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Chapter Text

Rain and wind calmly hit against the window, the moonlight from outside shining through it to illuminate the only active room in the entire Victorian-esque house. Three people were happily sat inside a grand, gothic bedroom talking away: one with dark brown hair and practically deathly pale skin, the owner of the house, another with dirty blonde hair and pink eyes, and the final of the three with dull blue hair and a tan complexion. They had been sitting around discussing a strange letter that had came through the mail. The paper it was written on looked like it was from some ancient scroll, that was what the three were giggling about through their words. The words on said letter were strange to them too, it talked about some school exchange program? They didn't exactly believe it as the truth. After all, two of them had already finished their education and one quite literally didn't need it. He knew all one would need to know already!

Conversation continued before the blonde haired one known as Nova took another glance down to the letter only to see the signature on it lightly glowing. His mouth opened to speak before the surroundings around the three males drastically changed and they fell right down due to their sitting positions, though they stood up quickly. They looked up almost in sync to see a plethora of clearly taller males standing in front of them, a look of surprise evident on most of their faces. A raven haired man glanced over to another male near him in clear confusion before tan male cleared his throat, his voice booming through the fancy room they found themselves in.

"Welcome to the Devildom, Victor- huh? Victor and company?" The confusion in the man's tone made it evident he hadn't realised there was multiple newcomers rather than one unlike everyone else. The red haired male turned his head to the same guy who had glanced around with uncertainty just earlier and spoke again. "Lucifer, there was only meant to be one, yes? You only selected one file?"

"Yes, of course I did." The raven haired known as Lucifer answered almost immediately, his voice making the tallest of the three standing rather awkwardly, Victor, swoon a little. He very much got a quick side-eye from the two beside him. The shortest of the trio, Esper, wasn't exactly paying much attention to what was being said by the people around him. Instead his eyes were scanning the interesting crowd around them. Quite literally scanning them up and down. Victor and Nova could clearly hear a quiet rhythm of beeping leaving the headphones on Esper's head from their proximity to him. Through the shortest man's vision the figures of the strangers in front of him shone a bright cyan as he took in their physical appearances and features, his database rapidly searching for any possible information on them. He certainly found something but he decided now was not the time to randomly announce it to his friends, simply turning his head up to look at them and giving a silent nod once the beeping stopped. Due to the information searching however, he soon found himself a little loss on what was going on.

"Why are we here?" Nova's voice was the first thing he heard as soon as he snapped out of his scanning state and he quickly nodded along to make it appear like he had been listening the whole time.

"I will explain everything to you." Victor found himself swooning again as Lucifer stepped closer to the three. However despite his words, Diavolo was the one who spoke next. Nova and Victor were aware of his name and had whispered to Esper once he zoned in again.

"Victor and friends, this is Lucifer. He is a demon and the Avatar of Pride. He's also the vice president of the student council and my right-hand man... and not just in title, I assure you. Beyond that, he's also my most trusted friend." Most people would be shocked as hearing that someone in front of them in a demon. However these three aren't exactly the most normal group of people either. They glanced at each other and simply shrugged.

'Hm. So the letter wasn't a lie?' Victor thought silently to himself, a hand lifted up to rest under his chin in wonder.

"Flattery will get you nowhere Diavolo." Lucifer piped up again with a shake of his head at Diavolo's words. He then returned his gaze onto the group of three before him, or on the tallest of the group more specifically. "Speaking on behalf of the entire student body at this great and storied school of ours... I offer you a most heartfelt welcome, Victor." He seemed to completely disregard the two shorter males standing on each side of Victor. The man in question however wasn't satisfied with Lucifer's answer to Nova's previous question.

"Answer his question, please." His voice was firm as he spoke with his arms crossed over his chest. It was rather strange to Nova and Esper to hear their friend speak so formally, at least as polite as they had really ever heard him speak before, but it wasn't as weird compared to everything else that was going on at that moment.

"...Interesting. This one is quite different from Solomon." Lucifer muttered underneath his breath. "Diavolo believes that we demons should start strengthening our relationship with both the human world and the Celestial Realm. As a first step toward this goal, we've decided to institute an exchange program. We've sent two of our students to the human world and two to the Celestial Realm and we're welcoming four students to our school: two from your world and two from Celestial Realm. So, I take it you've probably put two and two together at this point, right? You've been chosen from among the people of the human world to participate in this program of ours. I am unsure about your... friends, as they weren't meant to be here in the first place. but you, Victor, are our newest exchange student. Your period of stay is one year. You will have to work on the tasks that you will receive from RAD. After one year, you will write a paper about your exchange here in the Devildom."

Nova blinked in surprise at just how much Lucifer had talked whilst Victor's eyes looked the male up and down in what seemed to be disgust, the fact that he was a demon having overshadowed the previous thoughts in his mind to match with his words, "You demon."

"What do you hope to gain pointing that out to me?" Lucifer gave a laugh as he spoke, a smirk forming on his face afterwards as he sees the tallest of the trio before him glare at him. "Don't glare at me like that. It's not like I will abandon you all by yourself here in the Devildom. You need someone to look after you, and I think that someone should be my brother Mammon. He's the Avatar of Greed and... how should I put it...? Oh well, you'll understand soon enough."

He then handed the gothic male what looked very similar to a phone though the time displayed on it was certainly unusual to the group of three as the shorter ones beside Victor leaned over to take a look at the device when Lucifer continued to talk.

