this broken feeling's not too bad

by meori_apeudaa

Summary:

Seonghwa hesitates. “Y-you want me to lead hell,” he says, though the statement sounds more like a question. “You want me to become the next Lucifer.”

Juyeon’s answering smile is blinding and Hongjoong simply chuckles, but it’s Mingi’s smirk that Seonghwa finds himself focusing on. “Yes,” Mingi confirms, the low bass of his voice clouding Seonghwa’s senses more than Juyeon’s lust ever could. “Let us put you in power, Seonghwa. Let us make you the leader you were destined to be.”

Notes:

• For AAvery.

my lovely promptee,

when i saw this prompt i just knew that i had to write it. i'm not sure if it's exactly what you envisioned - hell, it's actually not at all what i envisioned, this story really took on a mind of its own - but i hope that you enjoy it nonetheless<3

**********

Death is oftentimes described as peaceful. It's described as an escape from this life and - hopefully - a start to a better life. Death is seen as a passageway from this world to the next. 

 

Seonghwa is sure that some people get to experience a peaceful death - that they get to cross the river Styx and make it to Elysium. He is also sure that he will not be one of those people. Making a deal with the devil is a one-way ticket to hell, and as Seonghwa feels his life fade away he thinks he knows exactly what's in store for him. 

 

He's wrong. Hell is even worse than he expected.

 

Seonghwa wakes to a world full of pain, his vision nothing more than a mess of black, white, and red. He floats in and out of consciousness, not quite sure what’s real and what isn’t. He doesn’t know how long his soul floats in this limbo between hell and earth, but he learns one thing before his painful final entrance to hell: everything he did was in vain.

 

Siyeon shakes her head, staring down at a body that Seonghwa faintly recognizes as his own. “This seems more painful than it needed to be,” she sniffs, staring down at Seonghwa with an expression caught somewhere between pity and disgust. 

 

Hyungwon looks bored by the whole ordeal, his lips pressed in a tight line - Seonghwa recognizes it as the expression he wears when he’s waiting for everyone to move on. “Does it matter?” he asks cooly, hardly sparing Seonghwa’s body a glance. “He made the deal, didn’t he?”

 

Siyeon nods, tearing her gaze away from the body and up at Hyungwon. “Yeah, I witnessed it myself.” She slides her hands into her pockets and doesn’t turn back around, seemingly over whatever small bout of emotions seeing Seonghwa’s dead body had stirred in her. “We’re going to win this.”

 

Hyungwon smiles sharply - it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

 

Changkyun speaks up, his low baritone voice bringing a sense of calm to the room that only he can manage. “Do you not feel bad at all?” he asks his friend, raising an eyebrow in question. “You know he only did it because he thought you cared about him.”

 

Hyungwon merely shrugs, his gaze resting on Changkyun for a moment before flitting towards the open door - it’s clear that he’s done with this conversation. “That is his problem, not mine,” Hyungwon says. “He was valuable to the team because of his desire to be needed - to be wanted. He got his wish if you ask me. We owe a lot to him. But now it’s time to move on.”

 

Changkyun lets out a small laugh of disbelief, shaking his head as Hyungwon starts to walk out the door. “You’re crueler than I realized,” he scoffs, but he doesn’t seem particularly upset.

 

Hyungwon simply grins at him before leaving. Changkyun and Siyeon quickly follow suit, neither of them bothering to give Seonghwa’s body a second glance. 

 

When Seonghwa finally awakes he screams, but it has nothing to do with the physical pain consuming his body. Seonghwa has always known that emotions can hurt more than any physical pain but he had no idea that rage could be so all-consuming. 

 

“You’re awake,” a voice beside him says.

 

Seonghwa’s scream cuts off as abruptly as it starts as he turns to the side and opens his eyes, finally allowing himself to take note of his surroundings. 

 

The first thing he sees is a man who appears close to his own age. He's sitting upright beside Seonghwa and smiling down at him, his lips curved up into a smile that borders on amused. The man's golden eyes peer curiously at Seonghwa. 

 

“Are you done screaming?”

 

Seonghwa tries to speak but no sound comes out, causing the man beside him to erupt into giggles.

 

“Screamed yourself hoarse, did you?” he teases, raising an eyebrow. 

 

Seonghwa swallows, noticing how dry and scratched his throat is as he does so, and pushes himself up into a sitting position. He glares at the man beside him and tries to speak again. “How long have I been screaming?” 

 

The man shrugs. “Who knows, really. Time passes differently down here so it's hard to say.”

 

“Down here,” Seonghwa says slowly, feeling the weight of the words as he speaks them. He knew this was coming but facing the reality is scarier than he could have anticipated.

 

The man in front of him grins and his eyes glint with something that puts Seonghwa on edge. “Down here,” he confirms. “Welcome to hell.”

 

Seonghwa learns that the man - the demon - goes by the name Wooyoung. “What am I?” he asks Wooyoung, looking sideways at the demon as he leads him down corridors that all look the same.

 

“That's a bit of a loaded question, isn't it?” Wooyoung hums in response, not bothering to look at Seonghwa as the man glares at him. He giggles to himself before finally looking over at Seonghwa. “That's up to you, actually.”

 

“Up to me?”

 

“Sort of,” Wooyoung says unhelpfully. He doesn't elaborate. 

 

Seonghwa sighs softly. “Can you at least tell me where you're taking me?” Though he asks the question, he's scared of the answer. He wasn’t exactly given a manual on what happens after you make a deal with the devil and Seonghwa imagines he's being taken somewhere to be tortured for the rest of eternity - he thinks it might be nice to at least know what hell he's going to be subjected to before he gets there. 

 

“More like who I’m taking you to,” Wooyoung answers. “We're going to meet Mingi. He deals with souls like you. The ones dumb enough to make a deal with the devil.”

 

Seonghwa doesn't miss the amusement in the demon's voice but he ignores that to instead focus on two words - deals with. “Do I want to know what that entails?” Seonghwa asks quietly.

 

Wooyoung shrugs. “It's different for each soul, honestly.” He stops walking for a moment and turns to face Seonghwa, taking a moment to look him up and down. “You, my dear, have so much rage rippling off of you I almost feel like I'm drowning in it.” A smile lights up his face at this. “I think Mingi will like you.”

 

Wooyoung is right.

 

Seonghwa follows alongside Wooyoung quietly after realizing the demon won't give him any straight answers and soon finds himself entering a large room - it’s tall and dimly lit, the ceiling vanishing into shadows. The room itself is almost as intimidating as the man in it.

 

Mingi looks up from where he sits at his desk, an eyebrow raised in curiosity as his gaze flits between Wooyoung and Seonghwa. He watches them quietly for a moment before letting out a low chuckle. “Noble reasons,” he says, seemingly to no one in particular, but Seonghwa understands the words are meant for him.

 

“So I thought,” he says shortly. And he had. When he had made his deal he had been under the impression that the members of his team would value him for his bravery, for his sacrifice - he had quite literally decided to give his soul to the cause. But the scene he had watched just before being sent to hell had made it clear that his team didn't value him - at least, not in the way he had hoped. Not in a way that mattered. 

 

“Humans are fickle creatures,” Mingi says in response. “They are not to be trusted.” Though his expression reveals no emotion his voice is laced with amusement. 

 

“And demons are?” Seonghwa asks, raising an eyebrow.

 

Mingi grins at this. “No.” He leans back in his seat and folds his hands in front of him. “You shouldn't trust anyone - man or otherwise. Take the advice. It's the only piece of free information you'll get from me.”

 

Seonghwa doesn't doubt the sincerity of that statement. 

 

“Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's time to take care of your placement.”

 

“My… placement?”

 

Mingi nods. “When you make a deal with the devil, young one, you are giving up your soul to be used as we see fit. Hell doesn't run on its own after all.”

 

Seonghwa stares blankly at Mingi, his brain trying to process what he just heard. “Hell doesn't… what? Am I… working for hell?” His voice comes out more incredulous than he intends, but luckily for him the two demons in the room seem more amused than offended. 

 

Wooyoung lets out a loud cackle as Mingi’s grin shifts into a smirk. “Do you think hell can run on its own?” he asks, cocking his head to the side. “Just as the big man upstairs has his snobby angels running the palace, Lucifer uses his demons to run hell.”

 

“So… I'm a demon?” Seonghwa asks softly.

 

“Not yet.” Mingi pauses before grinning broadly at Seonghwa, his eyes flashing red. “But you will be. That’s the whole point.” He looks down at the papers on his desk and hums softly to himself while Seonghwa stands and waits.

 

Seonghwa’s entire body has gone rigid and he imagines that if he had a heart anymore it would be racing in his chest - he swears he can feel ghost palpitations. He still doesn’t quite understand what his fate is and it’s for that reason alone that he isn’t sure if he should be relieved or not that he’s getting assigned a job - for all he knows this will be just as bad as getting tortured for eternity.

 

Mingi looks back up at him and the amusement has faded from his expression, replaced instead with what Seonghwa dares to believe is curiosity. He speaks slowly, his eyes never leaving Seonghwa’s. “Tell me more about your deal. What was worth more than your soul?”

 

Seonghwa can’t stop the way his lips curl into a sneer. “Nothing, apparently,” he answers bitterly. Mingi doesn’t seem surprised by this answer and he stays silent, waiting for Seonghwa to elaborate. Because he has no choice, Seonghwa does. “Our government is corrupt - was, hopefully.”

 

Mingi snorts. “Aren’t they all.” The words are mumbled under his breath in a chuckle and he waves his hand to signal to Seonghwa that he should keep speaking.

 

“Our government is corrupt,” Seonghwa repeats, the words coming out as a sigh this time, “and Hyungwon is charismatic. That’s how it all started, really.”

 

And it was. Seonghwa had met Hyungwon when he was just 18, fresh out of high school and already jaded by the society he had grown up in. It was a society that had rejected him and many others for things outside of their control - their gender, their sexuality, their preferences. It was a society that focused on helping the rich and keeping the poor in their place. A society that thrived off of corruption and disguised it as care. Seonghwa was tired of forcing himself into a mold that he didn’t fit into. He was tired of pretending to be something that he wasn’t. He was tired of feeling like he would never be able to break out of where he was stuck because he wasn’t part of the chosen group. Hyungwon had promised him change. Hyungwon had promised that his group was different - that they accepted everyone, that they actively wanted change for the better. All of that Seonghwa still believes. Hyungwon had promised him that he would have a family among this group - that had been the lie.

 

“You gave up your soul to help someone else reach their goal?” Mingi questions, cocking his head to the side as he watches Seonghwa.

 

Seonghwa shakes his head aggressively. “It was my goal, too. I wanted it more than I wanted almost anything else. Our group… we were happy. We were free . I wanted that for everyone. I wanted to help Hyungwon spread that vision - spread that happiness.”

