With a lull in the conversation, Asmo turned his eyes back to Melody, who looked like she was trying to disappear from the world by will alone. Not a wise idea around demons, who are predatory by nature, even when there wasn’t any malice involved. Although she didn’t verbalize it, Melody agreed with Levi. She was pretty sure she hadn’t won him over at all; in fact, it felt more like he had bullied her into doing something she really didn’t want to, and applied pressure on Mammon, who then applied double pressure on her. She just wasn’t built for this sort of thing, and the fact that everyone else seemed to be laughing at her expense made it very hard to sit there among them. But Asmo wasn’t going to let her just sit in peace.

“You know, the way things are going, the rest of us might just find ourselves in a pact with Melody as well, if we’re not careful.” He looked far too happy saying that, and Melody could only guess he was teasing her, not believing for a moment that she had any chance of making pacts with the rest. Not that she wanted to. “If you had your choice, which one of us would you forge a pact with next, Melody?” Melody’s tummy lurched, and she suspected another meal of hers would end up Beel’s property. Even so, she felt she couldn’t just ignore when someone asked her such a direct question.

“I…I didn’t want to make pacts with anyone to begin with,” she said miserably. “I was just under a lot of pressure.” This seemed to delight, or at least amuse, the Avatar of Lust.

“Good girl,” he said. “Because the rest of us won’t be easy to tame.”

“Tame?” Melody blinked. That seemed even worse, as though he thought she viewed them as creatures more than people. She could feel her hands shaking beneath the table.

“In fact, it would have been quite offensive if you thought we were as stupid as that poor excuse of a demon,” Asmodeus said. Melody couldn’t tell if he was saying this to insult her, or Mammon, or just enjoying the double-feature. She could feel the familiar sting in the corner of her eyes; at this rate she would be a bawling mess. But, before she had time to actually have a breakdown, there was a flurry of white hair and black uniform racing across the room. Mammon smacked Asmo upside the back of his head. Asmo’s expression was immediately cross, and he made a series of chiding sounds at Mammon.

“OW! Why’d you hit me?! I can’t believe you actually STRUCK my beautiful, beautiful head!” It was probably the angriest Melody had seen Asmodeus so far, and it only made her more anxious. “Not even Lucifer has ever done something like that! Why are you always getting so VIOLENT with me, Mammon?” He was now sounding more hurt, playing the victim. And while Melody didn’t believe in smacking people just because they insulted her, she couldn’t claim that Mammon wasn’t provoked in this case.

“That was for callin’ me a poor excuse for a demon, you peabrain! Actually, I oughta hit all of ya, the way you talk about me. Y’all think you’re so great.” Despite not being a morning Demon, Mammon was definitely lively right now, fueled by anger. Or was it shame? Melody couldn’t tell.

“It’s not that we think we’re so great.” Satan put in his two cents.

“No, not at all. We just think you’re a complete and utter fool.” Asmodeus completed Satan’s thought fairly fluidly. Melody got the impression a lot of conversations happened that way. In fact, she remembered them talking back and forth when she first arrived.

“HEY, that’s even worse! Don’t treat me like I’m stupid!” Mammon was really not having a good morning. Melody just looked awkwardly at her plate. She felt a bit bad for him; he hadn’t enjoyed last night’s transaction any more than she had, she could only guess. And to have everyone mocking him first thing in the morning, it would be hard to stomach. But, she was feeling far too anxious to say anything, and she hated how afraid she was. She should do what’s right, but all she could do was stop herself from being sick. It was too much of a reminder how her own siblings viewed her. Not necessarily as scum, but definitely not worth any amount of respect or consideration.

“Oh, I’m afraid that’s one thing that’s not going to change,” Satan said, continuing his back and forth with Asmodeus.

“Nope,” Asmodeus added, backing up Satan’s words.

“Mm, this right here is delicious, too…” At this point Melody had already pushed her plate towards Beel, and his commentary was at least a brief respite from all the insults. He might only be talking about food, but at least he was being positive.

“Serves you right, Mammon! Lololol” Even though Leviathan was laughing, he actually spoke the last bit. Obviously he spent far too much time on computers, but Melody wasn’t too concerned about that right now. What did it matter how he spent his time; it was his attitude that bothered her. The gloating felt, petty. He had gotten what he wanted, but was still rubbing it in.