"Here, take this device. It's called a D.D.D. It's a lot like the cell phones of your world. This will be yours to use for as long as you're here. Now, go ahead and try calling Mammon with it. For the two of you, I will acquire one for you each by tomorrow."

Victor took a look down at the D.D.D in his hand and after a bit of figuring out how it worked, it worked just like his own phone in his pocket, he pressed the call button on Mammon's contact. He also noticed that he had a lot of other contacts available too, and their profiles appeared to match most of the other people who were inside the 'courtroom' with them. It looked vaguely like a courtroom anyways. He then turned the call onto speaker so his friends could listen in as the man known as Mammon picked up and began talking.

"Yoooo."

"Hi." Victor's response was simple though the confusion in Mammon's voice afterwards was quite obvious.

"Huh? Who the hell are ya? You ain't Lucifer." Esper raised an eyebrow at the mysterious man's comment and thought to himself.

'He was expecting Lucifer? Did he give Vic his D.D.D?' During Esper's inner pondering, Victor calmly responded once again.

"I'm a human." A comical bead of sweat fell down his face as his two friends beside him gave him the side eye again, though one couldn't really say much himself. Mammon's reaction to this information though sure was something.

"Whaaa? A human? Geez, I was gettin' all chilly here thinkin' it was Lucifer again. Ya should've told me right away. So, what business does a human got with THE Mammon?"

"You will be in charge of me and my friends from now on." Victor rested a hand on his hip in boredom, he clearly wasn't in the mood for social interaction with total strangers right now, it didn't matter that he knew some names here. Mammon immediately refused this claim.

"No way! There's nothin' in it for me. Whaddya even mean mean by 'be in charge of you'?" He let out a noise of realisation. "Ah! I get it now, you're the other human - the new exchange student! But the hell you mean 'and your friends'? Eh whatever, g'luck with that, and see ya."

"Lucifer called for you." The gothic male gave a deadpan at Mammon's answer to his own words.

"Pfft, whatever. Ya think THE Mammon would listen to ya just 'cause you're tryin' to scare me with that name?"

Without the three noticing, Lucifer silently made his way to stand directly in front of Victor and spoke into the phone causing the trio to flinch and for Mammon to yelp in surprise. "You've got 10 seconds... 9... 8..."

"WAH! YESSIR!" Mammon immediately hung up after that. Lucifer stepped back with a satisfied smirk on his face, facing Victor directly.

"Sounds like you had a nice chat." The male spoke as if he didn't just do any of that.

"He seems reliable!" "I would've preferred you, Lucifer." Esper and Victor looked at each other in slight surprise before they chuckled lightly at their differing opinions. Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the blue male's observation of his brother but continued to smirk almost condescendingly at Victor's.

"You look even more worried now, huh."

"Well, if you were suddenly brought to strange place and then told that an unfamiliar face will now take care of you, you'd certainly feel anxious." Diavolo spoke with a small, casual shrug despite his position of power. "However, Mammon isn't the only one to help you out. Now then... we still need to introduce our new friends to your brothers, Lucifer. And it's better that you do that instead of me, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes... As much as I dread the idea of doing so, you're right." He then looked directly at Nova and Esper. "Though the two of you are to introduce yourselves right after, I have neither of your files." Said two quickly nodded their heads, one with a smile and the other with a less interested expression.

"Oh come now, really? You should be honoured that you get to introduce such a sweet and charming little brother like me!" Spoke up a man with champagne-coloured hair. Esper and Victor immediately glanced at Nova. Just by demeanor alone, the male already reminded them of their fashionista friend.

"This one here is Asmodeus . He's the fifth eldest. He is the Avatar of Lust." Lucifer introduced as if he couldn't really care less, but it didn't exactly make the man knows as Asmodeus too happy.

"Wh... I can't believe you just totally ignored what I said! And not only that, you referred to me as 'this one'. How rude!" Nova let out a small giggle once he realised the comparing looks his friends sent him, and he had to nod at them as he listened to Asmodeus.

"Hmph. At least he didn't ignore you altogether. How do you think I feel?" A blond male spoke up with a semi-annoyed expression. It was evident to Esper he was trying to keep an approachable expression on his face despite his true emotions.

"That one there is Satan, the fourth eldest of us. At first glance, he may seem like a responsible demon with a good head on his shoulders, but looks can deceiving." The shortest male nodded to himself, he was right with his observation. Satan raised an eyebrow and spoke with a sarcastic tone in Lucifer's direction, a hand resting on his hip and the other under his chin.

"Aha, so I'm that one, am I? Nice to meet you all. I am Satan, the Avatar or Wrath."

"The Avatar of Lust?" Nova questioned with his head tilted slightly to the side in confusion.

"That's right! It pretty much sums up what I'm about!" Asmodeus confirmed with a smile, though that smile quickly dropped with his next words. "Including my power. Let's give a little demonstration! You, what's your name?" He pointed towards Nova with a smirk who soon answered.

"Just call me Nova."

"Nova, could you gaze into my eyes for a moment? It's okay, I won't hurt you. Come on, don't be shy..." The smirk on his face grew as he made his way closer to the dirty blond male. Said man nodded and looked directly into the demon's orange eyes. "Yes, great! That's perfect! Now, keep your eyes fixed on mine. Just like that..." They all stood their in silence before Asmodeus backed away in clear confusion. "...Wait a minute. There's something about you... hmm..."

