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The very first time Asmodeus watched Iruma eat was a revelation.
“This is so good,” said Iruma, shoving an entire devichicken leg into his mouth, a look of unbridled bliss upon his face. “I can’t believe how good the school cafeteria food is.” He took a heaping spoonful of flytrap soup. “Mmm, this is delicious, too. I’m going to have seconds of this. And of the fried rice. And more triple-horned bull steak — Um. Azz-kun?”
“Hm?” said Azz.
“You’re not eating. Is everything okay? Do you not like your food?”
“Oh!” Azz realized that he had been spending the last five or ten minutes completely focused on Iruma, not touching his own food at all. “Oh, no, my food is fine,” he said, taking a bite without even tasting it.
This answer seemed enough to satisfy Iruma, who went back to shoveling food down as though he might never get to eat again.
It was possibly the most glorious thing that Azz had ever seen in his life. Iruma’s unbridled greed, the completely unashamed way he pursued his gluttonous desire — it was everything a model demon should be. Azz had little doubt before, but now he knew for sure that he had chosen the right demon to serve. It was really only a matter of time until they subjugated the entire school, and everyone else would see what he could see.
“Would you like me to get you some seconds, Iruma-sama?” asked Azz, as he noticed the pile of empty plates growing.
“Oh, that’d be great!” said Iruma, his mouth stuffed full of scorpion tail skewers. “What should I get, though…?”
“Don’t worry about that, Iruma-sama,” said Azz, his smile beaming. “I’ll just get you everything you could possibly want.”
Azz thought he understood his place very well: serving Iruma in any way he could, with all of his determination, intelligence, and considerable talents. Iruma liked to call this arrangement “friendship,” and he constantly honored Azz with his kind words and encouragement, more than he had ever expected or dared to hope for. Azz’s ambition was simple, noble, elegant.
That is, until Iruma inevitably succumbed to his evil cycle.
While Iruma was normally magnificent in every way, Iruma in his evil cycle was on another level entirely. His timid and humble nature became effortless confidence and breathtaking charisma, both of which suited him perfectly. As much as Azz was concerned about Iruma’s well-being, he couldn’t help but find this transformation magnetic. Azz couldn’t tear his eyes away, couldn’t stop himself from hanging on to Iruma’s every word.
And when Iruma finally succeeded at his goal and sat upon the throne at the back of the Royal One, Azz finally understood why.
For the first time, he saw Iruma’s look of unbridled greed turned on something other than meals and minor school accomplishments. For the first time, that enticing glint in Iruma’s eyes was for something else entirely: the future.
And there, on the throne of the absent Demon King, his posture and expression radiating his newfound boldness, Iruma looked at Azz, and Azz saw the future as well.
Their eyes met, and it took all of Azz’s willpower to not simply drop to his knees where he stood. In his mind’s eye, he saw his future self genuflecting before his king, filled with the satisfaction that could only come from serving someone who was unquestionably worthy of the service.
But it was more than that.
As he stood there, heart thumping in his chest, it wasn’t merely service he craved. And for just a moment, he was consumed with the desire to offer himself to Iruma in ways that might be considered… unseemly.
He hadn’t before considered the possibility, but now that it had formed in his mind, it felt like a puzzle piece snapping into place, like the perfect solution to a problem that he hadn’t even realized he was trying to solve.
And then the moment passed, as suddenly as it had arrived. Iruma swept off the throne, and the tension in the room dissipated like morning fog. In another few minutes, the Misfits were all talking and laughing and inspecting their new classroom, as though they had forgotten what they had just seen.
But Azz wasn’t about to forget. No, he had a feeling that he’d never forget that, for as long as he lived.
“Lilith’s Red Carpet.”
The story of the demon who was desired by all and who loved none, the demon who captivated but could never be seduced, the demon who sought a love that burned like fire.
That last part Azz understood well, because he had been burning for a while, and feared he would be consumed.
No matter how much he tried to calm his feelings for Iruma, to return to his pure and noble goal of serving him, he couldn’t extinguish the smolder in his heart. Iruma was raising in rank, chasing his ambitions, becoming more handsome and skilled by the day, and Azz certainly wasn’t the only one who noticed. Every time he saw the admiring and sometimes lascivious gazes that followed Iruma around the school, it was all he could do to not set his fellow students ablaze.
