"SENOITALUTARG~!"

Cobalt had forgotten how many times that cry had rang out through the gathering hall, but at this point, he just raised his mug and joined in with the other monks as they toasted to the happy couple's good fortune.

The Deyeyr's weren't kidding; the Sunmos monks knew how to celebrate. Once the wedding ceremony was wrapped up, they were guided to a large stone hall near the far wall of the monastery, where a grand table had been set up for an upcoming feast. Lottie and Quinn were seated at the head of the table, and before long, food was being served and homebrewed alcohol was flowing freely.

The food was simple; mainly breads and vegetables that Cobalt was forced avoid, though there were a few meat and fish dishes that he was able to eat. As the celebratory meal carried on, his mug was constantly refilled with strong Golem liqour, and with every gulp he took, he felt himself feeling more and more lightheaded.

"SENOITALUTARG~!" everyone called once more, lifting their drinks and facing the two demons at the head of the table.

Lottie was already deep in her cups, laughing at the top of her lungs as she clung to Quinn, shaking the Imp back and forth. She didn't seem to mind, as she was grinning as she held on for dear life.

He was happy for them. Truly. Even back in second year, Cobalt suspected that there was something more than a simple friendship burgeoning between the two, and it was nice to see their feelings for one another finally laid out in the open.

Wiping his brow, the Incubus excused himself from the table and staggered over to the entrance, feeling a little faint as his face flushed. As much as he wanted to stay and celebrate his students' union, he needed to get some fresh air before he passed out.

Exiting the gathering hall, the Incubus stepped out into the darkened streets of the monastery, taking deep breaths of the crisp mountain air as the wind cooled him down. Locating a set of steps, he climbed to the top of the walls and sat down upon the edge, rubbing his eyes as he gazed out over the edge of the mountain.

It was so peaceful up here.

"Ugh... I can't stay in here any longer," Lilith grunted irritably.

That familiar, splitting pain tore through Cobalt's skull as a mass of ferric magic spilled from his body, pouring out onto the stonework behind him and forming into the Devil that had been plaguing him for the past month. She winced and held a hand to her head, staggering a little as she sat down a few feet away.

"Damn kid, you really are a lightweight," she remarked, her grey cheeks looking more flushed than usual.

Cobalt didn't know why, but he felt a sick sense of pleasure seeing her succumb to alcohol just as quickly as he did. One of the few benefits of her sharing his body, he supposed.

"Glad to be out of there anyway. Can't stand weddings," Lilith continued, cracking her neck as she massaged her various joints.

"I didn't leave for your sake. Just needed a moment to myself," the Incubus quickly said.

She glared at him; a gesture that he quickly returned. After a moment, the two demons sighed in tandem and relaxed, leaning back to gaze at the clouded sky.

Cobalt spoke first. Maybe it was the alcohol clouding his judgement, or maybe it was the entire day's events, but he was tired of feeling on edge.

"Lilith?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

Her eye opened wide.

"What?" she repeated in an incredulous tone.

"I'm sorry. For getting so ratty with you."

The Devil took a moment to process this before her usual scowl returned.

"You don't have to pretend to be nice kid. I'm fully aware that you're not a fan of our arrangement," she said, folding her arms.

"Oh no, I'm not pretending. I'm still very much against this contract. But... seeing as we're stuck like this, I don't wanna be at odds with you," Cobalt admitted.

Lilith laughed. It was a single, sharp sound, like a dog's bark.

"Huh. Breaking out the olive branch now?" the Devil scoffed, stretching her draconian wings.

"Yes, well... take it or leave it."

"What's brought this on?"

A lump formed in Cobalt's throat.

"I don't know. Seeing Lottie and Quinn so happy down there, it... made me think. They've been through a lot. Just a few months ago they were fearing for their lives, but rather than dwell on it, they decided to turn their gaze to the future. Their future. There's a lesson to be learned there."

The Incubus gazed down at his hands, staring hard at the scars lining his knuckles.

"I don't want to get bogged down with my past. I know there's something going on up here, but I just... want to move on," he continued, tapping his head.

Surprisingly, Lilith didn't roll her eyes and look away as he expected to. She just watched on, arms folded as her one red eye bored into him.