"I should probably warn you three: you'd all best be wary of Asmodeus's gaze. He can charm and manipulate people and use them to his own advantage. If you're not careful, he'll charm you. And once you're under his spell, he'll eat you." Esper let out an almost silent hum and Satan's warning, him internally documenting the information. Nova simply raised an eyebrow, looking between both brothers.

"Hey, don't go around saying things like that..." Asmodeus said with a small and slightly annoyed pout before it shifted into a frown. "Hmm... regardless, my power doesn't seem to work this time for some reason. I wonder why."

Lucifer let out a sigh at their antics, "Are you done? Nova, you have introduced yourself, but who are you?" He turned to look down at Esper. The height between them was almost a little comical, though the shorter's height reminded him of a certain other exchange student.

"I'm Project-" A surprisingly loud beep escaped him mouth as he spoke, though he and his two friends beside him didn't seem to fazed by it. "But Victor and Nova named me Esper, so please call me Esper!" A bright smile grew on his face once he finished his coded introduction, his hands happily on his hips. The demons in the room didn't seem to expect that introduction, even if there was a mishap in the students brought down, they were all human... right? Lucifer shook his head with a sigh and decided not to question Esper's words and continued the introduction of his brothers.

"Now, the one there with the very grumpy look on his face is Beelzebub. He's the sixth oldest."

"Lucifer, I'm hungry." Esper's eyes shone at Beelzebub when he spoke, someone to try out his cooking! He always enjoyed making different dishes for his friends, but they we're definitely quite busy a lot of the time so he couldn't always have them taste test his cooking. Lucifer, however, responded to the ginger male's words with a sigh.

"That's too bad. Now behave yourself."

"I'm Beelzebub, the Avatar of Gluttony." The demon gave a small nod to the trio as he introduced himself.

"So... There are seven of us brothers in all, and I am the eldest. Mammon, the second oldest of us, will be here soon. My other brothers aren't here at the moment, but... well, we can get to them later. All in good time." Lucifer explained. Vince brought a hand up to his chin in thought.

'There's seven brothers in total, and it's clear they're meant to be the Seven Deadly Sins. We've met all but... Envy and Sloth so that would make them the third and seventh oldest I believe...'

Diavolo's voice quickly snapped him out of his thoughts, "During your stay in the Devildom, the seven brothers will lend you their strength. To keep you all safe, you are to stay with them at the House of Lamentation. I'm certain you three should be able to fit in one room, but we will be able to provide more comfortable accommodations inside if necessary!"

"To keep us safe?" Victor raises a cautious eyebrow. He already felt uncomfortable being surrounded by a bunch of demons, despite how attractive Lucifer was but especially without his cane to keep himself stable, hell he was occasionally leaning on Nova or Esper now and then, but being told that these demons were meant to keep him and his friends concerned him greatly.

"Most agree with Diavolo, but that doesn't mean that there aren't vulgar demons out there who wouldn't harm you." Lucifer immediately began to explain once he saw Victor's cautious expression. "If anything were to happen to you, it would be our responsibility. And I won't betray Diavolo's expectations. So, I will do everything in my power to make sure you survive your stay down here in the Devildom. Although we will all be living together, you should still have the means to reach us at any given time." He then gestured to the D.D.D still in Victor's hands. "All of our phone numbers are already in there, and your D.D.D also has a messaging app. Make sure to add all of us. As I mentioned earlier, Nova and Esper, you two will get a D.D.D tomorrow morning. Make sure to add all of us through Victor's when you get them."

"I'll go ahead and send you a message!" Diavolo happily exclaimed as he pulled out his own D.D.D.

"Isn't that nice, Victor. Now you will be friends with the future king of the Devildom." Satan commented with an amused smile. A small ping came from Victor's device and he quickly tapped on Diavolo's message to reveal a cute sticker of a red and black demon, him sending his own sticker back before pocketing the D.D.D.

"Well, you've got that done now, and it seems the idiot has arrived as well." As soon as Lucifer said that, the doors to the courtroom they were all in slammed open with a tan, white-haired male stormed up towards Victor. He seemed a little taken aback at three exchange students being there rather than one, though his annoyance and attitude quickly came back.

"HEY! Just who do you think you are, human? You've got a lotta nerve summoning the Great Mammon!" He pointed a finger into Victor's chest with a scowl on his face. "Listen up, because I'm only gonna say once. If you value your life, then you'll hand over all your money now! And anything else of value too! Otherwise I'll wipe that stupid, happy-go-lucky look right of his face..." He gestured towards Esper who was calmly smiling. "...by eatin' all three of you! Startin' at your head and working my way down, until-" However, Mammon's 'speech' was soon interrupted by Lucifer.

"Mammon, shut up or I'll punch you!" Victor looked concerned and practically disgusted at the threat towards the second oldest brother, him looking Lucifer up and down once more before turning to look at the two behind him, them returning his gaze with their own expressions of concern.

'What the fuck? This pisses me off, what brother threatens to punch another like that?'

The sound of said punch is what snapped Victor out of his thoughts, and all three heads snapped towards Mammon who stumbled back.

"GAH! OW! Hey, what's the big idea?! I thought you were actually gonna give me a chance to shut up before punching me!"

