Chapter Text
Jasmine woke up with her head pounding. Wincing at the lights around her, she slowly squinted her eyes at her surroundings. Trying to look at where she was, Jasmine realized that her vision was swimming, which wasn’t meshing well with the headache she already had. What she did manage to discern, however, was that her surroundings were not at all familiar. Right now, she was lying down on a rather pristine wooden floor, in what seemed to be a very spacious room. Trying to prop herself up, she took a moment to collect herself.
“Are they alright..?” she heard a rather deep, monotone voice ask faintly.
“Really, Lucifer? This is who you choose to be our new exchange student?” said another.
“Oh, did they get injured? They don’t seem too well,” chirped in another voice, this one higher pitched.
Jasmine finally opened her eyes to see a massive room, with several men occupying chairs in front of her. It rather resembled a courtroom, but that didn't explain why she found herself in a place like this. There was one large and rather distinctive looking man in the highest center seat looking at her, slightly concerned. He had red hair and was also wearing what looked like a uniform that was an even brighter red.
“Welcome to the Devildom, Jasmine!” he said, his booming, cheery voice a stark contrast to the mood of the rest of the room, where none of its inhabitants looked like they wanted to be there.
“The Devildom..? What’s that? Why am I here?”
“The Devildom, yes!” he exclaimed, laughing cheerfully. “And you are here because you’ve been selected as one of the human world’s representatives in our new exchange program! There are two people from each realm: the Human world, the Devildom, which I am the current ruler of, and the Celestial realm. You will be staying at the House of Lamentation, also known as the HoL, with the seven brothers. Any questions?”
“Several,” she started after a slight pause, noting the look of slight shock on some of the men’s faces, evidently not expecting her to be so blunt. “How long am I going to be forced to stay here? And isn’t this kidnapping? There’s no way this is legal.”
“I’m afraid it is legal, if only by technicality,” the raven haired man next to the cheery one cut in. “In legal documents, it shows that you have signed off on this arrangement. Whether or not that is a forgery is evident to you, but unfortunately, the law cannot tell, and does not care,” he finished, still seeming terribly annoyed by her very existence.
“Yes, quite!” the previous overly positive man affirmed. “Although that is a rather crude way of saying it, you are in fact stuck here for a full year. You are also here entirely consensually… on paper,” he added.
“Alright, well, before I go anywhere, I’d like to know your names,” she stated.
“I'm Lucifer, and that is Prince Diavolo you are speaking to. I would greatly suggest you watch your tongue when speaking to royalty,” 'Lucifer' threatened.
“Now now, Lucifer. Don’t threaten them; you will be looking after them for the next year, after all. It’d be a shame to get off on the wrong foot,” said the prince (according to Lucifer). “As my right hand man has just informed you of, I am Diavolo, the prince and current ruler of the Devildom.”
“I am also the Avatar of Pride. I am one of seven brothers, some of which you can see seated in front of you,” Lucifer finished.
“Wait, so.. you all are demons?” Jasmine asked, looking at the men around her, her green eyes narrowed with apprehension.
“Correct! I understand this can be a bit of a shock, but I'm certain you’ll be able to adapt. That’s what humans are known for, after all!” the prince replied cheerfully, evidently full of optimism. Whether that optimism was justified or not was yet to be determined. “We are quite short on time, now, since you were passed out for a while longer than expected, and I have a meeting in less than half an hour,” Diavolo explained, looking regretful. “You’ll have to go with Lucifer to the Hall of Lamentation now and try to get settled in. You’ve been given the rest of the day to gather your bearings, and then you must attend school here, at RAD, or the Royal Academy of Diavolo. You are to write a paper at the end of your stay here, and do your best at school. If you have any additional questions or concerns, those are to go to Lucifer from here on out.”
“Yes, let us, Jasmine,” Lucifer said, already making his way towards the door.
“Sure thing, Luci,” Jasmine said. Looking at the immediate glare the man in question sent her way, she chuckled to herself.
Following Lucifer out of the room, Jasmine exited into the hallway of whatever grandiose building they were in. A castle, maybe, considering the whole royalty theme. After the both of them passed through a multitude of hallways in silence, save the clicking of Lucifer’s shoes, Jasmine broke the silence. “So, Lucifer. Where am I staying?”
