Out Of The Ashes (MC x Lucifer) ✓

The Talk

"So?" Lhori asked, her arms crossed, brows knitted in annoyance. She sat at his desk, in his comfortable chair and tapped her foot impatiently.

"You really think that sitting at my desk will make you look intimidating?" Lucifer asked with a smirk. She only raised her brows. "And don't frown so much, because you'll get wrinkles."

She scoffed and got up. "Fine, if you don't want to talk, I'm out of here."

"Wait," he grabbed her hand when she was passing him and sighed. "I just don't know where to start," he admitted.

"How about, from the beginning? The demons' rebellion?"

He sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, not looking at her and collecting his thoughts.

"There were always those who opposed Diavolo," he started quietly. "When the Demon King stepped down to rest, there were opinions, that Diavolo would never be as good as his father. Many think he is too weak, too soft to be a king of the underworld. And that was mainly why he sought my assistance when I have fallen."

Lhori sat next to him without a word. He continued:

"It wasn't easy, but after a while, we managed to silence the most stubborn agitators and Diavolo could work toward his vision of peace undisturbed. But since we started working on the new exchange program, the voices raised again. It started pretty insignificantly. A few troublemakers were agitating against the program, claiming that Diavolo is undermining demons' strength and making them mingle with a weaker species. It was nothing different than when you came to Devildom. We thought it would just die out naturally."

"But it didn't," Lhori guessed.

"It didn't," he repeated. "Apparently there is some very charismatic and influential demon, they call him Balam Silvertounge. He's claiming Diavolo is no longer fit to rule, that he lost the sight of what is best for the whole demonkind. And he is getting more popular with each passing day. He is boasting that he will defeat Diavolo and take over the crown."

"Can he do that?" Lhori asked.

Lucifer scoffed. "Not even in his dreams. Diavolo very rarely reveals his real power, but there is no match for him. But it doesn't matter. Balam is rallying demons to break the rules set up by Diavolo. He had quite a lot of followers now, and they are going through underworld pillaging and destroying towns and cities, just for the sake of pure chaos."

"That's awful," she gasped. "Can't Diavolo do anything about it?"

"Not much. As we have a peace treaty with the Celestial Realm and the Human World, we don't have a standing army, as there is no need. There is, of course, the Royal Guard, but their main objective is to keep Devildom safe. If we were to send them to attend to skirmishes with rebels at the boarders of the underworld, it would leave the city unprotected. And as we have all the exchange students here, we can't risk that."

"So, what's the plan then?" Lhori asked, confused. Lucifer sighed and massaged his temples.

"We still have to wait. Balam is obviously baiting Diavolo. He wants to provoke him to go out in the open and leave Devildom unprotected. If something were to happen here, it would be a devastating blow to Diavolo's authority."

"And why didn't you tell me any of this?" she asked quietly.

He looked at her, smiling sadly. "Making you worry will not help with anything. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"Oh, here we go again," Lhori sighed. "Remember the last time you decided not to involve me? We lost three years!"

"I know, love, but it's not the same."

"It is exactly the same! Why are you keep doing this, Lucifer?" she asked desperately, her voice shaking.

"Because I care about you. And I don't want to burden you..."

"So, you just decide to keep me in the dark while you can't sleep at night because of all the burdens you chose to carry alone?"

Lucifer wanted to say something but closed his mouth and looked away. Lhori sighed and reached out to turn his face back to her.

"Lucifer, I know you always thought you could only depend on yourself," she said, gently stroking his face. "I know I'm just a human, and I don't even have much magic or any other power to aid you..."

He closed his eyes and took her hand, kissing her fingers gently. "Lhori..."

"But I'm right here with you, and I want you to share all your worries with me, alright? I may not be able to help you resolve them, but at least I can hold you tight during the sleepless nights. So please, don't shut me out, Lucifer," she finished quietly.

"Come here," he whispered and closed her in a tight embrace, snuggling his face into her hair. "I love you, Lhori."

"I love you too, Lucifer," she said, gently stroking his head. "Promise me you won't keep things from me anymore."

"I promise, love."

"Good. Because otherwise, I'll kick your stupid ass," Lhori teased. He snorted.