“…Looks like we managed to lose it somehow,” said Asmo with a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, but what’re we s’posed to do now, huh?” countered Mammon. “You expect us to hide here forever?”
There was some bickering back and forth between Beel and Mammon about whose fault it was the snake had come after them, but Melody wasn’t paying much attention; she was still trying to catch her breath and stop herself from trembling too hard. Levi chipped in, mentioning the snake had been his pet, lovingly named Henry, at some point. And though there was some bravado about killing the snake, she doubted it would be so easy, or they wouldn’t have all been running in terror to begin with. However, despite being hunted down like common prey by the snake, Levi seemed overjoyed that he was still alive, much to the chagrin of his brothers. He had even snapped a selfie as he was running away, which he showed proudly to everyone who would look. Melody had to admit, it was a good picture, even if she doubted the wisdom of taking it in the first place.
“If he used to be your pet, do you think there’s some way to pacify him?” asked Solomon, getting back to the problem at hand. Levi answered in the negative. Beel proposed hunting the snake down and eating it, but Levi wouldn’t hear of it. Nor would he hear of sacrificing Mammon to the snake to let others get away, averring that Mammon would give his former pet a stomach ache. She certainly hoped it was just more sibling squabbling; she really didn’t want to believe that any of them would let one of their brothers get eaten by a giant snake if they could help it. She completely agreed with Mammon that they were being rude, however, she didn’t even have the energy to protest this. She feared she would collapse at any moment.
“Are you thinking of using Asmo to mesmerize the snake?” asked Beel, bluntly cutting through the arguments. Beel was fairly reliable that way; he didn’t devolve into the petty bickering quite so much as his brothers did. She gave him a weary, but grateful, smile.
“Exactly. We should make use of Asmodeus’ natural charm. If he can manage to tame Henry and win him over, then maybe he’d be willing to show us the way out of the labyrinth,” Solomon said, acknowledging that Beel had guessed correctly.
“Ah, okay… yes. Well, I suppose I could do that,” Asmo agreed, though he still didn’t look terribly enthused about becoming a snake charmer. However, it didn’t take long for his self-adoration to overcome that issue. “You know, it really should be illegal to be so stunningly beautiful that you can even charm a snake. I’m so attractive sometimes I scare even myself.”
“…Yikes.” Beel’s single word wasn’t sarcastic, and he wasn’t looking at Asmo.
“Ah, so you find it scary too, Beel? I mean, I’m not surprised,” giggled the Avatar of Lust.
“No, I said that because I think he just spotted us. … Henry, I mean,” corrected Beelzebub, pointing at the snake, which had started to come towards them.
“Right! I’ll begin by using my magic to amplify Asmodeus’ powers. Then Asmo, you mesmerize Henry. The amplification process is going to take a bit of time. So, Mammon, you distract Henry in the meantime.”
“No way!” protested Mammon.
“Then you leave me no choice…” said Solomon with a frown. With such casual indifference that no one suspected what he was going to do until it was done, he pushed Melody away from the wall she had been leaning on. Surprised, and exhausted, she stumbled into the corridor, scraping one of her knees on the rough floor. Cursing to himself, Mammon had little choice but to go after her; he had promised himself he wouldn’t let her down again. Offering her a hand up, he pulled her along with him, giving Melody the best smile of encouragement he could muster considering the circumstances. After being treated so callously, Melody couldn’t help but let the tears well up in her eyes; it was so strange that it was her fellow human who acted against her this way with such calculated deliberation. When the demons had attacked her, it had always been from a place of anger and misunderstanding, but there was no mistaking his intentions.
“Okay, Asmo, I take it you’re ready?” Solomon’s voice already sounded distant behind Melody and Mammon.
“Yep, go right ahead,” agreed Asmo.
“WHATEVER! JUST DO IT ALREADY! Melody can barely keep going as it is!”
“…Denizens of the darkness, awaken! You who are born of shadow, hear me! I am the one called Solomon. I call upon you now to lend your power to Asmodeus, Avatar of Lust.” Solomon’s voice was like thunder in the corridors as he invoked the powers of his pact, channeling his own magic into Asmodeus.
“Ooh yes, I LIKE this! I’m SO turned on right now!” It wasn’t what Melody wanted to hear, as she was scrambling for her life, but she could feel the echo in his voice, giving it a weight that it rarely possessed. Calmly he stepped out into the path of the snake, tendrils of power shimmering in a network of power behind him.
“That’s right, Henry. Look me in the eyes. … Yes, that’s a good boy.” The snake stopped, frozen in place, eyes locked on Asmo. Melody couldn’t force herself to move another step, and slumped heavily against Mammon, who put an arm around her to hold her upright, feeling her fragile human heart beating so hard in her chest he was afraid it would burst. On the other side, he saw both Levi and Beel stare in wonder at the scene unfolding before them. “...What’s that now? …Well, how about that. He says he’ll show us the way out of the labyrinth!”