"I still have a future. Nobody who knew about my Incupsychosis thought I would have one. So I shouldn't waste it on fretting over the past, right? A- Am I making sense?" he asked, looking to the Devil for confirmation.

With a sigh, she nodded and looked back out over the edge of the wall. Her face softened.

"... Yeah. More than you realise," Lilith said, the rasping edge gone from her voice.

Cobalt cocked his head.

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"Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"Never heard anyone ask me that in a long while."

"Lilith...?"

"Devils are all about getting bogged down with the past, you know. For the past thousand years, all anyone can talk about is the Rapture. The loss of Pandemonium. The rising of the lower demons. The Blares. The Horsemen. Our flight to Dis... I'm sick of hearing about the countless fucking grudges we bear," she spat, clenching her fists.

Leaning back, she looked up at the sky as her tail thrashed angrily behind her.

"Yeah, I get we didn't deserve what we got. But the past is the past, right? No point in whining about it. Better look to the future. Try to build something. I mean, we're demons of Creation for fucks sake! And yet all I've done - all I've ever been told to do - was destroy! Like I'm one of them!"

Cobalt watched on as she flipped into a drunken tirade, unwilling to stop her. He wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about, but he didn't mind listening. She seemed like she needed someone to.

"I killed a lot of angels back then. Killed a few Archangels. Even led my men against War. Didn't feel much pride in any of it."

She glanced over at Cobalt.

"I want a better future for my people. But not a future where I'll destroy any more than I already have," she said resolutely, fists clenched.

"Lilith..."

"That's why I'm running. Because I stole this."

Without warning, Lilith jammed a thumb into her left eye socket, much to his horror. Prying her eyelids apart with her other hand, she dislodged a round object with a sickening popping sound and held it out in her palm.

It was an artificial eyeball, that much was certain. The outside was plated with smooth iron, whilst the inner parts looked to be carved from something resembling obsidian. Tiny runes had been worked into the metal, and the iris softly pulsed with a dangerous red light.

Cobalt recoiled at the sight of it.

"Wh- What the Hell...?" he breathed, staring at it.

"Something our guys have been working on for a long, long time. Stole the design from one of Gaia's daughters and reverse engineered the components of War's halo in order to finalise the initial prototype," she explained.

She looked at his bewildered face.

"You don't know what I'm talking about you, do you?"

The Incubus slowly shook his head, prompting her to sigh.

"Us Devils have the Iron Arsenal, allowing us to conjure weapons of any kind, right? It's powerful magic, or at least it was. While we were trapped in Damnation, technology in the mortal realms progressed in leaps and bounds. Against an outside assault, however unlikely, we would be massacred regardless of our magical prowess."

Lilith held the prosthetic eyeball aloft.

"So we made this. The Iron Artillery prototype. Something that'll let us create and use firearms; the weapons of humans," she explained.

That would certainly explain the shotgun that she willed into his hands, and the pistols she had threatened him with in the past.

"What about Imps? They have revolvers, do they not?"

"Trial run. Imps were used as a test group to see if demonic fabrication magic could grasp the concept of a firearm. Check your history; they only started being able to create those around two hundred years ago, right?"

She had a point. According to historical records, Imps used to be able to create Lead Crossbows, until the new generation erroneously started wielding Lead Revolvers, seemingly for no explainable reason.

"But this technology... I know what it'll be used for. Everyone in Dis wants out. They want to rule Hell again. But Hell... it's no longer ours to rule," Lilith sighed, staring at the Iron Artillery.

As she began the disturbing process of pushing the prosthetic back into her eye socket, Cobalt swallowed hard and started out over the edge of the wall. It was unusual for Lilith to be so forthcoming, drunk or not. It was a lot to process.

"Pandemonium. What was it like?" he asked, glancing over at her.

Sliding her eyelids shut, she looked at him intently for a moment.

"... It was perfect. It was a place where creativity flowed unabated. A place where, growing up, I never once considered picking up a blade."

She scoffed.

"Of course, then I found out what went on beyond the walls. I'm not an idiot. I know we weren't perfect. I know that our beautiful city was built on the backs of lower demons. But it was still my home. And I miss it. Every Devil does. But I know we can never get it back, because even if we did, it would never be the same," she sighed.