“I hate every last one of you. None of this would’ve happened to begin with if it weren’t for that bastard Lucifer! It’s all because he took my credit card from me! Just snatched Goldie away— kidnapped her against her will!” With Mammon’s tolerence level reaching its limit, he was shifting blame, a tactic Melody was uncomfortable with because it hit too close to home. As the vulnerable youngest, she would shift blame on her siblings, until she realized it backfired more often than not. Her anxiety was increasing, not decreasing.

“Ugh, don’t talk about your credit card like it’s a person. It’s gross.” Levi shook his head.

“Mmhm, it really is…” Asmo made a small sound of disgust as he agreed with Levi.

“SHUT UP, both of ya!” Then Mammon laughed, pushing his anger into another diversion. “Also, I can’t believe that when he said he froze it, he meant that LITERALLY! Who sticks a credit card in the freezer?! What’s up with that?! What it supposed to be some sorta dad joke?! ‘Cause if so, it was awfully lame!”

Despite his obvious fear of Lucifer, Mammon was now turning around and ridiculing him, probably to take the heat of embarrassment off of himself. While Melody could understand wanting to shove it off onto someone else, she doubted that his new target was a wise choice. Especially since the demon himself had appeared in the doorway, but from where Mammon was standing, he couldn’t see his older brother. Melody tried to say something, but her voice stuck in her throat.

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“Eh, guess maybe I shoulda expected somethin’ like that from him. I mean, he may not be a dad, but he’s pretty old, isn’t he? Guess I shouldn’t be surprised he’s a fan of dad jokes.” Mammon laughed again, trying to bolster himself against the verbal onslaught of his brothers. But, as Melody had learned with her own family experiences, this was going to backfire. From behind Mammon, Lucifer’s deep voice rang out with a laughter that had subtle undertones of mocking and a dark satisfaction at catching Mammon at just the right, or wrong, moment. Hearing the voice, Mammon jumped, letting out a loud exclamation. With cold precision, Lucifer reached out and hit Mammon. Hard.

“…Ow! Hey, what’s the big idea?! You didn’t have to hit me THAT hard!” It had been harder than Mammon had hit Asmodeus; as far as Melody could tell, this was just escalating things. Satan and Asmo both got a few more verbal shots in, while Mammon grumbled about it. But Melody was barely paying attention anymore. Lucifer fixed his dark eyes on her, and she couldn’t look away, even if she desperately wanted to.

“I heard about what happened, Melody. Apparently you outfoxed a certain dimwit of a demon, and forged a pact with him.”

“Who’re you callin’ a dimwit?!” Mammon interjected.

“Your opponent may have been stupid, but even so, you’ve only just arrived. It’s a real accomplishment managing a feat like that in such a short span of time. Well done.” Despite being praised…sort of…Melody only felt a flicker of pride before she was overwhelmed with how bad she felt about the whole thing. “I imagine Diavolo will be pleased as well. We continue to expect big things from you.”

That was the last thing Melody wanted to hear. She wasn’t up for the task of ‘big things’. She could barely stomach having one pact. And she didn’t like pressure; she never had. Again she was ashamed of how fast she gave in last night. Why wasn’t she able to stand up for herself, or for others? Mammon seemed to be at his limit too; his face had gone red, and it was like her internal shame was mirrored on his face. And she truly felt bad for him.

“…Hey, human! C’mon, time to get going. Don’t just sit there with your head in the clouds. It’s time for class! So, let’s go!” While Melody’s head was the opposite of being in the clouds, she couldn’t get up out of her seat fast enough to follow Mammon. Anything to get out from under the stare of all the other demons. She didn’t know if it was the pact, or just her level of empathy, but Mammon’s humiliation felt like her own. Quietly she followed after him, moving as fast as she could to keep up with his hurried strides. As he walked, Mammon ranted, and Melody didn’t get most of the beginning, but then he switched focus to her specifically.

“Anyway, ever since you got here, human, it’s been nothin’ but one bad thing after another for me.” Again, he was shifting blame, finding anyone else to pin his misery on but himself. While Melody could sympathize with this, she couldn’t help but think that finding a scape goat wouldn’t actually solve anything. And, surely he remembered how much she had resisted making the pact? Or, maybe it didn’t seem that way from his perspective. “So, let’s get somethin’ straight. I didn’t make this pact ‘cause I wanted to, and I ain’t happy about it! Everything I did, I did for my credit card— for my baby Goldie! If you end up gettin’ yourself eaten by some demon here at RAD, don’t blame me, ‘cause I don’t give a damn. You got that?! Don’t go thinkin’ you’re all great and stuff just ‘cause you managed to make some stupid pact, human!”