"Victor, Nova and Esper, Mammon here is the Avatar of Greed. He governs and oversees all forms of it." Satan introduced as if the said male he was introducing wasn't just punched. "Whenever he takes a liking to someone, they suddenly find themselves awash in money. But from what I hear, if he decides to break it off with someone, that wealth evaporates. They're left without a Grimm to their name." Asmodeus leaned closer towards the trio once Satan was finished speaking, fake whispering to them.

"And he's also a masochist. That part's important." Nova let out an audible 'huh' whilst Lucifer simply nodded at his brother's claim.

"Indeed. And it just so happens I have a job for my masochist of a brother."

"Y'all, stop telling lies! I ain't asked for that punch, and I AIN'T a masochist!" Mammon clearly wasn't happy or amused by his brothers, his voice raised into a near yell. The eldest brother seemed to disregard the male's anger and began to explain the job he mentioned.

"Mammon, you are going to be in charge of seeing to this human's needs during the whole exchange. I expect your full cooperation." A smirk grew on Lucifer's face as he spoke and it grew when Mammon yelled out in refusal.

"What?! Why me?!"

Asmodeus let out a childish whine as his arms crossed over his chest, a pout on his face. "Aww, lucky you, Mammon! I'm so jealous..."

"All right, then why don't YOU do it, Asmodeus?!"

"What? Hell no, too lazy."

"I thought you said you were jealous of me?!"

Victor, Nova and Esper simply looked at each other in silence as the brothers continued to bicker until the dirty blonde male cracked a small smile at the pure absurdity of everything, and it certainly didn't take long for the three to start quietly giggling to each other. Diavolo and the unnamed demon by his side watched the three laugh and the prince simply gave a smile of his own at the sight of them. With the three of them distracted with each other, they didn't exactly notice that the brothers had all stopped arguing with each other until Mammon's voice directed to them caught their attention.

"All right, humans, listen up. As much as I don't want to look after you lot. I've got no choice. It's a huge pain in the ass, and I'm too important for this kind of thing, but Lucifer told me to do it, so I will." He practically grumbled his brother's name as Esper leaned closer to his friends to quietly whisper.

"Why did he say 'humans' like it's a slur??"

Mammon didn't seem to hear what the shorter male said as he just continued to talk, "But in return, you better make sure you don't cause me any trouble, got it?!"

The trio looked between each other, small smiles evident on their lips from their earlier giggling, and nod with Victor answering for them, "All right, deal." Mammon looked satisfied with their collective answer.

"Good, that's what I want to hear. As long as you do as I say, we won't have any problems. Just be sure you don't forget which one of us is the boss here." Lucifer then began addressing the trio, mainly Victor, again.

"We have decided who will take care of you, so on to the next subject: your tasks."

"Oo! Will we get tests?" Esper piped up with a hint of excitement in his voice. He was a fan of writing when he had the time to do so, it came to him quite naturally after all. His friends however weren't as excited as he was though.

Lucifer gave a smirk as he answered the male, "Good question... Your task is to polish up your souls nicely and to acquire the power to resist demons."

"Our souls?" Nova questioned. The demon's answer was practically immediate.

"Demons like humans with nice souls. Let me put it another way. Nice souls look like shiny jewels. Do you understand now? Demons will use their wisdom and abilities to tempt the humans so they can get their hands on their souls. Other demons at RAD also have tasks assigned to them just like you. In other words, either humans will be tempted by demons, or demons will lose against the shiny and noble soul of a human and make a run for it. You could say it is an experiment to find out who will win."

A conflicted expression appeared on Nova whilst a competitive smirk made its way onto Victor's face as he spoke, "What happens if I win?" Lucifer's own smile grew at the gothic male's question.

"Let's see... I will prepare some rewards to make sure you three give it your all." He then focused on the fashionista's look of confliction. "There, there, don't give me that look. Don't take it so seriously. You won't have to do those tasks on your own. After all, you all don't have any magic in you unlike the other exchange student from the human world..." Esper let out a sound of interest at the mention of a human with magic. "...so my brothers and I will lend our power to you and you alone." The trio couldn't tell whether the man meant all three of them or just Victor, but they couldn't be bothered to ask at that moment. "To see is to believe, so why don't you go and give one of those tasks a try, Victor? For your ease and our convenience, the three of you will take on tasks together as one individual."

After a small bit of searching through the apps on the D.D.D once he took it back out, Esper pointed out an app appropriately titled 'TASKS' and pressed on it for the taller male to reveal a small survey. The content inside of it wasn't too important, just a few basic questions, and it barely took a minute for Victor to fill it out before he pocketed it away again and turned his focus back on Lucifer.

"With that, my explanation has come to a close. But to sum it up for you... The three of you will be exchange students here at RAD for one year, and you must do your tasks. Your tasks shall consist of various errands or helping with student council affairs for a human's view. With any special tasks however, as none of you have any magic power, we will lend you a hand. When your exchange period comes to an end, you are to collectively submit a paper about your stay here in the Devildom. It's as easy as pie, don't you think?"

Once Lucifer was done talking, Mammon turned to him and spoke, "I wanna make one thing clear right now: Don't blame me if someone gets eaten, 'cause it ain't my fault."

"Lucifer, I'm hungry."

"That's too bad. Now, behave yourself."

