“Yo Lucifer!” It didn’t take very long for the man in question to show up in his void, a large room covered the entire ground with sand with a small water puddle in the middle. He smiled to me seeing my ablaze figure.

“Wow, now I didn’t expect that much to come out. Looks like you do have much power, as I thought!”

“Cut the shit! What did you do to me?” He chuckled.

“I simply killing you, you know the old tale of how Demons die don’t you? I nod knowing the story like an old wives tale.

“Yeah, yeah. Demons can only ‘die’ by getting reborn back as Humans and having to live life over and if in the ‘next life’, if we do better than originally, the Demon in question has a chance to get into Heaven and may never die again.” He claps.

“Looks like you do listen.” I growled. “Calm down, I just gave you a bit of my power that you should have unlocked by now. I just didn't think it would have done this to you and it's so horrible to think you'll be dead soon." His sarcasm hurt it was obvious.

“What a father of the year.” He chuckled. “Now would you care to explain why you feel it’s necessary to do this?” He stared at me.

“I didn’t think you’d ever call me father again.”

“Answer my damn question.”

“While it certainly feels nice to hear that from my son again… you will no longer be my son in a few days.” He walked over to the puddle in the middle, disturbing the still liquid. “Your power was coming along nicely, it was growing at a steady rate. You’d probably be just as powerful as me one day if you had kept up your normal diet.” I narrowed my eyes. “But no, you slowed in eating Human souls, or any for that matter, for nearly half a month. I started to worry maybe you were just being stupid, but no I was wrong.” He turned to me. “You were in love, and that’s what kept you from eating anything.” I scoffed.

“I’m with someone now, she's from here. You might know them, but she was eating all of my food.” Lucifer stared at me unconvinced. “I’m a breadwinner not greedy.” He laughed.

“Like a son of mine could ever sit and let a female control him like that. So I thought: the only way that could be happening is that you were being subconsciously controlled by some kind of… enchantress. A siren? Succubus?” He laughed. “Did it feel ever so satisfying when I found out that you had found yourself an Angel! So I waited and waited to see if she would ever be a member down here in Hell, possibly even my daughter-in-law, but she never did. When she did come here it was as an Angel and no less about to be taken by you.” I didn’t say anything. “Though you are smart. She was very powerful by what I felt, not as much as you clearly, but enough. You were going to join in communion, the highest of Heaven's promises. You were ready to make her yours!” I chuckled. “You wanted to keep her by your side and make sure no one would ever harm her.” I chuckled.

“And you know what, I was really going to. I saw that her power need provoking in order to fully work. At first I thought about how stupid that was, but little by little I realized what she is, is better than strength, any power of authority me or you could ever have. I was trying to do this because I didn’t want to be like you. Demons who sit and rot, just waiting for your next victim to prey on. Cassie was more interesting than any Human or Demon could ever even hope to be. So yeah, I was gonna make her mine, ask her if she wanted to stay with me and if she said yes, we’d leave and I’d never have to see you again. I could be free to be with her for the rest of my immortal life.” Lucifer frowned. “So I ask: why did my big bad father have to waste his time doing this? Was it because you knew that if Cassie found out what I was doing she’d try and get me away from here and you’d be lonely? Or was it that you found her to be a threat to you?” Lucifer frowned deeply, but it went away as he suddenly smiled and started laughing.

“You’re right, she is a threat! All of those Angels like her. The ones of ice, they help those Human come to terms and for every Human they save it’s another Demon who’s killed in the process. This is our livelihood Akuma!” He took a breath. “And I just didn’t want anything to happen to my son either.” I scoffed.

“Yeah right, you’re just thinking about yourself. About how if they get enough souls saved you’d eventually starve to death and die. Then you’d have to live in the Human world to suffer once more.” Lucifer frowned once more.

“You’re smarter than you look… But none of this even matters. You’ll die in a matter of days and never get to see your precious Angel again!”

“If you think you’ve won, you’re sadly mistaken.” Lucifer chuckled.

“Go ahead and try escaping this, nothing will work.” With that he left and his laughter echoed in the room. I groaned and sat down on the ground. I had to think, but no matter my options, I was bound to leave Cassie’s side for a while. I swear on my life, or not life, that I will get back to Cassie. She’ll be able to stay happy and I won’t have to worry about not getting to be around her. I… I… care too much for that.