Iruma seemed utterly oblivious to the passion that trailed him wherever he went. Oh, he treated everyone with kindness and respect, in a way that was frankly remarkable for a demon of his stature. But he didn’t seem to notice or reciprocate the romantic advances.
And as Azz practiced his dance, acted out the role of one of Lilith’s unsuccessful suitors, he could feel his heart turning to ice. What if this was his role in life, as well? An unsuccessful, tragic suitor of the demon desired by all?
What if Azz confessed his affections, poured out his soul into Iruma’s hands, and Iruma smiled at him and ever so gently refused?
The thought was more than he could stand. He swallowed it down and attempted to focus on nothing but the dance.
“Azz-kun!” Iruma poked his head into the dance practice room. He was dressed in an intensely flattering black suit, looking uncharacteristically sophisticated, and Azz felt his mouth go dry. “Keroli-san finished tailoring my suit! What do you think? Does it look good?”
“It looks stunning. Gorgeous,” said Azz, forcing his mind to supply him with appropriate words instead of utterly inappropriate fantasies. “Exactly as I would expect from you.”
“I’m so glad!” Iruma’s smile was bright. “I think today’s rehearsal went really well, too. I think I’m getting better at portraying Lilith’s feelings. You know, how she felt when she turned down all those suitors.”
The icy fear returned to Azz’s heart. “That’s… excellent, Iruma-sama.”
No, Iruma could never know how Azz was burning. A demon like him should and could choose anyone he wanted. All he could do is work hard to make himself worthy of Iruma and hope that one day Iruma decided to take him in the way that Azz imagined in his most secret thoughts. And if he didn’t, he’d have to somehow content himself to quietly serve Iruma in the manner he deserved, for as long as his services were welcome.
Azz’s mind had been firmly made up. His heart and soul didn’t get the message.
It had started in earnest that afternoon. He’d simply been walking to class with Iruma, listening to him chatter about homework and sprucing up the batra room, when they emerged into the courtyard. The sun hit Iruma’s face just right, and he smiled, and Azz saw him.
“I’m going to have to go all-out this year if I want to make rank six,” said Iruma with a determined grin. “And I want to help you raise your rank, too! This year, we’ll both make rank six together!”
That confident smile was so much less like the timid Iruma that Azz challenged on his first day, and so much more like the Iruma who sat on the Demon King’s throne. His brilliant blue hair was pulled back in an attractive ponytail, and his stylish earring and shiny black nail polish glinted in the sun. He was less thin now, more healthy and fit. But despite all the changes, that gleam in his eyes was the same greed that Azz had admired back then.
And Azz felt that fire within grow hotter, threatening to rage out of control.
Any attempts to actually focus for the rest of the day were entirely shot, alternating between thinking about Iruma, fruitless attempts to not think about Iruma, and waving off Iruma’s concerns, claiming he was just tired. He flew back home in a distracted daze, ignoring David’s attempts to get him to eat dinner in favor of retreating to his bedroom.
Finally, some privacy. He stripped off his coat and boots and sat at the edge of his bed, taking shaky breaths and trying to get a grip on himself.
His obsessiveness, his desire, his clouded judgement — it felt unnervingly like he was on the verge of his evil cycle. He had optimistically thought that, as a result of his training under Master Balam, he would no longer have to deal with the inconvenience of natural evil cycles again. The problem was that his chosen key for retaining his lucidity was to think of Iruma. Right now, that was only driving him further off the deep end.
He couldn’t — even in the privacy of his own bedchambers, he couldn’t allow himself to succumb to impure thoughts about his friend, his soulmate, the one with whom he’d forged a blood pact and promised to always protect. It was shameful. He had to stop thinking about how handsome Iruma was, how brilliant his smile, how sweet he smelled —
A sharp knock on his door caused him to yelp in an undignified manner.
“Alice-chaaaan!” sang the voice of the last person in the Netherworld Azz wanted to see right now. “David told me you aren’t eating! Is my precious Alice-chan feeling all right…?”
“Leave me alone, Mother!” he snapped.
“Oh my, how rude! I’m just here to have a little mother-son chat!” She had barged into Azz’s room before he could further protest, and Azz wasn’t sure if he had somehow forgotten to lock the door or if she had found a way to unlock it. “Oh, dear!” she said as soon as she had entered. “This place is simply rank with succubus pheromones! No wonder you’re behaving so badly — you must be close to your evil cycle.”