Beelzebub went silent at his brother's repeated answer. Esper didn't seem to bothered by the atmosphere of the room and instead let out a small cheer as his friends gave a small laugh at his antics.

"Let's make it a year to remember!" Mammon looked the shortest male up and down with a bit of judgement with a small shrug.

"You... sure are a positive one." "Yep!" "Welp, I won't stop ya from havin' some fun."

"Victor, Nova, Esper, from now on you will be living in the House of Lamentation" Diavolo finally spoke up after a while of observation. "You'll be staying there with Lucifer and his six younger brothers. Humans, angels, demons, I imagine a universe where each accents the other. Where we are brought together as friends. This is my dream and I'm asking you to be the foundation for it. One year, that's what I ask of you. Good luck, everyone."

Chapter Text

"...Ugh, I don't believe this. Of all the rotten luck..." Mammon mumbled to himself as he and the trio of new exchange students exited the courtroom, the cold air outside immediately hitting them. It honestly felt quite nice, the temperature inside was comfortable but a cold breeze was always welcome. Victor took a look up at the night sky and let his shoulders relax. The sight was honestly quite beautiful. It was very similar to the sky at night up in the human world but he couldn't really recognise any of the visible constellations, nor could Esper when the gothic male nudged him lightly. "Why should I have to look after some humans? It's insulting, that's what it is! That rotten bastard... Does he really think he can scare me into doin' whatever he wants?" None of them were exactly listening to the demon's rants, not even Nova who was just picking at his nails and sighing at the chipped colours on them. He'd just have to repaint them as soon as he can. Mammon then stopped and turned to face the trio with a defensive tone as he spoke, "Just so we're clear... it's not like I can't say no to Lucifer, okay?!"

"Mhm." Nova sort of acknowledged his words, his focus moving from his nails to their surroundings and the large house before them.

"I only agreed to babysit you because, um... Well, you know, because... uh..."

"Yep!" Esper gave a bright smile, he was trying to just parrot his friend because he had nothing else to really do. He just wanted to get some rest at that point.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter! Just don't go thinking that I'm scared of Lucifer or anything! Because I'm not!"

Victor reverted his focus back to Mammon and gave a tired shrug as he found himself soon using Nova and Esper to balance him whilst he was standing, dismissively saying, "Honestly, I really don't care." Mammon wasn't happy with that answer though.

"WHAT?! Oh, now you're REALLY in for it...!"

"Ayo, I have a wife thank you very much-"

"...Although, come to think of it, I'm surprised you've got the guts to talk to me like that. You're not scared?" The demon didn't seem to actually process what Victor said, and his friends didn't pay mind to what was said, so the conversation just continued. "I mean, I'm a demon. You get that, right?"

"I get that more than you think." The tall male shook his head and Esper gently patted his shoulder. Mammon simply looked at Victor for a moment before giving a small huff.

"...Hmph. You're one strange human, I'll give ya that." The male then shrugged. "...Ugh, whatever. Let's move on." He turned back around and began to walk again towards the house Nova was looking at, opening the doors once they were close enough and stepping inside. The three exchange students followed and immediately began to look at the interior, it definitely looked more welcoming than the outside did in the dark. The wallpaper was a nice blue which Esper was a fan of, Victor looked interested in the gargoyles by the two sets of stairs, and Nova gazed at the fancy paintings hung on the wall. Mammon turned around to face them again with his hands on his hips.

“This is the House of Lamentation. It’s one of the dorms here at RAD. Well, it’s not JUST one of the dorms. It’s the dorm reserved for student council members. Lucifer, Asmo, and the others take every chance they can get to insult me. Callin’ me scum, sayin’ that I’m a money-grubber and stuff… but I’m an officer on the student council, same as them. The elite of the elite, the top of the RAD social pyramid.” A proud laugh left him. “In other words, I’m a big shot. A REAL big shot. Like, even regular big shots are impressed by what a big shot I am. So don’t you go thinking that I’m just some ordinary demon. I’m nothing like those other peons walking the halls here.”

“I can think of someone who’d like him” Nova whispered to Victor with a smirk which caused them both to quietly giggle, the taller male nodding in agreement.

“By the way, Diavolo is even MORE of a big shot. He’s so important that he’s got his own castle. That’s why he doesn’t live here with us.” Mammon continued to speak, not paying attention to the two who were laughing. “...Anyway, the long and short of it is that us seven brothers all live here together. Now, It’s time I show you your room…”

Victor let out a sigh of relief at being told that, he just wanted to sit down now. His focus moved to the side as they all began to walk through the hall and fixed onto a nearby bulletin board full of fliers. He stopped in his tracks to read one that caught his eye about an opening for a part-time job position.

‘It would be nice to earn some money down here… I don’t think they have the same currency here.’ Victor thought to himself as Esper and Nova walked over to take a look at the bulletin board too before Mammon called out with an annoyed tone.

“Hey, don’t just stand there with your jaw open. Hurry up, or I’m gonna leave ya behind. If there’s something you wanna ask me, you’d best do it now.”

The trio quickly caught back up with Mammon as Victor spoke up, “Can you tell us about that job listing on the board back there?” It was always good to have more information than none at all.

“Huh? If you’re curious about that, you can read the flyer on the bulletin board, can’t ya?” The gothic male deadpans at Mammon’s words.

“I was just trying to, dumbass.”