 

“But?”

 

Seonghwa shrugs, letting his gaze focus on the pile of papers on Mingi’s desk. “But nothing I guess,” he says bitterly. “I still want that.” It’s not a lie. He does still want that, and judging by the scene he saw before leaving Earth for good it seems like that goal will be accomplished - just something else for Hyungwon to check off the to-do list that made up his life, Seonghwa supposed.

 

“It’s not what you really wanted, though.”

 

Seonghwa looks up at this and meets Mingi’s gaze, his brows pulling together in confusion. “Of course it is. Why else would I make the deal?”

 

“You wanted it, I know that. But let’s not play dumb. You didn’t join the group because you believed so much in the mission.”

 

Seonghwa falls silent at this and presses his lips into a thin line. He can feel heat spreading through his body. Mingi smiles.

 

“Why did you join the group, Seonghwa?”

 

“Because I believed in the mission,” he says stiffly. It’s not a lie, but it’s not the full truth either. The problem is that Mingi can see right through him. 

 

“Wrong. Try again.”

 

Seonghwa grits his teeth. The heat intensifies - he almost feels like it would suffocate him if he needed to breathe. Mingi knows why Seonghwa joined and it’s infuriating that the demon is making him admit it out loud. Seonghwa knows how pathetic he was - how pathetic he still is - he doesn’t need a demon to remind him. “Because I wanted to belong,” he says through grit teeth. “Because I wanted to feel like I mattered. Like I had people who cared about me.”

 

“And did you find that, Seonghwa?”

 

“No.”

 

The silence that follows is deafening. A smile is still playing on the demon’s lips and now he looks smug as he nods. There’s something else in his expression that Seonghwa can’t quite place - something that looks assured and satisfied.

 

“Let me be honest with you - you won’t find that here, either. Demons do not make good company. Demons do not care about others. You are here to do a job and to do it well. There’s no time to feel like a family.”

 

Seonghwa tries to imagine what a demon family would even look like and fails spectacularly. “I didn’t expect to find my family in hell when I sold my soul, you know.” He doesn’t know what makes him bold enough to sass the demon but much to his surprise - and relief - Mingi doesn’t look upset. “I figured I would be tortured for all eternity.”

 

“I’d argue that some of you are sentenced to be tortured for all eternity. These jobs were not all created equally.”

 

“Some are worse than others?” 

 

“Infinitely,” Mingi confirms. “But I have something perfect in mind for you.”

 

Seonghwa isn’t sure if he should feel comforted or not - Mingi seems like he can tell, if his amused smirk is anything to go by. The demon pushes out his chair and finally stands, slowly making his way toward Seonghwa. Mingi is only a few centimeters taller than he is but the demon has an air about him that makes Seonghwa feel much smaller. It takes everything in him not to shrink away from the demon as he walks closer, and Mingi’s smile grows the closer he gets. 

 

“Your fear is turning the air sour,” Mingi murmurs as he circles Seonghwa. “Fear is not my preferred emotion.”

 

Seonghwa manages to answer, his voice coming out steadier than expected. “Then what is?”

 

Mingi’s eyes flash red again as he gets closer to Seonghwa - too close for comfort. The demon's lips brush Seonghwa’s ear as he whispers. “Anger.”

 

And Seonghwa feels it again - a burning heat spreading throughout his body. It starts low in his body and slowly makes its way up. The heat feels all consuming. The longer that Seonghwa stands in it the more he can feel himself slipping away. He breaks.

 

“Isn't it beautiful?” he hears Mingi ask. There's something like admiration in his voice.

 

“It's too much,” he gasps, bending forward to place his hands on his knees. The longer he stands in the heat the more he has trouble thinking. His thoughts are clouded, his vision tinged with red. “I-I can't think.”

 

Mingi steps away and the heat vanishes as quickly as it came, leaving Seonghwa panting in the middle of the room. “You will learn to control it,” Mingi tells him. “This anger is a gift, Seonghwa.”

 

Seonghwa is silent for a moment, swallowing down the first response that comes to mind. It doesn't feel like one. Instead he asks a question. “What if I can’t?”

 

Mingi hums in response and Seonghwa looks up to find the demon in thought, his gaze trained on Seonghwa and his lips pursed. “Then you'll be like the rest of them - a disappointment.” He's silent for a moment before the ghost of a smile plays across his lips. “But you won't be. You're better than them, Seonghwa. You'll control it.”

 

There's a certainty in his voice that scares Seonghwa more than it comforts him and he isn't quite sure how to respond. Luckily, he doesn't have to. 

 

Mingi speaks again, but this time it's not Seonghwa he addresses. “Take him to Joong.”

 

Wooyoung claps his hands together as he laughs with joy and Seonghwa startles - he had forgotten the other demon was there. He ushers Seonghwa out of the room after cheerfully saying goodbye to Mingi. “I knew he was going to like you,” he says gleefully.

 

“Is that a good thing?”

 

Wooyoung chuckles. “Depends who you ask.”

 

Seonghwa looks sideways at the shorter demon. Wooyoung is looking ahead and paying little attention to him. His arms swing as he walks and he has a bit of a bounce in his step, seemingly amused by life itself. “What do you think?”

 

Wooyoung grins again and Seonghwa feels uneasy. “I think it’s a great thing.”

 

Seonghwa doesn’t trust him. They go the rest of the walk in relative silence, with Wooyoung humming happily beside him. Seonghwa doesn’t recognize a single song that the other is humming and it makes him wonder just how old Wooyoung is. 

 

“Who’s Joong?” he decides to ask, breaking the silence just as they enter a new room.

 

“That’s Hongjoong to you,” a new voice drawls.

 

Seonghwa stiffens and his eyes scan the room as they try to find the source of the voice. They finally land on a demon shorter than himself with white pushed back hair and sharp eyes. “Hongjoong,” he says slowly, nodding his head at the demon. 

 

“Show me your aura,” Hongjoong tells him, dismissing him without even trying.

 

“M-my aura?”

 

“He doesn’t know how to do that, yet,” Wooyoung supplies helpfully.

 

“Of course,” Hongjoong grumbles. 

 

Before Seonghwa can even attempt to defend himself Hongjoong is snapping his fingers and Seonghwa feels the same heat from before burning him from the inside. His aura flares red and Hongjoong snorts before snapping his fingers again. The heat is gone instantly and Seonghwa stares at Hongjoong with a mixture of fear and confusion.

 

“Wrath,” Hongjoong sighs. “Go figure. It’s always you all who end up on my team. I’d like a little diversity on my team.”

 

“What team?” Seonghwa asks in confusion.

 

“Oh, my apologies,” Hongjoong says. “I never explained anything, did I? And Lucifer knows that Mingi won’t. Goodness, let’s start over, shall we?” He holds his hand out to Seonghwa with a grin on his face. “I’m Hongjoong, your new boss. Welcome to the kill and torture team.”

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

Seonghwa didn’t think that stalking someone could come so easily to him, but as he trails the human ahead of him with relative ease he finds that it takes little to no thought on his part - he distantly thinks to himself that Hyungwon should have let him out on stealth mission, but thinking of his former leader leaves a sour taste in his mouth. He swallows it down and pushes the thought aside as he tries to remind himself that what happened when he was a human is no longer relevant - it has no bearing on his existence now.

 

He keeps to the shadows as the drunken human that he follows stumbles into an alley. Seonghwa follows him easily, finally allowing himself to take on a physical form. He chooses to appear as a human and follows behind the human louder now, making sure that his footsteps can be heard.

 

The human turns around as quickly as he can, his features contorting into some sort of drunken scowl. “How long ‘ave you been followin’ me?” he slurs, his eyebrows pulling together as he squints as Seonghwa. “Whaddaya want?”

 

Seonghwa smiles, a small polite thing that’s a sharp contrast to the words that spill past his lips. “A while,” he admits easily. “I want you to rot in hell, Hyunoo.” 

 

The man’s eyes widen slightly at that and he steps backwards, trying to put more distance between Seonghwa and himself. “How the hell do ya know my name?”

 

Seonghwa walks forward, relishing in the way the man looks at him in fear. “Lee Hyunoo, age 28,” he says slowly. “I know that you spend almost every weekend at Thrill Ride getting drunk off your ass on good nights and taking so many drugs you don’t know up from down on your bad days. You know what else I know?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

 

Hyunoo shakes his head, stumbling over his feet as he rushes backwards. “You’re fucking insane,” he breathes. “Leave me alone.”

 

“I know that last week you slipped a girl some of your drugs.”

 

Hyunoo pales. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammers.

 

Seonghwa chuckles. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Hyunoo shakes his head but Seonghwa ignores him. “You know what I’m talking about and you know that you’re scum. You know what we need to do with scum?”

 

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Hyunoo yells.

 

Seonghwa grins. “We need to eliminate it.”

 

Hyunoo isn’t given a moment to respond. Seonghwa never would have thought that he could let anger control him so fully but being a demon seems to bring out a different side of him. He lets the red hot emotion take over his body, closing his eyes as he allows himself to get used to the sensation. The heat starts in the soles of his feet and slowly moves up and spreads throughout his body. It’s not until he feels it take over that he opens his eyes, his eyes turning a bright red. 

 

The last sound that Hyunoo makes is a blood-curling scream that’s cut off almost as quickly as it starts. Seonghwa wastes no time in tearing the mans throat out, his fingers curling around flesh and sinking into it as easily as if he was taking hold of butter. Blood drips between his fingers and onto the corpse beneath him, the liquid still hot with life that its host no longer posesses. The moment is over faster than Seonghwa expects and he doesn’t know if he’s glad or concerned that he’s able to end a life without batting an eye. Seonghwa is aware that taking a life can be a quick endeavor, but he never thought it would be such an easy one. As Seonghwa stares down at the corpse in front of him he’s struck with one thought: this isn’t enough . Seonghwa returns to hell with this thought still on his mind. 

 

Hongjoong is waiting for him when he comes back. He arrives in Hongjoong's office as agreed and the demon looks up at him in slight surprise. “That was fast.”

 

Too fast, Seonghwa thinks. He nods instead of voicing his thought aloud. “It was easy.” Too easy. 

 

Hongjoong seems almost amused by this. “You're much stronger than humans now, so it should be easy.” He pauses, cocking his head to the side as he assesses the new demon before him. “You did it quickly.”

 

Seonghwa frowns. “Is that a problem?”

 

Hongjoong shakes his head. “Not at all. It's efficient and you're getting the job done, which is all that really matters.” He pauses again and Seonghwa shifts anxiously. Hongjoong lets out a small chuckle. “Did you enjoy it at all?”

 

“I beg your pardon?” 

 

“Did you enjoy it?” Hongjoong repeats slowly. 

 

Yes, Seonghwa wants to say. I enjoyed it and I crave it and that's the problem, don't you see? He isn't sure how to voice this so he simply nods.