“Nice job, Asmo!” cheered Solomon.
“Well, really, did you expect anything less of me?” questioned Asmo, fanning himself. At that point, with the crisis averted, Melody passed out completely.
The next thing she was aware of was the cool feeling of water on her forehead. Bolting upright, she looked around to find herself back in her room. The lights were dim, and three people were in the room with her: Mammon, Beel, and Levi. Beel was the one holding a soft cloth to her forehead. Levi stood on the opposite side of the bed, watching her face. Mammon was leaning in the door frame, gaze switching between the hallway and the room. All three were looking worried.
“Easy, Melody,” Beel said, putting a cautious hand on her shoulder and urging her to lie back down.
“This… is becoming a bad habit of mine,” she said to him with a weak little smile. “We all made it out okay?” she asked, since she couldn’t see Solomon or Asmodeus.
“Yes, everyone’s safe now,” Beel said, though there was a bit of a scowl on his face. Melody could guess well enough that it wasn’t directed at her, and by looking at the other two demons, she could tell they weren’t the targets either.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Melody said, lying back on the bed. Beel’s stomach rumbled, and she laughed a bit. Instead of being embarrassed, he just gave her a smile in return. “You must be really hungry Beel; you should go eat something,” she suggested. “I’ll be fine here.” Beel looked between his two older brothers. Mammon stepped aside.
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“Go on ahead, Beel; ya won’t do Melody any good if ya get too hungry and start gnawing on her elbow or somethin’. She should be safe enough in here fer now.” With encouragement from both Melody and Mammon, Beel allowed himself to leave, but not before giving Melody another little pat on her shoulder. It was a credit to him that he stayed as long as he did, knowing his hunger. When he was definitely gone, Mammon turned to Levi. “You stay here an’ keep an eye on her, okay Levi? Just, play one of those games on your DDD. I’ll bring back some food for ya both. They don’t need to be givin’ her an interrogation before she’s had something ta eat, and I know you don’t care much for big groups anyhow.”
“Stay here and watch, I will,” Levi agreed, his tone solemn despite using that familiar syntax again. It put Melody oddly at ease.
“Thank you Mammon. Thank you Levi,” Melody said, feeling somewhat relieved. She really didn’t want to face Solomon again already. At the moment, she didn’t know if his endangerment of her had been revealed to Lord Diavolo, or if it was being kept a secret. As tired, sore, and hungry as she was, she didn’t want to deal with it. Honestly, she couldn’t tell what would upset her more, seeing Solomon get in trouble for his actions, or seeing a lack of any consequences at all for what he did. She had no idea if they would have made it all out safely if he had made another choice or not. And, perhaps it had been his only option. What troubled her most was that he did it without hesitation or even an apologetic tone or gesture to show he had the least bit of concern for her wellbeing.
Melody dozed off for a bit, while Mammon was getting something for her to eat. Levi sat quietly and played on his DDD; he would have done that even without Mammon’s suggestion, but the situation was serious enough that he didn’t bother pointing it out. When he was being the Avatar of Greed, Mammon was annoying, loud, and almost insufferable to the shut-in. But, from time to time, the second in command that he was shone through his demonic habits. It was almost the natural response to listen to him then. Since Melody’s arrival, that side of Mammon had come forward more. Then again, so had Beel’s role as guardian. While, ostensibly, he was Lucifer’s bodyguard, he rarely had to act in that capacity anymore; very few people dared tangle with the Avatar of Pride these days.
After a while, Mammon returned, bringing Satan with him, to help carry the food so there would be enough for both Melody and Levi. Something in his gut told him that leaving Melody alone at this point would be a bad idea. Beel was still too busy eating, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t gobble up half the food, or more, on the walk back. Asmodeus was still too busy talking about himself to help. Lucifer was unlikely to budge from the banquet since he was expected to stay there with Diavolo. Mammon simply didn’t trust Simeon or Solomon. Especially Solomon. And Luke’s distaste of demons was… unmistakable. That left Satan, even though he had little concern for Melody as a person, he also had no particular ire against her, and it was at least a respite from the eldest brother’s smug face.
Mammon chatted a bit with Melody and Levi as they got her set up to eat, and Satan dropped a few comments before the two of them returned to the dinner. Melody and Levi were both hungry enough that neither of them spoke much while they dug into the feast. It was… actually really good. Mammon had chosen things that wouldn’t upset Melody, and Barbatos’ cooking was delicious. True, the Devildom flavors were a bit on the strong side, but, Melody still found them quite tasty. Even Levi, who didn’t seem to care over much about food in general, looked very happy while he ate. As they slowed down near the end, however, Melody couldn’t forget what had happened before.