“Go take a look at it yourself later if you want.” Mammon practically ignored the man’s words before gesturing towards him. “Wait, didn’t ya get your own D.D.D? It’s got that app called ‘JOBS’  in there, right? You can try checking that out later if ya wanna find a job.” The demon’’s tone suddenly turned into a more serious one. “Now, I’m gonna give you a piece of advice, so listen up. If you wanna survive even a day here in the Devildom, you’d better listen REAL close to what I’m about to say. If it ever looks like a demon is about to attack you… run away. Either that, or die.”

An unfamiliar voice piped up from an indigo-haired male who was stomping up towards Mammon, “How about this? I vote for YOU to die, Mammon.” He was clearly very angry with a scowl evident on his face. Mammon jolted in surprise as soon as he heard the other demon.

“D’ah…! Levi… Uh, l-listen up, humans! This here is Leviathan, the Avatar of Envy. He’s the third oldest of us brothers. Since his name’s sorta hard to say, you can just call him Levi! Okay then, let’s move on.” The male was ready to continue walking off but the demon known as Leviathan interrupted him.

“Mammon, give me back my money. Then go crawl in a hole and die.” He stepped close to Mammon, clearly still annoyed at his brother. The group of three were just awkwardly watching the interaction before quietly laughing at something Victor was whispering.

“Come on, I told you I’d get it to you! I just need a little more time… And you still want me to die even after I give it back? That’s real harsh, Levi!” Mammon complained.

“You need a little more time? How much more?”

“A little more, okay?! A little more means a little more!”

“You’ve been telling me that for the last 200 years, Mammon.”

Nova, Victor and Esper looked between each other and shrugged before they decided to just entertain themselves for a bit. Victor took out his D.D.D and tapped onto an app named ‘Devilgram’ which was clearly just a copy of Instagram and they all just scrolled through, talking about pictures they found interesting. They only stopped when they heard Mammon speak.

“...time for you to die, because if it’s either you or me, it ain’t gonna be me!” The demon quickly ran off afterwards, leaving the students alone with Leviathan who was also a little startled.

“Hold on. I thought your advice was to either run away or- …Wh… damnit, Mammon! That ass… he ran off…!” He then turned to face the trio, an annoyed scowl as his expression. “Do you realise what just happened? Mammon used you as a distraction to get away from me… Or maybe I should say he used you as a sacrifice.”

Esper slowly raised his right arm with a blank look on his face before Nova reached over and pushed it back down.

“I’ll admit that Mammon is one of the scummiest scumbags you’ll ever meet… a total lowlife. But still, that was pretty dumb of you letting him use you like that.”

At Leviathan’s words, Esper turned to face Nova and whispered, “What about now?”

“Esper, no.”

Leviathan kept talking and sighed, “This is EXACTLY why humans are-” He cut himself off as a smile grew onto his lips. “...Wait a second. Humans… yes, that’s it… Suddenly, I’ve got an idea. Listen, are you free right now?” He didn’t let them answer before continuing. “Of course you are. You’ve gotta be, right? You know what? Nevermind. Either way, you’re coming with me.”

The demon gestured for them to follow and, without anything else they had to do, they followed him up a set of stairs nearby. As soon as they started walking, the D.D.D in Victor’s hand gave a ping and notifications on Mammon’s contact which he tapped on.

Mammon

Heya, I suddenly remembered I have some business I gotta take care of. So, if ya need something, just ask Levi.

[wink.sticker.png]

Oh, and just to make sure… Don’t go around tellin’ stuff to Lucifer, ya got that?

[doom.sticker.png]

You

[doom.sticker.png]

Mammon

[eegh.sticker.png]

As soon as Victor pocketed the D.D.D and looked back up only to find Levi stopping in front of a room. He took a look to the right and left of the hall before he quickly tugged Victor into his room. Esper and Nova turned to each other, shrugged and made their own way inside. Once the door was shut, he began to talk.

“...What’s that now? You want to know why I looked around to see if anyone was watching before I closed the door?”

“No one really asked?” Nova raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you THINK I did it?! Isn’t it obvious?! Imagine what would happen if someone saw me inviting you guys into my room! Humans who barely look like otakus, but total normies!” He clearly didn’t pay attention to Nova’s words, he was too absorbed in his own words. “You know what people would say, right?!”

A smile grew on Victor’s face as he took a look at the aquatic themed bedroom. He easily recognised many of the posters and figures placed about, including a familiar novel series on one of the bookcases that he loved to read from time to time.

”Actually, I’m a fan of a lot of this stuff, too.”

Leviathan’s face lit up in excitement at Victor’s statement, his tone eager as he spoke, “Really? You are…?” Nova and Esper nodded for their friend. They already knew what he liked, in fact they all bonded over their shared interests in general. “W-Well, if you think that means I’ll give you special treatment now, you’ve got another thing coming! Because I won’t!”

Victor’s focus returned to the bookcase he briefly glanced at and shifted towards it, his eyes lighting up as he saw is was the exact series he thought it was. The Tale of the Seven Lords: The Lord of Shadow Awakens. The demon immediately noticed his gaze on it.

”What is it, human? What’re you looking at? Wait, that looks like… The Tale of the Seven Lords. Are you a fan of that, too?”

”Yep, I love it!” The gothic male nodded his head eagerly.

Leviathan let out a huff and asked, “Hmph, is that so… Okay then, can you tell me what the first lord is known as in the story?”

