Life in the Devildom

Welcome to RAD [P1]

Mmm... where am I...? You glance around the place with furrowed brows, taking note of its courtroom style. There are also several men in here looking in your direction. You bring up your hand and rub the back of your neck as you shift between your feet. You look up when the man in the seat of the chief judge starts to speak.

"Welcome to the Devildom," he says with a smile. A frown forms almost immediately. "...Oh, pardon me. Feeling a bit shocked, are we?" Another smile. "Well, that's understandable. You've only just arrived, after all." His expression shifts again, to a more serious look. "As a human, it will probably take a little while for you to adjust to things here in the Devildom."

"The Devildom...?" you question hesitantly. What in the hell...

The man's face brightens immediately. "Yes, exactly, the Devildom. I see that you catch on quickly. Excellent. I suppose I should start by introducing myself." That would be nice, yes. "My name is Diavolo. I am the ruler of all demons, and all here know of me. And someday soon, I will be crowned king of the Devildom."

Wait...what? Your eyes widen slightly and your lips part, showing your obvious shock. What?!

No one comments on your reaction, as Diavolo simply continues, motioning toward the room with his hands. "This is the Royal Academy of Diavolo...though we just call it RAD. You're standing inside the assembly hall, the very heart of RAD. This is where we officers of the student council hold our meetings and conduct our business. I'm the president of said council."

It takes a minute for you to find your voice, but eventually, a small "Why am I here?" comes out.

Another man speaks up. "I will explain everything to you," he says, crossing his arms as he does.

In contrast, Diavolo opens his. "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." Diavolo brings his arms in and crosses them, as a warm smile forms on his face.

You glance over Lucifer once, filing away the fact that he was called the Avatar of Pride for later thinking.

Lucifer sighs and shakes his head lightly. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Diavolo," he says. He turns to you fully with a smile. "Speaking on behalf of the entire student body at this great and storied school of ours...I offer you a most heartfelt welcome."

"Ah, th-thank you, but...on behalf of the students?" you question. You attempt to steady your heart by taking slow, deep breaths.

"Diavolo believes that we 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 two students from your world and two from the Celestial Realm. So, I take it you've probably put two and two together at this point, right?"

You drag a hand down your face and close your eyes. You sigh and nod, and Lucifer continues.

"You've been chosen from among the people of the human world to participate in this program of ours. You are our newest exchange student." You nod to show that you understand. "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."

Your breath catches in your throat. "Write a paper?!" you squeak out. It won't be a big paper hopefully —

"I am not telling you to write a doctoral thesis. You can take it easy."

You visibly relax at the news and send Lucifer a small glare. He smirks a bit.

"Don't glare at me like that," he says with a light chuckle. "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." A frown crosses Lucifer's face as he glances away from you. "He's the Avatar of Greed and...how should I put it...?" He sighs and looks at you again. "Oh well, you'll understand soon enough."

You rub your face again. Mammon... Avatar of Greed...? You put the thought in the same file as Lucifer's title for a moment as the black-haired man holds something out toward you.

"Here, take this device. It's called a D.D.D. It's a lot like the cell phones of your world."

You nod and take the D.D.D., immediately starting to tap away on it in order to at least figure something out in this strange world.

"This will be yours to use for as long as you're here." There's a hint of amusement in Lucifer's voice at your focus. "Now, go ahead and try calling Mammon with it."

You hum and furrow your brows. That's right...here. You tap the Phone icon, before scrolling and tapping Mammon's name. It starts ringing immediately, and you turn the phone on speaker (at Lucifer's motion) as you shuffle your feet.

After a moment, a "Yoooo" comes from the other end.

"Hi," you mumble into the phone. You could feel the amused looks from the others in the room.

"Huh? Who the hell are you? You ain't Lucifer." Wow. Rude.

"Doesn't mean you've gotta be a dick..." you huff quietly. Immediately you shake your head, saying "I'm a human."

"Whaaa? A human? Geez, I was gettin' all chilly here thinkin' it was Lucifer again. Ya should've told me right away."

You send a glance up toward Lucifer, who simply nods as if this were a normal happening.

"So, what business does a human got with THE Mammon?"

"Not grammar lessons, thankfully." You flinch at the words that you honest-to-everything hoped that Mammon didn't hear. A few laughs came from the others, but it didn't make you feel any better. "You'll be in charge of me from now on," you say simply. Please ignore the grammar thing...

"No way! There's nothin' in it for me." Oh thank whatever it is that saved you. "Whaddya even mean by "be in charge of you"? AAH! I get it now, you're the other human—the new exchange student! G'luck with that, and see ya."

You give Lucifer another look, because what were you supposed to do in this situation? He simply motions for you to keep going.

"Uh, Lucifer called for you," you say, in an attempt to bring the other demon into it.

"Pfft, whatever. Ya think THE Mammon would listen to ya just 'cause you're tryin' to scare me with that name?" You know, if you hadn't been told he was the Avatar of Greed, you'd definitely think he'd be the Avatar of Pride right about now.

Lucifer sighs and leans toward the D.D.D. "You've got 10 seconds..." He smirks and glances at you. "9...8..."

"YESSIR!" Mammon yells from the other side. It's heard clear throughout the room, which causes another few laughs as the line goes dead.

.....