I shook my head, I had to get out of Hell and I put my powers to some use. They'd be a bit rusty since I hadn't been doing anything this whole time. I thought about leaving Cassie with something reassuring, but I couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t just worry her more than she likely already is. So I left it alone and just thought about how happy she’d be once I tell her we’d be going on another date and this time I’d buy her whatever sweets she wanted. I repeated that in my head over and over, until it stuck in my head.

…

I sat there for a long time, I was sure at least two days had passed and I still didn’t know what to do, I mean I knew what to do, but getting someone to do it was the problem and I didn’t know how to fix the problem! I ruffled my hair and thought.

“What was it that I did before? It’s been awhile since my last victim… I don’t remember how I got people to take the bait quicker!” I thought while kicking the liquid in Lucifer’s room. I soon felt it soak my feet instantly. That's when I remembered. I bent down and took my shirt off and drenched it in the liquid. I wouldn’t be able to wear it anymore, this stuff was like oil on clothes. That was enough to substitute as a sacrifice and enhance my ritual. The fire had only gotten that much more unbearable, but I traveled back to the forest anyways and I waited hoping that someone would take the contract before the sun came up, but instead it was actually a bit faster, like pizza delivery faster.

The bait was taken and I made my way to the idiot who drew blood for the ritual. This time, instead of getting to eat my lunch, I had to play nice. Thankfully this guy was alone, he was in what looked like his bedroom bleeding all over his sheets. I went inside and he screamed at my torched appearance, I looked down and gave a smile to him.

“Sorry about this, I don’t normally attract this many moths.” He couldn’t say anything and his hand kept bleeding, he’d bleed out if he kept the way he was going. What'd he do? I forgot about that for a second and spoke to him. “Okay, I don’t really care about what you think of this situation right now, but you’re going to listen and listen good, if you scream I’ll barbecue better than a pitmaster would!” He remained silent. I sighed and made up the contents of the contract he signed with his blood. Reciting the ending spell, I crossed my fingers and it was done. The fire finally went away. I sighed and felt my arm to make sure it was gone. The dude in front of me lost the look he had in his eyes when I first arrived and, I looked at him as he stood to reach my height.

“Y-you’re a demon… aren't you?” I rolled my eyes.

“No shit.” He grunted.

“What just happened? That cut on my hand is gone, but I didn’t see anything happen!” I sighed.

“If you were expecting bright lights and maybe some displays, maybe try and travel.” I paused. “I made a contract with you. The agreement is the following: you now have my powers as a Demon and I have.. I guess, your Human. Which means I can no longer use any of that power I had unless you break my conditions. The conditions are the following: you have to listen to everything I tell you to do, and if you break any of the unconditional rules, which I cannot state until you’ve broken one, this agreement will be terminated. Understood? Okay, great. Now we have something that we need to do… Wait you might not know how to use your powers… Damn.” He spoke loudly.

“You didn’t answer my question!” I sighed.

“Why are you so loud, do you not have parents?” I stopped him. “Don’t answer that, I don’t really care, but what didn’t I answer? I told you what happened, and if you’re wondering, yes, I am a Demon said the fire that was around me just a minute ago.” He just stared at me.

“W-well then what about those bogus rules! Doesn’t sound like anything I’ve read or seen in any T.V. show?” I nod to him.

“Ever seen a Demon in love?” He shook his head.

“Then that’s why. I need your help… Never thought I’d be saying that to a Human, but if I didn’t do this I would have been a Human myself again, but you have to listen to me otherwise you won’t get that ritual wish of yours.” I saw his cheeks turn red.

“You were actually going to grant my wish?” His eyes seemed to glow brighter.

“I have to, it’s the only way I get you to work.” He stopped and crossed his arms in skepticism.

“What’s with this whole work thing you got going here? Something you need me to do?” He nods.

“Yeah, trust me it’s nothing super important, but it’s just that I couldn’t do anything while I was about to die, so I needed another body… You were just the first who came up.” His mouth moved in a more awkward frown.

“I’ll have you know that I’m-”

“Something really amazing and blah, blah, bullshit that I don’t care about. Will you just listen?” He crossed his arms, I sighed. “Alright. I don’t care if you know how to control your powers, it’s kind of like a video game so it should be easy, but we need to get somewhere and quick.” The male looks at me then smirks.

“You know… I’d like to get some context on what exactly it is that I’m doing? I mean after all I can just screw up your plan." I stared. "I mean, I was listening to them, but I just don’t know how to do anything correctly!” I sighed, this is why I hate Humans.