”Easy, The Lord of Corruption!” Victor answered practically immediately, snapping his fingers as he did so. Leviathan’s eyes practically shone when he answered, he was clearly expecting a wrong answer. He quickly cleared his throat and shook his head lightly.

“A-Anyone could get that. What about Henry’s animal sidekicks that show up in Volume 15?” He crossed his arms.

”A wolf spirit and a sugar glider spirit!” With that answer, the demon doesn’t bother trying to stop the smile on his lips.

”Who’s your favourite lord? Almost everyone likes the oldest lord, the Lord of Corruption the most, but not me, I like the third lord, the Lord of Shadows, way more! Of course, I like Henry too. I mean, he’s the protagonist, he’s amazing! Almost as great as the third lord! You actually remind me a little of how he was described in one of the plot points.” Leviathan ranted with Victor nodding eagerly.

”He’s my favourite too! I love how he interacts with Henry, they’re amazing friends, I love how Peugeot writes their interactions!”

“Hey, actually, check this out. See that goldfish in the fish tank over there?” The demon gestured to a fish tank just nearby which Esper decided to observe. “He’s actually named Henry. I love TSL so much that I couldn’t help naming him after the main character. But I can’t really high-five a goldfish, can I?” He let out a sigh, Victor shaking his head with him.

Nova piped up with a giggle, “Vic, I remember when you named that one spider you found Henry and tried to keep it as a pet!”

”Hey, spiders are cool!”

“Was that meant to be mean teasing?” Esper turned around to Nova and raised an eyebrow.

”I don’t know anymore, I’m just tired.”

”Fair enough!”

Leviathan grew a smile at the new information of the human he was bonding with, his rant continuing, "The original author of TSL, Christopher Peugeot, he's actually a human, you know? That's why I'm so jealous of you guys."

The shortest male in the room raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze away from everyone else in the aquatic bedroom, his eyes glowing a light cyan before he shook his head. He didn't say anything though.

"Humans are so lucky. You've got subscription services that let you watch your favourite anime anytime, you can go to Akihabara whenever you want..." Nova shook his head at Leviathan's rants.

'If only we could afford a trip to Japan. At least we've got Afflecks.' He thought with a shrug as the demon continued his yapping mainly to Victor.

"Why do only you guys get to experience all the good stuff? I mean, humans' whole concept of pleasure originally came from us demons, you know? We gave it to you. So why can't we have a little of that back now, huh?"

The blond and blue haired friends glance over to each other and shake their heads simultaneously before Esper waved the other over towards the the fishtank he was stood in front of, the two soon delving into their own conversation as their friend and the demon kept conversing.
"I don't think there's any harm in just coming out and saying what you know is true: Mammon is a complete and utter scumbag." Nova perked up at Leviathan's sudden topic change, nudging Esper's arm gently with the indigo-haired male continuing to speak. "It's very important that you understand this. So I'll say it one more time. Mammon is a hopeless. Worthless. Scumbag. I lent that scumbag money, and now I want him to pay me back. But being the scumbag that he is, he won't do it."

"Can't you just force him to in some way? You are a demon." Victor piped up with a small hint of curiosity in his voice.

"I wish I could force him to, but despite what a rotten waste of space he is, Mammon's still the second oldest. As the third oldest, no matter how hard I try, I don't stand a chance against him."

Esper walked closer towards the demon and his gothic friend, dragging Nova along, and piped up in confusion, "How did the two of you even become, uh... enemies? You're brothers, right? My data doesn't say that siblings typically act as how I've seen here..."

"You say you want to know how Mammon and I first became enemies? Well, it's a long story, but sure. I'll tell you, human." Nova gave a quick snort at Leviathan's words before Esper elbowed him without a glance. The demon simply continued, "Once, a long time ago, Mammon won a prize in a convenience store promotional campaign. If you bought something, they let you reach into a box and pull out a piece of paper that told you what you'd won. And the prizs Mammon won was a Seraphina figurine, something I would've died to have. But, despite the fact that Mammon had no interest in it at all, he refused to give it to me."

"Why though? I mean, you both could've traded something, right?" Nova's eyebrow raised with his question, but Leviathan shook his head.

"Why, you ask? Because I wanted it... that's it. That was the only reason. I wanted it, and he said no just to torment me. I mean, how awful is that?! So, I got to thinking... Mammon's going to end up treating Seraphina like some random piece of junk. That much is a given. I can maybe handle it if he at least leaves her in her original packaging, but what if he actually takes her out of the box?! He might just do it! And if he does, he'll get dust on her, won't he?! I decided I had to save Seraphina, so I snuck into Mammon's room in the middle of the night. And what do you think I saw there?!" Leviathan ranted.

Victor's opened his mouth to respond to the demon's question, but clearly it was more rhetorical as he continued without an answer, "You're not gonna believe it. He didn't open the box... No, it's way worse than that. He hadn't even taken it out of the plastic convenience store bag, which he'd tossed on the floor of his room. THE FLOOR! He actually left SERAPHINA on the FLOOR! The Queen of the High Elves Herself! Sure, she seems cold and prideful at first, but once you get her alone, you find out that she really wants affection, she just doesn't know how to admit it, and it's soooo cute! Yet Mammon just threw her on the floor! And I don't think he'd cleaned it in three months. It was covered in junk. Old empty cup ramen containers, tissues with died snot and... and boogers in them." The description of the room almost made Nova gag. "Stuff was strewn everywhere. And there she was, lying there amongst all of that! On the FLOOR! Tossed aside like so much junk! How COULD he?!"

