Chapter Text
The mismatched group of demons, angels, and humans silently stood around the seal on the ground, not daring to breathe, wanting to prolong the moment as much as possible. The idea of saying goodbye to the exchange students, especially her , was one that no one wanted to come to fruition. But, as all things must, their time together at R.A.D was about to come to an end.
Diavolo was the first to speak up. “Ah, I know this is a hard time for everyone, and we’re all going to miss each other dearly, but it’s about time for the angels to take their leave. If you would all say your goodbyes…” Diavolo’s voice drifted off as the two angels stepped forward to say farewell to their fellow students. Beelzebub was happily ruffling Luke’s hair, grinning at the annoyance in the little angel's expression, and Lucifer and Simeon exchanged a few words. The two angels finally waved goodbye to everyone, disappearing back to the Celestial Realm in a brilliant flash of light.
“I guess that leaves us two, huh?” Solomon chuckled lightly, turning to his fellow human. The slight grin on his face faltered upon seeing her shimmering eyes, tears threatening to spill over. Out of the four exchange students, her time at RAD had impacted her, and the brothers, the most. Having to leave her newfound friends, nearly family, was something she had never wanted to consider, and yet the time stood before her.
First, she walked over to Lucifer. It took a moment for her to compose herself, but she managed to coax herself to speak. “Lucifer… I know a lot of people see you as scary, and I understand why , but despite your temper, you’ve been so good to me. I’ve seen you grow out of your pride, and work so hard to become a better brother to all of them… You’d put your life on the line for all of them, and I respect you so, so much for that.” She held out her hands to him, and Lucifer gently took them, squeezing them tight. His stoic exterior fell for a moment, and he teared up just a bit, thinking of just how much she resembled Lilith.
She moved next to Belphegor, who was clutching his pillow tightly, head hanging low in guilt, and not sleepiness as usual. “Hey, Belphie. You know I’ve forgiven you, right? I trust you. After seeing you like… like that , I’ve seen you come back to your senses, and become my friend. I know it’s been difficult readjusting to life back at the House of Lamentation, but you’re doing so well. Keep working on it. All your brothers have your back, please remember that.” Belphegor could only nod, his eyes screwed shut, not able to look into her own.
Stepping over into Beelzebub’s shadow, she looked up at the towering demon. He smiled his bright smile, and leaned down for a hug. “Thank you, Beel,” she muttered into his shoulder. “You’re always so sweet, always thinking of others. Thank you for making sure I was taking care of myself, and never judging me for anything.”
“Make sure to keep eating, don’t let any of that delicious human world food go to waste!” Beelzebub patted her shoulder, and she smiled back at him in thanks.
Next in line was Asmodeus. He was sniffling, wiping away tears, and threw himself onto her, wrapping her in his arms. “Asmo. Asmo, I’m okay, let me go just a bit.” She peeled herself away to take a good look at him, makeup smudged and running. “Don’t cry! Think of what it’ll do to your skin!”
“Ah! You’re right!” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, dabbing at his eyes. “But my skin isn’t what matters right now, not as much as you leaving, love.”
She froze, her smile falling, and she struggled to keep her tears back. “Thank you, Asmo, for helping me through all my tough days, reminding me of my worth and building my self-confidence. There’s no one better than you to relax and unwind with, and I hope you continue being your uplifting self.”
Satan was waiting quietly, a book tucked under his arm. His eyes lit up as she walked over, lips lifting into a smile. “I’m so proud of you, Satan. Although it was probably only for my sake, you managed to overcome your anger and start to form a bond with Lucifer, even though that was the last thing either of you wanted. I sincerely hope you’ll continue to keep and grow that bond.”
“I have you to thank for that. I never thought I’d feel anything other than my wrath, but you helped me feel , feel joy, sadness, even embarrassment, and everything in between. You gave me something I’d only ever read about. Tha-”
Satan was cut off by a blue-headed blur barging into him. “Your time’s up, it’s my turn!” Satan glared up at Leviathan from the ground, before sighing and calmly dusting himself off.
