s name popped up on the screen as he called her, which she answered quickly, “You know, if anyone looked at just my D.D.D., calls and messages, they’d think you're my favorite, and yet I’m only meeting you today.” She commented. He chuckled, “Hello to you too. Does that mean I’m your favorite then?” he asked. Before she could answer, Lucifer’s voice popped up in the call, “If I recall, Liz has me on her game’s opening screen. And she thought of me when asked to pick just one of any of us.” Elizabeth flushed, not expecting the eldest to be there, despite literally just being told that he would be there. And then she blushed brighter as Satan commented, “She may have picked you first, but she didn’t do anything interesting with you.” Her hand came up to the fading marks on her neck almost instinctively. “I certainly hope you don’t think she would’ve just allowed me to latch onto her neck like a leech right after learning of our very existence.” Lucifer replied. She could hear the venom, and probably some jealousy though he’d never admit to it, in his voice. “I preferred to save anything more intimate for when she was more accustomed to us. Like tomorrow.” His voice sounding far more smug now, like he was bragging about having another day with her. “Guys! Can we get along for a day? So, Sol can come over?” she asked. There was a silence on the other end for a few moments before there were two distinct sighs. “My apologies, Liz.” “Sorry about that.” Lucifer and Satan replied at the same time. She sighed in relief as Solomon spoke up, “Right. Well, now that you’ve calmed them down, we can get started on the ritual.” “Shouldn’t Liz be on call with someone who’s staying here? So, we know if you get there safely, Solomon?” Satan brought up. Elizabeth made a small noise, “I’m so used to being in call with Solomon, I forgot about that.” she said. Solomon made a small hum himself before speaking, “I doubt I’d go astray, but yes, just in case, one of you should call her.” “Then I’ll hang up real quick.” She replied, just before tapping the end call button. She didn’t even have to wait a second before her phone rang out with another call, this time from a certain blonde demon. Quick to answer it, she hummed out, “Alright, that’s better. Now, let me know when you need me to think about him.” “Ah… yes, just give us a moment, Liz.” Solomon said from the call. There was a little more bickering between the two demons, though she couldn’t really hear their words, since it sounded like Satan had put his phone down somewhere away from wherever the ritual took place. “Alright, we’re ready now.” Satan called out to her. She hummed in response, closing her eyes again before speaking, “Ok, I’m ready on my end.” She opened her eyes just a moment later to the white-haired sorcerer in front of her. As he noticed her open her eyes, he smiled at her, “Ah, I’m glad I can see you face to face finally.” “Ah, yeah! Good to see the one who managed to make talking to me possible.” She hummed in response before glancing at his clothing. He wasn’t wearing his usual fancy capped outfit, but rather a spiffy white vest suit with golden buttons and a black turtleneck shit underneath it. Overtop, he had a black overcoat with a white inner liner. “Came in fancy clothes, did you?” she asked. “I assume he’s in one piece?” Lucifer asked over the call, interrupting them and making Elizabeth flinch slightly. She might’ve been staring a bit too much. “O-oh, yeah. Yup. He’s good. I’ll leave you guys to it now. I should get ready for work.” She replied quickly, “Talk to you later.” After a couple of goodbyes from the two demons, she hung up, looking back to the Sorcerer who was grinning down at her rather knowingly. Of course, only now she noticed the bag that hung over his shoulder, “Oh! Is that the books?” she asked, hopping off of her bed to approach him. He turned his body so he could put himself between her and the bag, “It is, yes.” He replied, smirking at her, “But I believe we had an agreement?” She pouted at him, “Really? Its not like I have the time to read them right now.” She whined to him, glancing up at him, noting that he was yet another boy whose height above her took her by surprise. Coming face to face with these tall guys was so different to just watching little animated figures on a screen. “Ah, but what if I forget about it before you start reading them? Better to just have you fulfill your side of the bargain first.” He replied, watching her with an amused look. She furrowed her brows at him, crossing her arms, “Well, I’m not going to tell you it right here and now. Not with my phone right over there.” He laughed, “You don’t want Satan or Lucifer to know about the fence incident?” She quickly shook her head, “God no. I already know I’m going to get shit from you about it. If either of those two know, it’ll probably spread to everyone else.” She then waved a hand dismissively, “I’ll tell you after work anyways. How about that soul connection thing you had in mind?” “We should do that after your work as well. Just in case it doesn’t go the way I’d like it to go.” he replied, his eyes drifting around the room for a moment. All of a sudden, she felt a little self-conscious, “Right… I-I’m going to go take a shower real quick then, before I head off.” She then said, turning and moving to her closet to grab her clothes to take into the bathroom with her. “Would you like me to come in with you and help wash?” he teased her, a wide grin on his face; a grin that only seemed to grow wider as she refused to look him in the face while quickly replying, “Wh-what? No, I don’t need any help! You sound like Azzy.” He only laughed in response as she practically dove into the bathroom to hide how red her face was now, closing the door quickly behind her. One quick shower later and a change into work appropriate clothing, she finally stepped back out to an empty room. She wasn’t immediately concerned, until she noticed her phone was missing from the bedside table. Narrowing her eyes, she started for the door, which opened just before she reached it, Solomon returning to the room and speaking up as he spotted her, “Oh, you’re done.” He said, giving her his sly little smile. She nodded, “Yeah, where’s my phone?” she asked him, glancing at his hands. He chuckled, “I just put it in your living room with my bag for the time being. I didn’t open the game. Lucifer would kill me if I did that.” “Yeah, no kidding.” She muttered before raising her brow, “So why?” she asked before it came to her, “Oh, privacy? Or just want them to be unable to see anything?” Then it really occurred to her, “Oooh, I know. It drives anyone watching mad when they can’t see anything I’m doing, right?” He chuckled, unable to get anything in until she finished her thought process, “Caught red handed. Maybe its because I’ve been watching the whole time, but its nice I can be the only one to see you right now.” She blinked in surprise at the easy admission from him before she averted her eyes, a slight flush on her cheeks again, “O-oh, I see.” She muttered, at a bit of a loss for words. His cheeky smile never seemed to fade as he watched her, clearly basking in the effect he had on her. Naturally, he only made it worse when he stepped closer to her and took her hand in his own, bringing it up to his mouth for a kiss to her knuckle. If her heart wasn’t beating fast before, it was now. “What, what was that for?” she asked, trying to ignore her erratic heart and warm cheeks. “You’re off to work soon, right? It’s for good luck on your last day, so you return quickly and safe back to me.” He replied, still holding her hand. She looked away from him again, stuttering a bit, “W-work! Right! Yea-yeah, that! Yup!” He chuckled and she could see his smug look from the corner of her eyesight before he asked, “Or did you want your kiss somewhere else?” he then asked, winking at her when her gaze returned to his. “I can see why Azzy has a pact with you.” She said to him, pressing her lips together in her attempt to seem calmer than she actually was. He didn’t reply, rather just continued to grin at her, as if waiting for her answer, which he probably was. He didn’t seem like he was going to move from the doorway either she finally muttered, while avoiding his eyes, “I mean, I wouldn’t mind one on the lips.” Pleased that he got an answer, he raised one of his hands to her chin, lifting her head up for him and forcing her to look him in the eye, “Oh? As you wish.” He lowered his head to hers, gently pressing their lips together as his free hand held onto her hip, keeping her close. The kiss was warm, and light, only lasting a few seconds before he pulled away again, that cheeky smile back in place as he gazed down at her. She let out a breath, confirming that she was, in fact, still breathing. Before she could do anything else, however, Solomon turned around, placing his hand against the small of her back as he led her from her room to the living room, “You’d best get to work before my good luck kiss wears away.” He said, allowing her to grab her phone and handing her the D.D.D. she had forgotten in her room. She didn’t even get a chance to ask how or when he grabbed her D.D.D. from the beside table before he led her to the kitchen, handing the woman one of her granola bars, “Breakfast of champions, right?” he asked her before motioning to the time on her oven. When she glanced at it, she swore, “Ah fuck, I’m going to be late!” and quickly rushed from his arms, heading off to the door as she popped one end of the bar into her mouth, “Seah yah laher!” she declared through a muffled mouthful as she dashed out the door.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Work went faster than expected for her. Perhaps it was because it was her last day with them, and it was already shortened. Maybe it was because she was excited to head home because she knew someone was waiting for her there. Regardless, it was still sad for her. She had worked there for a long time, and her coworkers were some of the only few people in that town that felt genuinely nice. That she knew anyways. Eventually, after a short little goodbye party with the coworkers that involved some cake and hugs all around, she finally got into her car, heading back to her home. The drive from work to home was just under ten minutes, and yet, that was enough time for her to find the very man she had summoned walking down the sidewalk next to a collection of small locally owned stores near her neighborhood. She even had to do a double take to make sure she saw what she saw. A quick pull over into the provided parking lot close to where Solomon was and she rolled down the passenger side window to call out to him, “Solomon? What in the living hell are you doing out here?!” Solomon glanced back at her, his face lighting up as he realized who was calling for him, “Oh! Liz! Perfect timing!” he replied, walking over to the window, and leaning over to cross his arms on the door while looking into the car at her, “Looking for a good time?” he joked to her. She sighed, pressing a few fingers against her forehead for a moment, “Sol, why are you out here? And get in the car already. Asking that kind of thing is going to make people think I pick up prostitutes.” “Well, if that’s what you want me to be, I suppose we could go that route. I figured I’d get you dinner first, but I don’t mind a bit of roleplay instead.” He replied as he slipped into the car, making her flush brightly and turn her head away quickly. She cleared her throat, “I’m beginning to suspect you’re actually worse than Azzy.” “Actually, you are worse than Azzy. Azzy just took me shopping and declared himself my boyfriend.” she added, crossing her arms as she glanced over at him. Solomon laughed, “He didn’t tease you like I do because we didn’t know where your boundaries were. Now we know.” He replied, winking at her, and motioning to her neck. The marks were covered up with makeup, but they were still there. Her hand went up to cover her neck, even though she knew they were hidden, “That… that was a crime of passion, obviously.” The man cackled out, “Did you just call Satan a criminal? First, he’s a vampire, then a leech, and now he’s a criminal?” Elizabeth grimaced, “Not intentionally! Just, damnit Solomon.” She grumbled, though the smile on her face gave away her amusement. Silently, she hoped Satan would forgive her for her words. “Anyways, why are you out here?” she asked, trying to change the subject from his teasing. He motioned to the little stores the parking lot was connected to, “I wanted to see if there were any stores here that could sell anything of interest that I could take back to the other universe.” She tilted her head, pondering for a moment, “Like… ingredients or something?” He nodded quickly, “Yes, exactly. I was looking for anything that isn’t readily available or doesn’t exist at all in my universe.” She glanced at his hands, “Come up empty handed? Or just haven’t gone in yet?” “Oh, no, there was nothing of interest unfortunately. I’m not sure what you had planned for our date, but could I bother you for a visit or two to other stores?” he said. “I know this universe doesn’t mix well with magic, but there may still be places that could be of interest.” She hummed, resting her hands on the driver’s wheel, “Actually, there was one place I wanted to bring you to. It’s this little occult place that’s kinda hidden. I always liked going in, but considering mi Madre’s from a fairly outspoken, famous religion sect, being seen going in often isn’t smart of me to do.” The sorcerer raised his brow, “Should you being going in then?” She waved a hand dismissively before setting the car back into drive, “It’ll be fine. I haven’t been there in months. And what’s anyone going to do about it now?” She started heading in the direction of the mentioned store as Solomon glanced out the window, “I suppose that’s true. And I’m here for the rest of the day in case someone would try anything.” She scoffed at him as she drove, “What are you going to do, set them on fire?” “If I need to, sure. Is that a request?” was his reply. She flinched, “No! No, that’s not a request. Please don’t set people on fire. I know it’s a thing that humans can spontaneously combust, but I don’t need that religious sect coming after me saying I set people on fire.” “Hmm, well fine. But only because we can’t be here in the world with you all the time.” He sighed sadly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Well, pretty soon here, we should be working on getting me into Devildom, right?” she asked. He nodded, “Yes, Satan and I have already been looking into ways to modify the ritual to make sure you make it safely, though it might take a little more time to perfect it as a result.” “That’s fine. I don’t mind waiting. I’d rather make it there in one piece anyways.” She paused as she stopped at a red light before speaking up in the natural conversation lull, “I am curious though. I know everyone doesn’t wear the same outfit or anything, but so far, I’ve only seen everyone in the same clothing they wear in the game. But the outfit you’re wearing isn’t something in the game.” Solomon smirked a little, “Actually, when you mentioned to Lord Diavolo that you had seen his outfit he changed into before in the game, I decided to wear something a little different then what I usually wear.” She glanced over at him, raising her brow, “So you wanted to catch me off guard?” “Basically. Why? Did you want me to show up without clothing?” he snickered back to her. She blushed a bit, having almost made it a whole ten minutes without him trying to fluster her, “N-no, I’d rather you have clothes on.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Actually, I wouldn’t have minded a glance at your pact marks.” “Ah, mine aren’t as interesting as yours.” He replied to her, “The imagery of the mark is dependent on the manner of the pact and the feeling and meaning placed behind the spell that ties two together.” She was really curious now, her interest peaked as her eyes snapped between him and the road to show that she was paying attention, “Such as?” “Such as, your marks are solely images depicting your association with the demon in question because they are giving you their pact without asking for anything in return immediately and are made emotionally. Those that make pacts in return for items or actions tend to have written contracts, either with or in place of the imagery because they are made out of business obligation.” “So, you’re saying you’re like a novel with a few pictures and I’m a picture book?” she asked him, “I mean, I guess I’d rather be the picture book since I’m not selling off my soul or anything to them.” He gave a small snort, “Well, that is one way of putting it, yes.” She paused as she put the car into parking, pulling into a small parking lot in front of a mostly hidden store front on the corner of a street. Then she asked, “Lucifer’s not going to ask for my virginity or something for a pact, is he? Actually, does virginity even mean something in your world, or is it just a social construct like here?” Solomon’s composure broke for a moment as he burst into laughter and Elizabeth frowned at him, “Sol, this is a serious question. I don’t know the extend of all that magic stuff.” He rubbed at his eyes as he tried to control his giggling long enough to answer her, “Sorry, sorry, I know.” He took a few more moments to recollect himself before continuing, “Virginity does have a weight behind it in our universe. I am just surprised you could admit to it in front of not just me, but Lucifer as well with such a straight face and yet you fluster so easily to my teasing.” She opened her mouth for a second before it seemed to dawn on her and she flushed brightly, “Oh, fuck, the phone.” She muttered, “I forgot.” Queue even more and louder laughter from the sorcerer as she wallowed in self-inflicted shame for a few moments, “You know what, never mind. I didn’t say anything. Let’s just go in already.” She was quick to step out of the car, slamming the door behind her as she strolled up to the door of the establishment, ignoring how much longer it took the cackling sorcerer to follow after her. His laughter only managed to die down to a wide smirk once he reached her, “Sorry, my dear, but you have to admit, your awkward little moments are both funny and adorable.” She kept avoiding his face, ignoring how bright her cheeks must be at the moment, “Shut up.” She so smartly retorted back to him, pushing open the door and taking a breath to will herself to calm down, “Anyways, this place is small, they sell stuff that is supposedly used for magic.” The store they entered wasn’t very large, only as large as the coffee place she had gone to with Simeon. Perhaps even smaller than that. Inside was cramped with shelves and displays of various sizes and all sorts of odd and unusual items. At first glance, it seemed the place only sold those scam “rare and hard to acquire” items, such as a “cream made from thrice burnt gecko tail” or the “horn of a vinegar and tar-soaked rhino horn.” Most of the items, she assumed, were fake anyways. She motioned to the store, turning back to Solomon, “You can see if any of this stuff is real or worth something. You’d have a better eye for it then I would.” she offered. He hummed in acknowledge before drifting over a few shelves, curiously looking at some of the items as she watched him. “Oh hey. It’s religious bat’s daughter girl.” The cashier girl at the back of the store (so about ten feet away from them) called out to them. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.” Elizabeth offered a wave back to her, leaving the sorcerer to his browsing as she walked up to the girl. The girl in question was dressed in black and bright pink checkered clothing and long, fingerless black gloves on her arms with blue, purple, and pink colored hair. “I had to avoid being seen here for a while.” Elizabeth explained. “Ah, religious bat getting on your heels, right?” the cashier asked before glancing over at Solomon, who hadn’t even glanced in their direction, too busy examining everything, “Who’s the friend? Boyfriend?” The woman glanced away, “Ah… well, yeah, technically.” she muttered, fiddling with her fingers unconsciously. The cashier girl smirked at her, “Ooooh, you’re in the in between stages huh? That why you’re here? To find something to see if you’re compatible?” Elizabeth looked confused, “Wait what? No, I don-“ The girl didn’t even let her finish as she stepped out from behind the counter and directed her to a nearby display, taking a dark gray powder and shoving it into Elizabeth’s hands. “This powder is supposed to show your soul strings. You know what those are right? Ever read those fanfictions of soulmate AUs with string on their hands that connect to their soulmates? It’s like that. You just sprinkle it on your hand and his hand, and it’ll show you if you have a good soul thread connection.” “You don’t actually think this will work?” Elizabeth asked the girl, raising her brow. Solomon, however, interrupted both of them as he took the powder from her hands and examined the little glass bottle the powder was held in. After a moment, he popped it open and took a light sniff as Elizabeth blinked in surprise. “Sol, I don’t think it’s act-“ Again, she was interrupted as he finally spoke, “No this is perfect. We’ll take it. How much?” Elizabeth was stunned into a temporary silence as the cashier girl looked surprised for a moment before recovering, “O-oh, yeah, ten bucks.” The sorcerer was quick to pull out his wallet, giving the cashier two fives before looking back to Elizabeth, “There’s nothing else here of note, so we can leave.” He said simply, giving her a smile. The woman raised her brow but nodded, turning back to the entrance, “Well, see you, cashier girl.” With that, Solomon was quick to follow after her, the two leaving behind the girl and headed back to the car, “Well, back to the house then?” Elizabeth asked. He nodded, “If you wouldn’t mind. I’d like to finish the process I have set up to bind our souls.” She started the car and got on the road quickly enough, tilting her head a bit at his words, “What is it exactly? Or is this yet another thing that we shouldn’t be talking about where the others can hear about it?” she asked. Solomon snickered a little, “No, actually we can talk about it just fine. Do you recall what that girl was talking about? About the soul strings?” “Yeah…” “Those are real. This powder is a weak variant of what I created back in my universe that allows those with strong affinity for magic to see, and sometimes, manipulate those very strings. Although with the powder alone, you can’t do much with the strings. Just tug on them a little.” He explained, “However, I have a way to… ah, perhaps strengthen is the word? Let’s go with that. Strengthen the thread we’d like.” Elizabeth didn’t reply right away, thinking for a moment before perking up as she had a thought, “Oh! I thought that sounded familiar. There’s a devilgram where you made a powder that allowed you to see those strings. You called it ‘the red thread of fate’ though. And we ended up learning that any bond created a string, not just romantic connections.” He looked a bit confused at her, “I apologize, but I’m not sure how Devilgram allows you to know about this? Or how you knew I put research into this at all?” She gave him an apologetic look before looking back to the road, “Sorry. In the game, Devilgram was used to tell the stories behind, er, the cards the player uses. One of them was one where you were researching the thread of fate.” “Was MC there?” “They were yeah. Were they not when you actually were researching it?” “No. It was just me and Asmodeus at the time. It was through Asmo’s threads that we learned that they were bonds.” “Huh.” She muttered, “Well, I guess it’s nice to know that the Devilgram in the game doesn’t affect you guys. Would be really weird for the ones set in alternate universes. Like the pop idol ones.” “But it does seem to show events that have happened.” Solomon concluded, “Were the stories told through the game all like the thread one?” “No, but most of them kinda were. They were just little… memories, usually with the MC, of various things. Sometimes MC wasn’t present at all. And sometimes they didn’t take place in the same universe at all.” “I see. Interesting. Maybe if we’re forced to open the game later, we can take a peek in there for answers.” “Answers? Or take a peek into the others’ memories in search of secrets?” He merely shrugged noncommittedly in response, a small smile on his lips as they pulled back into her driveway. She gave him a look after putting her car into park, “There’s nothing in there that’ll get you more pacts.” She said simply. He pouted, “I don’t want to see them just for that reason.” “But it is a reason.” He hesitated before nodding, “Yeah…” She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to get out as she slipped out as well, the two heading into the house, “Well anyways, what’s this you’re doing to the threads then?” she asked him, leading them back into her house. Before he could answer, she paused in the kitchen and held her fingers to the bridge of her nose, “Solomon.” she said. He hummed in response, coming up behind her, “Yes?” “Why does it look like you burnt my stove to shit and half the wall behind it?” “Ah… I was attempting to make something, and I suppose I put the wrong thing inside. The pot I used is… unusable now.” “And the counter that looks like it’s been eaten away by acid?” “Oh, I was testing the limits of magic I could use here, and it appears I can use more then I realized, so the spell I used may have gone just a tad haywire.” “And you can’t fix any of this with magic?” “Oh of course I can. I may have gotten distracted and headed out once I realized you’d be heading back soon.” She sighed, rubbing the sides of her head for a moment before she started to walk to the living room, “Please fix this before I come back, Solomon.” She said simply to him, keeping her voice calm. She didn’t even stop to look at the sorcerer as she walked away, not really wanting to deal with the destruction that occurred to her kitchen. She also wanted to peek around the rest of the house to see if he did anything else to the place. Fortunately, a quick glance in the other rooms didn’t show any other damage, so she moved back into the living room, pulling out her phone and plugging it in with the spare cord. She knew she had unread messages on her D.D.D., but she refused to pull it out and look at them because of the things she had said earlier. Finally satisfied and having left her peanut gallery back in the living room for privacy, she walked back to the kitchen, pleased to see it was fixed back to its normal state. Solomon glanced back at her, offering her a sheepish smile as she returned, “I apologize for the state I left the room in.” he said, a bit of worry on his face. She sighed and waved her hand, “Honestly, it’s fine. I’m not really mad, considering I’m going to end up leaving this place sooner or later.” She pressed a finger on the counter where it had previously been melted, humming as she ran it along the surface. “Now, about that thread thing?” The sorcerer perked back up as she spoke, nodding quickly as he walked back to the living room with her following after him. He dug through the bag for a moment before he pulled out a couple decently sized jars with what looked like various colored powders, “First, we’ll need to reveal the threads, then we can manipulate the one that connects the two of us.” “And what exactly are we doing to the thread again?” Elizabeth asked, watching him as he placed down the various jars on the table, moving them around a few times before he was satisfied with their order. “We’ll be solidifying the bond and making it stronger. It’ll be closer akin to the pacts you have with the demons.” She crossed her arms and tilted her head, “I see. So, you’re taking advantage of an already established bond to make a stronger one?” He grinned at her, “Exactly.” He held out his hand in an offer to her, which she quickly took, “So… how are we doing this then?” He gently pulled her closer and popped open one of the first jars as well as the little bottle he had bought from the store earlier, tossing the whole little bottle into the first one he opened. He then popped open another jar, taking a few pinches from that second jar and tossed it into the first. Then, holding the rim of the jar, he rolled it in a small circle, mixing all three together before setting it back down on the table. Now finished, he took a pinch from the new mixture and tossed it onto himself, then another pinch and tossed that one onto Elizabeth. The powder fluttered onto both of them before almost appearing to disappear into the air. In place of the powder, many strings appeared from their hands, like they were tied around their fingers. Most of the threads that came from their fingers seemed to just fade off several feet away from them. However, there was one red thread that specifically connected the two of them together. “I’d recommend you don’t move very much for the time being.” He warned her, lifting this hand that had his connection to her. He grabbed the other two jars he had left, one of them with a light green, very fine dust and the other with a smooth goop, rather than powder. He took a finger and swiped into the goop, collecting a small dollop before he glanced at her, “Could you grab just a small pinch of the green dust and sprinkle it on this?” he asked, motioning with the goo covered finger. She raised her brow, but wordlessly did as he asked, sprinkling the goo-like she was spreading salt on it. The dust seemed to be absorbed into the goop, to Solomon’s satisfaction. Apparently ready, he lifted the hand that was connected to Elizabeth and gently grabbed at the thread between two fingers, smearing the goo along its length the entire way until it reached where it was tied to her finger. Under the goo, the thread seemed to thicken and darken, changing from bright red to a very dark red, almost black color. Finished with the entire string, he shook his hand, somehow cleaning off this finger in the process, “There we are.” She blinked, touching the thread a little. It didn’t really feel like string should, especially when it seemed to waver a bit in her vision near wherever she touched, “It’s strengthened?” He nodded back to her, “It is. These threads aren’t technically physical things, so it won’t feel that way.” He said, noticing her skepticism as she touched it, “Normally, we can’t see the bonds with have with others; we just feel them. So, trying to touch these tends to lead to mixed results.” “Ah.” she replied, pausing her efforts to look at all the other threads. She had quite a few of them, most of them being bright red or light pink in coloring, though she noticed there was a small group of them that were rather dark red, with the one connected to Solomon being the darkest red. “Why are they different colors?” “The darker the color, the deeper the bond.” He said, motioning to the small cluster she had of darker reds, “I suspect these ones are your pact demons, Lord Diavolo, and Simeon.” He said, “While the lighter ones would be more surface level relationships you have.” “Like my coworkers, schoolmates, and people I meet in town?” she concluded for him. “Yes, exactly. You catch on quickly, you know.” He praised her. She shrugged, looking away a bit bashfully, “Eh.” She muttered before moving on, “Anyways, it kinda looks like you bypassed how most people usually deepen their bonds and jumped to the end.” “It could seem that way yes.” He hummed. She counted the darker strings for a moment, “Oh... there’s only ten of these, including yours. So, I guess Lucifer’s string would still be light red?” “Most likely. You haven’t made a pact with him yet, after all. I’m sure it’ll darken once you make a connection with him.” “I see…” She went quiet for another moment before she narrowed her eyes, “Does the place where the thread comes from mean anything.” The sorcerer diverted his eyes pretty quickly as she glanced at his face, “Ah… not that I know of.” “So, it’s just a coincidence that all these threads with you guys come from my left ring finger?” she asked, raising her brow at him. He shrugged at her, offering his signature mysterious smile, “Most likely. Of course, it be your soulmate threads. I haven’t done enough research to confirm anything of the sort however.” “Uh huh…” she said, giving him a skeptical look before lifting her head slightly, “So how do we… uh, send these back to the shadow realm or something so we don’t step on them?” “Ah!” he said before digging around in his bag once more, this time pulling out a very small little bottle and popping it open, the dust inside suddenly exploding out between them. The light gray dust slowly fell between them before it seemed to attach itself to all the various threads, everything disappearing in a manner of a minute or so after he had opened the bottle. “That’s how.” “Oh. Ok.” She said, looking surprised as she lifted her head, now string-free, “So what exactly does your strong little thread entail anyways?” Solomon paused, frowning a bit at her, “Do you not feel anything?” he asked her. She shook her head and he hummed quizzically, “It serves as a stronger connection, so you should be able to simply feel my presence. The closer I am, the stronger the feeling. Also, since these are threads of fate, it assures that you can always find your way to me, and vice versa. So even when I go back to my universe, fate should naturally bring you to me.” He intertwined their fingers with the hands had just had a thread connection, “It is troubling that you can’t feel anything. I can feel you, so I know it’s working, but that doesn’t explain your side.” She tilted her head, “Well, this isn’t the first time this happened.” He gave a questioning look and she hummed, considering how much she could tell him. Finally, she said, “I… won’t give details, but Dia gave me something that also should let me, I guess, spiritually feel him too, but I don’t feel anything while he can.” She explained. Solomon considered for a moment, pondering over her words before his eyes snapped up to her neck, “Ah, you’re wearing the Ring of Light, right?” he asked her. She nodded and used her free hand to tug it out of her shirt for him to see, “Yeah, I have to wear it pretty much all the time because the feeling without it suc- oooooh!” Her eyes lit up, “Do you think it’s the ring’s fault?” “I believe the ring is both dampening outside magic on you, and magnifying your inner magic.” He said, smiling at the look in her eyes, “It would explain why you can’t feel anything we’re putting on you, but also why our time in your universe had suddenly extended after Simeon gave you the ring.” She smiled, “Ooooh!” and then frowned, “Oh… If I take this off at any point, I’m going to hit with a lot of feelings.” She said, looking a little worried. He rested his free hand of her’s that he was holding, “Don’t worry. Just keep it on and hidden, and you should be fine. I can’t say anything for the stuff the others have given you, but our connection shouldn’t make you feel worse in any way.” She sighed and nodded, “Right. I’ll have to make sure to keep it safe. And secret.” She tucked the ring back under her shirt, patting the space on her chest where it remained hidden. He nodded, still holding her hand as he watched her, “Anyways, I’ve done everything I needed to do. Now… about the fence incident.” he then asked, his cheeky grin giving an appearance once more. She groaned out loudly, “I had just forgotten about that. How do you even remember these things?” He didn’t reply so she sighed and stood up from their position on the couch, pulling him up with her by the hand she was holding and tugging him along to the bedroom, “Come on then. I’d rather keep this somewhere private.” He looked quite giddy as he followed after her, grabbing his bag before he went and she pulled both of them into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She settled herself on her bed, crossing her legs and her arms as she gave him a slight glare, “God I don’t know why you want to know something so embarrassing.” He sat himself opposite of her on the bed, also crossing his legs as he placed his bag besides him, tugging on a thick and old looking book, “Honestly, I’m just curious. Surely, it’s not that terrible a story?” She sighed, “Technically no…” she muttered, “Fine. Back in sophomore year, my school had a fenced in playground area because it also had elementary classes. My class was walking around the outside of the fenced area, and we had to get back in, but the entrance was forever away, so most everyone just started hopping the fence.” She grimaced at the memory for a moment. “Ah, so like you know already, and all my class knew because they knew my mother, but I’m like… half Hispanic, you know? And it’s a joke, a terribly racist one, that Hispanics can jump fences. Well, this fence was like, waist height and everyone was having no trouble with it.” She paused, looking like she regrets her life decisions, “When I went to jump the fence… I ended up flipping over completely and basically somersaulted over the fence and right onto my back. For the rest of my school career, I was the Hispanic that couldn’t jump a fence.” She hung her head, refusing to look at the sorcerer. She didn’t hear anything right away, though she kept her head down, finally, he spoke up, “Can you… can you hop a fence now?” She groaned loudly and glared up at his stupidly amused face, “Does that even matter?” she grumbled, “I gave you the damned story, now gimme the book.” He chuckled, probably a bit longer than he should have, but she allowed it. She regretted and hated the memory, sure, but even she had to admit, she probably would’ve laughed if she saw someone fail and succeed in jumping a fence like she had. She grabbed at the book he held, which he allowed her to take, and glanced at the front cover, “We’re moving on, because I don’t wanna talk about it.” She said firmly to him. He was still chuckling a bit, but his laughter was dying down, “Right, right.” He replied before reaching out a hand to tap against the book she now held, “In which case, this one I’ve pulled out is a beginner’s guide to magical usage. It should cover the basics of everything you need to know.” She opened the cover, glancing at the first page, which held a table of contents, before she shut it again, “Actually, I have an idea.” She said, “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what else you’d like to do while you were here, so I didn’t plan anything other than that store.” He raised his brow and she continued, “But, I don’t want to just start into the book and ignore you, so about we take a walk in the park across the street? I can bring a blanket and we can find a nice spot and you can relax and maybe take a goddamn nap.” He blinked and opened his mouth, and she stopped him by holding up her finger, “No, I know you haven’t been sleeping well, have you?” He closed his mouth again, glancing away from her gaze as she glared, “I knew it. Should we bring food too? I sure you haven’t been eating either.” He still didn’t look at her and she sighed, “I’ll make some sandwiches before we leave.”
With that, she gave him back the book and got off the bed, dipping into her closet to pull out decently sized blanket, the same one she used with Belphegor in her backyard, “Here. Fold that up and hold onto it will you? I’ll make some sandwiches real quick and we can take a walk. It’s a beautiful day, might as well not waste it.” She paused at the door of her bedroom, “Never thought I’d say that as someone who hates to leave my room.” She hummed. She shrugged and made her way to her kitchen, with Solomon following shortly after her, the blanket folded up neatly in his arms and his bag hanging from his shoulder. She was quick to whip up several sandwiches of various kinds, wrapping them in saran wrap before putting them in a small bag she then held. “Ok, come on then.” She nudged him to the door and offered her hand to him once they were outside, which he quickly took. She guided him through the gap between her backyard and the neighbor’s backyard, heading to a crosswalk on the street behind her home so they could walk across to the park on the other side. From there, they found one of the paths, heading deeper into the wooded park and past some of the more popular parts of the area, such as the little playground or the small group of simple gazebos littered around the area. “Not protesting?” she asked him, aware that he hadn’t really said much since she dragged him out. He smiled at her, “Well, I don’t mind it. Plus, you’ve left your phone back at your house, so really, I have you all to myself.” He replied back to her, the cheeky smile making a return. She flushed a bit, “Ah there it is. You’re cheeky, flirtatious charm you had when you first came over.” His brow shot up, “Oh? Did you want me to tease you more?” he asked her. She looked away from him, grumbling, but refusing to acknowledge that she enjoyed it. He chuckled at her response, and she nudged his shoulder before motioning to a lone tree a bit off the path, “Let’s go over there. That’s far enough away from other people that it should be quiet.” He nodded and they walked over, the sorcerer laying out the blanket for them before bowing slightly and motioning for her to take a seat first. She rolled her eyes and plopped herself down with her back against the tree, keeping herself mostly in the shade. She reached out and tugged at his hand, pulling him down to her, “Now, just relax. Don’t think about how you’re going to get me to your universe or anything else stressful. Just, think only about breathing.” He shrugged off his suit coat and laid it off to the side, “Oh, may I lay on you then? I think I’d find that relaxing.” he asked, smirking at her. She blushed a bit, but instead of responding, she grabbed his shoulders and tugged him over until he was between her legs with his head laid back in her lap and against her lower stomach, “If you insist.” She simply said, trying to look unaffected, even if her fast beating heart and slight red cheeks said otherwise. He blinked in surprise, glancing up at her face from his new position on his back. Clearly, he hadn’t expected her to give in so easily, but he didn’t seem to want to complain. Instead, he rested his hand over his stomach, and she could feel him relaxing against her. She grabbed at his bag, pulling the book he had shown her earlier, noting that there were two more books in the bag, and plopped it onto the ground beside them so she could flip it back open to read. They took a few moments to eat the sandwiches she had made, with the sorcerer, of course, insisting that she feed him his food, since he was in her lap and “trying to relax.” She rolled her eyes, but relented, a sandwich in both hands so she could eat one and give him his. After the food was gone, she returned to reading and the hand she wasn’t using on the pages moved to rest on his head, gently brushing through his white hair as a means to help him relax. He hummed in response, clearly pleased in this position and, for a few quiet and blissful moments while she read the first chapter of the book, they were both quiet. Only the sounds of the birds and bugs around them were heard. After a bit of time, Solomon tilted his head slightly, glancing at something in the distance in the park and he spoke up, “What are they setting up for over there?” Elizabeth glanced to where he was looking, spying the various stalls and tarp canopies people were setting up in the distance. She hummed for a moment, trying to remember the day before she recalled, “Oh, it must be the Hanahaki Festival.” The man blinked for a moment, quiet before he spoke again, “The… what festival?” he asked. She sighed, “I know, it’s Japanese for throwing up flowers or something, but someone idiot created this event like… three years ago and named it that without looking up what it means.” She explained, “Unfortunately, it got really popular, so they’ve been holding it every year. I’m pretty sure tomorrow is the annual event.” She then added, playing with a few strands of his hair, “Around here, they celebrate as some… summer couple event thing. Like a second