Cobalt thought of Phrodival.

"I... understand. I think."

"Whether you do or don't... thanks, I guess."

"For what?"

"Listening to me ramble. And I'm sorry too."

The Devil frowned.

"For dragging you into this."

The both went quiet, happy to just sit and stare out into the snowy darkness. Cobalt felt strange, and it wasn't just the alcohol muddling his thoughts. Despite Lilith's gruff and entitled attitude, what she was doing seemed to be a good thing. Yes, it massively impeded his life, but... she was trying to prevent conflict.

He respected that above all.

With a strange, newfound sense of understanding, Cobalt eventually got to his feet, prompting Lilith to stand alongside him.

"Heading back in?" she asked.

"Yeah. Don't want anyone to get worried."

"Alright. Just take it easy on the booze, kid."

"I'll stick to water, then."

She smiled at that, ever so slightly. Before he could comment on it, she melted away into the gaseous ferrofluid, refusing with him in an instant. Taking a deep breath as the reeling vertigo subsided, Cobalt trotted down the steps and headed back into the gathering hall.

While plenty of the food was still on the table, it had all been pushed to the side, opening up the floor for dancing. A small collection of monks played music in the corner, banging drums and playing something that appeared to be a cross between a piano and a xylophone. Lottie and Quinn were swinging each other around in the centre of the hall, but upon noticing him, they rushed over to him. Before he could say anything, they both tackled him with a hug, almost knocking him off his feet in a pincer-maneuver.

"Mista Traya~!" Lottie slurred, leaning all over her weight against him.

"Where the bloody Hell have you been?! You missed our first dance!" Quinn chided, jabbing him in the ribs.

"S- Sorry, just needed to get some air," he choked, trying to loosen the Golem's grip on him

"Ha, lightweight. We were discussing with the family about later wedding plans. You know, so we have a regular ceremony and all for my side of the family. With rings and all that. You wanna be my best man?"

"That's a very kind offer, Quinn. But let's not forget that the pair of you still have third year to get through, and the final exams besides."

"Yeah yeah whatever. Oh right, one more thing; Lottie's mum was asking about where you wanna stay for the night. There's a spare bed in their house, and bedroll. Which do you want?" asked Quinn.

"... Won't you two need the bed?" the Incubus asked after a moment's hesitation.

The Imp cocked her head.

"What do you mean?"

The realisation struck her after a second. Cheeks burning and eyes wide, the flustered Imp nervously cleared her throat and glanced at Lottie, who just beamed back.

"O- Oh, blimey, um... I- I'll go tell her to get the bedroll for you, then..." she stammered, quickly excusing herself from the conversation.

As the Imp scuttled away, Lottie just stood there, giggling to herself.

"Quinny's really cute~" she burbled happily.

"You do make a good match," Cobalt replied, patting her shoulder.

"Thank you, Mista Traya."

He looked up at Lottie. Behind the rims of her glasses, he could see tears welling in her eyes as she watched her beloved Quinn, smiling all the while.

"Lottie, are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

Taking his hand, the Golem squeezed it tight and gazed deep into Cobalt's eyes. She looked so happy.

"Yah. Thank you for coming home with me," she told him.

"You're welcome, Lottie. Anything for a friend."

"I hope you learn to not be scared of you anymore, Mista Traya, because you're the nicest friend ever."

She pulled him into a tight hug, one he didn't resist. Returning the gesture, Cobalt sighed and patted Lottie's back, remembering what she told him on the train.

"... Me too, Lottie. Me too."

"Things will get better."

"Here's hoping."

"Then you can find someone to marry too!"

Eyes wide, Cobalt pulled away from the hug.

"W- Well, such things aren't really my priority, Lottie," he stammered, tugging at his collar.

She stared at him for a moment, confused. Her eyes suddenly widened, like a light bulb going off.

"Ah, okay! You don't wanna marry someone!"

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"At least, not at the moment. I'm just-"

"You wanna marry five someones!"

The Incubus nearly fell over.

"What?! Lottie, wait-!"

She grabbed his wrist.

"C'mon, lets go tell Mummy to get more rocks for everyone!"

"Lottie!"

"Then you can all come back here and be married like me and Quinn!"

"LOTTIE!"