“Levi?” Melody asked, tentatively. Levi looked up from his plate of almost finished food.
“Hm?”
“Do you think Solomon did the right thing?”
“What? No! Why would you ask that?” Levi shook his head. “I mean, Mammon was being an idiot for arguing; he’s the fastest one of us and had the best chance of luring Henry 1.0 away. But you were the last person he should have shoved out there. I mean, I would have had a better chance of running away from Henry than you, and I’m just a shut-in. It’s like picking on an NPC when you’re the hero group. No offense.”
“Don’t worry; I’m not offended,” Melody said. Effectively, she was exactly what Levi said, an NPC, only important in her relation to the brothers and Lord Diavolo’s plans. “My first actual day at RAD, Lucifer warned me not to trust him. I guess he was right. I didn’t want to believe him; I wanted to think that at least the other human was safe but…” Melody sighed deeply. “I guess a sorcerer isn’t much better than a witch after all.”
“Well, it was a witch’s fault we were in the picture,” Levi agreed, hesitantly. “Oh, and Asmo’s fault too,” he grumbled. “But I don’t think she was targeting you at all. You just got caught up in Asmo’s mess, the same as the rest of us.”
“I wasn’t talking about Helene.”
“Wait, you have experience with other witches?” Levi asked. It never occurred to him that Melody had any association with anything magical at all prior to coming to the Devildom.
“Yes; my whole family can use magic except me.” Melody sounded sad, but Levi could feel strong waves of envy inside her. Even though he felt a bit bad for her, he also felt a thrill. There was definitely more evidence of her being envious than any other sin. He leaned forward.
“Sounds rough,” he murmured, feeling a strong temptation to egg her on, to see how far that envy would go. But, he also knew she had been through quite a lot that day, so he steeled himself against his own temptations.
“Yeah. They all picked on me quite a bit, though some were more obvious about it than others. At least my mother never seemed to hold it against me. She’s actually why I got into video games; she found it was an easy way to keep me quiet while dealing with my older siblings. It helped me keep my head down, and get noticed by my siblings less as well. There are five of them older than me; I am the youngest.”
“I guess it wasn’t so bad coming here then if it gave you a break from that,” Levi said wryly, and immediately felt stupid afterward. Melody hadn’t said anything about being attacked by her siblings, just picked on. But several of his brothers, including himself, had already almost killed her. To his surprise, Melody just smiled and gave a little laugh.
“Actually, yes. I mean, I was scared at first, but, I feel like I’m doing something useful here, even if it’s just by being a normal human without any powers. It’s what Diavolo wanted, right? Just a normal person to prove that we could get along?” She let out a long sigh. “My siblings would have been too similar to Solomon, I guess, even if they’re so much weaker, so, for once, I was the better choice. It’s not a great reason to be happy, but it still makes me happy. Is that strange?”
“Not so strange,” Levi assured her.
Later Barbatos and Lord Diavolo stopped by to make sure she was okay. Although Melody wished that Levi could stay with her, it was strongly suggested he leave, and so she was left without an ally. Not that she had any reason to suspect Diavolo or his butler would do anything bad. But, she just felt more comfortable around the brothers she had a pact with. That extra level of safety was helpful. Still, she supposed it was a sign of how important she was to the program that the Prince of the Devildom himself would check in on her. And, there was the fact he had saved her from Lucifer before…
“Good to see that you are doing well Melody. And it looks like you ate quite a bit too. Mammon explained everything, so while we missed your presence at dinner, I completely understand why you chose to stay here.”
“How much of everything did he explain?” Melody found herself asking, not wanting to cause any further trouble.
“Enough so that I had to have a talk with Solomon,” Diavolo admitted with a frown. Melody had rarely seen the Prince frown in anger; usually, if he frowned it was more of a sad or worried expression. Still, he was far from losing his temper, or so she hoped. “Since he is not a demon, and thus not my subject, my response had to be tempered. But, I did let him know he is on very thin ice.” His frown shifted to a more familiar, pensive, expression. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Melody. I’ve kept the Little D’s busy, finding any other objects in my castle that might pose a threat to you and removing them to a safe location for the time being,” he said.
“Thank you; I appreciate that,” Melody said.
“You’re welcome; it’s the least I could do. Now, since I’ve seen that you’re safe and sound, I will leave you be so your roommates can return and get ready to rest for the evening. Have a good rest, Melody.”
“I hope you also have a good rest, Lord Diavolo. And you too, Barbatos.” Melody nodded toward the butler after smiling at Diavolo; even though Barbatos hadn’t said a word the entire time, she still felt rude to not acknowledge him. In turn, he gave her a very slight bow, the corners of his lips creasing upwards in such a slight smile, Melody almost missed it. And, with that, the two demons departed, leaving Melody alone.