valentine’s day. But with more flower themes.” “Isn’t that the fictional Japanese disease from unrequited love?” he asked her. She nodded, “I don’t know if anyone has pointed that out to the main organizers of the event, but if they had, everyone around here is too… well ‘not Japanese’ to care.” “But it’s a couples event?” he asked. She nodded, her gaze returned back to the book, “A shame I can’t and take you to it then.” He then hummed, in an almost sad tone. She glanced back at him before covering his face with her hand, “Hush. We’ll have tons of time when I get to your universe.” In response, he nipped and latched onto one of her fingers, making her jump slightly and eep in surprise, “For the love of, what’s with you guys and my hand!” she said pulling her hand away. He leaned his head back to grin up at her, “You should know better than to bring your hand so close.” She scoffed at him and plopped her hand back on his upper chest, “You’re not a demon. Now get some rest. You’re here so I can make you relax because I’m betting you haven’t really relaxed since this whole curse thing started.” He didn’t really reply, humming back to her before finally going back to his quiet state from before, though this time one of his hands reached up and held onto her own on him. When she glanced at his face again, his eyes were closed and she sighed softly, smiling as she watched his chest slowly rise and fall with his breaths. She certainly couldn’t have one of the men keeping her connection with everyone fainting anytime soon, so she was relieved to see him dozing. She worked her way though the book quietly as she let Solomon continue to sleep, noting that he was definitely sleeping when he completely relaxed in her lap, his head tilting to the side a bit. Though, she did take a short break to tug out her D.D.D. and take a selfie with the sleeping man, for her own collection, of course. She had a picture of every one of the boys in her D.D.D., other than Lucifer and Mammon at this point. Originally, it had been to assure her that she wasn’t just seeing things and talking with people who weren’t there, but now she did it simply because she wanted to keep the memories. Of course, she had a picture with Mammon cuddled up against her on her original phone, but she’d have to grab another one with him when she saw him again. Regardless, with another picture added to her album, she returned to the book, the first chapter detailing how to feel and manifest the magic within her. Before she got much further, however, the D.D.D. she had set to the side started ringing out from a call. She glanced at the ID, considering her usual caller was still asleep in her lap (somehow) and raised her brow at Asmodeus’ name. She ever so carefully slipped herself out from under Solomon, gently letting his rest his head on the ground before she slipped away to take the call without disturbing him, almost missing the call entirely as a result before she hit the accept button, “Azzy? Is something wrong?” she asked. “Darling! Sweetheart! We need you!” he declared loudly. She flinched and glanced back at the still sleeping Solomon before moving even further away to make sure he wasn’t disturbed, “What are you taking about? Are you drunk or something?” she asked. The demon huffed indignantly, “No! I can’t just need you, Liz?” Another voice cut in, the fourth born speaking up, “He means we need you to clarify something.” Satan said. She sighed, “Oh boy. You’re with Satan, so you’re watching that thing, right?” she asked them. “Well, yes, but it’s not anything about that. I’m sure you’re doing lots of things with Solomon, I taught him everything he knows after all.” Asmodeus giggled as he spoke, getting off track again, as evident by Satan speaking up to put the train back on track, “It’s about Lucifer. You haven’t actually asked him to come over tomorrow, have you?” A knowing tone in his voice. Clearly, he was looking for something from her. She frowned, “Of course I-“ she paused before she finished, thinking over the few times she’s talked to the eldest demon, both in text and over the phone, “Ah….” She didn’t explicitly say it, but the implication was clear enough for the two on the call, “I knew it! Of course, he just assumed he’d get another day with you. How rude of him!” Asmodeus declared loudly. Satan cackled out, “The great Avatar of Pride over here assuming he just gets another summon from Liz. How presumptuous of him.” She heard a low growl from somewhere over the call, which she assumed was Lucifer himself. “Would you all shut up.” He snarled back to them. “Ya know what they say about assuming though?” Mammon’s voice came up over the call. In the back of her mind, she had to wonder how many of the boys were there at the moment. “’It makes an ass out of you and me.’” Belphegor, surprisingly, was the one that answered Mammon. There were sounds of laughter from all the boys, and she could just see the annoyed look the eldest demon had to have on his face at this point. She couldn’t help but feel a little bad about it. “Darling, you should just summon me again instead.” Asmodeus than brought up. “Hell nah! She should summon me again!” Mammon then declared. She sighed for a moment, not bothering to bring up that she still needed Lucifer’s pact. Instead, she hung up the call, then navigated to the contacts before calling Lucifer instead. It rang for just a moment before he picked up. Lucifer, unfortunately, didn’t get a greeting in as Asmodeus whined out, “Liiiiiz, why did you hang up on me?!” Ignoring the pouty demon, Elizabeth asked Lucifer, “Am I on speaker phone?” There was a momentary pause before the raven-haired demon replied with a cautious “Yes…” Loud enough for the others to hear, she spoke up, “I’m so sorry, Lucifer, but I’ve just realized that I haven’t asked you out on a date as of yet. I was trying to make sure I got time with everyone, and you just happened to be last, my apologies.” She felt a little bad at the slight jabs she threw at everyone else, but she hadn’t wanted to leave any of the boys out after all. And they had it coming teasing Lucifer like that. She could hear the smugness in his voice when he replied, however, “Apology accept, Liz.” She immediately continued, “Excellent. Speaking of dates, there’s some couples’ festival tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?” Again, he sounded so very smug, “It would be my honor to come with you, Liz.” She could hear grumbling from several of the boys in the room before she called out, “Don’t be so put out boys. It’s not like I didn’t ask of you beforehand either. Now, if you guys would be so kind, I was trying to let Solomon sle- oh fuck!” She jumped what felt like literal feet as she felt a tap against her shoulder, almost dropping the D.D.D. in the process as she turned to look at Solomon standing there with a grin. “Liz? Are you ok?” Lucifer asked over the call. Instead of answering him, she grumbled, “Fuck, Solomon, you can’t sneak up on me like that!” There was a sigh over the call and Solomon spoke up, “Sorry, Liz. I thought that was a good time to interrupt.” He chuckled. “It sounds like you’ll be fine. Try not to stop her heart, Solomon.” Lucifer grumbled, probably a bit put out that his little moment was gone thanks to her little scare. Her heart was still racing as she turned away from the sorcerer, “A-anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow, Luci.” She was pleased when he didn’t correct her, but rather said his goodbyes, along with a few more in the background from the other boys. Finally, she turned back to Solomon, glancing at the sun low in the sky through the trees, “We can head back to the house, seeing as you’re up now.” She huffed to him. He smiled at her and took her hand, “I didn’t mean to scare you, I swear.” She rested her free hand on her chest, “No, technically it was my fault. I woke you up, didn’t I? I probably shouldn’t have taken that call.” He shook his head, “No, no. I woke up naturally. I’ll admit though, I got a little worried when I saw the book there, but you weren’t around.” She grimaced, looking a little guilty, “Sorry. I just wanted to take the call away from you so their loud voices wouldn’t disturb you.” “It’s alright. You weren’t that far away so I wasn’t worried for long. As long as you’re safe, there’s nothing to worry about.” He lifted her hand to his lips, offering her a light kiss before gazing back into her eyes. She flushed under his affections, before trying to divert his attention away from her face, tugging at his hand in her grip, “L-let’s get back to the house. I’m going to have to head to bed soon.” Of course, he looked excited at her words, pulling back against her tugging to tug her body up against his, his other arm wrapping around her for a moment, “Oh, and I will get sleep with you then? I think I’ll enjoy laying with you in your bed a little more then the feeling of napping in your lap out here.” He teased her, grinning knowingly at her. She made a small, cute noise at his implications, turning her face away as her body pressed against his for a few moments before he released her again. He dropped her hand as quickly as he had pulled her into his space, turning away to head back to the blanket and started putting everything away back into his bag before folding the blanket back up, leaving her nothing to do but watch. Once finished, he glanced back to her, “Well, shall we get going?” he asked. She grumbled, but slipped her hand into his outstretched one, unable to hide the little smile on her face as she walked back with him. The walk back was just as short as the first one, the two slipping back into the house as Elizabeth let out a wide yawn, “Ah, you must be coming close to the end of your energy for the summon.” Solomon commented, leading her back to her bedroom. Once inside, he plopped himself on her bed, “Go ahead and get ready for bed, I’ll be here when you’re done.” She clicked her tongue at him, but nodded, really starting to feel tired from the whole day. She was quick to grab some pjs and head into the bathroom, emerging once she was changed and removed the make up she had on the whole day covering the fading marks on her neck. Solomon was laid in her bed, propped up against the back, his jacket tossed onto her desk on the other side of the room, along with his vest, leaving him in just his dress pants and turtleneck. He motioned to the desk where the rest of his clothing was, “I left the books I brought there so you can read them while you’re still here.” He offered. She perked up, smiling happily, “I’ll make sure to bring them with me when I finally get over there so I can give them back.” She then promised him, sitting on the edge of her bed. He scooted closer to her, lightly brushing his fingers along her neck, “They’re healing quickly.” He remarked. She blushed a bit, shivering a little from the touch, “Y-yeah. Faster then I thought they would, actually.” She replied, “And for the record, not all of these are Satan’s.” Solomon looked surprised, “No? Who else was there?” he asked her. She couldn’t escape the warmth in her cheeks, “Beel got a little… affectionate too. Just not as much as Satan did. Probably because Beel doesn’t care about leaving evidence.” There was a hum the sorcerer for a moment before she jumped sightly as she felt his breath against her neck as he spoke again, “May I leave some marks of my own then?” She sputtered with her words, her back straightening as she felt shivers running down her spine from his warm breath on her, “A-ah, um! I, well, you know, um.” She couldn’t pull together a sentence for a moment and he chuckled before he pulled back to lay back on the bed again. For a moment, she thought she had messed up by being unable to speak for a moment, before he grabbed her arm and tugged her over, guiding her to lay beside him. He rolled over a bit, so he was over her, his hand pressed into the bed on one side of her and most of his weight leaned on his forearm on the other side of her. Now looking down at her and basically caging her under him, he smirked down at her, “Did you need more time to answer that?” he asked her. She looked up at him, wide eyed for a moment before she bashfully glanced away, her hands nervously fiddling the end of her shirt, “N-no. It’s fine, I… I don’t mind if you want to, you know.” He hummed for a moment before lowering his head, gently pressing a kiss against the corner of her mouth, then another against her chin before he spoke again, “What was that? You don’t mind if I do what now?” he asked her, still teasing the poor woman. She groaned softly, mostly in frustration, “Damnit Solomon.” She grumbled, “Your hickeys! Alright! I don’t mind if you leave your damn marks.” She declared, probably louder than she needed to. He laughed in response before applying a soft kiss to her lips to appease her, then moving his head down to her neck and nuzzling against her skin, “Honestly, I’d prefer skin that wasn’t already marked.” He admitted. She swallowed, feeling him apply kisses along her skin, not stopping him as he tugged her shirt down a little to show more of her untouched skin along the top of her breasts. He lifted his head for a moment, glancing at her with a questioning look as he asked, “May I?” Already knowing what he wanted, and certainly not opposed to it, she nodded to him in return. He smirked a bit in response before his head dipped down again, pressing a light kiss to the top of her right breast before he gave her a little nibble, teasing her skin and making her flinch slightly under him. Finally, his mouth latched onto her skin there, suckling on her for a moment, long enough to assure that he left his own mark on her before lifting his head once more, peering down at her and licking his lips. His voice was deeper as he spoke up, his want, desire for her clear in his eyes, “Should I assume, since you so quickly declared yourself a virgin earlier, that you want to keep it that way?” She swallowed again, looking back up into his eyes, her hand lifting up to fix her shirt once more into place before she nodded, “Y-yeah. For now, anyways. I just… want to wait for now.” He pressed a kiss against her lips, smiling at her, “And there’s nothing wrong with that. If anything, you should be careful who you give that to. It does have significate weight with us in our universe.” After a moment, he rolled himself to the side and pulled her close to him, nuzzling himself against her cheek, “That being said, I hope you don’t mind if I lay with you until you fall asleep?” he then asked her. She scoffed, turning herself slightly so she could slip her own arms around him, pressing herself against him, “I’d prefer it, actually. I sleep better this way anyways.” She was still very much red, and her heartbeat was still too fast to relax, but as he cuddled up against her, she sighed happily. “Then I will just have to stay here for as long as I can.” He hummed in response, and she could feel the vibration in his chest as she pressed her face against him. “I do so look forward to when I get more time with you, my dear.” He added. She didn’t reply, her eyes closing as she allowed her body to relax against him, sleep gradually claiming her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A drawn glyph here, the tear of a rare beast here, a bit of magic over there. He meticulously put everything in place, preparing for his first attempt to find the source of what the Royals proclaimed was a “curse.” He wasn’t sure about that, since it hadn’t felt like any curse he had ever come across, but it certainly was… something. 
He still remembered the subtle “prey instincts” that humans felt around nonhumans stronger than them. The subtle feeling of flight or fight a human got whenever a demon came a little too close. The general sense of dread when a person looked at the false visage a demon or angel put on when in disguise. The hairs on the back of a person’s neck standing on end when they felt the gaze of a nonhuman on them. He had long since discarded the inner human instincts that warn him away from nonhumans. It wasn’t like they were gone… he just chose to ignore them.  
 Finished with preparations, he arranged the small catalyst he had prepared in the middle and activated the circle. A small magical window became to form before him, only about the size of his head. He peered at it, waited for it to show him what he wanted; the person behind whatever that… thing was. Yet, the cloudy, black surface didn’t change. It showed nothing. That shouldn’t be possible. There was nowhere in the three worlds that could hide from a spell like this. It was because he was so used to ignoring the slightly uncomfortable feeling, or rather that he had gotten used to just feeling off, that he didn’t immediately realize that this new feeling, this new sense of something was wrong was different. It wasn’t because of any demon. Nor was it because of any magic he knew about. He knew something was wrong… but he simply couldn’t put his finger on it. And that perturbed him more than anything. His second attempt to conjure an image came a few weeks later, when he realized he was only looking across the three worlds he was familiar with. Maybe it was because he was still human, but his gaze never really turned anything larger than the worlds he knew about. It hadn’t occurred to him to look even further until Barbatos had mentioned the possibility of other dimensions, other universes, other cosmoses. He simply had to expand where his Oculus looked. 
Being the other human in the demons’ exchange program, he had wanted to see if they had felt the same way as he had for so many months, only to find he couldn’t, well, find them. They were nowhere to be seen. And when he finally found them? He couldn't bring himself to ask anything had wanted. Because something was making him talk to them about how they had commanded all of the brothers at once.
 Casting the spell again, the image clouded once more, but he could catch a bit of movement behind the darkness. Putting a bit more of his magic behind the spell, it finally seemed to find the source and he stood there, bewildered, for a moment. It was simply a woman, laying out on her bed and playing on a phone. This was nothing he had expected. He expected a demon, hell maybe an angel got rogue. If it had been a human, he expected a witch or one of the few powerful sorcerers he knew. 
The cracks that had formed in the illusion had broken completely. It was then when he realized what he was looking at, what he was being compelled to talk to, wasn’t even human. That it didn’t have features. If anything, it looked like a gray, featureless doll. And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything he really wanted to say. As if he was following some sort of script.

His eyes burned as he rubbed them, but he didn’t have time to sleep now. He didn’t know how long he had been there now, in his room, watching this woman. It had been a good thing he usually kept water and some snack foods in his room when he was too busy with experiments because he had gone through quite a bit of them. He didn’t want to leave and risk missing something, anything that told him why whatever this thing was plaguing them was connected to this seemingly random girl from Diavolo knows where. 
After that point, he went to Barbatos, hoping he wasn’t alone in this realization. While he was grateful when the demon butler confirmed that he also saw that odd being, it disturbed him that whatever this was had fooled not just some of the most powerful beings in the three worlds, but what seemed to be the entirety of the Devildom as well. So of course, he agreed when Diavolo and Barbatos had requested he assist in finding the source of what they called a “curse.”

It didn’t take him very long to connect the pieces from watching this woman. She thought she was playing a game. A game that featured the most powerful figures currently in Devildom. She didn’t even realize the magic and otherworldly beings that featured on her mobile game were actually real. In fact, she probably didn’t even think magic existed, since she certainly didn’t seem to have any magical prowess. A being that could fool so many magical beings should be able to tell when they’re being watched constantly and yet she didn’t even realize that he had been watching her for days now. Most importantly, she was human. An innocent human, most likely. Only then did he bring his findings back to the Royals, closing down the Oculus so he could set up a larger one for them to observe in a secure room in the castle. Then, he allowed the others to observe her, to come to their own conclusions. To allow them to realize that something else was at play and, while she was connected to whatever was plaguing them, she was not the cause. And, to allow him to keep her safe from their initial reactions. Inevitably, he was the gate between her world and their world. And he’ll be damned if he didn’t keep her safe until they figured out exactly what was happening and how.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She awoke far too early for her liking. When she glanced out the window, the sun was just starting to peek out over the horizon. She hated it. Mornings sucked. Mornings sucked more when she woke up alone. She ignored the fact she had been waking up alone for twenty-six years now (despite having recently acquired eleven boyfriends.) Elizabeth yawned wide as she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them. For a moment, a very long moment, she considered attempting to fall back asleep, but her sleepiness didn’t quite feel like she’d be able to easily fall unconscious again. Sighing a bit, she rolled over and pushed herself to sit up. At least she didn’t have to go to work now. Taking a moment to wake herself up a little more, did a bit of stretching before grabbing at the D.D.D. on the side table to glance at missed messages. There wasn’t as much as she thought, mostly a few messages in the two main group chats. Of course, there were the teasing messages from Asmodeus about her virginity. She saw that one coming the moment she let it slip in front of the phone. There was, however, a simple message from Lucifer from less than an hour ago. 