“The HoL, as you’ve already been told,” he responded coldly.
“I was more so referring to wherein said place,” Jasmine quipped back.
“Someone will show you. We aren’t too far from the building; before you go in, however, I'm afraid I must leave you in the care of one of my brothers, Mammon. He’s a bit… well, you’ll see,” he said, his expression tinged with apprehension. “Why don’t you try calling him now? Here’s your DDD. This is what you’ll be using to contact anybody you need. All of the necessary numbers are already in there,” he instructed, handing Jasmine a bright red phone. She immediately took offense to the eye-searing brightness of the color, and also the lack of a phone case. Expecting her not to drop it would probably result in her doing that exact thing. She took the phone, gripping on to it tightly to avoid breaking it as soon as she got it. Unlocking the phone (or the D.D.D , apparently), she quickly scanned the homepage for the closest thing to a call app. Several eyebrow raises at the “demonic” takes on human social media apps later, Jasmine found the app she was looking for. Pressing on the call app, she scrolled down until she found the name she was instructed to call. ‘Mammon’, apparently, a tan guy with stark white hair, if she was going by the profile picture.
She pressed the call button, waiting for him to pick up.
Ring, ring, ring, ri-
“HEY! Who’s this?!? I’ve got better things to do than chattin’, so don’t be wastin’ my time!” comes the painfully loud voice from the phones speakers. Wincing at the volume, Jasmine immediately death grips the 'volume down' button.
“Hey, I'm the new human exchange student, Jasmine. You’re Mammon, I presume?”
“A human? Tch, what business does a human have with THE Mammon?” he implored.
“You were assigned to take care of me, apparently,” responded Jasmine, unamused by his bravado.
“Heck no! I ain’t doin’ all that! The great Mammon’s got important stuff to do, ya hear me? I can’t be seen goin’ around and babysitting some human!” he exclaimed. Dang, guess he really doesn’t like humans. What’s that, racism? Speciesm? Doesn’t matter. Her thought process was interrupted by Lucifer intervening.
“Mammon, behave. You’re Jasmines' guardian while she’s in the Devildom, and I expect you to act like it. We’re heading to the house, and I’ll be dropping her off there. Be ready before we arrive,” he scolded coldly, taking the phone and hanging up before Mammon could retort. “Well, that went.. well. What did you think of him?” Lucifer asked Jasmine.
“He seems like.. a headache. I would’ve preferred you,” Jasmine responded honestly. She could see Lucifer’s expression morph into one of surprise before quickly being schooled back into indifference. “Well, I’m glad. You are stuck with him for the time being, however, seeing as how I believe he is the best choice to be in charge of your safety. I’d suggest you find some kind of compromise or learn to live with him, but as long as you have someone looking over you, I don’t really care,” Lucifer admitted.
“Now, go on. Mammon should be waiting for you inside,” he instructed. Jasmine looked around, just now realizing that they had already made it to their destination. The House of Lamentation, apparently, was a giant manor, almost resembling a mansion. The decor of it was dark and rather creepy looking, at least by normal standards. What didn’t help was the fact that it appeared to be the dead of night right now. Although, in a place called the Devildom, she wasn't sure if they even had a sun. In any case, she figured that was a question that would be answered tomorrow.
Making her way to the propped open ornate black gates, she glanced back at Lucifer. He was still standing there, waiting for her to go inside. It was a straight shot from the gates to the front door, so it’s not like she’d get lost, but she appreciated him waiting for her anyway. Giving Lucifer a small smile, she turned back around and continued walking until the front door was towering in front of her. Grabbing onto the vintage-looking ornate golden handle, Jasmine pulled open the heavy wooden door. On the other side of the door there was a huge entranceway, with mirrored staircases on both sides of the room. Beside each staircase was a pillar-like stand that had a near human-height statue of a dragon perched atop it, looking down at the walkway beneath it. Having to pass under the two stone dragons every time you needed to get in or out of the house seemed like a rather strange design choice, but what did she know.
