“So, let’s start with this portrait here!” announced Number Two. Melody turned her eyes towards the portrait. It was a rather handsome, but foreboding, looking demon with dark hair, just with a hint of red. He looked somewhat familiar, but Melody couldn’t immediately say why.
“I doubt you even need to introduce HIM, right?” asked Satan, looking mildly surprised, and perhaps a bit dismayed.
“Don’t be so sure, Satan. After all, I’m guessing Melody doesn’t know who this is,” Simeon said, his voice gentle once more, now that he had gotten over his surprise. Melody gave him a grateful smile for stepping in; she had started to feel a bit foolish and insecure.
“Right, so this is a portrait of the great Demon King himself!” explained Number Two, grinning enthusiastically. Ah! That would explain why he looked familiar; that must be Diavolo’s father. Melody glanced surreptitiously towards Diavolo to compare them. Diavolo wasn’t showing any of his demonic traits at the moment, so it was a bit harder, but they had similar enough facial features that Melody could see a resemblance, although the Demon King had a goatee that was quite absent from his son’s face.
“Ah, right, so that’s what he looks like. The last time I saw him was at a ceremony over a thousand years ago,” said Luke. Melody blinked a few times. Although she knew Luke was actually older than her, it was just another shock to hear those words come from what looked like a little boy.
“Yes, I haven’t seen my father in several hundred years myself. He’s slumbering at the bottom of the Devildom now,” agreed Diavolo. “I’d say he isn’t much interested in the world at large these days.” And it looked to Melody as though he was a bit peeved at this fact. At any rate, he didn’t seem pleased about his father’s absence. She couldn’t tell if it was because he missed his father, or if he was just displeased at having to take his father’s place. Perhaps it was both. Since Melody had never known her own father, she didn’t blame him. Curiously, there was no mention of his mother at all. Perhaps her portrait was here somewhere too then.
“That crown there… what is it?” asked Solomon, gesturing to a crown on a display pedestal close to the portrait. “I’m guessing it must belong to the Demon King?”
“Hmm? …Oh, you’re right! I didn’t even notice that crown there,” exclaimed Number Two, floating upwards to get a better look. Melody supposed that it wasn’t easy being so short. The Little D made Luke look tall. “And as for whether it belongs to the Demon King… I think maybe it could?”
“Actually,” disagreed Lucifer, shaking his head, “that belonged to the previous Demon King.” Idly Melody wondered if that was Diavolo’s grandfather, or if he had belonged to another dynasty, but she kept the questions to herself for now.
“Oh, wow! It looks like you’re right, actually! The former Demon King’s inscription is etched into the inside surface!” Number Two had gotten really close to the crown and was busy peering at the inner rim. The crown was discussed a little bit more, but Melody was struggling to pay attention. Trying to fathom how far back it must have been made was making her dizzy, since everyone seemed to casually speak about years in the thousands as if it were nothing. Still, she wasn’t so distracted that she missed when the tour started moving out of the grand hall.
Eventually, they came to a deeper part of the castle. It was darker here, and Melody’s eyes had to adjust a bit. There were a lot of columns in this room, and a high arched ceiling. Stairs led up to a gallery walkway, lined with portraits, but there was a circular section in the middle of the room. Melody looked down, and wished she hadn’t; the fall would be painful if she managed to go over the edge. Awkwardly she shuffled closer to the center.
“It’s nothin’ but paintings in here,” Mammon grumbled. Evidently, he wasn’t much of an art connoisseur. Melody was mildly surprised, as art was often seen as quite valuable, and he was the Avatar of Greed, after all. She wondered if paintings were just too awkward and bulky to catch his interest much.
“Yeah. There are plenty in the House of Lamentation too, but not as much as here,” agreed Satan.
“I haven’t stopped to look at these in quite some time myself.” Diavolo looked around as he spoke, eyes passing over the paintings with the air of someone so familiar with his surroundings that they no longer held much charm. Luke, however, was far more enthusiastic.
“Wow, there’s even a picture of the Celestial Realm here…”
“Ah yes. I believe this was painted around the time that I first met Lucifer,” Diavolo said, suddenly interested in the subject again.
“Hey, let’s not bring that up—” Lucifer started to say, his eyes wide. He looked, frankly, uncomfortable, and Melody wondered what would upset the Avatar of Pride this way. True, she had seen him weary, or angry, but this was an entirely different reaction.
“Oh, what’s the harm in it? The first time I met you, you were simply so divine, so awe-inspiring that you took my breath away. I couldn’t believe such a beautiful, magnificent angel actually existed.” Diavolo said with such enthusiasm that Melody was caught quite off guard. While she had learned already that Lucifer had once been an angel, it was surprising to hear the Prince of the Devildom have such glowing praise for any angel, even one that was now his close adviser. Still, what he said was in line with what Luke had told her previously. For a moment, she wished she could have seen Lucifer this way also, but she wouldn’t tell that to anyone. “And then there was the way you refused to shake my hand at first.” It sounded like a negative experience, but Diavolo was laughing about it.