 

“Then why did you do it so quickly?”

 

Seonghwa blinks back at the demon unsure of how to respond. “I-I was just doing my job?” he responds, but it comes out as more of a question than a statement. 

 

Hongjoong smirks. “Oh Seonghwa, ever the soldier aren't you? This may be your job, but I am not Hyungwon. I allow for…. creative liberty when my workers do their jobs.”

 

Seonghwa tries to ignore the way his stomach flips at the mention of Hyungwon - it’s like picking at a wound that he's not sure will ever completely heal. “Creative liberty?”

 

Hongjoong nods. “This is the kill and torture team, Seonghwa,” he says, his tone turning playful. “You kind of left out the torture part.”

 

Seonghwa chews on his lower lip and resists the urge to wring his hands. Not good enough even as a demon, he thinks to himself. I wasn't good enough as a human and I'm not good enough here either. If I can't even be useful here then I really do mean nothing. My existence means nothing. What am I even doing here-

 

“Seonghwa.”

 

He's pulled out of his inner monologue as his eyes rise to meet Hongjoong's. 

 

“There are people on this team who approach their assignments much like you did today. They kill and they leave. There is nothing wrong with that. Demons like that… they're soldiers through and through. But you Seonghwa… well, I think you can be so much more. If you want.”

 

And there it is. The same praise and conviction that Mingi had given him. Seonghwa's still not sure if it's comforting, but he considers it a small win nonetheless. “Creative liberty,” he muses, letting the words roll off his tongue. Seonghwa has never tortured anyone before. Hell, he's not even really sure how to torture someone.

 

“Mingi implied the same thing. What do you guys mean?”

 

Hongjoong grins again but this time there's something sinister in his gaze, something that puts Seonghwa on edge. “You should meet Yunho,” he says, ignoring Seonghwa’s question. “If you want to get some ideas in the torture department. He's one of my best.”

 

The hint of possessiveness in the statement isn't lost on Seonghwa but he says nothing, bowing slightly in response to Hongjoong's words before making his way out of the office.

 

He finds himself near the entrance to hell, leaning against the front counter and cupping his chin in his hand. “Hey Wooyoung, who's Yunho?”

 

Wooyoung looks up from his computer in mild interest, his eyebrows shooting up. “Who told you about Yunho?”

 

Seonghwa rolls his eyes - how typical of Wooyoung to ask his own question instead of answering the one asked of him. “Hongjoong did. Now spill. Who is he?”

 

“A demon to be feared,” Wooyoung mumbles, sounding uncharacteristically serious. “He's unhinged, that one. Why would Hongjoong tell you about him?”

 

“To help me come up with torture ideas.”

 

Wooyoung visibly pales. “Yeah, he'll help you alright,” he squeaks. “But I won't feel good about sending you to him.”

 

Seonghwa isn't sure if he should laugh or be concerned. “I feel like I have to go,” he admits. He doesn't tell Wooyoung that part of him wants to go. He doesn't know how to admit that a part of him had savored the kill and wanted more - so much more.

 

“If Hongjoong suggested it then it's not really a suggestion,” Wooyoung agrees with a nod. “It's an order.” His mouth twists into a frown at this as he realizes he has no choice but to give Seonghwa the information. He sighs before speaking again. “Go down to the field of suffering. He likes to spend his time there when he's not out on a mission.”

 

The field of suffering is an area of hell that Seonghwa has actively avoided, so his body is taught with nerves as he finds himself making his way there. He supposes that the souls trapped here deserve the eternal hell they've been subjected to but that does little to ease his discomfort as he remembers that when he first entered hell he thought this would be where his soul would go. He often wonders if this is where his soul would have ended up if not for the deal he had made with the devil. 

 

With a demon , Wooyoung's voice supplies helpfully in his head, complete with his unforgettable cackle. Lucifer would never waste time making deals. 

 

Same difference. It had all felt the same to Seonghwa at the time.

 

He makes his way through the field vaguely wondering how the hell he's supposed to find this Yunho guy when he sees him. The demon is taller than Seonghwa and broader too, somehow giving the appearance of being a solid presence despite the whisps of black tendrils that surround him. His hair is dark as night and as Seonghwa makes eye contact with him he can't help but think that Yunho’s eyes are darker than night itself. Seonghwa didn't need Wooyoung to tell him that Yunho is unhinged - he can feel it. The energy that ripples off of Yunho is so strong, unmistakable hints of rage and hysteria woven through an overall sense of amusement that's almost suffocating. 

 

The demon’s lips are already lifted in a sort of half-smirk and he raises an eyebrow as Seonghwa approaches him. “And who might you be? I don't recognize you.”

 

“Seonghwa. I'm new.”

 

“Figured as much,” Yunho snorts. “Everyone else knows they're better off leaving me alone.” There's a threat laced into his words that somehow seems emphasized by the smile that now plays on his lips.

 

For some reason Seonghwa isn't scared by this. He stares impassively back at Yunho. “I was sent to find you,” he deadpans. 

 

The implication is clear: I wouldn’t have come otherwise. I don't care to interact with you. It doesn't go unnoticed by the other, whose amusement seems to fade the longer Seonghwa stands there.

 

“Who sent you?”

 

“Hongjoong.”

 

This seems to intrigue the demon. His eyebrows shoot up and something akin to a genuine smile makes its way onto his face. “And why on earth would Hongjoong send you to me? It must not be as a punishment - you're not nearly scared enough.”

 

“Do you want me to be?” Seonghwa asks, too curious for his own good.

 

Yunho grins. “Yes. I love fear. It sweetens the air, don't you think?” Seonghwa doesn't. He says as much and Yunho laughs. “Don't tell me you're like Mingi,” he scoffs, scrunching his nose.

 

Seonghwa is exactly like Mingi. “It sours the air,” he agrees with a nod, ignoring the way Yunho rolls his eyes. “But I'm here because Hongjoong said I can learn from you.”

 

“Learn from me?”

 

“How to torture someone before killing them,” Seonghwa explains, unable to stop himself from nervously wringing his hands. “I just… kill.”

 

Yunho nods. “There's nothing wrong with that,” he says, repeating what Hongjoong had told him. “It's less fun that way, but not everyone is cut out for torture business.” He looks Seonghwa up and down, appraising him. “Do you think you are?”

 

Seonghwa shrugs. “Only one way to find out, right?”

 

Yunho’s eyes light up with what Seonghwa imagines is excitement but looks - and feels - like hysteria. “Come with me.”

 

Seonghwa's hunt was slow and methodical. He had stalked his victim until he had learned his schedule and had kept to the shadows, only appearing when he was ready to deal the killing blow. 

 

Yunho takes a different approach. His hunt is erratic. He finds his victim with ease and lets his ever-constant notes of hysteria tinge the air around him, surrounding his victim with ease. Seonghwa realizes that there are different types of torture as he watches Yunho - physical and emotional. Yunho uses both.

 

Yunho makes it apparent to his victim that she’s being followed by someone - by some thing . He doesn’t let her see him fully, dancing just out of sight and whispering soft insanities into her ear every few steps. By the time she falls to the ground sobbing Yunho has guided her to a secluded alleyway. He melts out of the shadows and grins down at her. She screams. The physical torture is what Seonghwa had expected to see. He watches the way that Yunho toys with her, resembling an animal playing with its food. Yunho’s grin never fades as he finds new ways to hurt her - a broken bone, a muscle-deep gash, spontaneous bruising. Yunho seems to delight in the human’s screams and Seonghwa watches on in rapt interest. By the time Yunho is done with his victim her body is nearly unrecognizable and they travel back to hell without a backwards glance.

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

It’s about a week later that Mingi finds Seonghwa overlooking the field of suffering. He’s far enough away that he can hardly hear the screams of the souls beneath him, but close enough that he’s likely not to be bothered by other demons.

 

“I hear you spent time with Yunho,” he says by way of greeting, settling himself beside Seonghwa and looking forward.

 

Seonghwa looks over in surprise. “I did,” he confirms, looking back out at the field before him only when he realizes that Mingi isn’t going to face him.

 

“Learn anything interesting?”

 

Seonghwa shrugs, knowing that the other demon will catch the movement even though he’s not looking at him. “I suppose so.”

 

Mingi chuckles. “Torture isn’t your thing, is it?”

 

Seonghwa sighs. “I’m not against it,” he admits, letting himself think back to the night he spent with Yunho. He can understand the appeal - just thinking about it has him craving the feeling of blood dripping through his fingers again. “I just hate the smell of fear.”

 

Mingi hums in understanding. “Yunho thrives off of it. That’s why he’s good at what he does - it’s why he takes the approach that he does. Lots of demons in your department thrive on it, actually. That’s what makes them so effective.”

 

“But not me,” Seonghwa says, his lips twisting into a frown.

 

“Not you,” he agrees. “Though that’s not the flaw that you think it is. I would not have put you in this department if I didn’t think that you would be successful.”

 

Seonghwa finally turns to look at the other, surprised to find that Mingi has already shifted his gaze to him. “I think you have too much faith in me,” he states bluntly.

 

Mingi grins. “You don’t have enough faith in yourself. You don’t know what to look for, Seonghwa, but I do. All you have to do is trust me.”

 

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow. “In what world should I trust a demon?”

 

Mingi huffs a quiet laugh. “You shouldn’t. But I do mean what I say.”

 

“You and Hongjoong both say that too much,” he murmurs. “Always talking about me like there’s some sort of untapped potential that you want to steal away and use for yourselves.”

 

“That’s because there is. Like I said, you don’t know what to look for. Most people here don’t. They’re useless,” Mingi scoffs with a roll of his eyes. “But for those of us who know what we’re looking at, it’s obvious. You’re full of so much precious anger, Seonghwa. And that truly is a gift. But that’s not what I came to talk about.”

 

“What did you come for?” Seonghwa asks warily.

 

“Torture. I know you want it - you crave it. I was the same way. I know a way you can have your cake and eat it, too.”

 

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow in question, silently prompting Mingi to explain. 

 

“Torture without the fear. It’s not going to be easy, but I can help you learn how to do it. If you want.”

 

And oh, did Seonghwa want . He’s been trying not to dwell on it but something has changed in him - something has shifted. Even before Seonghwa made his first kill he could feel that there was something different about him than there was when he had been human. Ever since Mingi had first overloaded his senses with the anger that Seonghwa had shoved down he hadn’t been able to stop noticing it. Ever since he had ripped the throat out of his first victim he had wanted more. 

 

He doesn’t try to hide his excitement when he turns to face Mingi fully. “How?”

 

Mingi grins again and Seonghwa faintly thinks that he should be scared - the demon’s eyes flash red and the glint of mischief and satisfaction in his eyes is a clear indicator that there’s something more Mingi is getting out of this, but Seonghwa can’t bring himself to care. He follows the demon easily, and just like that another piece of his humanity slowly fades away.