Just beneath the statue on the left was a couch, on which a certain white-haired man was sprawled atop. Every limb seemed to be strewed in a different direction, and one of his hands was holding his phone loosely above him. His orange-lensed sunglasses were pushed up into his hair, holding his bangs back from falling into his eyes, and allowing him to actually see while indoors. Not that the glasses would be of much use outdoors either, seeing as how it was pitch black out there. He also seemed to be wearing the same school uniform as everybody else.
“Mammon?” Jasmine called out.
“A-ah! Don’t scare me like that, ya’ human! What if I accidentally killed ya’, huh?! Actually, Lucifer’d probably have my head for that, but still! You gotta be more careful when around demons, ya’ hear me? We could kill ya’ no problem. In fact, I could even do it in my sleep! That’s just how great THE great Mammon is!” he rambled.
“Yea, well, better use those superhuman powers of yours to actually keep me alive down here, then. Lucifer’s orders, remember?” Jasmine shot back.
What she said was only partially true; she wanted to get this whole thing over with and just have some peace and quiet, but she also knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep immediately. Inspecting whatever her room held in store for her would probably take a bit of her time, not to mention figuring out how the new phone she was given works. She would’ve felt worse about being so rude to Mammon if he wasn’t seemingly so... loud and self-centered.
“Oi, what did I just tell ya’ about respectin’ demons? Ah.. I hear someone comin’ this way. Come on, human, hurry up! Before Levi spawns outa nowhere and starts demandin’ stuff from me again!” Mammon said, attempting to pull Jasmine along with him down the middle of the entrance hall. “Let go of me,” Jasmine hissed, yanking her arm away from him. What kind of person thought it was appropriate to try and drag someone that they’ve barely met somewhere?
“I’ll follow you, but don’t touch me randomly,” she told him, glaring.
“Tch, fine, but don’t expect me to promise nothin’. I ain’t responsible for nothin’ I do when there’s danger, you got it?” Mammon relented, a flash of a guilt crossing his face before he turned away from her. Quickly recovering, he started making his way down the hall yet again, this time with Jasmine following partly beside him.
By the time she zoned back in from mindlessly following Mammon down hallways and through rooms (which wasn’t a very smart move, now she has no idea how to get anywhere) they made it to a completely different part of the house. They might even be upstairs, but Jasmine wasn’t too sure.
After coming to a halt, she looked around. The room they were in was stunning. The wooden floors and the partially stone brick wall to which the side of a bed was pressed against gave the entire room an old, vintage feel. What was definitely the most eye-catching thing in the room, however, was the large tree growing near the right stone wall, just behind the headboard of the bed there. All throughout the tree’s branches were lanterns hanging from them, softly illuminating the room. The stone wall had vines climbing across it, and the leaves of the tree covered the entirety of the ceiling in green. For some unknown reason, there was an entire dining table (complete with chairs) in the room as well. Even if someone ate in their room a lot, did they really need a whole table big enough to seat an average family?
The room they were in was clearly a bedroom, but she wasn't sure why they were there. She did ask Mammon to show her where her room was, but she wasn't used to anything so... lavish. Before she could ask anything, however, Mammon's voice broke her stunned silence.
“This is yer’ room, human. Kitchen’s right across from it, and I’m sure you’ll have no trouble findin’ the dining hall. It gets pretty loud sometimes, with all my brothers an’ I,” explained Mammon. He seemed pleased, taking in her expression of surprise, allowing her to take in her surroundings for a minute. He was also finally speaking at a normal volume, and Jasmine’s eardrums were thanking him for it.
“MAMMON! Where are you, you scumbag?!” came a screeching voice from down the hall. Well, there go her ears again. Apparently, no one here knew what inside voices were. “AHA!” yelled the voice, barging into the room and bracing their hands on the doorframe to stop themselves from tumbling inside. “I found you, you no-good, sorry excuse for a demon! Give me my money! I have a special-edition Hana Ruri merch drop I NEED to get my hands on, so hand it over! This is important!” he yelled.
The man who had just invited himself into your room had purplish-blue hair, with his bangs swooped to one side, practically obscuring his eyes. Due to his panting, you could see the bangs shift to reveal almost glowing orange eyes. They also had black and yellow headphones around their neck and an.. overcoat? No, overcoats were thicker. This just seemed like a really long jacket, with long white sleeves and a dark grey thigh-length hem. Before Jasmine could take in any more of the jaw-droppingly horrendous outfit (no doubt mostly because of the bright yellow shoes), the intruder’s eyes locked onto her.