Esper felt his head lower slightly, his gaze moving to stare straight ahead at the tiled floor. Nothing informative seemed to be being said at that moment so he just decided to let himself rest for a little. It only felt like a blink of the eye before a few choice words stood out to him. "Pact" "Mammon" "Ordered". He forced himself to snap back into attention as the blond beside him questioned the demon's words.

"What is a pact exactly? Sounds familiar but ehh..." He trailed off. It was somewhere in his head but he couldn't remember where exactly. It must've come up before in one of Viktor's nightly rants.

Leviathan raised an eyebrow at the question, "A pact, with a demon... Haven't you seen that in movies and such? The demon lends his strength to a human to make their wish come true in exchange for their soul."

"I don't want to give up my soul!" "That's so cool!" The taller two of the trio stared down at the android for a moment but they didn't say anything. It's not like the guy had a soul to give up, so of course he wouldn't be worried by the thought. The indigo-haired demon even had a look of concern himself.

"Your reaction is kinda worrisome considering I didn't even tell you about the risks yet, but oh well!" He shrugged. "Using demons sounds cool right? You wanna give it a try? Also, I'm sure it would he useful having him as your servant. I mean, despite how awful he is, he's still a powerful demon. But I bet you feel worried, being dragged down here to the Devildom and all."

The demon clearly wasn't paying attention to their expressions, the three were all exhausted physically and mentally in one way or another rather than being worried at that moment.

"So, I don't think it would end up being a bad deal for you either. Don't you agree?" He asked and continued. Viktor gave a shrug as he folded his arms over his chest, an eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"How would we even go about doing that? None of us exactly have any experience making pacts or even talking to demons, y'know." His tone, despite his curiosity, was also a little untrusting. Should he really be thinking of attempting to forge a pact with a demon of all creatures? The very things he was taught to fear and hate his whole life?

"I take it this means you think this plan of mine could work, right? Excellent." Leviathan seemed oblivious to the gothic male's inner argument. "You guys may be human, but still... you show some promise! Regardless, if I'm being honest, I don't really care what you think."

'That makes two of us.' Nova thought as he lightly rolled his eyes.

"What's important is that I have a plan, and I'm going to explain it to you now. So, shut up and listen." No one but the demon were even talking but they didn't refute. "If you just walk up to Mammon and ask him to make a pact with you, he'll never agree. No, you need some leverage... a bargaining chip. You're going to offer him something in return..." Leviathan let out a small, scheming laugh. "Something he wants so badly that he'd do ANYTHING to get it."

The four continued to talk about the plan Leviathan had made up, well, it was more like the exchange students simply listening and occasionally nodding along, before the demon eventually ushered them out of his room. Again, it was more like quickly pushing them out and shutting the door behind them.

The three friends looked between each other for a moment before Esper chirped, "Well, let's find where we're meant to be staying! The sky is hard to tell the time with but back home it should be around midnight by now! You both should be tired!" The short male didn't even wait for an answer before taking his friends' hands and pulling them along.

After a quick few minutes of heading down to the lower floor and searching the hallways, they finally came across a room with a small note taped on it reading that it is where the three will be staying. The android pushed the door open and held it for the other two to enter.

"Huh. This place actually looks pretty comfortable." Viktor mumbled to himself, taking a seat on the bed. The covers were a comfortable texture and a lovely purple mixed with pink pillows including a couple extra on the floor just by the bed. Nova walked over to the table just nearby and ran his hand over the smooth wood. The five chairs surrounding it were made out of the same wood with a velvet cushioning on the seats of them. Esper however looked around rather worriedly. There was nowhere for him to charge. Sure, there were outlets, but he couldn't charge his power with an outlet alone. He let out a disappointed sigh, he'd just have to ask someone like Diavolo about it the next day, assuming he'll have enough power for that day.

"So, who's sleeping where?" Esper questioned with a quick smile he forced onto his lips, his charging issue didn't need to be brought up at that moment. "I don't need to sleep on the bed, so what about you two?"

The two thought for a moment before Viktor shrugged and spoke whilst gesturing to the bed, "I mean, it was meant for just me originally, soo..." He trailed off with a grin as Nova rolled his eyes with his own giggle.

"Fine, fine, but I'm using those extra pillows! There better be a spare blanket around here somewhere. Ugh, and clothes! I am NOT wearing the same thing twice in a row." Nova let out a groan at the thought of having to repeat his outfits. He was never a fan of doing so. Nothing wrong with it, of course! It's simply not for him!

"We'll probably be given some uniforms in the morning! The brothers' outfits looked like uniforms, and we are going to school, so there's a high percentage that they will supply us with the suitable attire!" Esper spoke happily, clapping his hands together with a smile.

The room eventually fell silent as they made themselves comfortable. The fashionista managed to find a couple blankets in the wardrobe and was laying down on the floor with them over him. The eldest was sat cross-legged on the bed, D.D.D in hand, and the robotic male had made himself comfortable sitting on the ground with Nova.

"..."

"I miss my wife guys. I miss her a lot."

Esper and Nova immediately bursted out laughing.