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

Seonghwa sits beside Wooyoung with his feet propped up on the edge of the demon’s desk - it’s his favorite spot in hell, but he’ll never admit it to the demon. He’s focusing on getting dirt out from underneath his nails when Wooyoung sighs for what must be the hundredth time. He looks up at the demon, a small smile playing on his lips, and raises a single eyebrow. It’s all Wooyoung needs to get started.

 

“I’ve been waiting for you to talk to me but all you do is sit there and stare,” Wooyoung huffs. “Talking with you is like pulling teeth.”

 

“If you want to talk to me, Wooyoung, that’s all you have to say.”

 

“That’s all you have to say,” Wooyoung mocks under his breath, rolling his eyes. “I can’t believe you, I really can’t. What happened to the soul who was terrified to look at anyone? The one who was scared of breathing in the wrong direction? I miss him.”

 

“No you don’t,” Seonghwa snorts. “You made fun of him all the time.”

 

“Yeah, and I miss doing it.” Wooyoung pauses and stares at Seonghwa, his smile fading seriously as he goes uncharacteristically serious. “You have changed, though.”

 

“Isn’t that what happens?” Seonghwa asks. “Aren’t you the one who told me that hell would change me?”

 

Wooyoung shakes his head. “That’s not what I mean. Yes, hell changes everyone. But there’s something different about you now. Something… something more.”

 

“I’m sorry Wooyoung, but I really don’t know what you mean.”

 

Wooyoung’s lips twist down into a frown as he tries to figure out how to word his thoughts. “Most people when they come down here…they lose themselves completely. They lose their humanity so quickly they become husks of their old selves. They become something different altogether. I mean, just look at Yunho.”

 

Seonghwa shakes his head. “I think Yunho was always that way. No one just acquires such an intense edge of hysteria. That had to have been there. You want to know my theory?”

 

“He’s been here for a few months and already he has a theory,” Wooyoung scoffs. “Sure, genius. Let’s hear your theory.”

 

“I think there are two things that can happen to people down here. Either they go mad and lose themselves completely or they find themselves.”

 

“Is hell a yoga retreat now?” Wooyoung snorts.

 

Seonghwa rolls his eyes. “Listen to me, Wooyoung. Either demons lose their humanity completely and go mad, or they figure out who they really are underneath all their shit. That’s what happened to Yunho. Down here there’s no one to tell him no - no one to stop his dark urges. He’s too powerful to let it overrun him. He controls it. He basks in it. That’s what the second option is, Wooyoung.”

 

“I don’t know if I buy it. What about me? I’m not unhinged like Yunho nor do I find myself secretly delighting in killing people like you do.”

 

Seonghwa scowls - confiding in Wooyoung during a moment of weakness had clearly been a bad idea. “We all have our things, Wooyoung. Yours just isn’t so obviously dark.”

 

“Please enlighten me, oh knowledgeable one,” Wooyoung teases, batting his eyelashes at Seonghwa.

 

Seonghwa smiles sweetly. “Yunho and I are similar because we’re both filled with rage, right? That’s why we got assigned to the team that we did. You’re smarter than both of us combined, I think. You have a thirst for knowledge. A thirst that’s so consuming you’d do anything for it. Your fatal flaw is greed, Wooyoung.”

 

Wooyoung blinks back at him, crossing his arms over his chest as he thinks. “Maybe you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,” he finally says. “I don’t think any of the dumbasses around here have figured me out like that.”

 

Seonghwa just shrugs. “It’s easy.”

 

Wooyoung stares at Seonghwa for a second longer than necessary before tipping his head back and laughing. “Oh, they’re right about you,” he says gleefully. “They’re so right about you. You’re going to be the change.”

 

Seonghwa’s brow furrows at that and he tries not to frown though the smile does fall from his face. He schools his features into something more neutral as he looks back at the other demon. “Are any of you going to tell me what you mean by that?” he asks, trying not to sound as irritated as he feels. The red is there again, simmering deep down in his bones.

 

Something akin to understanding flashes in Wooyoung’s eyes. “I can’t say,” he says simply, and he almost sounds sorry. “And before you get all mad at me, know that I don’t even understand the half of it. Everything that I’ve gathered is because I, as you have so kindly pointed out, have a thirst for knowledge. I haven’t figured everything out yet. I just know that Mingi and Hongjoong….they have a lot of hope in you.”

 

“The word hope has no place in the same sentence as those two,” Seonghwa scoffs. “They don’t hope. They plan and they scheme and they know.”

 

Wooyoung grins. “You might be right, but they can only do so much.”

 

“They can do enough,” Seonghwa grumbles.

 

Wooyoung’s gleeful cackles are enough to let Seonghwa know that the demon agrees with him. Seonghwa excuses himself shortly afterwards and begins the walk back to his own quarters, left with nothing but his own thoughts now that he’s not listening to Wooyoung’s gossip.

 

Sitting on his bed Seonghwa is left to face the reality of his situation - being in hell doesn’t feel all that different from his life on Earth. Even here in the depths of hell he is nothing more than a solider. Seonghwa feels the rage start up again, the familiar almost comforting warmth of his rage flowing throughout his body. He holds the emotion in his body and takes comfort in it - takes comfort in finally feeling the emotion he had forced himself to hide away when he had been human.

 

When he had been human Seonghwa had understood that he was working with others towards a greater goal - a goal that he knew, understood, and wanted. He had known that there would be information he wasn’t told and he had known that he was to follow orders. It was the life he had chosen.

 

As he lays back on his bed and stares up at the ceiling, Seonghwa can’t help but feel like he’s fallen into the same routine. He takes his orders from Hongjoong and tracks down humans to torture and kill, but this time there’s no greater goal. There’s no purpose to his work. When he isn’t killing humans he’s working with Mingi to learn how to torture them more efficiently. It feels to Seonghwa like he’s going in circles. He’s trapped in the same routine. Hell is the same as Earth, the only difference is he didn’t get a choice in this - not really. And Mingi and Hongjoong don’t even attempt to make him feel like he’s part of something greater. Seonghwa could be mad at them for it, but in the end he supposes he’s grateful. Mingi has been truthful with him from the start, which is more than he can say about Hyungwon. He resolves himself to be direct with the demon - he won’t ever get answers if he doesn’t ask questions.

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

It’s at the end of one of his training sessions with Mingi that he finally decides to speak up. His head rings from the effort of controlling himself and Mingi stands in the center of the room with an amused smirk on his face.

 

“I can never tell if I’m doing well or not,” Seonghwa grumbles as he meets Mingi’s gaze.

 

The other demon grins at him in response. “I am not going to sing your praises, Seonghwa. You have to learn how to feel confident in yourself - how to gauge your growth yourself. You rely too much on feedback from others.” He pauses and cocks his head to the side, seemingly reconsidering his words. “Well, you used to rely too much on it. You’re better now but I can still see that you want it from me.”

 

“Because you never give it.” Everyone else Seonghwa has worked with during his time in hell has praised him in some shape or form. The only demon who hasn’t praised him - aside from vague and slightly ominous references to his strength - is Mingi.

 

“What do humans call it? Ah, playing hard to get. Yes. That’s what I’m doing.”

 

Seonghwa rolls his eyes and decides to ignore the comment. “If I ask you a question will you be straight with me?”

 

“Depends on the question.”

 

Seonghwa decides he isn’t too surprised by that answer. He also decides it’s the best one he’s going to get. “You and Hongjoong keep talking like I’m different. Like I can do something - like there’s something you’re hoping that I will do. Will you two ever stop being so cryptic and just tell me what you’re thinking?”

 

Mingi smiles. “No.”

 

Seonghwa glares back at him and Mingi merely laughs.

 

“You are different, Seonghwa. The power your anger holds is more than any new demon that I’ve seen in a long time. You have the power to put me on my ass if only you knew how to use it. Demons here should fear you. Hell, some of them do.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“Not yet. You’re not a problem until you completely learn how to harness your power.”

 

“Then why are you helping me?”

 

Mingi grins and his eyes flash red. “Because I want you to become powerful, Seonghwa. I want you to unleash your power and I want to watch you make hell fall.”

 

The thought of it all makes Seonghwa’s very being ache with want. He craves power - he craves control - more than he has ever admitted to himself, and the thought of being able to have those things has him nearly shaking. “And what will happen to you?”

 

In a split second Mingi is in front of Seonghwa, so close to him that if he leaned any closer their chests would touch. His lips graze Seonghwa’s ear as he whispers. “I hope I’ll be right beside you, watching it all come crumbling down.”

 

A chill runs down Seonghwa’s spine and he’s not sure if it’s from the vibration of Mingi’s lips against his ear or if it’s something else entirely - maybe the way that Mingi is only a breath away from him and Seonghwa can practically feel the demon’s power radiating off of him. Seonghwa almost feels drunk on the energy radiating off of the other demon, curling itself around him like it can’t get enough. Seonghwa wants to sink in the feeling - he feels almost drunk off of it. He wonders what would happen if he had power like this, if he could have this effect on someone else. He wonders what would happen if he turned his head to the side and instead of his ear Mingi’s lips were brushing it would instead be his-

 

“San.”

 

Mingi’s deep voice pulls Seonghwa out of his thoughts - are those his thoughts? He isn’t sure. He kind of hopes they aren’t. Seonghwa looks up at the demon who has entered the room and his breath is taken away. The demon before him is long and lean with broad shoulders and the tiniest waist Seonghwa has ever seen. His lips are pulled up into a devilish grin and his blue-ringed eyes twinkle with mischief.

 

“Hi Mingi,” the demon says happily, his voice slightly higher than Seonghwa expects. His gaze never lands on Mingi, however, staying focused on Seonghwa like he’s a new toy to play with. “And who might this be?”

 

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” Mingi responds flatly. “I know Wooyoung has already told you. San, meet Seonghwa. Seonghwa, meet San.”

 

San inclines his head and winks at Seonghwa. “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he purrs, walking closer.

 

Mingi stops him. “I wish you hadn’t,” he responds.

 

San merely giggles in response and Seonghwa watches the two with a look of confusion.

 

“Meet our resident harlot,” Mingi says without enthusiasm. 

 

San glares at him. “I’m an incubus, thank you very much.”

 

“Same difference.”

 

San shrugs. “Sure, but you say it like it’s a bad thing.”

 

“It is.”

 

“Come now, Mingi,” San sings, changing course and moving away from Seonghwa in favor of draping his arms around Mingi’s shoulders. “We’ve all got our vices. You kill people. I just fuck them.” 

 

“How very charming. I now see exactly what Wooyoung sees in you.”