“Heh? Who’s this? Another witch you owe something to, Mammon?” he asked, looking at Mammon and Jasmine dirtily.
“No, actually. I’m Jasmine, apparently the new human exchange student. I’ll be staying here for the... next foreseeable future,” she said, correcting the blue haired man. “Who are you, and what’s that about Mammon owing you money?” Jasmine asked.
“I’m Leviathan, and that scumbag over there decided to beg me for some money 2000 years ago, and still hasn’t given it back! He’s absolutely swimming in debt, and the fact that a bunch of witches constantly force him to do things for them probably doesn’t help," he rambles out, still slightly out of breath. His scowl lessens slightly, however, as he seems to consider something. "Why’s he with you, though? He’d never willingly help someone out, so why’s he showing a normie to their room..?”
“Oi! Don’t be talkin’ 'bout something you don’t know nothin’ about, Levi! And about the money.. just, uh, gimme a bit more time, ey? Your big bro’s got some other things to take care of, you understand! And I don’t owe no witches nothin’! I only listen to them cause, I uh- well, it don’t matter! And anyway, I was showing the human to their room cause The Great Mammon was tasked to be their guide in the Devildom!” Mammon explained desperately, and Jasmine could see a slight sweat start to form on his brow.
“Loooool, what a loser! You really got stuck with babysitting duty, huh?” Leviathan teased. Suddenly becoming angered again, he continued. “Still, that’s doesn’t matter right now. What DOES matter is the grim you owe me! Cough it up, you scumbag! I know damn well you have your wallet on you!” Jasmine saw Leviathan practically lunge towards Mammon, who dodged with almost inhuman speed and was on the other side of the room before she could even blink.
“I don’t got nothin’ on me, bro, come on! Just let it go already! Bygones be bygones, right?!” Mammon yelled, practically getting chased down by Leviathan. The sight was comedic, to say the least; they were running around in a circle, but Mammon was very clearly much faster, so it ended up with him awkwardly having to keep a slower pace as to not lap Leviathan and end up even closer to him. “Nope, I’m outa here, man! Hey Levi, catch!” shouted Mammon, once again grabbing Jasmine and shoving her towards Leviathan. By the time she collided with Levi, Mammon was already nowhere in sight.
Leviathan didn’t even catch her, really. He more so broke her fall with himself, just barely avoiding not toppling over, and then immediately shoved Jasmine off of him as soon as he registered what had happened. “H-hey! What the hell was that?! You realize what he just did, right? He threw you at some demon to get away! You see why you shouldn’t trust that scumbag, right?” Leviathan exclaimed.
“I don't think he thought you would actually be a danger to me," Jasmine defended. Mammon didn't seem like he was actually wanting to cause harm; instead, he came off more as someone who's clumsiness and tendency not to think before they spoke got them in more trouble than they meant to start. "He’s just very... loud.” Jasmine conceded, wincing at the memory of his overly enthused yelling.
“Let’s just go to my room, I guess? I need to talk to you about something,” Levi offered, suddenly very red in the face. “N-not to do any normie stuff, though! I-I just want to make a plan t-that happens to involve you. A-and I can’t be seen in the open with a h-human normie, s-so make sure no one sees us g-go inside!” he stammered out.
What a ‘Normie’ was Jasmine could only assume, but had a feeling she would never find out for certain. If this guy was as much of an anime nerd as he came off as, there would likely be no shortage of internet references she wouldn't understand, even for her, who was online a lot. He even said ‘Lol’ in real life. Chronically online behavior if she’s ever seen it. Did the Devildom have a different internet, with it's own memes and culture? She made a mental note to see if she could find any social media apps on her phone later.
Into Leviathans room she must go, however, because she had the feeling that she wouldn’t be able to have any peace before she goes along with whatever it was he had planned. Ignoring her fingers that were itching to examine the contents of her new room, she turned her back and walked out of the guest room.
It was time to talk to an anime nerd.