Chapter Text
All of them, gathered around a patch of grass in the forest next to the House of Lamentation.
All of them, wide-eyed and nervous.
All of them, staring at you.
Watching, waiting, listening intently as you were reciting the lines Barbatos had repeated to you so often. The butler, the prince, the brothers – none of them were sure they were doing the right thing. That was okay. You were.
“I am aware that my immortal soul will be trapped in my immortal body. I will not age. I will not die of natural causes. I will not be human anymore.”
Asmo was visibly shivering. You had found it remarkably ironic that the demon who was obsessed with beauty and youth was the one who wanted you to keep getting older the most. To be fair, none of them were completely convinced; each of their reactions had been a wild mixture of happiness and grief. Of course, they did not want you to die. But the fact you were changing yourself so fundamentally, only for them? It didn’t seem to sit well with those who loved you.
Telling Lucifer had been the hardest. There was more at stake. Would he be overcome with joy that you intended to spend eternity with him? Or would you see his face fall, when he realised that that’s not what he wanted at all?
In the end, he had been too stunned to speak. Never had you seen him so lost, wringing for words, wringing for thoughts. “Are you absolutely sure?”, had he finally uttered, eyes fixed on you with incredulity. His blood had grown cold with shock whilst a little spark behind his crimson irises had given away the relief he was feeling at the same time.
Even now, your eyes trained on him and his on yours, the anticipation in the air between you felt as dooming as it felt celebratory.
“I am aware that giving up my humanity and choosing to become a demon will result in me changing. I am aware that my biggest virtues could become by biggest flaws. I am aware love could become indifference, courage could become cowardice, candor could become viciousness.”
Asking Diavolo had not exactly been easy, either. Although, when the words had finally left your heavy tongue, his face had brightened much sooner than any of the others’. He had had a very long discussion with you, making sure that you knew what you were asking and that you were positive this was what you wanted. In the end, he had agreed to help.
And so the future king of the Devildom was now standing right behind you, ready to welcome your sacrifice and make sure that your human soul would warp into a demon instead of leaving for the celestial realm, as they all expected it to. Why, you were not sure. Pacts with the seven rulers of the underworld and several sinful acts of your past made you assume that you weren't headed up there anyway.
“I am aware that I might be giving up myself, the person I am and the person I could become. I am aware that I will be burdened with sin and that I have no control over which sin I will correspond with and nor do the seven Avatars. I am aware I will never be human again. I do this of my own accord.”
(x) It was weird. You had expected pain when the blade pierced the skin on your neck. You had expected yourself to hesitate. To maybe use less force than necessary, out of pure fright and an instinct of self-preservation. Maybe knowing that you were not ending your life, but beginning a new one was what made it so easy. What made you hardly feel the blood trickling down your collarbone. What made you respond to Lucifer’s pained gaze, Asmo’s gasp, Beel’s whimpering with a smile before you sank back into Diavolo’s chest.