 

San’s lips twist down into a frown and he steps away from Mingi, regarding the demon coolly. “Just because you don’t get laid doesn’t mean you have to be jealous of those who do,” he sniffs, turning his attention away from Mingi and back towards Seonghwa. “The offer for you to get laid stands at any time, pretty boy.” He winks and Seonghwa is sure he would blush if it was possible. 

 

“I thought he said you were with Wooyoung,” Seonghwa says instead, his voice coming out far steadier than he anticipated.

 

San blinks back at him like he's said something ridiculous. “Yes,” he says slowly. “But did you miss the part where I said I’m an incubus?”

 

Seonghwa blinks back at him, processing, and San giggles.

 

“Not every relationship is monogamous, silly,” San says sweetly, gently patting Seonghwa's shoulder. “You're welcome to find me any time.” He turns his attention back to Mingi, his smile slowly fading. “I came here for a reason, though.”

 

“Surprising. What's the reason?”

 

San hesitates, gaze flicking to Seonghwa, but when Mingi nods he speaks. “Eden.”

 

Seonghwa's eyebrows raise at this. “Eden,” he says slowly. “You mean…”

 

Mingi nods again but his gaze never leaves San. “Lucifer himself,” he confirms. “What about him?”

 

“He's doing it again.”

 

Mingi’s lips twist down into a scowl and his eyebrows pull together. Seonghwa looks between the two, utterly lost. “Doing what?”

 

San looks over at him again with furrowed brows and he chews his lower lip nervously as he glances back at Mingi.

 

Mingi spares San the struggle of deciding whether or not to speak by doing so himself. “He's losing it,” Mingi says simply. “He's been ordering random hits on humans, regardless of whether they're marked for hell or not.”

 

“And he's sending his nastiest guys after the ones marked for heaven,” San murmurs.

 

Seonghwa immediately thinks of the hunt he went on with Yunho. He thinks of how the woman he tortured had begged and pleaded to a God who hadn't seemed to listen. “Yunho.”

 

“Yunho,” San agrees with a shiver. 

 

“Do you guys actually have some morals?” Seonghwa questions in a half-joke, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“No,” Mingi answers easily, with no trace of amusement in his voice. “But the last thing we need are angels on our asses.”

 

“Hate those fuckers,” San grumbles. 

 

“You hate that they won't fuck you,” Mingi counters with a roll of his eyes.

 

San shrugs, his lips curving up into a sly grin. “Maybe.”

 

“He's been hurting demons too,” Mingi continues, almost as if he had never been interrupted. “Demons who don't listen. And I mean, that's normal. Eden has never been known to be kind - that's not how Lucifer is supposed to be, you know? But he's being….unnecessarily cruel.”

 

“How so?”

 

San shakes his head. “You don't want to know.”

 

“No, he should know,” Mingi counters. “He should know the reality of where he is - of who he serves.”

 

“Mingi,” San says slowly. He says the demon’s name almost like a warning, but Mingi pays him no mind.

 

“He should know, San,” he insists. “Take him to Yeosang. Then he’ll understand.”

 

San looks like he'd rather do anything else but he relents with a sigh. “Fine,” he says, the slightest hint of a pout in his voice. He turns to look at Seonghwa and inclines his head towards the door. “Follow me.”

 

Seonghwa spares one last glance at Mingi - who's looking at him with an expression that Seonghwa can't figure out - before he follows San out of the room. 

 

They walk in relative silence until they turn a corner. Then San starts talking again. “Are you fucking Mingi?”

 

Seonghwa nearly chokes on air. “Am I what?!”

 

San can't seem to stop himself from laughing at Seonghwa’s response. “I guess I'll take that as a no,” he snickers, but his grin fades quickly and he looks at Seonghwa with a curious expression, like he's a puzzle that San can't seem to figure out. “Though things would have made a lot more sense if you had said yes.”

 

“Care to elaborate on that?” Seonghwa asks dryly. He doesn't actually expect the demon to explain anything, already having gotten used to the way everyone in hell seems to hold their own secrets, so he's surprised when San answers. 

 

“Mingi doesn’t trust anyone and he rarely praises people,” San explains easily. “He’s done both for you. I don’t understand it.”

 

Seonghwa is silent for a moment as he tries to process. Mingi didn’t him when they were in the room just now, which must mean that Mingi was praising him even when he wasn’t around - that’s something that Seonghwa doesn’t expect. “I don’t understand it either,” he admits. 

 

San smiles. “I know. I can tell.”

 

Seonghwa doesn’t know where San is leading him but he can tell that he’s going deeper into hell than he’s been yet, and he isn’t sure if he should be worried or not.

 

“Yeosang is different from any demon you’ve met yet,” San explains as they walk, quickly and easily changing the subject back to what’s important. “He’s a lot more powerful than the rest of us - a lot more trusted. He’s also a lot more dangerous.”

 

“Is that why he was punished so harshly?” Seonghwa asks quietly.

 

San nods. “The higher they are the farther they fall, or something like that, right? Well, Yeosang has fallen pretty far.”

 

“Out of his position?”

 

San shakes his head. “Nah, it would take a lot for that to happen. Demons can’t just take Yeosang’s position - it’s special. Your soul quite literally has to be marked for it to happen. You have to be destined to become the next demon in his place.”

 

“How does that happen?”

 

San smiles. “He has to mark you himself. Yeosang will only give up his position when he’s done having his fun or when he’s taken out - and I don’t think he’ll ever tire of having his fun.”

 

“How can he mark someone if he’s dead?”

 

“Like calls to like. It’ll be the last thing his soul does before he’s gone for good.”

 

Seonghwa isn’t quite sure if he understands but he guesses that he doesn’t really have to. After all, it’s not his job to understand how these things work. Seonghwa has long since accepted that he is - once again - just another cog in the machine. He is curious, though…

 

“San?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“How does one end up ruling hell?”

 

San looks up at this, suddenly interested in Seonghwa. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean what I asked,” Seonghwa says. “If every other person in this place seems to be rotating, surely being Lucifer is a rotating position as well. I doubt the nickname Lucifer managed to come from the name Eden.”

 

This manages to pull a laugh out of San and he shakes his head. “Well, you’re right about that,” he allows. “No, becoming the leader of hell is a bit different. Either you’re made for it or you’re not, and if you think you are then you fight for it.”

 

“Fight for it?” Seonghwa questions, cocking his head to the side. “What, does hell put on, like, a gladiator battle?”

 

San giggles. “No, not quite. In order to become Lucifer though, you have to kill him. You have to beat him. There’s not necessarily a public fight, there’s not even necessarily public uproar. It can literally happen in the dead of night.”

 

Seonghwa thinks about that for a moment, multiple thoughts running through his head. First, anyone cantry to be Lucifer. Obviously not just anyone will succeed, but anyone can try if they’re brave enough. Second, being Lucifer sounds… stressful. He can’t imagine having a target on his back basically every day that he’s alive in this hell.

 

“Is Eden paranoid?” he asks softly.

 

San pauses, stopping outside of a door that Seonghwa supposes is their destination. “Maybe a little bit,” he allows, his lips pursed as he thinks. “But he wasn’t always this way. You don’t become Lucifer if you can’t handle the stress that comes with it, Seonghwa. But that’s a story for another day. Right now you have someone to meet.” He inclines his head towards the door and Seonghwa steels himself as the demon lightly knocks on the door and swings it open. “Yeosang, I brought company.”

 

Seonghwa doesn’t see the demon at first, tucked away in the corner of the room under a duvet that looks as soft as - dare he say it - angels wings, but he hears the demon’s scoff followed by a smooth, low voice. “Why?”

 

“Mingi wants him to meet you.”

 

“Of course,” the demon sighs. 

 

Seonghwa moves further into the room, closing the door behind him, and it’s then that he finally sees the other. The demon resting in bed is the prettiest creature Seonghwa has ever seen - or, Seonghwa thinks that he should be. The demon’s entirely black eyes regard Seonghwa coolly, observing as he takes in the state that Yeosang is in. His face is marred by blotches of blue and purple splayed harshly across his skin as if it were a canvas for the torture that Lucifer inflicted on it.

 

“My body is worse,” Yeosang states simply as Seonghwa stares. “But we’re not close enough for you to see all that.”

 

This pulls Seonghwa out of his trance and he quickly averts his gaze to the hands that the demon has neatly folded in his lap. San however in entirely unfazed, a small giggle slipping past his lips. “Show him more, Sangie. Just a little bit.”

 

Yeosang frowns but obliges with a sigh, shifting so that the covers he’s under sit on top of his thighs. “You only get one look so make it a good one,” he says humorlessly as he moves to pull his shirt up slightly and reveal his torso.

 

Seonghwa isn’t surprised to see that the planes of his stomach and chest are adorned with the same blue and purple splotches that decorate his face, but he is surprised by the faint red lines he sees littering the same area. He looks up at Yeosang with a questioning look on his face and the demon is explaining before Seonghwa can even open his mouth.

 

“My healing powers are even better than yours, thankfully for me. But yes, those were all open wounds. From a whip, if you were wondering. Feels religious, doesn’t it?” he asks, his lips quirking up into something akin to a smirk as he lets the hem of his shirt drop.

 

“What did you do?”

 

“What didn’t I do,” Yeosang corrects. “Seonghwa, do you know who I am?”

 

The question isn’t asked in a condescending way yet Seonghwa can’t help but stiffen at it. “No,” he admits quietly.

 

Yeosang lets out a small chuckle. “Let me properly introduce myself,” he says, his aura flaring golden yellow around him. “I am Yeosang, otherwise known as Greed. Say hello to one of the seven deadly sins.” Yeosang’s aura fades quickly but the force of his power still lingers in the room, a sensation so strong that Seonghwa is left practically reeling from it. The demon smirks like he knows exactly the effect that he has on those around him. “And that’s only a fraction of my power, can you believe it? Thanks to Eden I can't exactly access all of it right now and I’m a bit weak at the moment, please forgive me.”

 

Seonghwa can’t stop his mouth from opening slightly as he stares back at Yeosang in awed wonder. “How are you so strong?”

 

Yeosang shrugs. “Comes with the job. Not sure if San told you, but I was literally made for this. Soul marked and whatnot. Curse of the devil, some would call it.”

 

“What do you call it?”

 

Yeosang smiles. “My life. Both a blessing and a curse, depending how you look at it, but at the end of the day it’s simply my life. I believe you asked me a more important question though. How did I end up like this?”

 

Seonghwa nods as San jumps onto Yeosang’s bed, making himself comfortable beside the demon as if he owns the place. Yeosang pays him no mind, keeping his attention focused solely on Seonghwa. “You work under Hongjoong, right?”

 

Seonghwa nods.

