“We have decided who will take care of you, so on to the next subject: your tasks.” Lucifer seemed pleased that the matter was finally resolved.

“What exactly is it I’m expected to do?” Melody felt her shoulders slump in defeat. She hadn’t really had much choice up till now. Even the question of who would look after her was decided without her input. Not that she would have had anyone else to suggest. The other brothers present had already made it clear they either couldn’t be bothered or couldn’t be trusted. Actually, when she stopped to think about it, none of them suggested Satan, so he hadn’t felt a need to refuse. Melody wondered what the implication of that was…and whether she should be concerned.

“Good question… Your task is to polish up your soul nicely and to acquire the power to resist demons.” Lucifer’s explanation was less than helpful. While Melody didn’t disbelieve in the concept of a soul, she certainly never thought it was something that one could ‘polish up’.

“Wait, you want me to be able to resist demons…wouldn’t that be counter productive to you?” Her last words were rather uncertain, and she almost mumbled them out.

“Demons like humans with nice souls. Let me put it another way. Nice souls look like shiny jewels. Do you understand now?”

Nope. Lucifer’s explanations were still not terribly helpful. Or, rather, they just gave Melody more questions that she was afraid to ask. Could they see her soul right now? What did it look like to them? She felt exposed, but she wouldn’t even know how to cover herself up. At least he didn’t say her soul looked like a buffet.

“Demons will use their wisdom and abilities to tempt the humans so they can get their hands on their souls.”

Again, Melody wondered if her soul was a physical thing, and if so, where was it? Doctors certainly hadn’t found one in the human anatomy as far as she knew. And how much would she have to ‘shine’ her soul up? How shiny was it already? She had no way to gauge the condition of her own soul, yet somehow these strangers could. This was all a bit too existential for her liking. As much as she had liked to think about such things in the past, the moment the answers mattered, it was a terrifying prospect.

“Other demons at RAD also have tasks assigned to them just like you. In other words, either humans will be tempted by demons, or demons will lose against the shiny and noble soul of a human and make a run for it. You could say it is an experiment to find out who will win.”

Melody didn’t like the thought of being used as a guinea pig, and she didn’t like her odds. There was nothing particularly noble about her. She thought of herself as a basically good person, but nothing special. And what happened if she lost to these demons?

“If I lose…what then?” She couldn’t keep the tremble out of her voice. Stories of demons gobbling up the souls of the unwary flittered through her mind.

“There is no penalty set. Would you like me to think of one?” Lucifer had been smiling at her discomfort, but then he dropped into a neutral expression. “There, there, don’t give me that look. Don’t take it so seriously. You won’t have to do those tasks on your own. After all, you don’t have any magic in you unlike the other exchange student from the human world… so my brothers and I will lend our power to you and you alone.”

Melody had almost forgotten there was another human exchange student; she wondered what they were like. Obviously they had some kind of magic, as Lucifer stated. That was a bit of an uncomfortable notion. While there were witches in her family, she hadn’t inherited that gift, and it had always created a bit of a distance between her and the other members. Still, she hoped her fellow human was strong enough to do everything on their own. And, even if the other student had magic, and Melody had help, there were only the two of them against all the other demons in the Devildom, and she had no idea what sort of population it boasted.

“To see is to believe, so why don’t you go ahead and give those tasks a try, Melody?” At least Lucifer was using her name now. That was a step in the right direction. Melody turned her attention back to the DDD. Luckily for her, there was a tutorial of sorts set up that explained things. But, standing around fiddling with her device with so many pairs of expectant eyes on her was a little much, and she wavered on her feet. Her mind was quickly becoming overloaded, and her body was too. Knees buckling beneath her, she fell to the floor. It hurt, but she was more stunned than damaged.

“Oi! I think this human’s broken, better send her back,” Mammon said, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Lucifer shot Mammon a glance that would have slain the Avatar of Greed on the spot if looks could kill. Since they couldn’t, Mammon merely broke out in a sweat and quickly turned away. But whatever punishment Lucifer had in mind would have to come later; he was too busy extending a gloved hand towards Melody to help her up, the gesture stiff and polite, yet the hand itself pulled with an oddly gentle strength. Just as Lucifer was helping her up, Diavolo had brought over a chair, which a much shaken, and very grateful, Melody sat in.

“I’m sorry; I’m not sure what came over me,” she managed to stammer out. “But, thank you for the chair.” Her eyes were focused so intently on the screen of the DDD that she didn’t see any of the looks exchanged by the demons.

“Think nothing of it.” Diavolo’s rumbling voice was somewhat soothing. “We should have been better hosts.” Sometimes it was easy to forget how fragile humans could be. “Take a few moments to collect yourself, then try the first task. It’s important.” While his tone had a firmness behind it, it was generally friendly, aiming to put Melody a little more at ease. It worked, to some small degree. With the firm, high back of the chair keeping her in place, Melody turned back to the task.

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Going through the apps until she found the right one, Melody was surprised to find the nature of it. The app was arranged like a mix between a card collecting and a matching puzzle game with some level of strategy involved, combining the strengths of the brothers against situations that their abilities called for. While much of it was color coded, certain key words linking back to the sin of each avatar gave clues as to the best method of doing each task. Solving the puzzles quicker made the cards stronger, or helped her obtain new ones. Initially it seemed much like any other app Melody had played, but a certain frisson that ran across her scalp when she did well, and a lurching feeling in the pit of her stomach when she did poorly, made it easier to believe there was some mystical connection between the game and the realm she was in: a rather wondrous combination of the technological and the supernatural. Melody wasn’t sure how much of the game was merely aesthetic, and how much had meaning, but it was interesting.

