"Princess ... "
Diavolo cradled your body closer to him. Your warmth seeped out with each second. Stale blood dripped from your wounds.
Diavolo chuckled drily.
Those gentle hands that would pat his head, the calloused but lovely fingers that drove him crazy with each touch--he will never feel them again.
Chuckling became laughing.
His flames blazed brighter and pitch-black smoke rose from earth. Rising higher into the sky, Diavolo's wings grew and stretched so far they covered the sun and engulfed the city in darkness. From his flames swung out a tail with scarlet scales. It swept across the buildings, killing hundreds and destroying everything.
"Beast!" The humans screamed. "The witch summoned a beast!"
"Witch?" Diavolo repeated.
His maniacal laugh thundered throughout the city.
"You killed her for that?" The woman he loved was a soul who would never use her magic selfishly. You never turned away a patient even when they disrespected you.
The red dragon tenderly gazed at the lifeless body in his hand.
The skin had lost its vigor, scratches covered your face, and the arms ...
How long did you suffer? How much did you suffer?
If only ... if only he stayed with her.
"Unholy beast!"
Diavolo's thoughts were interrupted when the human soldiers started shooting arrows at him. One arrow flew past his claws and almost hit your corpse.
The red dragon roared into the sky.
The large city that once bustled with life was reduced to ashes in less than half a day.
Diavolo flew back to your home. When he found the squatters wearing your clothes and the kids trampling the flowers you adored, he almost sent them to the next life. But he sensed the mana that radiated from them. It was your mana.
"Take off the clothes that aren't yours and leave behind what belongs in this house," he ordered with glowing eyes.
There were a foolish few who disobeyed by pocketing a ruby Diavolo gifted. They were two kids, the ones who threw rocks at you--
Half their faces were melted off.
"A saint touched your souls so I won't kill you," Diavolo said. "But don't test my patience."
The refugees ran for the mountains and Diavolo was left alone.
"I'm here," he whispered, kissing the top of your head. "I'm right here, princess, so come back soon ... "
Gabriel and Lilith arrived a few weeks later. They've only now just heard the news.
Shock didn't begin to describe what they felt at the scene that welcomed them.
Your humble mud house was transformed into a wooden cottage. The tiny patch of soil you proudly called a garden was bigger, lining the side of the river with herbs and flowers and other plants.
Life seemed to overflow
Gabriel barged inside the cottage.
The crown prince of hell sat on the edge of a bed. He was wiping the feet of a corpse, his eyes full of mad love while telling a story about how big the pomegranates were.
"I promise I didn't use any magic. When you wake up, let's make some dessert with them--"
A fist flew and Diavolo landed on the ground.
"You crazy ... " Gabriel's chest heaved. He didn't even know where to begin.
Luckily, Lilith was there. She patted his shoulder before approaching the prince. "Cousin, this is wrong."
Diavolo lifted his head, eyes empty before focusing on Lilith. He grinned mechanically. "Oh, I didn't notice you coming in."
The angels exchanged glances.
"Do you like the house? I built it myself."
"Diavolo--"
"I was giving princess a bath, she's so spoiled--"
"Diavolo," Lilith cut him off. "Diavolo, MC is dead."
"She's sleeping, Lilith. She can't be dead, she's going to be the queen of hell. We promised we'd be together so there's no way she's dead."
"Oy," Gabriel stepped forward, glaring at the prince. "Stop running away from this, bastard. MC is dead. She's gone."
"Gone," Diavolo repeated with a whisper.
Your soul was gone.
Your soul was gone.
Your soul was gone.
But that's not possible. When you became one, he reinforced his seal so you would be bound to him forever. But your soul was gone. You weren't just dead, your soul was gone. He couldn't feel it anymore. Your soul vanished like a whisper in the wind.
Gone--
You were gone.
Diavolo clawed at his chest, cutting skin and drawing blood. His insides twisted. He buckled down and threw up.
"Right--" He croaked as angry fat, angry tears blurred his vision. He pulled on his hair. "She's gone. She's gone ... Even Barbatos said her soul ... she's gone."
"Do you think that's true?" Lilith knelt down and looked straight into his eyes. "Diavolo, think again."
"A soul is immortal. She may be lost," Gabriel said. "But she's not irretrievable. And when she comes back is this how you want to greet her?" He gestured at the ice-cold body.
Diavolo chuckled wearily. "What do you know?"