 

“The work you do is very different from the work that I do. Your overseeing demon is Yuta, by the way. Wrath - pray you never meet him. Your work is violent, Seonghwa. It’s a bit barbaric, if I’m being honest. But I understand that it must get done just. Just by… someone other than myself. But I could do it, if I wanted. Do you have any idea what it can look like when someone goes crazy with greed?” The ghost of a smile plays on Yeosang’s lips and his gaze goes distant for a moment as if he’s watching it play out before him. “You’ve felt a fraction of my power. I could do whatever I wanted to a human, really. I could make one spontaneously combust without batting an eye. But that isn’t my job, Seonghwa. I am not here to kill. I will leave that to my brother. My specialty lies in more subtle madness. In madness that takes longer to destroy someone than simply turning their body inside out. Lucifer isn’t interested in the subtle things any longer,” Yeosang says, his lips twisting down into a grimace. “He’s getting careless. I don’t know what has gotten into him, but he’s ruining the order of things. All he wants is death and destruction without the order that’s supposed to come with it. He’s going to get us all killed. Or worse, start another war with the fuckers upstairs.”

 

“You all really don’t like angels,” Seonghwa murmurs.

 

Yeosang rolls his eyes. “That alone is enough to let me know that you’ve never met one. Trust me, you’ll hate them too.” 

 

“Remember Jongho?” San pipes up, his voice filled with delight.

 

Yeosang scowls. “How could I forget? That fucker is stronger than any angel has any right to be. If I run into him again I’m going to-”

 

“Kiss him?” San interrupts.

 

“Kill him,” Yeosang seethes, his gold aura flaring.

 

San snorts in response. “Please, your eyes glaze over whenever you see him flexing as he blasts the shit out of lesser demons. I know it turns you on, Sangie. I’m not judging.”

 

“Maybe I’ll kill you instead,” Yeosang says sweetly.

 

San merely giggles, entirely unfazed by Yeosang’s irritation.

 

“Why did Mingi want him to meet me, anyway?” Yeosang asks, nodding in Seonghwa’s direction and effectively changing the subject.

 

The grin playing on San’s lips makes it clear that he knows exactly what Yeosang is doing but he doesn’t call the demon out on it. “Beats me,” he says with a shrug. “He’s letting this one in on everything it seems. He wanted Seonghwa to know that Eden is losing it. Said something about how he should know the reality of who he’s working for.”

 

“That’s not like Mingi,” Yeosang says thoughtfully, turning his attention back to Seonghwa. Seonghwa tries his best not to squirm under the demon’s gaze, earning him an amused huff. “There must be something special about you, Seonghwa. What is it?”

 

Seonghwa shrugs. “I really don’t know,” he admits, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Mingi thinks he’s strong,” San pipes up, his gaze now on Seonghwa as well. 

 

Yeosang hums in answer but it sounds distracted, like he’s too wrapped up in his own thoughts to fully pay attention to what the other is telling him. “How strong, I wonder,” he murmurs, more to himself than to anyone else. 

 

Without warning Seonghwa is awash in feelings of bitterness and greed, his vision tinged the same yellow as Yeosang’s aura. The feeling moves through him differently than anger does. Where anger burns its way through his very blood, greed moves slowly. Greed moves like it has all the time in the world whereas anger moves quickly and blindly, as if it isn’t even thinking. Greed is more calculated but that doesn’t make it any easier to control. Greed is subtle in a way that’s hard to anticipate, in a way that makes it difficult to gauge where it’s going to strike next.

 

Seonghwa groans with the effort of keeping tabs on it - with the effort of being aware but not succumbing to it. Controlling his anger is easy because it’s a part of him. This is something new entirely. Seonghwa can feel as Yeosang plays on emotions that are buried so far beneath the surface that Seonghwa doesn’t even realize they’re there and suddenly he’s looking at everything in a new light. 

 

The duvet that Yeosang has swathed himself in is something that Seonghwa needs to have - in fact, it’s something he deserves to have with how hard he’s been working himself in this shit hole. The silver necklace that adorns San’s neck, its emerald pendant sitting prettily in the dip of his collarbones, would look better around his own neck. Seonghwa suddenly notices how the light plays off of the gold rings adorning Yeosang’s fingers and he wonders how they’d look on his own. 

 

Seonghwa suddenly wonders what it would look like if he let his anger come out to play. He wonders what it would look like if he allowed his red aura to flare and mix with the yellow one surrounding him, the yellow one vying for control. He wonders what it would look like if they bended and twisted together instead of fighting one another, blending in perfect harmony before his eyes.

 

He’s distantly aware of San breathing, “Holy shit,” before Yeosang’s aura abruptly vanishes, and all feelings of greed vanish with it.

 

Seonghwa looks up at Yeosang in confusion and finds the demon staring back at him with wide eyes. “How did you do that?” he breathes.

 

Seonghwa pauses. “Do what?”

 

Yeosang stares at him for a moment longer before he tips his head back and laughs, the sound filling the small room. “I think I get it now,” Yeosang says in-between laughs. “What Mingi sees in you. I think I get it.”

 

“No kidding,” San murmurs beside him, still staring wide-eyed at Seonghwa.

 

Seonghwa stands beside the bed completely and utterly lost. “I don’t understand.”

 

Yeosang smiles. “First of all, most people would have succumbed to my greed despite the fact that I am weaker now than I usually am. But you…I could feel you trying to fight it off. I could feel that you recognized it as it traveled through your body.” He pauses and cocks his head to the side, peering at Seonghwa with a look of understanding. “You’ve been working with Mingi, haven’t you? On controlling your anger?”

 

Seonghwa nods slowly. “I told him that I was worried it would consume me, it’s so strong. He told me that it wouldn’t and he was right, but I still wasn’t using it to its full potential. He knew that. He teased me about it,” he recalls, his brow furrowing as he thinks back to their first training session together. “But he told me he could help. He seemed….eager to help. Which didn’t seem like him but I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity.”

 

“Very much not like him,” San confirms. “Mingi doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him. I still don’t see what his end goal is with you.”

 

“I think I do,” Yeosang says, a smile still playing on his lips. “I think I understand exactly what his end goal is.”

 

“He won’t tell me if I ask him, will he?” Seonghwa asks dejectedly. 

 

“Not yet,” Yeosang answers easily, folding his arms across his chest. “But he’s going to have to tell you. If he’s doing what I think he is - what I’m sure he is - then he is going to have to talk to you about it at some point. Sooner rather than later, I would think. If I was him, anyway. Because if he gets you as powerful as it seems like he’s trying to do, he will end up in a very bad position if you get angry with him.”

 

Seonghwa wants to tell Yeosang that even if he is angry at Mingi he won’t hurt him. He wants to tell Yeosang that he’s more civilized than that - that he’s more human than that - but suddenly he’s not so sure that he is. The realization doesn’t scare him as much as he thinks that it should.

 

“You scare me,” Yeosang says calmly. “You scare and delight me. You have absolutely no idea what you just did and that is… incredible.”

 

“Will anyone bother to tell me what I just did?” Seonghwa asks flatly.

 

Yeosang simply smiles in response and San seems to take his cues from the stronger demon, resting his head on Yeosang’s shoulder and looking at Seonghwa with a cheeky smile. “As you work with Mingi you’ll figure it out.”

 

Seonghwa tries not to let it show just how irritated he is by the fact that even in hell people are withholding information from him - information about himself, no less. He must fail judging by the way that Yeosang laughs again.

 

“You two should probably get going,” he says after a minute. “You don’t need Lucifer’s lackeys knowing that you’re spending time with me.”

 

“I’m a lover not a fighter,” San sighs as he reluctantly peels himself off of Yeosang. “So I say we get the hell out of here, Seonghwa. I don’t want to hide behind you as you get beat up.”

 

Seonghwa rolls his eyes as San drapes an arm across his shoulder, the demon already seeming far too casual with him given that they had just met a few hours prior. They make their way to the door and are just about to leave when Yeosang speaks again.

 

“I heard what you asked before you came in here,” Yeosang says casually, but his gaze on Seonghwa is too intense, clashing with the easy tone he uses as he speaks. “About ruling hell. An interesting question.”

 

“It was just a question,” Seonghwa mumbles, but even as he says it he can feel the desire for control stirring within him.

 

Yeosang grins and Seonghwa knows that the other demon can see right through him. “It’s an interesting question,” he repeats. “I watched as Eden took out the previous Lucifer, you know. I’ve been here a while. Eden was powerful in his prime - he still is. It takes a powerful demon to make it work, Seonghwa. Just a bit of advice.”

 

“Thanks, but I’m not looking to topple any bureaucratic governments at the moment,” he mumbles.

 

Yeosang just smiles. “Goodbye, Seonghwa. I’m sure I’ll see you soon. I’ll see you later, San - say hello to Wooyoung for me.”

 

And with that San is gently pushing him out of the room and he’s left resisting the urge to look over his shoulder and catch one last glance of Yeosang before San pulls the door shut behind them. “For better or for worse, you’ve got Yeosang’s attention now,” San says, shoving his hands into his pant pockets and inclining his head in a subtle demand for Seonghwa to follow him. “And once he becomes interested in someone he doesn’t stop.”

 

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” Seonghwa murmurs.

 

San shrugs. “I really couldn’t say.” He’s quiet for a moment as they walk and Seonghwa is content to sit in the silence but San has other plans. “You really are strong though, Hwa.” His voice is more serious than Seonghwa has ever heard it, so much so that he almost doesn’t catch the nickname that the demon has come up with for him.

 

“Mingi trains me hard.”

 

San laughs lightly and shakes his head. “Yeah, I can tell. But Mingi can only work with power that’s already there - believe me, I know. There really is something different about you.”

 

Seonghwa sits with that statement long after San has bid him farewell. He sits in his favorite spot overlooking the field of suffering and thinks over everything that’s happened since he’s been in hell - everything he’s been told. He thinks of the way that Mingi and Hongjoong whisper about him when they think that he’s not listening, arguing back and forth over whether or not he’s ready for ‘the next step’ - whatever that is. He thinks of the delighted fear he saw in Yeosang’s eyes and thinks of the way that Yeosang had told him that he was powerful. He thinks about how he’s found himself in another corrupt society and wonders if maybe this time he can do something about it. As these thoughts float around in his head the cries of the suffering souls fade to the back of Seonghwa’s mind - he doesn’t even realize that he doesn’t mind them anymore.

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

Life in hell is monotonous. Seonghwa either spends his days listening to Wooyoung spread the gossip about every lesser and higher demon in hell, trains with Mingi, or goes on his assigned hunts. The old Seonghwa would have been okay with this - in fact, Seonghwa thinks, he might have even thrived on the consistency of it. But Seonghwa is not like he used to be and he now finds his skin crawling with the power that Mingi is helping him hone and he’s not content with his existence. He tells Mingi as much one day after nearly blasting a hole through Mingi’s wall with his irritation.

 

Hongjoong stares at Seonghwa in shock from where he sits behind Mingi’s desk, having decided that he wanted to watch Seonghwa train for once. Mingi merely looks annoyed.