Lucifer
 Please let me know when you’d like me to come over.I will be available whenever. ✓ Like right now?✓ It’s still pretty early.✓ Did you get any sleep? You don’t have to worry about that.I am used to not sleeping often. ✓ Tsk.✓ Well, if you’re ok with right now, I’ll have you come over now. Very well.I am already ready, so I will let Solomon know.Just call when you’re ready.  She clicked her tongue in disapproval. Of course, that stubborn demon hadn’t slept much. She was banking on him having not slept at all. Good thing the festival didn’t start until the afternoon. She slipped off the bed, moving to her closet to pick out an outfit quickly and help wake herself up a little more with the movement, changing before she walked out of her room and to the living room. From there, now in the view of her phone, she rang up Solomon on the D.D.D., who picked up within a few rings, “Ah, quite early, even for you, Liz.” He greeted her. “My body betrays me.” She declared in a rather tired tone. The sorcerer chuckled a bit and she could tell he was in quite a good mood. She couldn’t possibly imagine why. She adjusted her shirt, tugging it up on her chest a bit, “Anyways, Luci’s there, right? Let’s bring him over.” “Yes, I’m ready. Let’s hurry this up, Solomon.” Speak of the devil. She could hear humming in response, and she suspected that wizard boy was in a really good mood, “Yes, yes, I’ve already set up, Liz. Just let us know when you’re thinking about him.” She placed the D.D.D. on the table and leaned back on the arm of the couch, crossing her arms, and closing her eyes as she grunted back, “Kay, I’m thinking about peacock man.” Shortly after saying that, she opened her eyes as she heard a response in front of her, “’Peacock Man?’ Is that what you think of me?” She smirked at the slightly offended but bewildered look on the demon’s face and glanced back to her D.D.D. instead of replying to him, “He’s here in one piece, Sol. I’ll talk to you later, kay?” “Of course, Liz. Enjoy your day.” He replied pleasantly back over the call before she tapped the screen to hang up, looking back to the now slightly irritated “peacock man.” She slipped the D.D.D. into her pocket as she walked over to Lucifer, holding out her hand in a wordless invitation, which he raised his brow to, but took it, nonetheless. Only once was she holding his hand and started walking back to her room did she reply to him, “It’s just a nickname. I mean, you dress and act like a peacock, so I think it’s fitting. And you should be happy I called you a man, rather than a boy.” They both slipped back into her bedroom as he scoffed in return, “Just because I have a peacock as my familiar, does not mean I look and act like one.” She raised her brow while nudging him to sit on her bed, “No? You always dress to impress and flaunt your prowess, like peacock feathers. You’re quite literally the Avatar of Pride, and damned if you don’t act like it… Like male peacocks during mating season.” She nudged at his jacket, noting that he was wearing the jacket and turtleneck that he wore in the game for his “human world look.” Of course, that meant he was currently wearing glasses too, and goddamn if he didn’t look good in them. He narrowed his eyes, hesitating before removing his jacket for her, which Elizabeth took and folded neatly before placing it over the chair at her desk while he continued speaking, “I simply have pride in my manner of living. Don’t call me something as silly as ‘Peacock Man.’ And why exactly are you undressing me?” She smirked at him as she reached up and gently removed his glasses so she could set them on the side table, “So then I can call you Lulu or Luci?” she asked, turning back to her desk to grab the book from Solomon she had been reading yesterday, “And don’t go thinking I’m doing it to get in your pants. The festival doesn’t start until around noon, so you have time to take a goddamn nap.” He grumbled, but didn’t say anything to object to her nicknames for him, choosing to ignore it for the time being, “A nap? That is unnecessary.” She slipped into the bed with the book before reaching forward and gently tugging on the sleeve of his turtleneck, “Come on, you can lay on top of me. I’ll be reading to make sure I don’t fall asleep and end up accidently sending you back.” He still hesitated and she pouted at him, “I left the phone in the living room for a reason Lu. You can relax. I’m not going to do anything to you, and no one can see you here.” Her plea seemed to break his resolve and he sighed, tugging his shoes off and placing them off to the side on the floor before moving closer to her, slipping himself between her legs. Elizabeth sat herself propped up against the back of the bed as Lucifer settled himself on his stomach with his head resting on her lower stomach, one of his arms slipping around her waist and the other hand resting on her thigh. Just as she did with Solomon, she placed the book next to them on the bed, using one hand to find her place again while her free hand slipped into the demon’s hair, gently brushing through the black locks, “There, that’s not so bad, right? Now, get some rest. I’ll wake you in a little bit and we can go get breakfast before we head to the festival, ok?” He grunted against her stomach in return, and she could already feel him relaxing against her while she pat his head in a slow rhythm. After a moment, she started humming absentmindedly, a little orchestrated tune she used to fall asleep to as a child and his arm tightened around her waist a little, a response she took as a positive. She skimmed through the book as she let him sleep, pleased that he let his guard down enough around her to actually do so. She wouldn’t tell him, but she felt a little smug that she got the Avatar of Pride to this point, especially when she was expecting more resistance than what he had offered. Either he wasn’t as bad as the game depicted him, or maybe there really was something making all the boys more comfortable with her. Eh, a thought for when she was in Devildom. That’s how all this works, yes. She can just push those problems away until later. Distracted from the book for a moment by her thoughts, she shook her head a little, clearing them away so she could get back to reading, trying to concentrate on pages describing the different levels of spells and various warnings about casting out of one’s range. She was particularly interested in the bits talking about teleportation and portals and the parts talking about shapeshifting. However, before she could flip to those respective sections, Lucifer stirred a bit in his sleep, turning slightly so she could see one side of his face as he pressed it against her thigh. It was a little… embarrassing to have him press against her there, but she didn’t really want to disturb him. Not when he looked so pretty while asleep there. Pondering for a moment, she slowly reached for her D.D.D. and opened up the camera, lifting it up to take a selfie with his face in frame. Take just a quick picture, she hummed happily at how it turned out, making sure to save it to her gallery before jumping in surprise as the demon’s hand snapped up and gripped her wrist, “Delete it.” She gasped and swore, “Fuck, Lucifer, damn.” She glanced down at his face and looked a little guiltily at his glare as he waited for her to do as he said. Quickly, she spoke up, “Do I have to? I’m not going to show this to anyone, I just wanted a picture with you.” She whined. His glare didn’t waver, and his hand didn’t release her wrist, but he didn’t immediately respond, so she continued, “It’s not like I only have a picture of you. I took pictures of everyone. I just wanted, I don’t know, evidence that you guys are real.” He still didn’t move, and she glanced away from his eyes, still looking guilty, flinching when he finally spoke, “Delete it.” He said again, sitting up a bit, “I’d rather you’d have a better picture of me. We can take one together later.” She glanced back at his face in slight surprise, noticing that his glare had softened, and she sighed dramatically, “A better picture? I doubt you could look much cuter than how you look like this.” She complained, turning her D.D.D. around so he could see the picture she took. He raised his brow at her, glancing between her and the photo for a moment before he released her wrist to tap against her D.D.D., deleting it before she could pull it away from him. “Hey! That was rude! That was literally the best sleeping photo I got out of everyone!” she pouted at him. The demon propped himself up a bit before gripping her hips and suddenly tugging her down the bed so she was further under him, making her yelp out in surprise, “Like I said before, you can take a better picture of us later.” he said. She huffed, now fully laying on the bed with Lucifer basically looming over her, making her flush a bit as she felt caged by him, “Don’t forget about it then. Because I won’t.” He just hummed in response, moving his head down until he could nuzzle against her exposed stomach, her shirt having rode up when she was pulled down. She squirmed against him as he pressed a light kiss against her skin, “H-hey, isn’t it kinda e-early for that?” she asked him. His dark red eyes glanced up at her before he lifted his head and smirked at her, “Ah, yes, you’re right. First, I should have my mark on you, right?” he asked, “Pact mark, that is, though I wouldn’t mind leaving some other ones, seeing as your previous marks are fading away now.” She flushed brighter, glancing away from his gaze as he wrapped his hand around her wrist, gently holding onto it as he rubbed his thumb where her pulse could be felt. She knew the marks Satan and Beelzebub had left on her were nearly gone at this point, healing surprisingly fast, though if someone were to tug her shirt over her chest enough, they could see the still fresh mark Solomon had left. “R-right. The pact, yeah.” She muttered, pretending she didn’t hear the rest of his words after that part, for the time being. He grinned down at her before started speaking in the hellish tongue the other had spoken in, citing his lines before nodding for her turn. She spoke her lines, her voice stuttering just a bit when he lowered his face closer to her own, but he still allowed her to finish. Just like any of the other pacts, she felt the familiar shiver and then a slight burning sensation before she glanced back into his eyes. “Ah… I guess you wanna see it?” she asked him. He raised his brow at her in question before nodding, “Of course. Is it in a hard-to-reach place?” he asked her. She shook her head, avoiding his eyes, “Well, not exactly…” Reaching over with her free hand, his grip still on her other wrist and his thumb still gently rubbing her pulse point, she tugged the collar of her shirt down over the left side, her left not his, of the top of her chest, showing him the spot just under her collarbone when she had felt the mark form. He looked slightly surprised for just a moment before he smirked down at her, “Right over your heart, hmm?” he asked her. She clicked her tongue at him before turning her head so she could get a look at the mark. It was a bit hard to tell, because it was upside down for her, but it looked like a side portrait view of some sort of bird, though it seemed to have a rather large and fluffy looking mane flowing down its neck, deep blue in coloring. She pressed her lips together for a moment before speaking up, “It’s a gryphon. How appropriate.” She glanced up at his face as he chuckled, “Appropriate?” he asked. She nodded, “Not that they exist around here, but myths, games and stories always depict gryphons as these prideful, show off creatures. Like peacocks.” She smirked back at him, pleased that she brought it back around to peacocks again. He rolled his eyes at her comment before his eyes drifted to the other side of her chest and she flinched a little as he frowned. He reached over, releasing her wrist finally to do so, and tugged her shirt down on the other side of her chest, revealing Solomon’s mark on her as he clicked his tongue, “Whose mark is this?” he asked before shaking his head, “No, I can take a guess, I’m sure.” he then added, looking up at her flushed face. She avoided his eyes, “He wanted somewhere that was unmarked.” she muttered. Lucifer hummed in a low tone in response, clearly pondering over something and she looked curiously back at him. His eyes drifted back to his pact mark on her, moving his hand over to gently brush his fingers against it and she shuddered a little under his touch, but didn’t say anything, allowing him to do as he pleased for the moment. Finally, he spoke, “I’d like to leave a mark on you as well. May I pick a spot?” he asked her. She blinked for a moment, daring to reply with, “Bold of you to assume I’d want you to.” He raised his brow and looked back into her eyes, “Am I not allowed to?” She pressed her lips together and glanced away, “Ah… yeah, you can.” She then said, her “defiant attitude” backfiring on her as he smirked at her again. She turned her head to the side before muttering, “You can pick a spot, sure.” He looked quite pleased at how quickly she caved to him, before he sat himself up on his knees, sitting between her thighs as he looked down at her body, his hands resting on her thighs, “May I pick anywhere?” he then asked her. She looked a bit confused, turning her head back to him as she wondered why he needed clarification, “Uh, yeah. Anywhere goes, I guess.” Given permission, he grinned down at her for a moment, “Then please excuse me. I’ll need to reveal my spot.” She looked even more confused at him, but still made no move to stop him, even when he suddenly slipped his fingers under the hem of her pants, firmly tugging them down her hips and off her legs, making her gasp in surprise. He placed her pants to the side for the moment and she closed her thighs as she bent her legs towards herself, “Wh-where exactly were you planning to leave this mark?!” she asked, her face bright red. The demon tapped a finger against her thigh, “Your inner thigh.” He replied, slipping his hands around her calves to nudge her legs firmly. Not enough to force her to open her legs, but rather leaving it up to her if she wanted to, “Of course, if you’re uncomfortable with that, I could pick somewhere else.” He then added, giving her an out if she wanted it, his face growing serious for a moment. She swallowed, looking up at him as she covered her groin with her hands, as if she was going to hide her black underwear from him at this point. She seemed to think it over for a moment before she slowly opened her legs for him, “I-it’s fine. You just… caught me by surprise.” She muttered, “You gotta warn me about these things.” “Ah, yes, because you are a virgin, right?” he asked her and she pressed her hands to her face instead, “God damnit you couldn’t have forgotten about that?” she grumbled. He chuckled as he eased himself down, resting his cheek against her thigh, and she could just feel the smug smirk he wore, “Ah, but I already knew before I even saw you. It was in your file.” “My what?” she asked, her hands moving so she could look down at him between her thighs, only to blush brightly and once more covering her face with her hands, the sight of him there too much for her to look at. “N-never mind, we can talk about this file after you… whatever.” She quickly said, “I can’t… think with your face there.” He chuckled and she shivered as she felt his warm breath against her skin, “I’m glad I have this effect on you.” He replied smugly. She was so very tempted to say, “like father, like son,” but thought better of it. Instead, she refused to reply as he turned his head slightly, kissing against her inner left thigh before speaking again, “I assume this mark is Satan’s pact?” he asked. She glanced down at him between her fingers to see him peering at the green flaming horse skull on her right thigh, “Y-yeah.” she muttered. He grunted, looking rather amused for a moment before he blew his breath against the mark there, making her gasp and squirm a little while he grinned. Finally, he turned his head to her left thigh, pressing his lips lightly against her skin there as his hands gripped under her legs, holding them up for him. He teased her with a few more kisses, each one making her twitch and shiver a little before she felt his tongue press flat against the skin of her thigh as he gave her a lick. She whined softly before biting her lip, attempting to keep herself from making anymore noise while still refusing to look at him as he finally, finally pressed his lips firmly against her inner thigh, suckling on her roughly for a moment until he was satisfied, pulling his face away with a wet sounding pop and humming contently at the new bruise starting to form there. He pulled himself away from her, sitting himself up again, though his hands remained under her legs, and she allowed herself to look at him again. He was grinning down at her, “There we are. I like this location.” He hummed contently. She scoffed at him, still quite embarrassed, especially since he seemed quite content to remain between her legs, “Gr-great, can I put my pants back on now?” she asked quickly. He laughed and moved away from her, handing her pants back so she could slip them back on. Once redressed, she pushed herself to sit up, crossing her legs and glancing at him, “Why there though?” she asked him, “No one’s going to see there unless I’m doing something… intimate with them.” He glanced back at her, “Exactly. The implication of having it there is clear, don’t you think?” She bashfully glanced away and grumbled, “I’m going to have a heart attack from you guys.” She let out a breath as he chuckled back to her before she looked back to him, “And about this file; what were you talking about?” He reached over and tugged her arm a bit, guiding her over to lean against his chest and sit on the side of the bed with him, “I’m talking about the file we have on you for RAD. While it was technically for that… curse being, all the details we have seem to be about you.” She easily allowed him to move her, leaning herself against him as she looked surprised, “My details? Like what? Other than how many times I’ve had sex, obviously.” “Yes, there was that because it’s important to know. As well as basic details, such as height, hair color, which was brown, by the way, and date of birth.” he replied, his hand taking a lock of her auburn hair between two fingers. She huffed, “I dye it on the regular. I don’t like brown, so I usually pick just about any other color.” He gave a thoughtful hum in response before continuing, “There were other details as well, such as the status of your family and general health. Though there was not much about your mental health, but I suspect that is because you have not spoken to any professionals about it?” She flinched and buried her face against his chest for a moment before answering him, “I’ve spoken to one therapist. My mother found him lacking and I was pulled out of the sessions. After that point, I learned it was easier to just not tell anyone anything.” He rested his hand on her head, brushing his fingers through her hair a few times, but didn’t immediately reply. “Would you like to see a therapist when we bring you over?” he finally asked her. She scoffed and lifted her head to look up at him, “Only if you and your brothers go to a therapist too. Especially you. I’m not the only one who internalize things.” He grimaced in response, “I’m fine, I don’t need ther-“ She interrupted him, “Bullshit. No offense, but you and your brothers probably need therapy more than I do. And considering how chronically depressed I am, that’s saying something.” He scowled, but turned his face away for a moment before replying, “We’ll talk about it again when we’ve brought you over.” He finally said. She clicked her tongue at him, reaching up a hand to tap her finger against his chest, “I hope you don’t think I’ll forget about this. If you say that, I will bring it up again when I’m in Devildom.” He gave an affirmative grunt in response, as if he didn’t believe that she would remember it. If she was honest, she probably wouldn’t remember it unless he or someone else brought it up again, so it was a shot in the dark if that’ll ever happen. She huffed at him, knowing he didn’t believe her, but didn’t press the issue. Instead, she lightly tapped her palm against his chest, “Well, since you’re definitely awake now, let’s go get breakfast. We can come back here afterward and walk over to the park for the festival.” He glanced back at her and nodded, “Very well.” Before he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, giving her knuckle a kiss, “For what its worth, that was probably the most satisfying nap I’ve had in a long time.” She grinned up at him, “Good. You need a rest. I bet you didn’t sleep last night, did you? It’s not like I slept for very long so if you were waiting since before I woke up, you couldn’t have gotten much, if any, sleep.” He pressed his lips together before leaning over to slip his shoes on, refusing to answer her. “I knew it.” She scoffed at him, slipping off the bed so she could go find her own shoes as well. After slipping on her own shoes, she reached for his glasses while he pulled his jacket back around his shoulders, “You shouldn’t wear the glasses.” She remarked, examining them. He raised his brow, extending his hand, palm up so she could give them to him, “Why is that?” “You look way too good in glasses. You’re going to attract every single lady or guy in like… a three-mile radius.” She replied, surprisingly shamelessly. Lucifer looked surprised for a moment at her comment before he let out a laugh, “Does that mean you would be jealous of the attention I would receive?” he asked her. She tilted her head to the side, looking slightly guilty, “Maybe. But come on, Luci. You know you’re probably the single hottest person in this city at the moment. You’re quite literally made by God. You would be an amazing incubus.” He hummed thoughtfully at her words before he took her hand to bring it up to his cheek, holding it against his skin, “I beg to differ. You’re quite beautiful, Liz. You have everyone enamored with you, after all.” Elizabeth stuttered and grew embarrassed at his sweet words, “Wh-what? I’m not- no, I’m just human.” She attempted to protest. Lucifer pulled her closer to him with his hold on her hand, “Don’t. I know you don’t think of yourself very highly, but the fact of the matter is you have eleven of the most powerful beings in my universe in your hands, simply by being yourself. Whether you agree with us or not, you are a precious and beautiful soul. So please don’t diminish this fact.” She swallowed, frowning a bit but unable to protest any further due to the firm tone he gave her. She was never one to deal with compliments well, but when he insisted so concretely, she didn’t really have a choice in the matter. “Sorry.” She muttered to him. The demon kissed her palm, “You have nothing to apologize for. We will simply have to work on your self confidence until you finally believe yourself worthy of the pride you should feel.” She cocked a brow at him, “Tempting me into your sin, are you?” she asked quietly. He steadily looked back into her eyes, “And if I am?” She looked away contemplatively, answering after a beat, “I won’t stop you. It’s a form of therapy, I guess. And you are a demon.” She tugged on her hand in his grip so she could grab his hand, “Anyways, let’s go get breakfast. Do you want fast food, or do you want to sit down somewhere?” she asked before shaking her head, “No wait, never mind. I want you to let lose today, so we’re going get fast food.” He gave her look that seemed crossed between confusion and annoyance, “Let lose? What?” She nodded, tugging him along before she paused and took his glasses again, slipping them onto his face, “You know what, wear them. I could use the eye candy.” She smirked at him before returning to dragging him towards the door and explaining her logic, “You can let lose today because I’m not taking the phone with. No one you see on a daily basis or will ever see again after today will see you, so it won’t matter what you do today.” Even though he was most certainly far stronger than her, he allowed himself to be pulled along to the door and out to her car, “I can’t just ‘let lose,’ Liz.” “Sure, you can. I’ll get you to by the end of day, don’t you worry about it.” She replied, nudging him to the passenger side of the car before she dipped around to the driver’s side, “Now get in, I’m hungry.” Lucifer sighed, but eased himself into the car, already looking a bit concerned about what she had planned for him today.