Melody was already to her breaking point, and she felt like all of these negative feelings were just a huge mess. She was used to being at the bottom of the rung; all the trickle down stress and frustration from her older siblings had always found their way to her, and now she was dealing with the same thing, but these were not her brothers. It almost felt like it was her fate, something inevitable that she couldn’t escape no matter what she did.

“My name is Melody,” she said, her voice miserable. It wasn’t ‘Squirt’ or ‘Shrimp’ or ‘Baby’. It certainly wasn’t ‘human’ or ‘normie.’ She thought it was a pretty name; why did so many people think it was okay to call her something else?

“Shut your mouth! I’ll call you what I damn well please! You don’t deserve to have me call you by your real name, human!” Mammon’s anger was in full force. He had been looking for somewhere to dump all the baggage his siblings heaped on his head, and when that outlet suddenly spoke back to him, he took it as a sign of defiance, even though Melody sounded more like a puppy that was left out in the rain than any kind of serious threat. “You’re nothing but a lowly human. Don’t think you can go givin’ orders to ME! ‘Cause I’ll eat ya, I swear! Startin’ from the head and workin’ my way down! Is that what ya want?!”

By this point Melody was staring at him, her eyes gone wide as saucers. She hadn’t expected such a reaction to her simply stating her name. Her insides felt like they were solidifying and her chest felt tight. She couldn’t tell how much was bluster, and how much was serious intent, and her head was swimming as she struggled to sort out the difference. Was she actually in trouble now? Could her life be ending in this stairwell, alone, far from home? She felt a tugging in her mind, as power whispered in her ear. She could stop Mammon, she could do it! But, she didn’t want to. She was still ashamed of making that pact, and if he was that angry about it, perhaps she deserved that anger?

“Eh? What’s wrong? Am I that intimidating? Do I frighten you?” Despite being called a pitiful excuse for a demon, Mammon was definitely still a demon, and that predatory side of him preened at the fear he sensed from Melody. After being demeaned so thoroughly on all sides, having someone cringe fulfilled a part of him. But that wasn’t the only side there was to him: a greedy demon who wanted more, always more. “Then listen… If you stop talkin’ back and just do what I tell ya, then things won’t be so bad for— “ Mammon had been leaning forward, just to get a better look at the fear that demons found so enchanting. But what he saw wasn’t just fear, it was resignation. No, not even resignation. Acceptance. It struck him that she could use the pact, but she didn’t. She had met the anger in his eyes, and, unable to be more afraid, simply let go. In that look, he saw someone who had not only given up, but come to the conclusion that it was proper to do so. Mammon stepped back, hands dropping to his sides. He had a very undemon like thought: this wasn’t right.

“Huma…er…Melody, listen. You’re lucky it was just me gettin’ mad at ya right now,” he said, forcing himself to calm down. Now that he thought of it, Melody had never jumped into the insults and taken her shots at him. She’d always been polite, even grateful. He had to agree with his brothers at that moment; he was acting pretty scummy to take out his problems on her, just because she was weaker. He’d been taking so much for so long, it was hard not to push all that negativity onto someone else, but he should have known better. None of this was Melody’s fault. Even so, he couldn’t just take it all back. “Other demons would’ve already eaten ya, but The Great Mammon is lettin’ ya off the hook this time.” It was sheer bravado, but he didn’t know how else to deal with this situation.

Slowly Melody forced her breathing under control. Even though Mammon was still talking big, she saw the concern behind his eyes. The angry tone was gone, and it was just empty bluster, like the wind in a hot air balloon, making him look bigger than he was. She could be mistaken, but even if she was, at least she wasn’t being eaten, or otherwise killed. Slowly the lump in her throat, and in the pit of her stomach, started to dissolve. Carefully she pulled herself back into a proper standing position, instead of being hunched over, bracing herself for a blow.

“I get it; we demons are pretty scary, so just take a few minutes to get yourself settled. Then we’ll go to school, got it?” Gratefully, Melody nodded her head, taking in deep breaths to relax herself.