 

“There are better ways to let off steam than almost destroying my office,” Mingi says flatly. Seonghwa has the decency to look embarrassed but Mingi keeps speaking. “I want to try something new. Something that you’ve apparently already tried once.”

 

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know what you mean. I only train with you.”

 

Mingi smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I know you met with Yeosang - I know you still go and talk to him occasionally. Oh, don’t look at me like that. I don’t care who you talk to, Seonghwa. But I heard what you did with him.” Mingi gets this gleam in his eyes as they flash red, and Seonghwa knows that the demon is excited - he’s not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. “I want to see it for myself.”

 

“I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“I know,” Mingi says. “You’ll find out in a moment, I promise. If this goes like I think it will then I’ll explain everything to you, unlike Yeosang and San.” His lips are curved up into the smallest grin making it obvious that he finds it amusing that the other two haven't actually explained to Seonghwa what they saw. “I think it’s time for you to meet another friend of mine.”

 

“Oh great,” Seonghwa mumbles under his breath, earning a snort from Hongjoong. Mingi pays him no mind.

 

The door to Mingi’s office opens and in walks one of the most breathtaking demons that Seonghwa has ever seen. He’s different from Yeosang, who is beautiful in all manners graceful. Instead this man looks like sin himself. He’s long and lean like San is, but he carries himself with an air of assurance that Seonghwa knows San can only dream of mastering. His black hair is mostly slicked back, with some strands hanging forward over his forehead on the left side of his face, and his lips are pulled up into the cockiest grin that Seonghwa has ever seen. The man oozes sex appeal and desire and Seonghwa almost feels heady just looking at him.

 

“Seonghwa, meet Lust.”

 

The demon walks forward and takes Seonghwa’s hand, lightly pressing a kiss to it. He looks up at Seonghwa through his lashes and his lips skim gently across the back of Seonghwa’s hand as he speaks. “I go by Juyeon. It’s so very nice to meet you, Seonghwa.”

 

“L-likewise,” Seonghwa stammers. He’s so caught up in Juyeon’s charms that he almost doesn’t hear Mingi snort in the background.

 

Juyeon smirks and Seonghwa can feel his breath catch.

 

“Juyeon,” Mingi drawls, and Seonghwa looks away from the demon in front of him long enough to catch the smirk on Mingi’s face. “Start.”

 

Without warning Seonghwa can feel it - can feel him. Seonghwa is suddenly engulfed in Juyeon’s blue aura and he feels like he’s drowning. Distantly Seonghwa knows that he should be upset by this, that he should fight back, but there’s a part of him that doesn’t want to. There’s a part of him that wants to sink deeper into the feeling and let it wash over him.

 

Being consumed by lust is easy. The feeling doesn’t fight against him and it doesn’t feel intrusive. Instead, Seonghwa can feel it curling against his very being, gently pushing its way into his mind, gently making its way throughout his body. Lust is as gentle as a lover’s kiss, purring and goading him into allowing it to take over. Seonghwa is distantly aware of the way that blue is overtaking him, almost taking over his own red aura as he refuses to fight back.

 

A spark. A thought, much like when Yeosang had tried to take over him. Seonghwa again wonders what it would look like if their colors merged. How much prettier it would be, he thinks to himself, if his red and Juyeon’s blue wound around each other and their auras touched. How powerful they could be together. And just like that Seonghwa feels the tell-tale warmth of his own rage coming alive. It moves in a calculated manner, squeezing itself around Juyeon’s aura in a manner far gentler than anyone would associate with wrath.

 

Seonghwa can distantly hear Juyeon’s gasp of surprise but unlike Yeosang, Juyeon doesn’t shy away. Instead he leans into it, working with Seonghwa to wind their auras around each other. Seonghwa opens his eyes and finds Juyeon standing at full height now, his black eyes wide with wonder. He can see a flicker of red in them and wonders if there’s blue reflected in his own eyes.

 

“Incredible,” Juyeon breathes. “You’re not even trying.”

 

“Should I be?” Seonghwa asks, his own voice coming out as nothing more than a soft breath.

 

Juyeon smiles. “Yes.” And then he drops his aura and steps back, his aura whispering one last sweet-nothing to Seonghwa’s before it fades entirely.

 

Seonghwa lets his aura drop as well, letting go of the comforting warmth of his rage as he looks over at Mingi. Mingi is staring at him like he’s something more, like he’s a miracle that’s dropped from the sky. His brown eyes are wide with wonder and there’s a smile on his face unlike one that Seonghwa has ever seen before - it looks genuine.

 

“You’re the key,” Mingi breathes.

 

And for once, Seonghwa thinks he might understand what the demon means. He looks back at Mingi and feels a boldness that’s foreign to him - confidence in knowing that he holds power far greater than those around him. “Tell me everything.”

 

So he does.

 

“Eden needs to go,” Mingi starts, his voice serious. “He was powerful when he first started, he really was. But something in him has changed.”

 

“Power changes people,” Hongjoong hums, finally speaking up. “And quite frankly, Eden was never powerful enough to withstand the pressure. He was strong enough to stage an initial coup but I always knew that he wouldn’t sustain it. That’s why I didn’t back him up.”

 

“You didn’t fight him either,” Juyeon comments.

 

Hongjoong shrugs. “I didn’t see the point. He had the support. What good was fighting him going to do? I play the game to stay alive down here, not to be slaughtered over our leader. I don’t give a damn who runs hell as long as they do a good job of it.”

 

“Which is why you’re turning against Eden,” Seonghwa says, stating the obvious.

 

Hongjoong nods anyway. “He’s going rogue. I don’t need him sending my best men on suicide missions.”

 

“Your men can handle the missions though,” Seonghwa counters, his brow furrowing in confusion. “They’re nothing outside of the usual shit.”

 

Hongjoong shakes his head. “Work wise, sure. Any of you can handle them. But Eden is sending my best men after people who are not marked for hell. You should know this, Seonghwa. Weren’t you sent on one of those missions just last week?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. “Our friend upstairs does not take kindly to his souls being taken away from him. He’s going to send angels after us. I do not need my men being attacked by angels.”

 

“You mean Yunho,” Seonghwa corrects, feeling bold. “You don’t need Yunho being attacked by angels.”

 

Hongjoong’s eyes narrow slightly but he doesn’t deny it. “I don’t want my demons dead,” he says instead. “That includes you, Seonghwa.”

 

“Did it include me before or after my little interaction with Juyeon?” Seonghwa challenges, raising an eyebrow.

 

Much to his surprise Hongjoong smirks. “Before,” he admits. “But now I really need you to stay alive. I’m rerouting all of your assignments from now on.”

 

Seonghwa’s face falls. “You’re what?” he cries. He can already feel the itch for bloodshed intensifying - the need for him to sink his nails into flesh and to hear the cries of people who deserve to be punished. His aura is pulsing before he can even think about it. “I need those assignments.”

 

Hongjoong’s smirk stays on his face and Juyeon laughs in delight beside him. “Oh my, he really is powerful,” Juyeon says gleefully. “It’s no wonder you give him so many assignments.”

 

“To use my strength?” Seonghwa asks bitterly.

 

“To release it,” Mingi clarifies. “You have so much power that needs to be burned off, Seonghwa. That’s why you get so many assignments. Just look at how you responded to the thought of not having assignments. Your soul craves them because you need to burn off all that energy somehow.”

 

“It’s such a shame he’s not a child of lust,” Juyeon sighs. “Just imagine what he could do if he was one of mine. He’d be unstoppable.”

 

“You’d just see him as a threat,” Mingi snorts.

 

“Maybe,” Juyeon allows with a shrug. “It’s better this way, anyway. I won’t fuck one of my own. Everyone else is fair game though.” There’s a glint in his eyes as he looks at Seonghwa. “Just think about it, hm? Think about how much fun it would be. Imagine our auras blending together as I-”

 

“No one needs to hear your sick fantasies, Juyeon,” Mingi interrupts coolly.

 

Juyeon smiles sweetly back at him. “You just wish my fantasies were about you,” he says sweetly, ignoring the way that Mingi rolls his eyes at him.

 

“You haven’t told me your plan,” Seonghwa interrupts, looking between the three of them.

 

Mingi blinks back at him. “Do you need me to spell it out for you?”

 

“You want me to take down Eden.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Seonghwa hesitates. “Y-you want me to lead hell,” he says, though the statement sounds more like a question. “You want me to become the next Lucifer.”

 

Juyeon’s answering smile is blinding and Hongjoong simply chuckles, but it’s Mingi’s smirk that Seonghwa finds himself focusing on. “Yes,” Mingi confirms, the low bass of his voice clouding Seonghwa’s senses more than Juyeon’s lust ever could. “Let us put you in power, Seonghwa. Let us make you the leader you were destined to be.”

 

Seonghwa thinks about his life as a human, thinks about how he desperately wanted to be a part of something bigger. He isn’t naive enough to think that he’s found the family he desired among the demons surrounding him - no, he knows better than that. But perhaps even better than being loved as a family member is being loved for his powers. Maybe, Seonghwa thinks to himself, there’s something even more validating about everyone looking at him in a combination of awe and fear - after all, he once looked at Hyungwon that way. He looks at the three of them again but this time something clicks inside him and his gaze is cold and calculating. “Get to work, then.”

 

Mingi’s answering smile is as terrifying as it is gratifying, and Seonghwa finds that he was confident in his answer even without it. “Let’s take Eden down,” Mingi says.

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

Seonghwa finds that trusting Mingi to map out their plan comes easily to him - he faintly wonders if perhaps it comes a little too easily, but he often decides not to dwell on that. He sometimes isn’t sure if he’s Mingi’s right-hand man or if Mingi is his, but he finds that it doesn’t matter. With Mingi by his side, Seonghwa feels sure that he won’t fail.

 

Seonghwa learns that when Eden had taken over the previous Lucifer it had been a loud affair - he had caused an uproar among the demons in hell and all but forced the old leader out. Seonghwa has no intentions of doing the same. If there’s one thing Mingi and him agree on it’s that this will be done in silence - Seonghwa will be a shadow striking in the night.

 

“You’re stronger than Eden ever was,” Yeosang tells him after a training session. Mingi had decided that training with him was no longer worth it and instead Seonghwa alternated between training with Yeosang and Jueyon.

 

“Did you do this with Eden, too?” Seonghwa asks.

 

Yeosang smiles and shakes his head. “No, not at all. As the leader of hell you do have to meet with the seven deadly sins, though. It’s slightly important for us to know who we’re taking orders from.”

 

“You tested him when you met him?” Seonghwa asks incredulously.

 

“Just slightly,” Yeosang admits, sounding slightly amused. “Not enough for him to really notice. I just…gently prodded at his mental defenses.”

 

“And?”

 

Yeosang grins. “They were practically non-existent.”