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Do you want sausage or bacon? Or I guess there’s a Canadian bacon option, but that’s just like… ham.” “What? Er, bacon.” Elizabeth pulled into the drive through of the local fast-food chain with a sign that featured the flipped letter of “Wumbo.” The demon, meanwhile, was peering at the building with narrowed eyes when he answered her question, adding just as they pulled up to the menu board, “This looks a lot like AkuDonald’s.”  She chuckled, “I’m pretty sure AkuDonald’s was just a riff off of this place. Kinda. I guess in this world it would be.” She hummed before questioning him again, “Anyways, do you want a biscuit or muffin? Or you could get that griddle thing. It’s like a pancake with syrup in it. It’s pretty good.” Lucifer glanced at her before looking over at the menu board, as if confirming all the products she just told him about. After a moment of quiet contemplation, which gave the worker time to give the usual scripted greeting to invite them to order, the demon spoke up, “I’ll go with the muffin.” She gave a small noise in response, repeating his order louder for the worker before ordering the biscuit version of the breakfast sandwich for herself. She tilted her head back to him, “Coffee? Black?” she asked him, and he nodded in return, prompting her to recite it back to the speaker, with her own coffee with plenty of sugar and cream. After getting the total amount to pay from the speaker, Elizabeth pulled forward to wait in the line of car in the drive through. “You have my ring still, correct?” Lucifer asked her and she glanced over to him, meeting his gaze, “Oh, yeah. Why do you ask?” she replied, reaching over and tugging the necklace out from under her shirt to show him the ring hanging off the chain. “I saw the chain earlier.” He said as he watched her pull it out, “I was just curious since I noticed you don’t seem inclined to wear it on your finger.” “Did you want me to? I originally put it on a chain because it would get in the way of scissors when I was working on dogs, but I guess I’m not working there anymore, so I can.” “Only if you want to.” His face seemed indifferent to her choice, but she raised her brow at him, suspecting he was hiding how he really felt about it. After a moment of contemplation, which she dramatically showed off to him by tapping her fingers against her chin, she tugged the necklace over her head, making a slight mess of her hair in the process. For a moment, as she was undoing the clasp and slipping the ring free of the chain, she could feel a steady progression of, not necessarily physical weight, but perhaps spiritual weight pushing down on her. The slow progression of the feeling, however, allowed her to slip the ring on her ring finger before it felt like too much and she hoped her face didn’t give away anything while she was slipping the ring on. She raised her hand, wiggling her fingers at him and the feeling passed quickly, “How does it look?” she asked him, glancing back at him. He hummed for a moment, his eyes trained on her hand before they drifted back to her face, “Like it belongs.” He replied simply. She stuck out her tongue at him, a slight flush on her face before having to turn her head back to pull forward now that the cars were moving again, “Glad you think so. I kinda would like to keep wearing it.” “Only ‘kinda’?” the demon asked, a slight frown on his face. She clicked her tongue back at him, “Don’t go reading too much into my words. I’m only teasing. I want to keep it because, not only is it helping me out with all this… magic stuff on me, but it’s nice to have something from your world. In case something happens, I’ll know that everything that’s happened since you first came into my world was real. That you were, and currently are, real.” He was still frowning, but she suspected it was for a different reason. He reached out and took her hand with the ring on, gently guiding it to his face so he could press his lips against the finger wearing the ring, “We will bring you to Devildom without incident. Don’t worry about ‘if something happens.’ Just worry about keeping yourself safe until you arrive.” The blush returned, “Such a gentleman, aren’t you?” “Did your game not portray me as such?” he asked, still holding her hand as she finally drove up to the first window to pay. She pulled her hand away to pull out her wallet, only for him to take it back and hand her a twenty-dollar bill to hand to the cashier with her other hand. She raised her brow, but sighed and took it, handing it off to the person in the window and taking back the change to hand back to the demon, who tucked it away in a pocket, never letting go of her hand in the process. Finally, she replied as they waited on the cars ahead of them for their order, “Well, at times, sure. But for the most part, you’re either a strict, sadistic hard ass… or you’re flashing bedroom eyes at the MC.” Lucifer scoffed at her, “Bedroom eyes? What does your game take me for? Asmodeus?” She snickered, “Nah, Solomare just really likes to suck your d- I mean, you’re their cash cow.” She was quick to amend her words before she finished her sentence, “Most of your… ah, memories? Like special event things the player earns. It feels like most of them end with you wanting, well, to sleep with the MC. Not to mention, you have the most UR and UR plus cards… er, you have the fanciest cards. Though, you are usually in the top three most popular characters.” She glanced back at him after she finished and had to hold back her snickering by biting her lip. He looked like she had just thrown a lot of information at him that he couldn’t quite comprehend. Which, technically, she had. Finally, he started with, “What is Solomare?” By that point, she pulled up to the second window and held up her finger in a “wait” motion, indicating that she’d answer him in a moment. Taking the bag and two coffees before handing everything to Lucifer to hold on to before she pulled away, heading out and onto the road to drive them back to the house. “Solomare is the developers of Obey Me. The game you guys are all from. In this world anyways.” She explained. She heard him hum for a moment besides her before he asked another question, “I’m only in the top three most popular?” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Really? Out of everything else, that’s what you’ve latched onto?” She glanced over at him, and he raised his brow, clearly wanting an answer to his question. She sighed, “Yes, but you probably don’t want to know who beats you out for number one. Or number two, sometimes.” He narrowed his eyes, “Who could possibly be number one and two?” She sighed, “In this last year’s contest, it was Mammon first and you were second. Levi was third.” Elizabeth stopped at a light and glanced back over to him, snorting as she saw him grimacing. He grumbled, “Don’t say anything about that to them.” She laughed, “It’s not that big of a deal. I mean, the popularity poll doesn’t cover every player’s preference.” He hummed for a moment before asking, “What would your popularity list look like then?” She kept her eyes on the road, clearing her throat, “Like I said, it doesn’t really matter.” “Don’t avoid the question.” “I don’t wanna answer it.” He tsked at her as she drove up into the driveway, “Why not? It’s not as if I can’t handle who would be your number one.” She sighed and reached over to take her coffee, or rather one of them so she could pop the lid and check to see if it was her’s. Seeing as it was lighter in color and not black, she popped the lid back on and got out of the car, with the demon quickly following suit, carrying his own coffee and the bag of food. She headed to the house, opening the door for him as she continued the conversation, “I don’t really have a number one, Lucifer.” Once inside, he set the bag on the kitchen counter and she opened it to distribute, handing him a breakfast sandwich and hashbrown. “I find that hard to believe. After all, you’ve said yourself that you often had me on the main screen of your game.” He countered. She nudged his back, guiding him into the living room so they could sit down on the couch, “That because Solomare literally gives you the most romantic lines, Lucifer.” She provided her own counter. Sitting him down and snatching up his hashbrown, she tapped it against his lips to feed it to him and prevent him from replying so she could continue talking, “Honestly, I like you all. For different reasons. That I’m not going into because that would be embarrassing.” He took the hashbrown from her hand, taking a bite out of him and swallowing it down before replying, “No? You won’t even tell me what you enjoy most about me?” he asked, leaning back on the couch with that stupid smug look on his face. She huffed, chowing down on her own hashbrown, “… maybe later. When I don’t think it’ll immediately go to your head. Though that time might never come, knowing you.” He clicked his tongue back at her before unwrapping his sandwich to examine it, peering at it with suspecting eyes, “I could tell you what I enjoy most about you then.” She flinched, “Ah, no, that’s quite alright. I think if you went into that, I’d probably get more, well, embarrassed than I’d like.” She unwrapped her own sandwich and started biting into it. “Ah, but you are adorable when you’re embarrassed. Such as earlier in your bedroom.” He replied that smirk growing on his face. She flushed at the mention of the earlier event, waving her hand dismissively at him as she swallowed down her bite before replying, “Don’t talk about that. I know you know the phone is right over there.” He swallowed down his own bite and rested his free hand on her thigh, his thumb pressed against where he had left his mark previously, “And? Let them wonder about what I did to you in the privacy of your bedroom.” She didn’t doubt for a moment that at least two or three of the brothers had to be watching at the moment and she could only imagine the pandemonium occurring around poor Solomon. Elizabeth nudged away his hand gently, her cheeks bright red while she was attempting to eat her breakfast sandwich, using it as a means to buy her time to allow her to pull proper words from her mind when she finally spoke up, “You… you’re a demon.” In the end, it wasn’t enough time to form any sort of winning statement, sadly. He outright grinned at his clear verbal victory, leaning back in his seat again, “Have I gone too far? You seem to be a step away from those incoherent screeches that Levi enjoys so much.” He had finished his food already, so he was sitting fairly relaxed, one hand holding his coffee and the other propped on the back of the couch. She had finished her own food as well, balling up the trash to toss later, “That’s- You… God damnit.” She muttered before taking a quick breath and avoided his eyes, “We should get going to the festival already.” Clearly, he was enjoying teasing her, but he easily relented to her suggestion, “Oh very well. You said this was a couples centric event, correct?” Thankful that she changed the subject, she nodded. Then sighed, “Before you’re blindsided by it, it’s called the Hanahaki Festival.” He looked immediately confused, “That… what is that supposed to mean? Or what do they think that means?” “I know you probably already know, but it kinda literally means something along the lines of ‘throwing up flowers.’” “Right.” “Well, online, it’s meant to be a fictional disease where the victim has flowers growing in their lungs due to an unrequited love.” The demon seemed to look more confused, “Who came up with something like that? That sounds ridiculous.” “Yeah? Coming from the demon that likes to listen to cursed records?” “How does that relate?” She drummed her fingers against her arm as she took a moment to form the words, “In the same way people do stupidly dangerous things, or watch and read tragedies doomed from the start. The thrill of the morbid and sad. Just as you listen to music that could possibly be dangerous for you.” He seemed to ponder her words for a moment, keeping his eyes on her fingers while he did so before he spoke again, “So there are people that want to read about someone dying due to unrequited love?” She nodded, “I don’t mind those stories either, but I prefer the ones that end happily. Tragedies with sad endings tend to remind me a bit too much of real life.” He stopped her drumming fingers with his hand, grabbing hers and holding it lightly, “Your story is not over yet. Do you not think you will have a happy ending?” She frowned, her hand turning so she could rub his fingers between her own, “No… well…” she paused, hesitating in her answer which prompted him to raise his brow at her. Quickly she shook her head, opting to avoid continuing down her current line of thought, “Nah, never mind. I’d rather not think too much about that pessimistic stuff right now. And besides, there’s no need to worry about that stuff today.” Elizabeth then slipped her hand into his, holding it firmly and tugging, “Let’s go to the festival already. I don’t want to bring the mood down with sad stuff, Luci.” He didn’t look entirely pleased by her avoidance, but, as she predicted, he didn’t seem inclined to push for the information. At least not at the moment. “… Very well.” He stood himself up, picking up the wrappers, and tugged her up to stand. Wordlessly, he pulled her along to the kitchen to toss the trash before looking back at her, “Alright than. Lead the way.” She offered him a smile, gently pulling on him to the door and leading him through the same little alley she had guided Solomon through. This time, however, as they emerged from the backyards to the street, the park on the other side looked to be far busier than it had been the day before. There were rows of booths and large tarp tents, as well as a considerable number of people walking through the main walkway everything seemed to center on. As they walked across the street, hand in hand beside each other, Elizabeth started talking, “Let’s see. I’ve never actually gone to this event the past few years they held it, but if I recall, they keep everything centered right here next to the main parking lot in the park. The rest of the park is kept relatively untouched, so we can always just walk away from the path to get away from the crowds.” “You assume that other people will not have the same idea.” Lucifer replied. She pressed her lips together, “Hmm, I guess that’s true. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of lovesick people trying to go somewhere private around here.” “Good thing you have the benefit of living just across the street.” He then added, prompting her to glance over at him, “Why’s th- oh right.” She flushed, her mind just a tad bit behind his thought process, clearly. “You’re assuming I’ll even want privacy.” “Oh? Would you prefer I do everything in the public eye? I suppose you were the one to tell me to ‘let loose’ today. And that there wouldn’t be anyone I’d ever see again here.” He leaned over, bringing himself closer to her as they walked along the end of the park, making their way to the main walkway. She quickly turned her face away from him, “No! I mean, that’s not what I meant by that. You just- Ke-keep the more intimate PDA to private moments, maybe. Please.” He chuckled at her quick backtracking, “Of course. It matters not who is here, I’d rather have our most intimate moments to ourselves.” He tugged at her hand, making her stumble a bit and press against his side, though she didn’t pull away after she regained her footing, “Great. I’m glad we’re on the same page than.” Elizabeth then motioned to the various booths as they neared the main area, “I think it’s mostly just those rigged carnival games. And food booths, from the looks of it.” “I suspect keeping most of the park freed up was done on purpose. For when a couple is done with the booths.” The demon said, his eyes drifting over some of the other couples walking around the area. She glanced over at him, “You think so? I mean, I guess it would make sense that they’d just leave a bunch of area for people to walk off to make out, but I don’t think they’re that smart.” She paused as she glanced at some of the prizes at the nearest game booth, a simple ring toss. The prizes in question were the common large and small plushie dolls, most of which were in animal shapes. Lucifer stopped the moment she had, peering down at her before following her line of sight, “What is it?” She tilted her head up to him, looking at him as if she was debating if he could do something and asked, “How good are you at carnival games?” He tsked in reply, “Excellent, of course.” “So… we’ll leave here with a ton of prizes than?” “If that’s what you want, then I’ll make it so.” She beamed at him, immediately tugging him over to the ring toss, “Great! Then you think you can start here and get that big stuffed bird there?” Naturally, the demon puffed out his chest while the booth manager noticed their approach, having just finished with another couple that had won a small little monkey doll, “Well, hello there, you two! Think you can win your pretty girlfriend one of our prizes here?” the older man asked with a wide, friendly smile. Lucifer was quick to respond, hardly sparing the man a glance, “Of course. What are the rules?” The manager grinned a bit wider, “It’s five dollars for fifteen rings. Make at least eight rings and you can pick from the small prizes, make at least fourteen and you can pick from the large prizes. If you don’t make enough with the first set of rings, you can buy more.” “That’s robbery.” Elizabeth muttered. Of course, Lucifer caught it, his head turning slightly to indicate so, but the older man didn’t. Regardless, the demon whipped out his wallet, fishing out a five to hand to the man in return for the rings. She was somehow not surprised that Lucifer had the foresight to bring smaller denominations of money. While she was glad she managed prod at the demon’s pride enough to coerce him into playing the games for her, she was worried about how much money they’d end spending just to take as many of the prizes around here as she could convince him to play for. At least, she was worried until he literally made all fifteen rings onto the bottle necks, leaving the man awestruck for a moment. Elizabeth was also taken by surprise, whispering, “Damn.” In an impressed tone and Lucifer glanced back to her, “Did you expect anything less?” he asked her with a raised brow. She quickly recovered, clearing her throat, “N-no, of course not. Nothing less than perfect from the Ava- Amazing! Amazing Lu himself.” She had to stop herself from using his title and name out loud. Lucifer smirked in return, “I believe you wanted the large bird, correct?” he asked, motioning for the man to grab what was requested. The man hesitated for a moment before pulling himself together, “O-oh, right. Of course, one bird doll for the lovely lady.” Grabbing a two-foot-long black bird stuffed doll, the man handed it off to Elizabeth, who grinned as she took it. “Great! Now let’s what other prizes there are!” she happily declared, eagerly pushing the demon towards another booth, this one a can knock down one. And so began the onslaught of Lucifer destroying the various games in the area. Every time she saw something she liked in a line up of prizes, she simply had to direct the demon towards the game, and he seemed to ace it every single time, much to the displeasure of the booth managers. She was glad, at least, the prizes never seemed to be larger than a few feet long, so it was easy for her to carry. Her prize winner had to keep his hands free to win her more prizes, after all. It was after he placed a soft purple bull on the pile of plush animals she was holding did he say something, “I suspect you are using me to rob these people of their prizes, Liz.” “Whaaaaat? Noooo. I need this many prizes for a good reason, I swear.” she replied, peeking her head out from around the newly placed bull and a pink panda doll. “Does this reason have something to do with everyone at home?” he asked, cocking a brow at her. She glanced away sheepishly, “… Maybe.” She hesitated before caving, “Ok, so like, obviously I’m going to send these off with you. The bull’s for Belphie. It feels super soft too, so he can sleep with it. The birds are for Mams because crows. The panda is for Asmo, ‘cause there’s no way he won’t like the cute little thing. Unless I can a pretty necklace or some fancy make up around here as a prize. Hmm, I think I’m better off with the panda.” Her talking started to ramble a bit off topic as she glanced around as some of the other games’ prize line ups. “So, then the snake is for Levi? And the deer, dragon, and lion? Who are they for?” Lucifer interrupted her thoughts. She looked back at him, “Hey! Don’t get it wrong! It’s a wyvern, not a dragon. You can tell because its wings are its front legs, rather than an extra set of limbs.” He rolled his eyes at her before motioning back to the plushies, so she answered him, “The deer is for Simeon. The wyvern is for Diavolo. And the lion is for Beel.” Her eyes spotted something of interest at a Balloon Pop booth, “Oh, oh! Look! There’s a calico cat one! We have to get it for Satan! Go, go!” She was quick to nudge the pile she was holding against Lucifer, pushing him towards the game in question. Of course, judging by the amount of missing small prizes and the number of large prizes still set up at the game, she suspected it was very much rigged, but those balloons were no match against Lucifer’s demonic strength and accuracy. Naturally, he aced this game as well, easily acquiring the feline plush and adding it to the pile in her arms, much to her pleasure. She stopped to take a tally of the prizes, “Let’s see… we have Dia, Mams, Levi, Satan, Asmo, Beel. Belphie, Simi… So, we still need Barbs and Sol.” She pondered for a moment before looking around, “There’s gotta be like… an owl and a wolf around here, right?” She turned back to look at Lucifer again, tilting her head as he looked distracted, looking off into the crowd, “Something wrong?” she asked, bringing his attention quickly back to her, “No, no. What was it you were looking for? An owl and a wolf?” She narrowed her eyes, but let it pass, “Yeah. The owl for Barbs, because owls are the natural predators for rats, and the wolf for Sol, because I thought he looked adorable in his wolf onesie.” She then hesitated for a moment before adding, “Oh and I need to find a game I can win so I can get you something.” He glanced at her between looking over the other games, “You don’t want me to play for it?” “No, I have to win it for you. Otherwise, it just kinda seems… rude to make you earn your own prize.” “But you’re fine with me winning everyone else something? You haven’t even asked for something for yourself.” She shrugged, “I mean, I might end up leaving it behind when I get poofed to Devildom. And no one is looking. They won’t know that you won it