“I need your help because an Angel I… uh, like you and those T.V. shows of yours?” He beamed.

“Love?” I nod.

“Yeah, that, me and her we’re like that, but something happened with my underworld daddy and I was going to die unless I did what I did giving you my powers and all.” He nodded happily. “So I need you to do my dirty work since I can’t get my powers back until our contract ends, but the only way I can get my Demon power back without it killing my body is that I need her, she might know about something in Heaven that can save me.” He chuckled to me.

“Do you know what it is?” I rolled my eyes feeling like hours have passed since I got here.

“I don't know it personally, I know it as a myth. That up in Heaven they have something called Purified Souls. It’s the soul of a Demon that’s been purified, it might kill me this Human form I’m in, but if it's real and I take it when I'm back as a Demon it might be able to get rid of the hyper drive my body was in… But I didn’t think about asking her what she thought of it, she might have a better plan.” I shook my head. “No, I can’t ask for her help… But look when we get there you’ll know it’s her. She has this really… beautiful brown hair and these big brown eyes, and she had a mole on the top of her forehead at her hairline.” His grin changed a bit and his cheeks turned pink as well.

“She sounds cute, does she have a cute sister or something?” Immediately, I thought of Ren. I nodded to him.

“Yeah, she’s real cute too.” He seemed to believe me as he bounced happily.

“Well then… I think I’ll try harder to help you!” I sighed.

“Then get a move on! You can teleport us with-”

“The name’s Arum Leto, it’s good to work with you!” I didn’t want to, but I shook his outstretched hand.

“Akuma. Now will you teleport us!”

“Although that sounded more like a command, I have to listen to you.” He grabbed my arm pulling on me and we roughly teleported back to my territory.

…

Once there I could see the light of a very familiar entity, Cassie seemed to be using her powers now to protect herself.

“So what now?” I turned to Arum who ruined the moment I was having, I pointed toward the light.

“I need you to just get as close as you can to that light over there, wait out and she’ll come for you. Okay? Don’t engage at all unless something comes at you.” He smiled to me giving me a less than reassuring thumbs up.

“Alright! My first mission! Though, this isn’t what I had in mind when I said give me something exciting, but it’s just as good!” He ran off, his auburn hair bouncing on his head as he ran. He looked like an idiot, but he was an idiot I had to rely on. I followed at a distance behind him to where I could see him and barely make out the Angel in the darkness. Cassie had to have something going on because there Ren wasn’t with her. In the time we were together, she managed to work her way up to being able to go to the Human world with no problem, but she had to be accompanied by Ren, so I wonder what triggered this? Though right now wasn't the the time to be thinking as Arum stepped out and readied his palm. I saw some of my fire form there.

“What are you doing dumbass!” I ran out and tackled him back behind the tree and we fell to the ground. He groaned and tried pushing me off.

“She looked like she needed some help!” I got off of him and whispered.

“You’re a fool! Does she really seem like she needs any help? Those Demons are disappearing one after the other!” He looked over seeing that they indeed were.

“Oh…” He shrugged to me. “Well, it's just that I thought having so many around her would have been a problem for the damsel in-” I stopped him.

“Don’t even compare her to something like that, just get back and wait for her to find you!” He sighed.

“Killjoy.” I nod.

“You'll be killed if you don’t do as I say and stop having your own thoughts!” We had been fighting and didn’t notice the silence. Cassie had driven off the Demons and was speaking my name trying to find me.

“Akuma!” I ran back and her footsteps grew closer. I watched them from afar. Her face was less than pleased when she saw Arum instead of me, but nonetheless she stood ready to defend herself as she spoke.

“Who are you and why do you feel like another Demon I know?” He chuckled.

“Is his name Akuma?” Cassie’s face softened upon mention of my name, she nodded furiously.

“Y-yes, it is… h-has something happened to him?” Arum shook his head.

“No… Well I’m not sure. Would you count: He’s like a human now, as trouble?” Cassie gasped nodding.

“Yes I would! Is he alright?”

“I told you, he’s just a human now. He’s still alive, just not the demon you knew.” Cassie sighed, but then shook her head and looked up.

“Then what are you here for and why do you feel like him?” She asked once more.

“Well, he gave me his demon powers, he said it would save him, but as for why I’m here it’s a long story… But I have to check first.” He got close to her, his hands went to her shoulders, keeping her in place.

“W-what are you doing?” He looked at her head.