 

“Why not take over then?” Seonghwa questions.

 

Yeosang shakes his head. “There’s no point. We - the seven deadly sins - have been stronger than almost every Lucifer we’ve ever had, and each one has been aware of it. It’s almost like a checks and balances system. If they ever do anything too insane, they know that we can put them in check.”

 

“It doesn’t seem like that system is working right now, is it?”

 

Yeosang huffs a laugh. “Most of them tend to forget about the power we hold, honestly. They don’t typically interact with us very much. And the other sins don’t particularly care about what goes on if I’m being honest.”

 

“Eden interacted with you enough to hurt you.”

 

Yeosang hums in acknowledgement. “Yes, Eden has been playing dirty,” he notes. “He used old tricks to land hits on me the way that he did. Tricks that, quite frankly, I had forgotten existed.”

 

“Tricks?” Seonghwa asks, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Tricks that I will not be sharing with you,” Yeosang says plainly. “You’re powerful enough as it is.” He pauses and looks at Seonghwa for a moment, all traces of amusement gone. “You’ll be the most powerful Lucifer we’ve had in eons.”

 

Seonghwa tries not to let the praise get to him. “How is it going to work?”

 

“Let Mingi explain it. He’s the strategist, after all.”

 

“That he is,” Seonghwa murmurs.

 

Yeosang purses his lips in thought, seemingly debating something before finally coming to his own decision. “I’ve never seen Mingi pour this much effort into any demon,” he says. “I know it’s because you’re powerful, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s something more.”

 

“Something more?”

 

Yeosang smiles. “I’ve never seen him this invested in anyone. Not even when he still had some humanity left in him.”

 

Seonghwa mulls over this for longer than he probably should, and long after he's left Yeosang’s room he finds the thought still on his mind. It doesn't leave. Over the next few days the thought occurs to him unprompted every time Mingi grins at him or brushes against him, leaving Seonghwa feeling slightly distracted. If Mingi notices he says nothing - Seonghwa knows he notices. 

 

It's one night when they're up late going over Mingi’s strategy that Seonghwa decides to be direct with him. “Why me, Mingi?”

 

Mingi looks up from the papers on his desk with a bemused expression. “That's the stupidest question I've ever heard.”

 

“No, it's not.”

 

“Yes, it is,” Mingi says with a laugh. “We both know I want you for your power. I thought we were on the same page with that, Seonghwa.”

 

“There's seriously nothing more?”

 

Mingi raises an eyebrow. “What more would there be?”

 

Seonghwa decides then that maybe Mingi is right. The two don't know a single thing about each other. They haven't spent time talking with each other like he and Wooyoung have, he hasn't flirted endlessly with him like San has, and he hasn't kissed away his complaints like Juyeon has. Seonghwa shrugs. “Nothing, I guess,” he concedes with a shrug. “But how do you know I won’t turn on you once I’m in power?”

 

Mingi is silent for a moment and Seonghwa gets the impression that Mingi has asked himself this question many times before. Eventually Mingi offers him a small smile. “I know you won’t.”

 

And Seonghwa knows that he’s right.

 

The night of their plan comes faster than Seonghwa anticipates but he finds that he’s surprisingly calm as he watches Wooyoung and San gleefully snap the necks of the unsuspecting demons keeping guard in front of Eden’s room. He lets Yeosang enter the room before him, followed by Juyeon - because he insisted on watching the show, Mingi, and finally Seonghwa himself.

 

Seonghwa can hear Eden scoff as Yeosang strolls in but the higher demon doesn’t respond. “I thought I had taught you a lesson,” Eden sneers.

 

Juyeon responds before Yeosang can. “Now, now Eden,” he practically sings as he enters the room. “That’s no way to treat a cardinal sin, is it?”

 

Eden regards Juyeon coolly. “Be careful, Lust. I can do to you exactly what I did to Greed.”

 

Juyeon frowns at this. “How many times have I asked you to call me Juyeon?” he asks sulkily, completely unfazed by Eden’s threat.

 

Eden doesn’t bother to respond to Juyeon’s comment, focusing his gaze on Mingi and Seonghwa as they file in through the door. Seonghwa closes the door behind him and the latching of the door sounds infinitely louder in the small room than it has anywhere else in hell. Eden narrows his eyes upon seeing Mingi but then his gaze travels to Seonghwa and he looks confused. “And who exactly are you?”

 

The question of the hour - the question that Seonghwa has been waiting for. He smiles at Eden and he can see the fear flicker in Eden’s eyes. “I’m Seonghwa,” he says calmly. “Your worst nightmare.”

 

He doesn’t give Eden a moment to respond before he attacks. He distantly thinks to himself that his training with Mingi and the two cardinal sins really did pay off as he watches Eden rise off the ground while Seonghwa stands with his hands in his pockets, his face calm as he watches Eden struggle to breathe.

 

“It’s a wonder you’ve been in power as long as you have,” Seonghwa notes as Eden claws at his throat and tries to pry away the phantom hands crushing his windpipe. “You are extremely weak.”

 

“Fuck you,” Eden hisses, his voice almost inaudible.

 

Seonghwa lets Eden drop to the ground and he falls onto his knees and coughs violently, glaring up at Seonghwa with a look that can kill - except, it can’t. Seonghwa smirks. “Come on, Eden,” he purrs. “Show me how you got here.” He can hear Mingi snorting behind him and Eden’s eyes flash with anger. His aura flares around him, a rich purple, and Seonghwa outright laughs. “Pride,” he says between laughs. “Figures.”

 

Eden shouts and rushes at Seonghwa but Seonghwa moves faster. Rather than running from Eden he runs towards him, extending his arm and curling his fingers around Eden’s throat. “You’re weaker than I thought,” he sneers, letting his aura fan out around him. The red is almost overwhelming and Seonghwa can even see Juyeon squint from where he stands in the far left corner of the room. “Is this how you fight back?”

 

He can feel as Eden’s aura tries to push back against his own but it’s no use - Seonghwa’s aura is far more powerful than his. Purple is slowly overtaken by red and Seonghwa sinks his fingers deeper into Eden’s throat, feeling almost high on the sensation of his nails ripping into flesh. He’s faintly aware of Juyeon making a noise of disgust as blood begins to run down Seonghwa’s hand but he ignores it, relishing in the feeling of the warm liquid washing over his skin. 

 

“Your time as leader of hell is over, Eden,” Seonghwa whispers, just loud enough for the demon in front of him to hear as the life fades from his eyes. “You took for granted your soul and it’s mine now to steal.”

 

It’s only once Seonghwa lets Eden’s lifeless body drop to the ground that he looks up at the small audience he has. It takes just a second for Wooyoung and San to start whooping loudly and cheering for him. Yeosang rolls his eyes good-naturedly and looks amused by it all and Juyeon still looks put off by the sight of the blood staining Seonghwa’s skin.

 

Seonghwa looks at Mingi last. The demon is staring at him in a combination of awe and something that Seonghwa can’t quite place. His lips curve up into a small smirk. “All hail our new king.”

 

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽∞☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

 

Seonghwa sits atop hell’s throne with a look of calm indifference. Mingi stands to his right and - much to everyone’s surprise - Wooyoung stands to his left. “When do I get to leave?” Seonghwa asks Mingi quietly, sounding as bored as he feels.

 

Mingi’s expression doesn’t change but Seonghwa can hear the amusement in his voice. “Once everyone else does. Patience, Seonghwa. They all need to see who they’re serving now.”

 

Seonghwa represses the urge to sigh and stays put, lazily scanning the crowd of demons. He’s talked to everyone of major importance - having met all of the deadly sins, including Yuta - and now waits for any and all lesser demons to see him and leave. He watches as they all eye him with a combination of awe and fear, relishing in the way they hurry to drop their eyes when he makes eye contact with him. His lips curve up into a smile but there’s no warmth in it; it’s cold and calculating, reflecting the creature that Seonghwa has become. He thinks that this must be how Hyungwon felt and suddenly he understands his former leader; he too thinks that wielding control is more important than belonging. It’s only after everyone has left the room and Seonghwa stands atop the dais peering out at an empty room that he says as much.

 

“You’ve changed, Seonghwa,” Mingi answers.

 

Seonghwa turns to face him and isn’t surprised by the smirk he sees gracing his features. “I have,” he agrees, stepping off the dais and walking closer to Mingi. “I’m finally being honest with myself.”

 

“It’s about time.”

Seonghwa can’t stop the huff of amusement that escapes him. “Will you finally be honest with me now, Mingi? Now that I’m being honest with myself?” Mingi’s eyes widen slightly in surprise and Seonghwa grins. “I know there’s something you’ve been holding back from me Mingi, so answer this question honestly. Why me?”

 

Mingi is quiet for a moment before he lets out a long breath and closes his eyes. “Because you’re addicting, Seonghwa,” he admits. When he opens his eyes again they’re glowing red and he steps closer to Seonghwa without thinking. “I knew you were powerful the moment you stepped through my doors. I can feel it, Seonghwa, and you don’t understand what that feels like.”

 

Seonghwa thinks of how overwhelmed he felt the first time that Yeosang had used his powers on him. “I think I do,” he murmurs.

 

“I needed you in charge,” Mingi says, “because I knew you were the only one who could do it and do it right. But more importantly I needed you on my side.”

 

“Wrong,” Seonghwa says quietly, much like Mingi had done to him the first time they met. “Try again.”

 

Mingi must remember too, if the amused huff of air that he lets out is any indication. “I needed you to be mine.”

 

Seonghwa smiles. “There it is.”

 

“I told you I wanted this,” Mingi says seriously, stepping closer to Seonghwa. Their chests are nearly touching now and Seonghwa has to tilt his head slightly to look up at Mingi, their slight height difference now more noticeable than it ever has been before. “I told you that I wanted to be there beside you as you brought hell to its knees.”

 

“Why?” Seonhwa asks quietly, never breaking eye contact with Mingi.

 

“I wanted to watch you finally come in to yourself, Seonghwa. I wanted to see you finally take control of your power. I wanted to feel it as you finally took control of it. I want you to use it.”

 

“And if I use it on you?” Seonghwa asks darkly, his aura flaring as he speaks.

 

Mingi’s eyes flash red again. “I’d let you.”

 

Seonghwa grins. “You wouldn’t have a choice.” 

 

Mingi’s silence is an answer in and of itself: he knows that he wouldn’t have a choice and he doesn’t mind.

 

“Was it everything you wanted?” Seonghwa asks curiously, cocking his head to the side. “Watching me step into my power? Watching me let go?”

 

Mingi smiles and his joy is almost palpable. His aura flares out around him and Seonghwa’s responds, their auras reaching for one another almost without thought. “Everything and more,” Mingi whispers, and Seonghwa knows that he means it.

 

“Stay by me?” Seonghwa asks in a near whisper.

 

“Always.”