all. Probably.” He frowned at her, “If I recall, Lord Diavolo came back with a large dragon he claims he won for you.” She glanced away from him, “Ah… ok, well, you pick something for me while we’re getting everything else then.” He gave her a look, but she nudged his side, “Look! That fishbowl toss has both a wolf and an owl!” she excitedly said. He sighed, but was easily pushed towards the booth. Naturally, he easily earned her both plushies, plopping them into the pile as well, though he was forced to adjust everything in her arms to keep them from falling out. However, the game manager of the fishbowl game he just played spoke up, holding out a large blue plastic feeling tote bag with the strings that were used to both hold it and close it shut, “Ah, you guys might want one of these. These are just freebies, but I think you could use it to hold everything.” Elizabeth quickly motioned to grab at the bag, though Lucifer was the one who took it, nodding his head to the game manager, “Thank you.” He then started slipping each plush animal into the bag for her, freeing up her arms again. She smiled, taking the bag once it was filled and slipped it around her arms like a backpack, “There we go.” She hummed happily. Lucifer chuckled a little and she slipped her arm around his, “Now to find a game I can win at.” She said, pulling him over to the small section of games they hadn’t ruined yet. Eyeing the last few games for a moment, she considered her options before finally deciding on a disc drop game. Mostly because of the choices of prizes it held. When they walked up to the booth, they were greeted by a very tired looking and dispassionate teenager, as opposed to the middle aged to older men and women they’ve met previously, “Hey there. You look like you know the spiel already. Five dollars for a disc. Place it wherever you want at the top and where it lands is what you win. Every game is a guaranteed win… yada yada…” He greeted them, his voice just as tired as he looked. Elizabeth snickered a little, “How’d you get the job?” The teen glanced at her, his chin propped on his hand, “Mom’s one of the top organizers and I got in trouble for smoking weed last week so now I’m stuck doing slave labor. I can’t even have my phone with me.” He carelessly answered. While the two were talking, Lucifer had pulled out another five (man he really had a lot of those) and handed it off to the kid. Elizabeth frowned at him, “Shouldn’t I pay, if I’m going to play it?” she grumbled, though she was already taking the offered disc from the teen. Lucifer didn’t even dignify her question with an answer, as if was unthinkable for him to allow her to pay for anything, just raised his brow at her, “Are you going to pick a spot?” She sighed and turned to look at the labeled holes. There were many marked “Small Prizes,” a few marked “Extra Game,” and couple marked “Hats,” and only one marked “Large Prizes.” Humming to herself as she considered how the disc would fall and trying to pick where she wanted to place her’s, she held out her hand, hesitating as she rested the disc against the board. Before she could release it, however, Lucifer reached over and guided her hand a few inches to the left, then released his grip and she released her own grip without thinking. Of course, the disc bounced between many of the pegs and somehow landed right into the “Large Prizes” hole, like the demon knew it would when he adjusted her positioning. She clicked her tongue at him, “That doesn’t count! You moved me!” she complained. Lucifer was already pointing to the stuffed peacock from the large section, basically ignoring her protests, “Just the peacock please.” Elizabeth stubbornly pulled out her own wallet and fished out five ones before shoving them into the teen’s hands after he handed off the peacock, “I’m doing one on my own.” She huffed indignantly. Lucifer sighed and she motioned him to back away from her with her hands after receiving another disc, “Go stand over there.” She could see the slight amusement on his face, like he was enjoying watching her be annoyed at him. It didn’t matter to her at the moment anyways. She turned back to the board, once more considering where to put her disc before quickly deciding on a spot a little further to the left then Lucifer had put her last one. This disc bounced from peg to peg before falling right into an “Extra Game” hole and she smirked, “Another disc, kid.” she declared. She refused to look at Lucifer’s face at the moment. The teen didn’t look like he cared about what was happening at the moment, just compliantly handing her another disc. She placed this one, without hesitation, a little more to the right now, just passed where the first one had started. In the end, it ended up in a “Hats” hole and she beamed, “Hah! I can win something good too! I don’t need your help, Lu.” She happily said, clearly proud of herself. She chose to ignore the clearly very amused look on the demon’s face now. At least, until she saw the choices in hats the kid motioned to. Her eyes lit up and Lucifer followed her line of sight before paling a little, “No. Absolutely not, Elizabeth. I’m not wearing that.” She turned to grin at the demon before telling the kid her choice, “Give me the unicorn one, will you?” The kid clearly didn’t care about whatever was happening in front of him, just grabbing the white unicorn head fabric hat and tossing it over to her, “Enjoy.” He said simply. She turned to Lucifer, who glared her down. To her credit, she didn’t even flinch as she held out the hat for him to put on, “Come on Lulu. Are you really not going to wear the prize I won for you myself? Without any help?” she asked him, pouting at him, attempting to really pull out the sad puppy face. To save himself from the damage her face could do to him, he turned away and started walking off, though keeping himself at a speed she could keep up with, “I’m not wearing that, Elizabeth.” He replied simply. She raced after him, quick to move in front of him to stop him, holding the hat against her chest as she started to pull out the dramatics, “But Lulu, I thought you’d love something from me. Did you not want what I specifically got just for you?” she asked him, making sure her eyes looked a little watery. It was clear he was trying his best to avoid looking at her, his head turned away from her direction, “I’m perfectly fine with the peacock.” He replied simply. She decided to take advantage of the moment to jump (she actually had to do a little hop because he was literally a foot taller than her) and reach up with hat in hands, swiftly pulling it over his head, much to his displeasure. Taking a step back to get a good look at him with the cute little unicorn, she pressed her lips together before reaching out again, tugging at the elongated sides on either side of his head to adjust it so it was on straight before she spoke up again, “There we are. You look great!” Meanwhile, the demon was not pleased, an irritated look on his face, and yet he didn’t just rip off the hat, a win in her book. Finally, he said, “We are not taking any pictures with this thing on.” “But you’re going to wear it?” “… Like I said, no pictures.” She grinned wide and turned around before motioning to the tote backpack she wore, “Put the peacock in so it doesn’t get dirty then!” Sighing, but doing as she wished, he tugged the opening enough so he could slip the fancy looking bird in with the rest of the stuff inside. At this point, the tote bag was pretty damn full of plush dolls. She turned back around to spy him looking off into the crowd again and she nudged his arm, “Let me guess, it’s ‘nothing’ again?” she asked him. He glanced back at her before slipping his arm around her, starting to lead her off away from whatever he was looking at, “Nothing worth your time, Liz. I wouldn’t worry about it.” She sighed but directed him to the little food court area they had set up for the event, “Well, fine. But let’s go over here. There’s something I want you to try. I just hope they’re selling it.” Taking a peek at the available food vendors for a moment, she spied the one she wanted, “Ooooh, it’s the same people that come to the state fair every year.” she said happily, pulling him in a direction before leading him to a fairly busy vendor. He glanced at the advertised food on the side of the little mobile food truck, “What exactly are you looking to get here?” She pointed to the largest advert, “Funnel Cake! You can’t eat it without making a mess and I’m trying to get you to relax. What better way then get you to make a mess?” He frowned at her, but clearly gave up before he could even form the argument, sighing and waiting with her, to which she added, “You don’t have to wait with me if you don’t want to, Luci. I’m not your brothers; I won’t cause trouble if I’m left alone.” “No, it would be better if we stayed together. Just so we don’t lose each other.” He replied quickly and she shrugged. The wait through the long line was surprisingly faster than she expected, the people manning the food truck working efficiently. In no time, she ordered a large funnel cake for them, and in even less time, it was already in her hands, still hot and glistening a little from being fried. Food in hand, she glanced around at the seating before clicking her tongue, “How about we go out of the crowded area to eat?” she asked him, motioning with her head to the rest of the mostly empty park beyond the area designated for the festival. Lucifer nodded in return and took the plate from her hands, holding it for her as she led them out of the main area. Stepping onto grass now, they walked a decent distance away to a small collection of large trees, provided both seclusion and shade over a lone picnic table, “Perfect.” She hummed, taking a seat on one side. The demon placed the plate down, settling himself on the other side before glancing down at the food, “How exactly do you eat this? You didn’t grab a fork.” She scoffed at him, “Don’t you ever eat finger food?” she asked him, ripping off a chuck of the powered sugar covered fried bread before pressing it up against his lips, naturally covering his mouth in the sugar, “Just eat it like so.” He flinched a bit as she pressed it against his mouth, but opened up and ate the offered bit, licking his lips clean in the process. Pleased that he was cooperating, she smiled and reached to get herself a piece. However, he was quick to rip off at the section where she was reaching for, making her pause as she glanced up at him in question. A question that was quickly answered when he smirked at her and placed the piece he had against her lips, just as she had done to him. She narrowed her eyes at him, but allowed him to feed her, nomming at the chuck he gave her, her thumb raising up to wipe the sugar off her lips, “Well, I’m glad you’re getting how to eat it.” She said once she swallowed, “I’m glad you didn’t wear any gloves today either.” “Yes, they would get in the way, wouldn’t they?” he asked, reaching for another piece, this time feeding himself. She followed suit, pulling off a sizable chuck for herself and covering her face in quite a bit sugar in the process, “Well, also because I like the feeling of your skin. Ah, I mean like… the skin-to-skin touch, you know?” He chuckled as she fumbled with her words a bit, his clean hand reaching out so his could brush his thumb along her lips, cleaning off the sugar for her and bringing it to his mouth to lick off, “I understand what you’re trying to say.” He assured her. She blushed a bit by the gesture, but looked pleased regardless. “Why did you insist on getting something for everyone else?” he suddenly asked her, between bites. She looked into his eyes before glancing back to the half-eaten through funnel cake, “Well, that’s mostly for your benefit.” She started, “If you give them stuff from me, they’ll be less likely to complain about you getting to go to a couples festival with me.” He didn’t reply right away, raising his brow at her and she glanced away, “… and I wanted to get them stuff, so what.” “Quite selfless of you, especially when you still haven’t gotten anything for yourself.” He replied in turn. She nabbed the last bit of the funnel cake before he could grab it, happily chowing down on it before she answered, “I don’t really need anything. If I’m being honest, the fact that you’re here and spending time with me like this is more than enough. Though we could take some more pictures if you really want to get me something.” He grimaced, pulling off the hat that was still on his head with his clean hand, “Now we can take a picture if you’d lik- wait did you say more?” She gave him a large grin, “I took some pictures while you were destroying those games. I only sent them to Dia, so none of your brothers will see them. And I only sent the best ones, of course. I’m sure he’s saved them.” Lucifer looked betrayed for a moment before he sighed, “But nothing in the hat?” She shook her head and stood up, picking up the now empty plate and taking a few steps to toss it into the provided trash can before returning to the table. “You probably should’ve gotten napkins with the food.” Lucifer remarked, glancing at his sugar covered fingers. Elizabeth hummed for a moment before she leaned over, still standing beside the table at the moment. Her hand reached out, holding onto his wrist to steady him as she took his covered finger into her mouth, suckling them clean for him, like she had done just before tossing the trash. When she pulled back, satisfied with the job she did on his fingers, she glanced at his face and flushed under the intense stare he had, “W-what? We didn’t have a napkin.” She said, feeling a bit too intimidated to meet his eyes. He didn’t say anything right away, instead standing up from the table before taking her chin firmly in his hand, holding her in place as he brought his mouth down to hers. Taken by surprise, Elizabeth didn’t protest, not reacting immediately to him for a moment before she realized what was happening. Her hands hesitated, but she slipped them up against his chest to wrap around his neck as she leaned into the kiss, opening her lips to the prodding tongue. The demon pressed himself against her, pushing her back against edge of the table for a moment before his hands slipped under her thighs, quickly lifting her so he could sit her on the table itself with him slotted between her legs and his hands pressed down on the table on either side of her. He broke the kiss after a few moments, but only pulled his face away slightly, allowing both of them to breathe, though she was panting far quicker than he was. “Why that a-all of a sudden?” she asked between breaths. He smirked at her, his eyes drifting to her lips for a moment, “There was sugar still on your mouth. I was simply returning the favor.” She clicked her tongue at him, “T-that was a lot just for some sugar on my lips, Lucifer.” He chuckled in return, “My apologies, but I couldn’t help myself. You’re just far too tempting for a demon like myself.” As she opened her mouth to reply, he quickly pressed her back into another kiss, cutting off anything she was about to say. She wasn’t complaining, though, as her arms tightened around his neck, holding onto him as she felt his tongue pressing in and she opened her mouth further to invite him in. The second kiss didn’t last long before Elizabeth twitched, feeling something wet drip down onto her head. At first, she wanted to ignore the sensation, opting to attempting to lose herself in making out with the demon, but she had to tug herself away from him (with a bit of effort; he didn’t want to break the kiss) when she felt another drop, this time on her shoulder. He frowned at her, his breathing heavy and a slight flush on his cheeks as his eyes peered down at her, “What is it?” he asked. She didn’t immediately answer, rather tilted her head back to look up at the sky. Queue another timely drop of water on her face, making her flinch as she gazed up at the gray clouds in the sky, “… its raining.” She muttered as Lucifer glanced up as well. It felt like her words were the dam that released the waiting shower of rain, the drops quickly picking up in number and intensity. Grimacing, Elizabeth raised her arm to cover her face as she pushed herself off the table while Lucifer tugged the jacket off his shoulders, quick to throw it over her head as Elizabeth grabbed at his hand, quick to wordlessly tug him the direction of an empty gazebo. They both raced over to the shelter, ducking inside just as the rain really picked up, turning into a downpour, the gazebo sparing them of the worst of the rain as she tugged the jacket off of herself, “…Maybe I should’ve looked at the weather report.” she muttered. The demon brushed his hand through his hair, which was only slightly damp since they got to shelter quickly, and tucked his glasses into his pants pocket for the time being, “That would’ve been useful information, yes.” He replied, peering out at the rain for a moment, “How long does rain usually last here?” She scoffed, “Either it doesn’t rain for six months here, or it rains for days on end. There’s no in-between.” She said, reaching into her back pocket, only to wince, “Oh, right… I left my phone in the house. I can’t look up how long this will last.” She sighed, propping herself against the side of one of the pillars of the gazebo, “Sorry, I didn’t realize this would happen.” Lucifer stepped closer to her, pulling the jacket she was holding over her shoulders for the moment, “You didn’t know.” Elizabeth let herself lean against him, crossing her arms as he rested his hands on her shoulders, “Should we wait this out then?” she asked, “Or see if it’ll lighten up before we try to make a break for it for the house?” He grimaced a bit, “I’m not keen on getting myself unnecessarily soaked. Why don’t we wait for the time being.” She made a small noise of acknowledgement, peering through the rain to where the festival had been going on. It was a bit hard to see in the distance, but it looked like people had cleared out quickly. For a little bit, the two were quiet, listening to the steady patter of the rain hitting the ground around them and the rhythmic drops hitting the wood of the gazebo roof above them. Elizabeth stared out into the rain, silently thinking over something before he let out a soft little hum as an idea came to her. Lucifer squeezed her arm lightly, “What is it?” he asked her. She glanced at him for a moment, then stepped away from his arms to move closer to the entrance of the fenced area they were in, “Say… Lucifer?” “… yes?” he acknowledged her, taking a few steps to follow after her, standing just behind her. “Have you ever danced in the rain before?” “What?” He sounded confused by her question, like he’d never even considered the notion of dancing under a torrent of water. Which he probably hadn’t. “Come on, dancing under the rain!” she said, turning to look at him, smiling at her idea, “Probably like… waltz or some fancy ball room dance. I don’t really know any, but you know how to lead, right?” He gave her a look like she was crazy, “We’re not going to dance in this rain, Liz. Humans are fragile and you could get sick just from this.” “We get sick if we stay in wet, cold clothing. As long as I warm up as soon as we get home, I’ll be fine.” She said, grabbing at his arm with both hands and started firmly tugging him towards the entrance, “What better way to let loose then to let the rain pour over you while you have a bit of fun, Luci?” Being so close to the entrance already, he didn’t have a lot of time to resist her pulling him out into the downpour once more. Of course, they both knew that if he really wanted to resist her, he had more than enough strength to keep them from going out in that rain, but he didn’t, relenting to her whims. Quickly, the water soaked them, though his jacket kept her partly dry, especially the tote bag on her back with all the plushies. She tugged him a few feet away from the dry shelter before turning to face him, guiding one of his hands to her waist, the other holding his free hand as well, “You’re going to have to guide me into a dance,” she said through the rain, “Because I don’t really know any ballroom dances. Other than just… swaying.” He didn’t look entirely pleased, his wet hair clinging to his face as he looked down at her, even as he so easily subjugated himself to her whims, “Fine… Hold on to me.” As he commanded, she held onto his shoulder with her free hand and he started into a practiced dance, wordlessly guiding her through the steps by moving his body and forcing her body to react to move the way he needed her to. He'd take a step towards her, and she’d take a step back to create space. He’d take a step back and she’d step forward to close the space. He moved them to the left, then twirled them to the right. Quickly, she got into a music-less rhythm, following his lead as best she could while holding onto him. At first, she kept glanced down at their footing, until he quickly stepped overly close to her, forcing her to look back into his eyes as he brought his face close to hers so she could hear him say, “Keep your eyes on me, not your feet.” She blinked, but kept her gaze up from that point, following him a bit easier now that she wasn’t worried about her footing. Now that they had found their rhythm, he guided her in a wide circle before finally releasing her waist so he could spin her by the hand, leaning over to dip her close to the ground for a moment. She looked up into his eyes as she was dipped back, smiling wide at him. With his hair soaked and a mess around his face, rain dripping from his whole body, and a happy smile on his face, it really looked like he finally let himself relax his stubbornly prideful persona. When he finally pulled her back her back up into standing position, she laughed loudly, slipping her arms around his waist to pull herself close to him, “See?! That was fun!” she declared, her voice a little loud to cut through the rain. He looked amused, even as he replied with, “Let’s get back to the house already, Liz.” She quickly nodded, grabbing his hand before both of them turned and jogged their way back through the park and across the street. They kept running until they made it to her door, Elizabeth quickly pushing it open to get them out of the rain that showed no signs of letting up. Once inside, she shook her head a bit, trying to get rid of some of the water as she pulled herself free of both the jacket and the bag, placing them on the kitchen counter nearby. She turned back to the demon as she heard him laughing joyously, grinning wide at him as he brushed through the hair that kept clinging to his skin, “See? You liked that! Isn’t it nice to let go every once in a while?” she asked him. He shook his hand to rid himself of some of the water dripping from him and stepped closer to her, his other arm moving around her waist to pull her against him, “I have to admit, yes… I did enjoy that. Even if we’re both completely soaked now.” She laughed in return, tugging on the sleeve of his turtleneck as she pulled from him, “Let’s go to my bathroom in my room. I’ve got towels in there and we can get out of these clothes, especially me so I don’t get sick like you were so worried about before.” They slipped right through the living room and into her bedroom, where she quickly made her way into her bathroom, grabbing many towels and tossing most of them over to the demon. She pulled one over her head, rubbing her hair to get rid of the worse of the water while Lucifer did the same with his hair. Elizabeth paused, however, as she reached to take off her shirt, her eyes drifting over to the demon in the room with her. He seemed to sense her eyes on him, and he pulled the towel off his head to look back at her, quick to notice her hands in position to