"I know that you didn't deserve her--"
"Gabriel--" Lilith tried to calm him down again but he shrugged her off.
"--I know that she deserves more than a pathetic, sobbing mess who avoids responsibility."
The demon prince couldn't bring himself to retort. Gabriel was right, he was pathetic.
"I know this doesn't sound much from an uncultured girl like me but ... but I want to work together with you. I want to be a partner who can help you with your problems."
Your words echoed in the back of his mind and Diavolo laughed again. With a tearful smile, he looked out the window and into the clear morning sky.
"You win, princess. You always win."
Meanwhile, in a roofless room surrounded by stars and with walls that stretched so far you could not see the end, two men played a game of chess.
The one who held an ebony pawn sighed. It was King Drakul of Devildom.
His opponent, a man with greying hair crudely dyed purple at the tips, quirked an eyebrow. "Something wrong, old friend?"
"I was just thinking--it's very hard being a father."
"Oh." His opponent nodded in agreement. "I feel ya. Lately, Lili has taken an interest in the human realm and Levi...the one with the bowl haircut keeps messing with the time warps. He's already reading literature that shouldn't be in existence yet."
"First of all, their names are Lilith and Leviathan. Secondly, my case is different from yours. Diavolo--"
"It's about time Diavolo fixes his behavior."
"I suppose ... "
"Cheer up, Drakul. Our plan worked, or rather, it's going to work. Ain't that right, Barbatos?"
Barbatos appeared with a burst of green smoke. He refilled their teacups. "You are correct, Lord God."
Drakul sighed again.
"Hey now, you can't start regretting it now," said Lord God. "I went AWOL for an extra five thousand years just for this moment."
He disappeared for millenia, causing conflict among the angels, and then arrived in time to stop a full-scale war. Not to mention, he had to create a random body and puppeteer it from the sidelines while waiting for a Host.
"You can't soften up now. Otherwise all that effort to educate Diavolo would have gone to waste. Think of those poor souls who failed and got sent to punishment worlds because of him, think of those humans he killed when he went feral the other day--think of how many loops Barbatos has gone through--and the beating Diavolo almost gave him!" Lord God dropped a sugar cube into his cup.
"I know, I know ... But those 2430 souls are on you. You could easily have asked Barbatos who would be the successful Host."
"You know I don't roll like that. It's boring to know everything—why do ya think I sealed away my powers?" Lord God added another sugar cube. "Ah, speaking of, what do you think of my newest recruit? The second genius I've encountered since I started this gig."
"Hm, let's see." Drakul grabbed a flower-shaped cookie. "Sharp-witted, competent and ruthless. I say, they'd be an excellent queen."
Lord God spat out his tea. "You can't--cough--you can't be serious."
"You can't deny that there is a possibility." He turned to his butler. "Right, Barbatos?"
A mysterious look ghosted over Barbato's eyes, then he grinned subserviently. "It is as you say, sire."
If you know me from Tumblr then you already know that I have this headcanon: In the past Diavolo was a wild, rebellious blood knight but now he is desperate to maintain peace in the three realms because he fell in love with a human in the past and patiently waits for her reincarnation so he can welcome her as his queen. Also, he's only the crown prince in the Obey Me! storyline because he refuses to become king without his beloved.
Man, I know I poke fun at him for being a reckless idiot in the story, but damn.
And imagine all the crap he deals with for uniting the three realms--all that effort for a soul who didn't even look back when she left. 🤧
(To have that kind of power on a man... Ate MC, paturo naman po. Charot lang. We must aspire to be good people haha)
Oh, and by the way--
I would like to clarify something since you guys keep making so many conspiracy theories.
Regarding the characters from the fictional worlds and the real world:
The Obey Me! Characters that manifest in the fictional worlds are treated as separate entities from those in the Real World. E.g. Lucifer from the CEO's arc is different from the Lucifer in Diavolo's arc/Real World, so if the same character appears twice, our MC will not compare their names, appearances, etc. Think of it as a perception filter. However, you can say that they are still connected because they are alternative selves of each other. So residual affections felt by CEO!Lucifer will be felt by Real World!Lucifer.
What was the third party interference at the end?
Unless the above story wasn't clear enough, the interference was Diavolo.
Will MC have a harem?
Who knows.
Did MC witness the conversation at the end through the system screen?
You'll have to wait for the next arc :P
Hope that makes things clear :D
(And please keep up with the praise, this madam would sell her firstborn for more praises from you guys.)
Until the next arc, my dear readers!