Looking back up, she noticed most of the demons had turned away and struck up conversations with each other; only Diavolo and Lucifer were paying her any attention. This made things a little easier. Diavolo looked curious and excited, while Lucifer fixed her with a rather scrutinizing gaze. The latter was definitely less than comforting.

“How did you find it?” asked Diavolo, almost eagerly.

“It was…interesting,” Melody said cautiously, but honestly. “I mean, as an app it was fun and the rules were easy to follow, but I suspect it will get more difficult as I progress.” She wasn’t sure if she should mention the strange sensations or not. “I think whoever designed it thought it through carefully though.”

“Astute of you,” Lucifer said. “It will, indeed, it more difficult. But you wouldn’t learn anything otherwise.” He folded his arms across his chest. “With that, my explanation has come to a close. But, to sum it up for you… You will be an exchange student here at RAD for one year, and you must do your tasks. Your tasks consist mainly of solving the puzzles against other demons, using the information you get from your various classes, which are part of your tasks. Since you have no magic power, we will lend you a hand. If you want to use our power, you will have to use special cards. You can summon those cards through the app called Nightmare. And when your exchange period comes to an end, you are to submit a paper about your stay here in the Devildom. It’s as easy as pie, don’t you think?”

“I wanna make one thing clear right now: Don’t blame me if someone gets eaten, ‘cause ain’t my fault,” said Mammon before Melody could answer, assuming the question wasn’t simply rhetorical.

“Lucifer, I’m hungry.” Beelzebub was nothing if not consistent as far as Melody could tell. In fact, she couldn’t get a read on him at all except that he was one hungry fellow. The gurgling growl of his stomach only proved his words.

“That’s too bad. Now, behave yourself.” Lucifer seemed rather worn out; Melody could only imagine that he had heard such a complaint countless times before. She wasn’t sure if she felt more bad for Lucifer, or for Beelzebub. She surprised herself for managing to feel bad for either one. They were already on familiar grounds, while she wasn’t. If anything, they should feel bad for her, not the other way around. But, if they truly were demons, she couldn’t expect that from them. So she just looked at her feet, not sure what to say.

“Melody, from now on you will be living in the House of Lamentation. You’ll be staying there with Lucifer and his six younger brothers.” Listening to Diavolo talk, Melody briefly wondered if she could connect each of them with one of the seven dwarfs, but she highly doubted it. “Humans, angels, demons, I imagine a universe where each accepts the other. Where we are brought together as friends. This is my dream, and I’m asking you to be the foundation for it. One year, that’s what I ask of you. Good luck, Melody.”

Diavolo’s words struck a chord with Melody, and all the talk of friends earlier in the meeting finally made some sense. She blinked a few times, then smiled slightly. If she took him at his word, it was a beautiful dream. Yet, at the same time, it felt oddly naive coming from a demon. Humans could barely keep themselves from falling apart as it was. Nations were divided. People often struggled to make friends with their neighbors, let alone people that were vastly different. Perhaps demons had fewer differences among themselves. Or, perhaps, they were so used to being seen as the worst inhabitants of the three worlds that they assumed humans weren’t terrible people. It was hard to tell, really. But Diavolo seemed so open and hopeful, she hated to throw cold water on his idea. What made Melody feel worse was the fact that she was not the kind of person that was used to carrying such a burden of expectation. The whole thing gave her goosebumps.

She didn’t have much time to think about it any further. Already Mammon was eager to get going. Since the matter was decided, none of the other brothers stepped in to tell him to slow down. They just watched as he hustled Melody out of there before she could even say good bye. Once they were alone, she meekly trotted after him, not wanting to run the risk of being left behind. When they made it outside, it was even harder to keep thinking it was a dream or a prank. The moon looked far too large, and the scenery, while not completely fantastical, had enough elements that wouldn’t be found in an earthly setting. Mammon was not a comforting figure, but she at least knew his name and face now, and would rather deal with the devil she knew…

“…Ugh, I don’t believe this. Of all the rotten luck… Why should I have to look after some human? It’s insulting, that’s what it is! That rotten bastard… Does he really think he can scare me into doin’ whatever he wants?” Mammon was loud about his protests, but he wasn’t really looking at Melody, so she wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself, or to her. “Just so we’re clear…it’s not like I can’t say no to Lucifer, okay?!” That was definitely directed at her. “I only agreed to babysit you because, um… Well you know, because…uh…” Mammon was clearly floundering, and Melody didn’t know what to say to make him stop. She feared anything she said would make it worse, so she just listened. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter! Just don’t go thinking that I’m scared of Lucifer or anything! Because I’m not!” Mammon was protesting far too strenuously for Melody to fully believe him. But, she couldn’t tell if he was lying to her, or lying to himself so well that he believed he was telling her the truth. It really didn’t matter, she wasn’t going to try to argue the point with him. Then, he looked at her expectantly, so she had to say something.

“Well, I don’t see why you would be,” Melody said, her voice falling a little flat. She wasn’t one to talk; she was afraid of her older siblings. But she wasn’t the second born; she was the sixth. And if her older siblings were afraid of each other, none of them would ever admit it to her.

“…Oh. Okay then, as long as we’ve got that straight.” Melody was relieved that Mammon didn’t suspect she was just trying to keep things peaceful. “…Ugh, whatever. Let’s move on.” Mammon tromped off, leaving Melody to patter behind him as quick as her legs could carry her.