remove her shirt. She flushed and turned her head away, but he stepped closer to her regardless, his hand resting on one of hers as he brought his face near her ear, “Were you looking to me to assist you in undressing?” She didn’t reply right away, knowing she had a choice at the moment. Finally, she turned her face back to him, her breath catching from how close he was, “…perhaps.” His eyes narrowed as he gazed into hers for a moment before he replied, his voice low, “Are you sure? Because I won’t hold back if you say yes.” This time, she didn’t hesitate, nodding her head before verbally confirming in a quiet voice, “Yes.” A smirk grew on his face and his hand slipped from her hand to move under her shirt and rest on her waist as he nudged her back a few steps until she was against the wall, his other hand pressing against said wall on the other side of her. “Don’t regret your words, Elizabeth.” He gently warned her. Quickly, he captured her lips, once more pulling her into a kiss and her hands grabbed at his wet shirt, clenching the fabric as she pressed herself back against him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Elizabeth paused, however, as she reached to take off her shirt, her eyes drifting over to the demon in the room with her. He seemed to sense her eyes on him, and he pulled the towel off his head to look back at her, quick to notice her hands in position to remove her shirt. She flushed and turned her head away, but he stepped closer to her regardless, his hand resting on one of hers as he brought his face near her ear, “Were you looking to me to assist you in undressing?” She didn’t reply right away, knowing she had a choice at the moment. Finally, she turned her face back to him, her breath catching from how close he was, “…perhaps.” His eyes narrowed as he gazed into hers for a moment before he replied, his voice low, “Are you sure? Because I won’t hold back if you say yes.” This time, she didn’t hesitate, nodding her head before verbally confirming in a quiet voice, “Yes.” A smirk grew on his face and his hand slipped from hers to move under her shirt and rest on her waist as he nudged her back a few steps until she was up against the wall, his other hand pressing against said wall on the other side of her. “Don’t regret your words, Elizabeth.” He gently warned her. Quickly, he captured her lips, once more pulling her into a kiss and her hands grabbed at his wet shirt, clenching the fabric as she pressed herself back against him. As they continued to kiss, Elizabeth’s hands gripped his wet shirt, tugging it upwards as she pulled him closer. In response, he reached up with one hand and grabbed the bottom of the shirt, pulling it over his head roughly before tossing it aside onto the ground. His eyes never leaving hers, he briefly pulled back from their kiss slightly to look down at her and rumbled in appreciation, fingers slowly brushing against her skin. Elizabeth blushed at this but kept her eyes open, breath caught in her throat as he repeated the action on the other side of her neck, leaning in close so the skin of his cheek brushed lightly against her cheek and ear. Her hands found their way to his shoulders, exploring the smooth muscle there as she ran her fingertips over it gently before sliding lower to feel his muscles. That hand soon met with his hand that was still rested on her waist, squeezing lightly around him as she pressed herself back into him further, seeking more contact from this demon who acted as if he knew exactly what she wanted. He chuckled softly at her touch and responded by pulling away from her for a moment to reach down between them quickly, undoing his pants and shoving them downwards before helping Elizabeth out of her own pants, as well as pulling away her shirt, leaving the both of them in their underwear. His erection jutted out slightly from the fabric of his boxers, causing Elizabeth’s eyes to widen before her gaze glanced upwards again to stare into his face. “Beautiful,” he murmured as he reached forward to grab her hands and pull them towards him so that she could feel the heat of his skin against her fingers. He placed one hand behind her head, holding her there as he captured her lips in another kiss and pushed his hips forward enough to make contact, grinding his bulge against her hip. Her breath caught at the sensation, but when he broke their kiss this time, she spoke up in a husky whisper, “I want you.” With a smirk, he pulled back from her, shifting his hands downwards a bit before capturing her hips and pulling her along with him until they were nearer each other. He picked her up in his arms, carrying her over to the bed where he gently set her down, lowering her back onto the bed sheets. Rolling on top of her, he captured her lips again for a passionate kiss which she returned with more vigor than before, pulling him closer to her as he groaned against her mouth before rolling off. His hands found their way downwards to tug at the straps of her bra, revealing her breasts to his hungry gaze. His hand reached out to cup one of her cheeks, rubbing her soft skin lightly as his other hand ran over the opposite breast, brushing a nipple before pinching it gently between his fingers and thumb. Elizabeth moaned into the kiss he laid against her lips, pressing herself further up against his body in response. Slowly, he moved away from the kiss again, leaving only air between them until his lips met her neck, causing goosebumps to rise on her flesh and soft moans to escape her lips as he nibbled at her there while one hand moved downwards, tugging off her underwear and completely exposing her body for him. Once more, their eyes locked together a moment before he leaned back down to press a kiss just above her breasts, giving slightly rough licks over each nipple as she arched her back in pleasure. A sharp intake of air from Elizabeth caused him to pause, looking up with a devilish grin that only made her skin burn further. “Enjoying yourself?” He questioned huskily, knowing full well what she was thinking. She flushed but nodded once, causing his smile to widen and a low growl to escape this throat, “Good.” With that, he shifted himself lower still, guiding her legs apart before resting between them, his body leaning closer against her pussy as he brought one hand down between her legs to slowly rub at the wetness there. Her hips buckled underneath him slightly in response, a quiet moan slipping from her lips as she squirmed slightly beneath him. Slowly, he pushed a finger into her, eliciting another moan from her that seemed louder than it should have been considering the situation. “So responsive…” He murmured with appreciation, easing another finger inside of her and pressing them downward while his thumb rubbed at her clit gently, causing her to whimper out loud now. With one hand pressed on the side of her hips, his hot breath brushed against her entrance as he continued this slow assault, eyes never leaving hers as he moved his fingers in and out of her slowly, adding a third finger and continuing even deeper inside of her to stretch her insides slowly, preparing her for himself. Finally, he pulled away from their kisses for a moment, leaning down over her once more as he whispered roughly into her ear, “You’re beautiful.” He began licking at the skin there, starting at her neck before moving lower to nibble at her chin and downwards along her chest and stomach, towards the area between her legs where he pressed a scorching kiss against her clit. Her hips buckled underneath him again but this time she did not make any sound, biting into her lip hard as his tongue flickered against her sensitive flesh while his fingers continued their motion inside of her. As he grew more aggressive, she could feel herself slowly building up towards an orgasm – one more intense than any she had experienced previously. Her body trembled now, tightening around his fingers as her breath caught in her throat when he finally pulled away from her, lips wet and swollen where he had just been. His eyes danced with delight at the sight of her before whispering again, “Now, let me show you what I can do.” With a cocky smirk, he lowered his head downwards to connect his tongue with her sensitive flesh once more. Elizabeth cried out softly as she felt him press against her entrance, preparing her for him as he pumped his fingers inside of her folds, stopping every so often to rub against her inner walls slowly. Her hips rocked involuntarily into his mouth, her fingers digging into his hair as she tried to ground herself in this new sensation, moans spilling from her lips freely now and a whimper slipping past them while he finally pulled his fingers from her warmth to replace them with his mouth and tongue. His strong hands gripped her hips as he pressed his mouth against her entrance, pushing forward until his tongue pressed deep within her, causing her body to shake underneath him. His tongue laved at her entrance, soaking up her fluids as he ate her out, one hand pressing against the small of her back to keep her still while she writhed beneath him in pleasure, begging for more. Finally, he pushed his tongue all the way inside of her, eliciting a hard moan from Elizabeth that brought a smirk to his face as he began a slow rhythm of his tongue against her folds, her body now trembling with every thrust. “A-ah…” She whispered, reaching out to grab at Lucifer’s hair, gripping it tightly with her hands when her orgasm suddenly hit her. With a low cry, she arched into his mouth and his ministrations, bucking underneath his touch as she cried out again in pleasure, back arching off the bed in response as he continued his assault until she could no longer take any more and collapsed back onto the mattress panting heavily. He chuckled above her before pulling away slightly, kissing her once more before speaking against her lips, “Good girl…” And then moved himself back a bit between her legs to sit up, watching her intently as she lay there, quivering with exhaustion but unable to deny that she wanted more. She nodded slowly, “Please…take me.” He smiled devilishly at this, "With pleasure." Lucifer slipped away from her, eliciting a small complaint in the form of a whine from her as he reached for the pants he discarded earlier, grabbing his wallet, and pulled out a condom. She didn’t question how he knew to be prepared, or if he just had it to have it, she was more concerned with having him hurry up. Leaning down to grab her hips and pull her towards him once more, he ripped open the packaging quickly, applying the protection onto himself before his hands returned to her body. His strong hands gripped her hips as he pressed his cock tip down onto her, pushing himself inside gradually until she took all of him inside, eliciting another loud cry from Elizabeth as her body adjusted to the size of him, forcing her to open her legs a bit wider and grab tightly to his shoulders. She winced a bit in pain, her eyes tearing up a bit as she felt herself stretched around his girth. Lucifer paused for a moment once he was finally fully hilted inside of her, allowing her inside to adjust to him, waiting for Elizabeth to give him the go ahead. After a few long moments, she nodded her head for Lucifer to continue and he didn’t waste any time once that happened, pulling back a bit, then thrusting back into her slowly at first before speeding up gradually, causing her to groan in response with each motion of his hips. Her fingers dug into his skin, holding on for dear life while her breath caught in her throat with every strike of his hips, curling her toes beneath them. Without warning, he pulled himself all the way out of her, chuckling darkly beneath him as she cried out in protest, only to slide back inside again moments later. This time, he picked her up in his arms, taking her completely from the bed and holding her in his lap as he pressed himself fully inside of her once more, holding her there securely as he rocked against her slowly on the bed. The friction caused by this movement sent waves of pleasure through Elizabeth’s body, driving her further into ecstasy that she had no idea how to deal with – not knowing where this newfound feeling was coming from or why it was so intense. Her hands held onto Lucifer tightly, her breath leaving her lungs as every thrust brought a new wave of pleasure to her, causing her to bite down hard into her lip again as she struggled to stay quiet despite her intense emotions. His eyes never left her face as he continued his assault on her body, taking care to watch her expression closely before he pressed his lips firmly against her own in a rough kiss. When they broke apart again for air, Lucifer pressed his lips against her forehead gently, "Just relax and enjoy it." Elizabeth whimpered a bit, but nodded in response, unable to find the breath to verbally respond. And with that, he began moving faster, building up the pace until she was breathless against him, her nails digging into the skin of his back, arching her own back, and crying out loudly as she met his gaze with shining eyes full of desire. Her cries grew louder and louder now, each one piercing through the silence of the room as she squeezed harder around him, feeling the heat between them grow to a fever pitch as they moved together. His heart raced wildly within his chest while Elizabeth's body shook underneath him, desperate for more, for release – her high-pitched whimpers and groans filling the air as he held onto her tightly, moving faster still until it broke her apart completely. With an undeniable cry, Elizabeth felt herself cum again, clenching down on his cock before her body went limp in his arms, panting heavily as he continued to rock against her, as he sought his own release. It wasn’t long after that when Elizabeth felt him grow even harder inside of her, thrusting one final time before shouting out loud and trembling against her as well, his seed spilling out into the condom before he let the both of them collapse down onto the bed with him on top of her, shaking himself slowly while she held onto him tightly beneath them. After several minutes passed, they lay there together, panting heavily underneath the weight of their shared passion, skin burning hot at the contact between them despite the cool air in the room. His fingers traced gentle patterns over her skin, soothing the tingling sensations left behind by their encounter while they breathed together, their hearts still racing wildly. For a moment, neither spoke, merely enjoying the silence and closeness that surrounded them before Elizabeth finally broke it with a soft whisper, “Thank you…” He smiled down at her, one hand lightly brushing against her cheek as he pressed his lips to hers once more gently. “You’re welcome.” With that, he pulled back from their kiss and rolled off of her, as her eyes fluttered closed with exhaustion, but joy filled them at what they had shared, unable to deny that this was something special between them. “Don’t fall asleep quite yet. I’d rather not return naked.” Lucifer commented as he slipped his arms around her body. Elizabeth scoffed at him, opening her eyes again to look at him, allowing him to pick her up bridal style and carry her to her bathroom. He had a quick trip to set his clothing into the dryer as he left her in the bathroom to start the shower before they bathed together, cleaning themselves from their pleasurable excursion. Once cleaned, Lucifer returned her back to her room, pulling out pajamas for her as she raised her brow. She almost wanted to comment about how he was such a mother bird… but it didn’t quite feel the same, not after what they had just done together. She even noticed the bed sheets had been changed and she had to wonder if he took notes from Barbatos on the art of accomplishing things when no one was looking. She was likely more tired than she realized because, before she realized it, Lucifer had (mostly) redressed and started to help her into her pjs. She stuck out her tongue, but allowed him to do as he wanted before she reached out for him. He chuckled at Elizabeth before he slipped his arms around her, gently laying her back onto the bed as he pressed their bodies together, “Shall I hold you until you fall asleep?" She scoffed at him, if a bit tiredly, “Obviously.” she muttered, burying her face into his neck, sighing against his skin contently. After a moment of silence, she spoke, “Thank you… again.” “Of course, my dove.” Lucifer low voice rumbled in his chest against her, his hand slowly rubbing against her back to soothe her into sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Even as he watched the ignorant woman, his anger remained. Even as something in the back of his mind tried to calm him down, his anger festered and lingered. His pride had been wounded, stabbed, and tossed to the ground at the mere idea that he had been a puppet this whole time… how could anything calm his righteous fury? No mysterious, unnamed force would make him accept this woman’s presence, accept that she was anything but the cause of misfortune for his friends and family.

What sort of being was possible of tying down and forcing the Avatar of Pride himself into doing whatever it pleased? What creature could possibly be strong enough to fool the Pride demon, the strongest of the seven brothers, for months, maybe more? How was it even conceivable that he had been, that he was under another’s control? It was ridiculous and if someone had told him that he had been taking care of a faceless cursed being, that he had feelings for something that didn’t exist, he would’ve wiped them clean off the surface they stood upon.

He resisted. He hated, he quietly raged, he observed. No manner of faceless, speechless “feeling” would calm him until he knew exactly what was happening; exactly who was responsible and capable of potentially bringing down and controlling an entire realm’s government. Not to mention his pride, of course.As it became clear that this woman they were observing, the apparent source of their curse as proclaimed by Solomon, was clearly ignorant of what she was doing to them, his anger faltered. But just for a moment. After all, in the eyes of the law, ignorance does not excuse a guilty party. As far as any of them knew, she was still the cause of all of this. 
He wanted- No. He needed someone, something, to punish for this. Someone to take responsibility for the indignity he and everyone else around him was and are forced to go through every time that faceless creature shows up. They were forced to dance like monkeys for whatever this thing was. Recite lines like it was some sort of screwed up play or movie he and his brothers were forced into. He couldn’t even take out his rage on anything around him. Those around him were also victims. There was no point in any sort of destruction. Anything required for whatever scene the thing needed was made whole again when required. Any actions to retaliate were meaningless.
 And yet! And yet… that day they finally contacted her, she had the foolish notion to think of him out of everyone she could’ve thought of. It had ended up with him in her universe instead of his own, but that didn’t really matter. He had the option then, the ability to end everything right then and there.But at the very first moment he was met face-to-face with her, that little feeling in the back of his mind grew overpowering. Something not only didn’t want him to hurt her, but wanted him close to her. He couldn’t understand why. Why did he want to take her into his arms? Why did he want to protect her? He was wise enough to understand, at least, that the only way he’d allow a force into his mind like this, would be it had been there this whole time; if it was from himself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Just as before, Elizabeth awoke alone. So, this was what it was like to wake up after someone ditched you after a one-night stand. She clicked her tongue, knowing this wasn’t technically the same thing, but it had to feel similar. She shifted in bed, reluctant to get up. Her thighs shifted together, and she huffed, wincing a little. She knew Lucifer had done his best to be “gentle” … probably. But she supposed he was a demon, and she was just a human in the end. She rolled over, pressing her face into her pillow a bit. She had to wonder if she’d even be affected, since she had lost her virginity in her own magicless universe… Eh. Question for another day. With a wide yawn, she rolled over again, on her back so she could stare up to the ceiling, allowing herself to ponder what she should do for the day. She’ll have to ask the boys what they wanted to do now that she had a connection to everyone. Speak of the devil… Her D.D.D. pinged with a notification and Elizabeth turned her head to glance at it on the side table. It still took her several minutes of lying there before she mustered up the energy to lean over and grab at the device. Tucking her pillow under her chin to prop up her head, she held the device between her hands, skimming over the missed messages.  
Elizabeth’s Harem (12)
 Asmodeus: Liz! Darling!This panda plushie is just the cutest!Thank you!

Solomon: I’m rather surprised that she went out of her way to get everyone something.Thank you for the wolf, Liz.

Satan: I just wish it hadn’t come from Lucifer.This cat is adorable though, so thank you very much.

Simeon: These plushies are indeed quite adorable.

Thank you, Liz. Mammon: Of course, she got something for the Great Mammon!We’re going to get her over here now, aren’t we?She’s got a connection or whatever with everyone, don’t she? Diavolo: That is true.We should be able to pull her over now, shouldn’t we? Solomon: Yes, however, I’d recommend we wait a day.Everyone will have to be present for the ritual and we’re going to need as much magic as we can save up.Just to be safe, and so we don’t leave any room for error.This will also give me some time to set up some precautionary spells to prevent that issue that has been affecting Liz. Satan: Right.I’ll bring the spell book I’ve been studying over as well.The one with the protection spells I mentioned to you before, Solomon. ✓11 I just woke up, sorry I missed so much.✓11 I’m glad you guys like the plushies.✓11 I wanted to get everyone something and those plushies are small enough to make Luci take with him.✓11 Plus, they remind me of you guys.✓11 Anyways, I should rest up today then and we’ll try for summoning me tomorrow then? Solomon: Don’t worry about it, Liz.I’m sure you were tired after your night with Lucifer. Mammon: Don’t go talking like they did stuff! Asmodeus: Didn’t they?I saw scratches on the back of his neck that looked like they went down his back.Plus, he definitely felt… *satisfied*.

Lucifer: Silence Asmo.What we did is none of anyone’s business. Barbatos: You don’t appear to be denying it however, Lucifer.  Elizabeth quickly flipped the D.D.D. over, a flush on her cheeks. She supposed that it wasn’t surprising that the boys figured out what happened last night so quickly. Or, at least, the literal Avatar of Lust figured it out. And she doubted Lucifer would deny what happened… as the Avatar of Pride. Didn’t make her any less flustered about it. She cleared her throat to shake herself free of her state and finally rolled off of the bed, stretching her limbs up before heading to the dresser so she could get dressed. Since she had a day to herself to prepare for the summoning, there were a few things she could think of to do ahead of time. Once dressed, she glanced back at the D.D.D. while she headed into the living room to grab her phone as well. Picking it up, she headed to the kitchen to prepare herself something before she had to head out, only to hear a ping on her D.D.D. from a notification; someone was watching her, she was sure.  