“Oh! Levi! Well, you’re always so supportive of my interests, no matter how weird or obscure. You always allow room for me to talk, and talk, and talk , and I’m amazed at how attentive you are. You get excited over the little things with me, and it’s so fun to hang out with you, whether it’s playing games, watching anime, or just talking about random things.”
Leviathan, true to himself, stuttered out a “oh… you’re welcome, I guess” while covering his blushing face with the back of his hand.
And lastly, heartbreakingly, stood Mammon. Her first man, her guide, her friend . His hands were deep in the pockets of his classic jacket, yellow sunglasses pushed all the way up the bridge of his nose, concealing his eyes. He pulled his head up from hanging low, his white bangs brushing against the tops of his glasses.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He erupted in sobs, thick tears falling down his cheeks, his sunglasses no longer hiding his emotions. She ran to him, pulling his head down into her neck. She buried her nose into his snowy hair, allowing herself to cry as well, each of them clinging to the other to quell their pain.
Choking out a laugh, Mammon attempted to break the tension with a bit of humor. “Oi, human, don’t go drownin’ me in tears before we can even say goodb-” He cut himself off with another wail, clutching to her shirt, nails threatening to rip the fabric. “Don’t- don’t go, please . Please stay. I don’t want ya leavin’, I don’t want ya leavin’ me. I’ll give everything to have ya stay. Everything, anything, just stay .”
“Mammon, I don’t- I can’t, I want to, but I have… I have to go. As much as it pains me, as much as I want to stay with everyone, with you , I can’t stay here. A human really has no place in the Devildom for this long a stay.”
“But-! You’re descended from Lilith! From angelic roots! Isn’t that enough to stay?” Mammon pleaded, but he already knew the answer, deep down. “Then- then I’ll just come with ya to the human world, ya hear?”
Lucifer stepped forward to place a hand on Mammon’s shoulder, causing the second born to snap back at him, face a wreck of emotions, clearly on the verge of transforming to his demonic form. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option either. She has her place in her world, as we do here. We have to be grateful for the time we spent together, and accept that that time is over.”
Stretching out her arm, she cupped Mammon’s cheek in her palm, bringing his attention back to her. “We had a whole year together, didn’t we? And who’s to say you can’t come visit me, or I can’t come back down to the House of Lamentation for a vacation once in a while? I just have to go back to the human world for a break. Like Lucifer said, I’m physically not built for this world. There’s only so long I can stay here before going back to the human world.”
Mammon sniffled, nodding slowly, almost against his will, not wanting to accept that she had to go. Everyone remained silent as he burrowed his head into her shoulder once again, giving the two a few more moments of goodbye.
She finally took a step back, quietly walking back towards the seal, exchanging glances with Diavolo. He raised his hand, and without another word, a shock of light lit the room, and she and Solomon disappeared.
Mammon dropped to his knees as soon as her silhouette vanished from within the seal. Leathery wings erupted from his back, dark, polished horns shot through his platinum hair. He clawed at the ground, using his full power to rage at the fact that she was gone.
Back in the human world, Solomon held onto the girl to support her during the sudden transportation. She clutched onto his shoulder, no longer able to suppress her weeping, no longer with Mammon. “I never got the chance… I never really told him, Solomon. I didn’t ever tell him how much he really means to me, how much I truly love him. I just… I just left .”
Solomon stroked her back, quietly shushing her cries. “You didn’t have to tell him, verbally. They all know you love them. You did more than enough to get the point across. They know. He knows. You don’t need to worry about that. For now, let’s get you some rest.” Solomon glanced down at the girl. Her face had paled significantly, and not just from the emotional turmoil she was experiencing. It seemed to be a physical side effect of the teleportation, or possibly the switch between the magic dense Devildom and the much lighter human world. “My place isn’t far from here; you can stay while you get used to this realm again. It can be hard on the body the first few times switching between worlds.”
She nodded weakly, wiping away tears as Solomon led her away to his home.