“Brown hair, okay.” He looked lower to her eyes. “Brown eyes, right.” Then he looked back up at her forehead. “The mole! Wow he really pays attention!” Cassie blushed as Arum let go of her.

“W-what?” He chuckled.

“He might not want me to say this, but he told me about your brown hair, your brown eyes and that mole on your forehead! And it was all right! He must really like you.” Cassie looked away playing with the orange trim of her jacket.

“I don’t know about that… He’s never said it to me, but I know he must though.” Arum chuckled then jumped back to what he was suppose to be asking her.

“Yeah, but he needs your help. He says that he can’t get his powers back unless you give him something he called a Purified Soul?” Her eyes went wide.

“What? That’s way too much for him to ask me…" So it is real. "No, no there has to be another way for this to work.” Arum nodded.

“Yeah, he was mumbling something like that, he figured you'd have another plan.” Cassie's eyes went to the ground in thought.

“I wish I could talk to him myself… Is there any way I can?” Arum didn’t speak. I didn’t want Cassie to see me in this state, there’d be no way I let her see me as weak as I was. What she saw of me as a Demon was the only thing I was going to let her see of me. Arum shook his head.

“Nah, he’s cooped up back at my house, he said humans can’t travel with Demons so he’d wait for me to come back.” Luckily Cassie didn’t know a whole lot about Demon powers and she bought that.

“I understand, but if that’s the only thing he said that I can do to help, I have to try my best to help him!” Arum chuckled.

“You’re such a loyal girlfriend… Though I have to ask. Is it weird dating a demon when you’re an angel?” Cassie looked off, I could see clear as day the blush on her face and in this time I tossed a stone at his head. “Ow! Oh.. Uh, never mind.” She shrugged it off.

“But, before you go, could you please tell him that it might take a while.” Arum hummed. “My state of affairs are… complicated at best.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when you start hunting Demons officially, you start to attract... certain attention." She paused looked as if she didn't want to talk anymore. "My mother was by my father, my brother had-”

“Brother!” Cassie nodded to him confused to his outburst, but she moved on ignoring his hand moving to his back. He stuck his middle finger at me, but it was nothing to me as I wanted to know what Cassie was talking about.

“He was by our neighbor Mari, kind of the other way around really, but for some reason me… I’ve been associated with one of the most powerful Angels in our organization, his name is Joshua Wilkins.”

“Sounds really white…” She ignored that.

“And he’s asked me to… think about getting married to him.” I felt my heart stop hearing that. What? I leave for like two days and all of this happens… She had to be joking! That had to be it, there was no way she’d be courted by any of those Angels. By what she’s told me, no one should have even been interested in her with their superstitious morals! I was getting more annoyed than I needed to be.

“Wow, you angels work fast. Have you known him for long?” Good thing I had this babbling idiot who was willing to question her.

“We don't really, I actually just met him fairly recently, but now suddenly he wants to marry me. I'm really not even sure why.” He nods.

“Did you say yes to him?” Cassie looked down.

“I had to tell him I did have my eyes on someone he didn’t know. He was persistent and eventually I explained that if it didn’t work out with them, then I’d say yes to him. I didn’t know exactly what I meant by that, but after I said that I went home and got this strange feeling from this ‘mark’ Akuma gave me when we first met. It hadn’t bothered me in so long so it made me want to find him. I worked up all my courage and finally got my first mission out alone.” She smiled. “It’s odd though, even though he’s been gone for two days I’ve never felt stronger!”

…

Arum left Cassie and we went back to his bedroom. I hated that I had to rely on him now, but I just had to wait on Cassie and her end to work out.

“So you really don’t want me to help her?” I shook my head to Arum.

“Just do what I say and nothing else.” He sat in front of me with his hands the same as me and mocked my voice.

“Just do as I say…" I sighed to his childishness, "What are we even doing right now anyways?” I grunt a bit frustrated with his words.

“If you're gonna have my powers you should know how to use them. I figured why we're waiting we can learn some things and I can see if any Demon residue is in me.” He sighed, but smiled closing his eyes.

“This is kind of like a sleepover, except it’s with a Demon who really isn’t too focused on having fun.” He kept on talking and talking as I spoke the rules to him and he made me repeat them over and over to him as he wasn’t listening the first time, but I knew I had to try this. Maybe it was a way of coping knowing that she’d be getting all the experience points this time and I wouldn't be there to share it with her...