Solomon
 You’re up.Have you felt any different since you made your pact with Lucifer? ✓ Because he was the last one to make a connection with me?✓ Or is there another reason for me to feel different?✓ And no, I don’t really feel different. You have strong ties to eleven powerful beings not of your own world.The pacts are tied to you down to a soul level, as well as my own bond.I can’t say how deep Simeon’s or Lord Diavolo’s connection,But soul bonds should naturally be pulling you closer to us and vice versa. ✓ Maybe the ring is preventing me from feeling anything?✓ Like the other stuff I should be “feeling?” That is likely.I don’t know if it’s quite a good thing to be ignorant of your soul’s connections.You may what to take off the ring for a bit.At least just to see if anything feels off or is missing. ✓ I can do that.✓ But, if it’s alright, I’ll do it tonight.✓ There are a few “loose ends” I should take care of before I’m pulled to your universe. Of course.You have the day to yourself while we’re making preparations.Feel free to use it as you need. ✓ Great. I’m going to head to the bank.✓ And maybe a store for some last-minute things.  Solomon fiddled with the magic of oculus, glancing up at the viewing screen as Elizabeth put down the D.D.D. she had just been messaging him on and resumed preparing her breakfast. It had been obvious what had happened between her and Lucifer the previous night. His return had caused a slight uproar with those that had been in the room, when the demon had returned with a carelessly thrown on shirt, marks visible on his body under said shirt, and his jacket and vest over his arm, like he had been in a hurry to get dress… or like he was showing off. His slight smirk when he appeared made Solomon believe it was the latter, rather than the former. To say that it didn’t annoy him a bit would be a lie. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that it made him envious to see that Lucifer got to see more of her than he did. That any of them did. All the more reason to bring her here, it seemed. After all, at this point there wasn’t really another way to spend time with her now. Solomon sighed. His hand tapped against his D.D.D. as he watched Elizabeth prepare to leave the house, feeling a longing inside that he knew he wouldn’t be able to ease until he could bring her to his side. Instead, he turned on the D.D.D. screen and navigated until he started a call with the woman. She picked up after only one ring. “Solomon? Discover something?” she asked. He almost gave himself away and admitted that he just wanted to hear her voice. Instead, he chuckled softly and joked, “I thought I’d keep up my streak of calling you every day.” Elizabeth groaned and he could see her roll her eyes on the screen. He grinned, enjoying teasing her, “What? I’ll have to call you tomorrow as well. I’d hate to miss a day.” “If that’s all you have to say, maybe I should just hang up.” She replied, though he could see the smile on her face as she headed out of the house. He raised his brow as she avoided the car and instead started walking along the sidewalk to the nearby intersection. Ignoring her threat to hang up, he asked, “Not taking the car?” She flinched before it became clear she had just forgotten for a moment how he could see her, “Oh, no. The bank I need to go to is a little past the park, down the street. And honestly, I just want to take a walk. I like going outside on the day just after a rainfall.” “You must really like rain.” Solomon commented, glancing back to the door to the room as Satan and Belphegor entered. He raised his hand in greeting to them, but otherwise didn’t say anything. “I do. I’m one of those people that turn on rain and storm sounds when I really can’t sleep.” Elizabeth remarked, paused at the light while she waited for the go ahead to cross the street. “Well, I don’t recommend walking out in the rain when you’re here in Devildom.” He replied. Even if he was no longer alone with Elizabeth, it was nice to simply be talking to her. It helped the longing a bit. “Not every rainfall here is dangerous, but there is an acid rain that happens every once in a while.” “Acid rain? Ew. Does it sound the same as a normal rainfall?” “It does.” “Then that’s fine. I can just sit by a window and listen to it. I more so just want to listen to the rain, rather than sit in it.” Elizabeth finally crossed the street, side-stepping a large puddle that pooled over most of the sidewalk and in the grass on the edge of the park. She paused a few steps after, tugging her D.D.D. into a jacket pocket, “Just a moment.” She muttered to the sorcerer she had on-call. Elizabeth pulled out her original phone, tapping away at the screen as she stood in place, knowing better than to attempt walking while she was distracted. It happened in slow motion for Solomon. As he watched Elizabeth tap away on her phone, the only connection they had to her, a couple of men in jogging outfits came into view of the Oculus, jogging on the sidewalk and clearly not paying attention to their surroundings. Before Solomon could say anything, and before Elizabeth could even acknowledge them, one of the men shoved the other, causing that man to bump up roughly against Elizabeth. She didn’t fall, but her phone wasn’t so lucky. Solomon froze as he watched the device she had been holding slip from her hands. Before he, or either of the two demons in the room that were surely watching, could say anything, the device disappeared under the surface of the large puddle, and everything went black.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The first thing she did was fish out the sopping wet phone from the puddle. The second thing she did was wrap the phone in her hoodie. The third thing she did was immediately turned around and race back across the street, ignoring the men that had bumped into her. She ran straight back to her house and right into the bathroom. The screen on the phone was black and unresponsive, prompting her to take it apart and set it on a towel on the counter so she could dry it. She was quick to find a fan, plugging it and setting it on the pieces as her hands shook a bit. Only then did she recall that she was on a call with one of the boys. “Solomon?” she asked, her voice soft and cracking as she reached for the pocket the D.D.D. was in. She pulled out the device before feeling her heart drop; The screen was black, the device unresponsive and silent. Elizabeth grimaced, worried for a moment that the D.D.D. had gotten wet as well… but it was dry to the touch. It was simply a brick, as if the D.D.D.’s connection was also connected to the phone; the phone that was dead in the water. She cursed herself for having a cheap phone. Perhaps if she had a more expensive phone, or at least one that was water resistant, this wouldn’t have happened. Elizabeth felt as if everything was crumbling around her. Her hands started to shake, and she could feel her vision begin to blur before she shook her head and pressed her hands on the sink counter, forcing herself to take slow, shaky breaths, trying to calm herself. She didn’t know yet if everything was ruined, there was no reason to panic just yet. No, no… she could wait, she had to wait. Tomorrow the boys would be attempting to summon her, she had to hope they’d be able to do it, even without the connection to her. She didn’t bother going out again for the rest of the day, carefully watching over the phone as it dried. When night had fallen, she felt over the pieces, finding it dried, yet when she went to assemble the phone back together, it still didn’t turn on. The dreadful feeling in her gut only grew, but she ignored the feeling, pushed it to the side. She’ll just have to wing it tomorrow. 
Day Two
 The sun had long since set and yet here she was slouched over on the bed, cans upon empty cans of energy drink surrounding her along with some empty chip bag and other eaten snacks, bags under her eyes and her face a mess. She glanced at her laptop, her own source of a clock at this point since the two dead bricks of her phone and D.D.D. were unresponsive; It was nearly midnight. And yet… nothing. She had been mediating on the boys all day, since long before dawn. How could she sleep when her nerves were shot and her anxiety through the roof. All she thought about throughout the day, all she concentrated on, was the boys; the time she spent with them, the time she wanted to continue to spend with them. There was a slight… tug when she pondered over Solomon sometime in the middle of the day, but otherwise there had been nothing. And the tug had felt more like… something wanted guide her somewhere. It wasn’t any sort of summoning like she had felt the boys do before. No strong pull or anything trying to force her anywhere, just something… guiding her, nudging her in a direction. Another glance at the laptop told her the day was over. She was sure that the boys would keep going, of course they would, so many of them were stubborn. But… if she hadn’t even felt the pull of the summon by now… would she ever? She glanced at the phone for a moment before she cleared off the bed, setting everything to the side. Maybe if she got that fixed, she could fix their connection. 
Day Three
 She woke up early despite having little to no sleep and running on almost gallons of energy drinks. As soon as she knew they were open, she took her dead phone and raced to the store for her provider, heading right to the counter. “Hi, how can I he-“ “Could you please fix my phone? It fell into a puddle and hasn’t turned on since.” Elizabeth quickly interrupted the assistant at the counter. She was sure she looked panicked and haggard, but at this point, she didn’t care. The assistant, to his credit, took it stride, “Of course. How deep was the puddle?” “Pretty deep. The phone was completely submerged.” She replied as he looked over the phone and started taking it apart. “If possible, I’d like to get it working again with replacing as little as possible.” He glanced at her as he looked over the battery, “We can try, though I can already it would probably be easier to just buy a new phone.” “No! I-I mean, no thank you. I like this one.” She quickly responded, swallowing back her panic, and forcing herself to calm down. “Look, the cost doesn’t matter. And if I have to pay extra to make the process faster, that’s fine too. Please just have it fixed as soon as possible.” He raised his brow but nodded, “Alright. I’ll have our repair and diagnostics department take care of it. If we make it an express repair, it’ll be an extr-“ She interrupted him again, “The cost doesn’t matter to me. Just put it as express, please.” He blinked, but nodded, “Alright. If I could get your account information so we can contact you when it’s done.” He then said, moving to his computer to plug in her information. A trade of information later, she was headed back to her home without the phone and a promise of an email when it would be fixed. And a growing feeling of dread settling in her stomach. 
Day Ten
 Elizabeth finally got an email that morning. She almost didn’t acknowledge it, having been lounging in her bed for the past… week. She realized now it had been just over a week since she gave them the phone. She hadn’t done much in that time. Seeing as she didn’t have a job anymore, there wasn’t much else to do. So, she rarely ate and just laid in bed for most of the day. And she hated it. Everything in her home reminded her of the boys. Which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because if they were still trying to get to her, she was still thinking of them. Bad because now all she could really think about what the “what could have been.” Which was sending her into a spiral of depression that was easy for her to recognize… but not easy to prevent. She forced herself to shower before she headed out to the store, though it was half-assed at best. She was sure she looked worse than she did when she had given them the phone, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. As she trudged up to the counter, the same assistant as before greeted her, “Oh, hello there! Sorry the phone repair took so long!” he said, pulling the same customer service smile as before, clearly refusing to acknowledge her haggard appearance. She didn’t answer except to nod her head as he continued while pulling out the phone, “So the battery was shot and the SIM card was a goner, so those had to be replaced and since your phone is an older model, we had to wait for the battery to be delivered. Since the SIM card had to be replaced, anything saved locally onto the phone is gone, unfortunately, so you do have a new number, but anything you’ve saved on the cloud is still there. You will have to get your contacts again, however.” The feeling of dread seemed to grow at his explanation, but she refused to acknowledge it at this point. Instead, she simply nodded and muttered, “Thank you.” Before paying the balance owed. She didn’t dare to look at the phone until she had headed home and settled on her bed. Her pictures were there, automatically saved to the cloud, but many of the apps she had previously were gone… including Obey Me. Redownloading the game, she was glad she had saved her transfer password into the cloud as well. A quick plug in of the password pulled up the progress she had, and she struggled to keep her composure as she looked down at Lucifer’s little caricature in his bunny boy outfit on her home screen greeting her. Her hands shook and she whispered, “Lucifer?” Recalling how the messaged worked before, she closed the game quickly and set the phone to the side, turning to grab the D.D.D. where it had sat on her bedside table. Holding down the power button, however, revealed that it still wouldn’t turn on. She didn’t want to admit it, but it seemed whatever connected them before was gone. She didn’t want to give up, however, and she put the phone to the side, hoping, praying, that they’d contact her again. 
Day Twenty-Two
 It had long been since the time she should acknowledge that the connection was gone. She hadn’t received any messages on the phone, not like she had gotten before. She rarely opened the game either, worried that it would trigger the curse for them… but she had to wonder if the curse wasn’t broken because of what happened. She did as little as she had been doing while waiting for her phone to be fixed, except now she occasionally looked through the few pictures of the boys that she had; rather, the one good picture she had with her and Mammon the night of his visit. Elizabeth didn’t cry anymore. She stopped doing that a few days after she had gotten the phone back. She barely ate, she barely moved. There was no reason to. She had no job, the ones she cared about the most were gone without any way to talk to her, and she didn’t have a way of getting to them. Was there a reason to do anything? A reason to live? She didn’t care for anything in this world, not truly. 
Day Twenty-Five
 It took her a few more days to remember the only sign that she had something still connecting her to them. That tug, from before, from weeks ago. It took her a few hours of lying in bed before she actually managed to push herself off and head to where she still had Solomon’s books. As she attempted to read through them, however, hoping for something, anything of use, her vision kept blurring and she felt weak. She sighed, knowing she’d have to take care of herself a little bit if she wanted the strength to just read. Setting the book to the side, she finally headed over to the kitchen. She munched on some food that was still good, tossing away quite a bit that had gone bad before she headed back to her room, pausing for a moment. Finally, she turned to the bathroom, opting to take a shower, a proper shower, and even cleaned up a bit in her room, hoping the bit of movement and change of scenery would help her, if just a bit. Finally, she settled on her bed with the books around her as she skimmed over them. 
Day Twenty-Six
 It had taken her about a day to gleam anything of interest from the book, mostly just stuff about basic magical spells, teleportation, shapeshifting, and several other things. At best, she figured the teleportation would be able to help her, but it heavily warned against teleporting to places the user hadn’t been to before, at risk of injury or death, so she figured it would be a last resort. Instead, she turned to the feeling inside of her. She could still feel the connections to the boys, if only barely, but she didn’t know if that was because of the lost connection, or the ring. She hesitated to take off the ring, however, knowing it wouldn’t feel… pleasant. But… she probably didn’t have much of a choice. 
Day Twenty-Nine
 She knew better than to take off the ring in the condition she was in. That kind of weight on her could break her… more than she was already broken. So, she prepared. Elizabeth forced herself to start eating and drinking again. She had to go out and buy some proper food, but she had regular meals again. She took daily showers until she felt properly clean again, feeling her energy coming back a little more, even if inside she didn’t want to do anything. The simple fact that she had to face was that she couldn’t sit around and hope to be the damsel in distress that her white knights would save. No, she’d have to save herself, and she’d need the strength to save herself. Once she felt more… “normal” again, she packed everything she figured she needed, though she kept it light: her laptop bag filled the laptop in question and Solomon’s books, a few items from the boys, such as the little charm Diavolo got for her, and a somewhat light backpack with a few changes of clothing, just in case it took longer than she thought it would. She didn’t know what to expect, after all. Once she felt she was prepared, she raised her hand, looking at the Ring of Light on her hand for a moment, then she tugged it off of her finger. Just like before, with Lucifer, it wasn’t an immediate effect. It was a slow, gradual feelings of something heavy pressing down on her… like there was an anvil pressing down in her heart, as if her heart wasn’t heavy enough. This time, however, she simply held the ring in her hand, letting the feeling settle over her. It made it hard for her to breathe, hard to think, but she had to power through it. She stumbled a bit and pressed her free hand against the kitchen counter, gasping out for air as she closed her eyes, attempting to sense anything other than the feeling weighing down on her at that moment. It was like trying to wade through sludge water with weights on her ankles. Water that seemed to keep raising, threatening to overtake her. She didn’t know how long she stood there, her legs shaking as she leaned heavily against the counter before she had enough presence of mind to sense anything through the current of sludge in her mind. Slowly, she realized she could sense her connections to the others, at least that’s what she assumed they were. There seemed to be… feelings that weren’t her own connected to her. Sorrow, anger, guilt… it had to be the others, but the feeling was so faint. And try as she might, when she concentrated on one or two particular connections, it didn’t seem to show her any way of reaching its source. At least… all but one. She couldn’t tell who was who between the connections, or who was a pact and who was because of a thread, or covenant, or otherwise, but there seemed to be one connection that… tugged her soul. Like it was trying to pull her somewhere, like its source was somewhere in this world. Her eyes snapped open, and she slipped the ring into a pocket, carefully making sure it was secure, even as she still struggled to breathe. She’d fight through this feeling if only it meant she followed this one lead she had now. Picking up her bags again, having dropped them after taking off the ring, she turned to the front door, only to pause in surprise to see someone she hadn’t expected to see: her mother walking in casually. Elizabeth’s face hardened at the sight of her, her hands tightly gripping the strap of the laptop bag wrapped over her shoulder, “Madre. Mom. What are you doing here?” she asked. She was under enough pressure alone without the ring on and she didn’t have the time to be scared of this… witch. She simply didn’t have enough time to be weak right now. Her mother scowled at her as she crossed her arms, “Am I not allowed in here? I am the reason you get to live here rent free after all.” She complained, the change in her daughter’s demeanor towards her not going unnoticed by her as she eyed Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s face remained unchanged, even as she felt herself wanting to flinch at her mother’s obvious irritated mood. “You never visit unless you want something, or you want to yell at me.” She replied dispassionately. Her mother scoffed and narrowed her eyes, clearly not liking Elizabeth’s attitude. She stepped closer and reached for her daughter’s wrist, roughly grabbing at it, “I’m here because you keep ignoring my phone calls.” She snapped in return, “Where are your ‘lovers’, like Diablo?” she then questioned. Elizabeth bristled a bit, feeling emboldened at the moment. She was still coasting off the courage from deciding to find her own way to the boys so, even with her struggling to breathe and walk, she decided to stand her ground against her mother, rather than cower like she usually did. “His name is Diavolo.” Elizabeth snapped at her mother, making the older woman jump slightly in surprise. Elizabeth had rarely raised her voice at her. “And I’m leaving to go meet them. Not that it matters to you.” Her mother narrowed her eyes, “¿Y, dónde está eso?” (And where is that?) “None of your business. Not anymore.” Elizabeth countered, turning away from her mother, and ripping her wrist out of her grip to head for the door, “Take your damn house and everything else, I’m leaving.” She continued, not wanting to prolong this any longer than she needed. It felt… exhausting without the ring on and she wanted to follow this lead before it felt like it would be too much. Her mother had other plans, however, as she grabbed at Elizabeth again, digging her nails into her daughter’s arm. Elizabeth hissed out and, for a second, she felt panic and fear, knowing what that grip from her mother mean, but than another emotion seemed to… force its way in. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and suddenly turned around and dug her own nails into her mother’s wrist, clenching down hard until her mother finally gave in and released her own grip. Elizabeth forcefully shoved away her mother’s hand, releasing her as well. For a moment, she felt a sudden surge of what felt like pure rage, but she clenched her fists and forced it down, taking a few deep breaths, trying not to let everything pressed down on her at the moment not overwhelm her. She seemed to come to, having felt like she had blacked out for a moment, Elizabeth glanced at her mother who looked at her in shock and… what looked like slight fear on her face. Elizabeth swallowed for a moment before she snapped, “Don’t ever touch me again.” And with that, she turned away again, not wanting to chance anything else happening. Her mother didn’t say anything as Elizabeth walked out of the house and headed right for the car, thankfully. She knew it was probably a bad idea to drive in her current condition, but she wasn’t sure how far away where this source was. She was going to find a way to the boys. She had to find a way to the boys. This lead had to take her somewhere.  
Wait for me to c̶o̷m̶e̷ h̴o̶m̴e̵.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Life before had been… gray. Colorless and boring. Meaningless. With that little app, that little game, she could glimpse, just a little bit into what it would be like to see color. It was a poor glimpse, of course. Some little game that had to be small enough to fit on a phone could never truly replicate a real connection. But she could try. Try to grasp at the little bit of color it offered her, the most basic colors of red, blue, and yellow. Then the unthinkable happened. Colors she didn’t even think were possible found a crack in a triple-fortified, padded w̸a̶l̴l̶ and spilled out to her with a simple Hello. And slowly more colors started to spill out. Each time there was another one that slipped through the wall between them, they brought another pigment with them. They felt comfortable and familiar, like she had always known them, and they had always known her. Like they had already met and moved past the awkward part of first getting to know someone despite the fact that they didn’t really know each other. It felt like each new hue was painting a large picture that she was part of and as a result, she couldn’t see the larger image; the overall p̶i̶c̷t̷u̵r̴e̵ that included everyone. It felt like there was someone painting her canvas, adding a little more life, a little more expression because of a fleeting interest. Or… perhaps it was more appropriate to say it felt like an author kept writing down the chapters of the most interesting parts of her life, adding details to make it entertaining to read. But she should’ve known better. Good things do not l̵͉̈ą̸̓s̸̗̃ẗ̴́͜. The one thing she had left, the one connection she had to them, was shattered. It was reflective how she felt inside: b̵̧͍̙̩̝͂́́͘ŕ̶͇̭͎̗͕̆̆̀̊͑o̶̡͂͜k̶̠̆̚ė̸̦̘̝̳̫̥͊̄͜n̶͇̺͎̐̒͌.................... This wasn’t fair. This isn’t fair! What kind of g̴̖̲̀ö̷̤d̶̡̮̑̏ gives so much hope, only to rip it from their creation’s hands? What kind of being lets someone dip their legs into their happiness, only to seal away the pool before they fully get in? Why don’t I get to be happy!? What have I done to deserve this!? What can I do to deserve happiness? Stop writing my actions! Stop dictating my thoughts!

… I don’t need you to write my happy ending. I will find it myself.