ᴏʙᴇʏ ᴍᴇ || ᴏɴᴇ ꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜱᴛᴜꜰꜰ

♡ ᴘɪᴇᴅ ᴘɪᴘᴇʀ || ʙᴀʀʙᴀᴛᴏꜱ ♡

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MC's POV

You knock on the Demon Lord's Castle gently as you wait for a response. Normally by now, Barbatos would've opened the door. In fact, he would've opened it before you even knocked. This unusual silence stirs up a bit of worry inside you. It isn't like him to call you over then be preoccupied with something else. No, he's a prepared sort of demon that can multitask.

"Um... Barbatos? Are you in?" you shout through the door, hoping that someone will hear you.

From inside, you hear a loud thud then a bunch of metal objects falling to the ground, creating a symphony of catastrophe. It all seems to be coming from the kitchen. You creep around the castle and lean against the walls in order to hear more. You manage to make out Barbatos' voice, and small squeaks from creatures.

"Barbatos?" you shout for him again, "That's you, right? You asked me to come earlier?"

The war between butler and vermin stops and the kitchen window is pushed open. He sticks his head out and looks around for whoever called his name before he sees you and smiles.

"Oh, (MC). How kind of you to come. I'd love for you to come through the front door but I'm having a bit of a problem here at the moment," he admits. "Is it alright for you to climb through the window?"

It's only a bit taller than me, you think to yourself as you try to calculate your height differences. Barbatos holds out a helping hand, believing that he'll be able to pull you up if necessary.

You grab on the edge of the window and hoist yourself up before grabbing on to his hand as he pulls you into the kitchen. As your feet touch the recently cleaned tiles, you notice the place in a complete and utter mess.

Pots and pans that once hung from the wall, now on the floor scattered among kitchen utensils. Cupboard doors are left wide open, some also broken to the point where they're only hanging on by a hinge, and some kitchen ingredients are spilled all over the countertops.

"Barbatos... What happened here?" you ask him.

He doesn't reply and instead holds a finger up to your lips, asking you for silence. He grabs the closest object to him, a broom, and takes light steps towards the pantry as you hear tiny little scratches and rustling inside.

Creeping slowly towards the ruckus, he flicks on the pantry lights and finds at least three rats inside, stealing little bits of food here and there. You see Barbatos' face twist into an expression of fear and disgust.

"Out! Out!" he uses the broom as a weapon, trying to scare the small rats out of the pantry. "Away, you furry pests!"

As he knocks over a box of vegetables, he reveals another two rats. They squirm from the shelves and down to the floor, fleeing as fast their feet can carry them. They rush past your legs, their worm-like tails skimming your skin. You let out a light scream, slightly unnerved.

One after another, the mischief of rats escape. One of them, the smallest of the group, runs slower than the rest and bumps straight into Barbatos' ankle, letting out a painful squeak as it hit its head, before continuing its getaway.

Barbatos shudders, then his body stiffens. "A rat... Touched... Me," he utters.

"Wh-What's wrong?" you ask him as you notice him getting dizzy.

He places a hand on his forehead, trying to maintain balance. His breathing gets heavy as he finds it difficult to inhale. The broom drops to the floor and Barbatos leans against one of the kitchen counters, his legs struggle to keep him up for much longer.