“Why do you sound so happy right now…?” asked Lucifer, his expression both baffled and worried. Melody secretly agreed with him; Diavolo’s reaction to the memory made so little sense.
“He wouldn’t even shake your hand…? Wow, that’d be unthinkable now,” asked Satan, clearly surprised at this little conversation.
“All this walking around is making me hungry,” Beel interrupted them to say. Melody started fishing in her pocket for a snack bar she had secreted away. Handing it to Beel, she smiled as he took it, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. Within seconds, it was gone. True, it wasn’t much, but he seemed grateful for the attempt to help him. Wondering if it would be enough, Melody was about to find another one, when a loud, piercing scream interrupted her. Startled, she yanked her hands back out of her pockets and clasped them together.
“Wh-What was that…?!” asked Luke, also upset by the sound.
“It sounded like a woman screaming…?” Simeon didn’t seem completely sure, but he also looked shaken. Almost everyone seemed startled by this, exchanging uncomfortable murmurs and questions surrounding the mysterious scream.
“Wait a minute. I feel like I’ve heard a scream like that somewhere before…” mused Asmodeus, his expression more thoughtful than confused. When he spoke up, however, the scream turned from a singular sound into actual words.
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“How could you… HOW COULD YOU…?!” Anger and indignation were clear in the voice. It hadn’t been a scream of fear, but of rage. “Asmodeus… this is all your fault! All of it, YOUR FAULT…!” Still, Melody had no idea where the scream was coming from.
“Is that portrait talking?” asked Solomon, pointing a finger in the direction of one of the pictures lining the wall. On it was a beautiful woman with soft hair of reddish gold. Although the image itself was still, frozen in an eternal smile, there was a glimmer around the eyes that was malevolent. Melody shivered.
“Bingo! Yes, you’re exactly right!” chirped Number Two, pushing forward towards the painting.
“That’s a portrait of Helene. She was a witch,” supplied Lucifer calmly.
“Helene…? Hmm, Helene… why does that name sound familiar…?” Asmodeus murmured to himself, putting a finger cutely up against his cheek. Then he smiled. “Ah yes!” Melody could imagine a light bulb turning on over his head. “Yes, of course! Helene! I remember now!”
“So what’s going on here, anyway?” asked Mammon.
“Ooh! I can answer that question!” Number Two certainly seemed eager to please, or at least show off his wealth of information. His less-than-human features made it hard for Melody to truly get a read on his expression. He launched into a long tale about how Helene was a witch that usually did the seducing, but ended up being seduced by Asmodeus, which didn’t go over well with her current lover. This resulted in a terrible war and the destruction of Helene’s reputation as well as the loss of many lives. It sounded suspiciously familiar to another tale Melody had heard while growing up. Minus the witch and demon parts.
“So you’re saying all this happened because Asmodeus fooled around with some woman long ago?” asked Satan, sighing. He didn’t look at all impressed with the information, or Asmodeus’ part in it all. Melody felt awkward hearing it said so bluntly, but Satan didn’t seem aware of this. Or perhaps he didn’t care.
“’One of Asmodeus’ ex-girlfriends just showed up! OMG!’ And… sent!” Levi said with a laugh, reading out his text as he was typing it.
“Leviathan, you know you sound like a teenage girl, right?” Luke protested, shaking his head. Melody held up her hand.
“Even as a teenage girl, I wouldn’t have sent something like that,” she pointed out meekly, giving Levi an apologetic smile.
“Ahaha! Now wait a minute, everyone. We’re talking about something that happened hundreds of years ago!” Asmodeus said, as though the entire story was nothing more than a garden variety failed romance, rather than something violent and tragic. Melody hoped this was just demon humor, or just an Asmodeus thing, and not an indication of how most demons took to romance. Then again, she hadn’t heard much of anyone’s romantic endeavors except for Asmo, and, she wasn’t sure if just wanting to have a lot of sex could be considered romantic or not. “But regardless… Helene, I never expected to run into you here of all places! I mean, what are the chances?!” Asmodeus laughed to himself, then realized how much time had actually passed. “Wow, it’s been so long! So, whacha up to these days, hm?”
It seemed an odd question to Melody, and the little bit of humor she had in the back of her mind just thought the answer should be something like, ‘Oh, you know, just hanging around’ since Helene was currently in a portrait hanging on the wall. But then she chastised herself for even thinking such an insensitive thought; she knows she wouldn’t want to be stuck in a picture.
“Wow, it’s almost like he’s still trying to flirt…” Solomon grumbled, looking both as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and that he had heard similar things from Asmodeus far too often. Either way, he wasn’t impressed at Asmo’s one-track mind.
