Chapter Text
The Avatar of Pride separated his brother and the human from staring daggers into each other. He cleared his throat loud enough to regain the attention of Robyn, who slowly turned back to look at him expectantly. The two now engaged in their own conversation, returning to the proper discussion at hand.
"Now then. That should sum everything up," Lucifer affirmed, hinting towards the end of the introductory meeting. "In conclusion, your time period here at RAD is for one year. You are to complete special tasks that will be given to you regularly at a time. When your time is over, you are to write an essay reflecting your time in the Devildom."
"What are these tasks anyways?" Robyn softly groaned. The mere idea of it including the end of the year essay sent dread to her, which already made her exhausted. "You never really answered my question about them before."
"Simple. To polish that little human soul of yours."
Robyn perked up in her seat at this, easily alerted by the oddness of his description of the 'tasks.' Behind her, Asmodeus cooed at her, noting how she was something like "a reactive puppy." She ignored him of course, even though it bothered her.
"Eh? What does that even mean?" she quipped. Lucifer only smirked at this, humoring her inquiries further.
"Why, so you can resist other demons that are sure to be attracted to you." The eldest took his time to stride from behind the podium in which he previously stood. He leaned his back against the podium, comfortably crossing his arms to his chest, as well as crossing his ankles. Robyn took note of his uniform; the jacket was longer than the others, it reached his knees. "You see, demons are attracted to humans with nice souls. They're like.. nice, shiny jewels that they want to grab. They will do anything in their power to tempt you. However, other demons at RAD have tasks just like you."
To put it this way; demons will give in to the temptation of that shiny jewel that you possess, and humans will give in to the demon's temptation. It's like a little game, you see? Who's going to last longer? Who wins and who loses."
Robyn cautiously stared back at Lucifer and cocked a dark brow. "What happens if I 'win?"
Lucifer could only chuckle at her sudden interest. He could sense that she was a bargainer at heart, which could be trouble in the future. "I will simply reward you for your successes. To make sure you are fully motivated."
"We're talking big Grimm and valuable items," Asmodeus sang into Robyn's ear, who cringed slightly away from him. She had assumed that Grimm was demon cash, and it all sounded good to her. "And since you're a powerless human, in contrast to the other human here, we'll lend you our power!"
"Lend me your power?" she questioned, glancing back at Lucifer for more clarity. He nodded with a smile. "So you're telling me I have to do some hard tasks that involved getting dirty a little in exchange for some demon cash."
"That's one way to put it."
Lucifer watched the gears turn in the human's head as she pondered the given information. He soon admitted to himself that there was a little bit of Mammon in her, and didn't know whether that pleased or scared him. The human pursed her lips together as she hummed before nodding in approval.
"Alright, fine."
"This all doesn't seem too hard, right? It should be easy as pie."
All of a sudden, Mammon stepped forward to Robyn yet again, frowning deeply with his hands resting on his hips.
"Oi! Just to get this outta the way, don't blame me if anythin' goes south! It ain't gonna be my fault!" he yammered, earning a soft groan from Robyn.
Beelzebub looked down at Lucifer with a frown of his own. "Lucifer, I'm hungry."
"Too bad. Now behave yourself."
Just get him something to eat...
Robyn groaned for the umpteenth time that day. She rubbed the sides of her face as she let her elbows rest on her lap. It was all too much to bear, yet she kind of already agreed to the current terms. She couldn't help but still be stressed about everything.
"I'm already stressed," she sighed.
'I envision a universe where humans, demons, and angels can coexist peacefully, able to accept one another," Diavolo suddenly proposed. He looked up thoughtfully with a soft smile of his own before looking back down with a steady gaze. His golden eyes bore into Robyn's brown eyes, urging her to listen to every word that fell from his lips. "Robyn. With you here, I ask of you that you become the foundation of my dream."
Well, if you put it that way...
Robyn could have easily retorted, objected, and then get eaten on the spot. But something about the urgency and determination for something that seemed so farfetched made Robyn have a sudden change of heart. Her mind was a wild one, always dreaming of different fantasies and ideals. She could almost sympathize with Diavolo. If this was truly a dream she could not wake herself up from, why not play a role in the future history of all three realms?
"...Just one year," Robyn whispered, yet loud enough for the demons to hear. Diavolo softened his look.
"Just one year. It's all I ask."
The House of Lamentation looked like something that was pulled right out of an Edgar Allen Poe story. It was a large, dark mansion with dead trees surrounding it. Dark crows rested on these trees and cawed upon the demons and human arrival. The sky was close to pitch black, with only the large moon acting as its source of light. The fence that guarded the mansion was pointed sharp, as expected, and made out of the coldest metal.
The brown-skinned human marveled at the scenery around her. It was not too shocking to find that there was no sunlight in the Devildom, but it was still astounding to be able to exist in a world described in a Halloween story.
"Ugh!"
Robyn deadpanned. Her marveling was unkindly interrupted by a certain white-haired demon.
"I can't believe this! I hafta be the unlucky one!" Mammon threw his head back as they walked towards the entrance. groaning obnoxiously. "This is insulting! That rotten bastard must thing he can scare me into doing dirty work for him. Pah! Oi, listen. It's not like I can say no to Lucifer, alright!? I'm not scared of Luci. Not at all!"
Robyn turned to Mammon with her mouth formed in a flat, straight line, eyes hooded with disinterest. She raised her brows.
"Huh? I wasn't listening."
"Y-You weren't listening on purpose, weren't you!?"
After a few moments, the two were now standing inside of the House of Lamentation, which was less gloomy than the outside. In front of them were two large staircases that curved towards the middle, decorated with statues of two winged dragons facing each other. The wallpaper was a royal purple with old paintings placed neatly on its walls. It was breathtaking.
"The House of Lamentation is one of the dorms of RAD," Mammon informed. "Well, it's home to only the student council. My brothers feel like they can throw any insult at me they want. Scum, waste... But I'm an officer of the student council. I'm one of the elites, just like them. On top of the pyramid of RAD. So, don't go around thinkin' I'm just a normal demon, 'cause I ain't. I'm a real big shot, got that?"
"Oh yeah? What about Diavolo?"
"Diavolo is an even bigger shot than all of us, so he lives in his own castle. Suited for the Prince of the Devildom." Mammon then gestured towards one of the staircases. "C'mon. Time to show you your room."
As Robyn began to follow the demon up the stairs, something had caught her eye. She stopped mid-step and leaned in to have a closer look. On the bulletin board, there was a flyer with information regarding a part-time job position for a place called Hell's Kitchen. What a cliché name.
"What's this?" Robyn asked, pointing to the flyer. Mammon turned his head back to see what she was looking at, only to roll his eyes and blow a raspberry.
"Pshh. If you wanna work at some lame part-time job in the Devildom, do it on your own time. I don't got all day!"
"Y'know, you sure are naggy and obnoxious," Robyn insulted as she pouted. "I'm sure your brothers tell you that enough."
Mammon glared at the human girl. "Oh yeah? Get used to it. Listen up--"
Robyn groaned.
"What now!?"
"Is this going to be another lecture on how to survive the Devildom?" Robyn humored him. "I've heard that speech at least five times already today. I get it: I listen to you, do my tasks, stay out of trouble."
"...If you'd let me finish, I was actually going to offer my advice," Mammon rebutted. "I was gonna say if a demon were to come up to you and attack, don't even think. Just run, unless you wanna die."
As if that's not obvious enough!
Before Robyn could respond, another voice filled the air.
"How about I vote for YOU to die, Mammon?"