“Well, isn’t that nice, running into an old friend again like this.” Diavolo’s smile as he spoke made Melody blink a few times. What he said should have been sarcastic, given the circumstance, yet nothing on his face or in his voice indicated he was anything less than sincere. How could he run a kingdom and still think that things were friendly between the screaming woman from the portrait and Asmo? Then again, he had been so quick to call her a friend the first day she arrived. It had shocked her then too, but, now she wondered if the throne wasn’t the best place from which to make friends, and his view of friendships were skewed because of that.
“It doesn’t seem like she considers herself an old friend,” objected Lucifer. Melody was a bit relieved that he said as much because she wouldn’t have dared.
“…After what happened, I incurred the wrath of the nephew of my former lover, who was a sorcerer. He sealed me inside this painting,” Helene explained, her tone venomous despite the inescapable smile of her portrait. Instead of reacting with any sort of sympathy, or empathy, Asmodeus was too busy talking about how handsome the relatives of the sorcerer were, and how long it had been since he had seen any of them. Then he chastised Helene for not coming to him for help and being stubborn. Melody took a few steps back; this wasn’t going to end well, she was sure of it. How could Helene have asked for his help while trapped in a portrait?
“…Silence!” Even the single enraged word only got more nostalgic words and giggles from Asmodeus. Melody had to stop herself from physically face-palming. He seemed so completely unaware of the woman’s anger, and she called him on it in a most unflattering way. She waxed fairly loquacious over how much she now despised him, and never once did he drop the smile on his face. He even managed to ‘misinterpret’ her words as a sign that she missed him. Melody wondered if he needed to get his ears checked.
“Maaan, she’s not gettin’ through to him AT ALL!” mumbled Mammon with a sigh of exasperation. Usually, he was the one being called an idiot, but even he could see that this was going nowhere fast.
“I may be imprisoned inside this portrait, but I haven’t lost all my power. Oh no… In fact, I still have power enough to capture you, as you’re about to see…!” The witch’s threat made Melody stop in place. She glanced around at the people she was with. Most of them had shown to be powerful in their own rights, though she couldn’t be sure about the two angels, or Number Two.
“Oh dear! Everyone be careful now, mmkay?” cautioned Number Two, stepping as far away from the portrait as his stubby little legs could take him and hiding behind a pillar. “Because it just so happens that Helene’s portrait is known to drag those who look at it inside the painting itself!”
Melody almost screamed. Why was he just telling them this NOW of all times? Slowly she started to inch away again, thinking Number Two had the right idea in hiding behind something solid. Almost as if the warning set things in motion, the room began to tremble. Mammon was sliding towards the painting now, his expression going from confusion to panic.
“D’AAAAAAAH, I’M BEIN’ DRAGGED IN! WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHIN’ EARLIER?!” he shouted in the direction that Number Two had been, saying what was pretty much in Melody’s mind. She tried to hunker down and stop the movement, but she could feel herself being drawn in the same way. She had started much further back, but she was also much weaker than the demons. Mammon grabbed onto Levi, and the Avatar of Envy was already texting about it, narrating it as he was being pulled in. “Whaddya expect?! You were the closest thing for me to grab! Now c’mon, Levi! Dig in! We’re losing ground here!”
“You know I sit inside all day every day! I’m not strong enough for this!” countered Levi as both of them continued to slide across the floor. Even if what Levi was saying was true, he was still stronger than Melody; she had no hope of escaping this, unless the portrait was content once it got Asmo. Perhaps, if he got dragged in before her, she would be spared. Not that she wished such a fate even on him, but she knew she had no magic or powers to help her if she did get trapped. However, there was more than just the second and third born between Asmo and the painting. Beel and Solomon were being pulled in now too.
“Hey, Solomon? Why are you holding onto my arm?” asked Asmo, who had been pretty calm up to this point. Usually, he didn’t seem to mind being touched, and actively sought it out, but as soon as Solomon had grabbed him, the power pulling him in doubled, and he didn’t seem to like that one bit.
“Because when it comes down to it, this is all your fault. So if I’m going in, so are you,” Solomon explained calmly, despite the glare he was sending Asmodeus’ way.
“Well then, in that case, I’m pulling in Melody along with us!” Asmo said with a big smile on his face. His slender hand curled around Melody’s wrist, and at that moment, she knew it was over for her. Despite his appearances, he definitely was strong enough she couldn’t break free, especially not with the painting pulling at them all. And, she couldn’t quite figure out how Solomon yanking Asmo into the picture equated with Asmo pulling her in. She had barely spoken to Solomon the entire exchange this far, except that little bit in the first few days when she barely knew anyone. Was it simply because they were both human?
But Melody didn’t have time to think about it. Soon the world was so blurry she couldn’t focus on anything at all. Shutting her eyes tight to avoid becoming nauseated, she felt herself being pulled along and then suddenly she lost consciousness.