“I most certainly am not,” he protested. “And I am absolutely not emitting pheromones!”
“Oh, Alice-chan,” she said, sitting on the bed next to him and patting his head while he glared at her with murderous intensity. “You’re your mother’s son, after all. It runs in our blood. But there’s no shame in it, not at all. You’re young and handsome. There’s no reason why you can’t relieve your evil cycle by seducing your classmates, right?”
Azz’s eyes opened wide with horror. “No.”
“Why, when I was your age and in my evil cycle, I seduced half my class and most of my batra! I came to my senses in the batra room three days later wearing one of the boys’ uniforms, and —“
“Mother. Stop.”
His mother’s laugh rang off the walls. “I’m not saying you need that many demons at your mercy! Just one or two, to take the edge off and stave off your evil cycle. It’s perfectly natural for a demon of our family. It doesn’t even need to be anything serious. Just search out some attractive young thing of a decent rank and —“
The thought of being romantic or intimate with anyone else but Iruma made him grit his teeth in utter disgust. “I don’t have the slightest bit of interest in seducing anyone else.”
He knew the mistake he’d made as soon as the wicked smile spread across his mother’s face.
“Anyone else, you say? Oooh, I knew it. This is about that charming Iruma boy, isn’t it?” She leaned in closer to Azz as he leaned away. “He’s such a cute little sweetheart, too. Is he not returning your affections?”
“I refuse to have this discussion.”
“Why not simply seduce —”
Azz clapped a hand over his mother’s traitorous mouth. “Absolutely out of the question!”
She grasped his wrist and pulled him away. “Oh, very well. I can see that you don’t appreciate your dear mother’s advice,” she said, finally standing up. “But never forget that you’re a demon of lust. Shutting out your desires forever isn’t good for you.” She blew him a kiss as she finally shut the door.
Azz collapsed backwards on to the bed in despair. She wasn’t entirely wrong, of course. His heart was filled with desire for Iruma and nothing else, desire he couldn’t bear to indulge lest he suffer rejection and estrangement from his Iruma-sama. He couldn’t think of a solution, only wallow in despair.
If he really was on the verge of an evil cycle, if he really was emitting pheromones, if he couldn’t put Iruma out of his mind, then he probably shouldn’t go to school tomorrow. It would be humiliating if anyone noticed, and he was terrified he’d succumb to his urges to, well, advance on his dearest friend.
But staying home from school meant that he’d be apart from Iruma for an unacceptably long period of time. Worse, he wouldn’t be able to protect Iruma. Even worse, one of Iruma’s many prospective suitors might decide that, without Azz at hand, it would be the perfect time to make their move. No, he couldn’t allow that to happen, no matter the cost.
He was just going to have to try to calm down and hope this madness passed before it got worse. A good night’s sleep might help. He knew, of course, that he’d never be able to get to sleep like this, so instead he turned to his magic textbook and opened it up to the lesson on basic sleep spells.
Iruma had been so cute asleep on his desk on the day they’d practiced these…
No, he had to focus! He washed up in the bathroom, changed into his pajamas (the ones with the ribbon on the front that matched Iruma’s), settled down in bed, and then cast the spell on himself.
It only took a few seconds before he began to fall asleep. Finally, some relief from the all-consuming fire. He’d go to sleep and stop thinking about Iruma’s smile, his hair…
…Iruma sitting on the throne in the Royal One…
As he slipped into dreams and his conscious mind faded away, he no longer had any defenses against the imagery he’d been trying to suppress. He saw Iruma, older and in a rich, ostentatious outfit befitting a Demon King, sitting in his rightful throne. He saw himself kneeling before Iruma, a loyal and humble servant.
And he saw that look on Iruma’s face, that beautiful look of unbridled greed that he loved so much, and it was finally trained on Azz himself. Iruma had decided to take what was his, what had always been his from the moment Azz pledged himself to fealty.
Iruma hooked a finger under Azz’s chin, drew him in closer. “You’ve served me well.”
“My king,” he said softly, spellbound by Iruma’s gaze.
Iruma leaned in and whispered in his ear. “You’re mine now, my Alice. And you deserve a reward.”
Both within the dream and in his bedroom, Azz shuddered in anticipation.
As it turned out, a night’s sleep didn’t help much when it was filled with fitful and forbidden dreams of Iruma.
Azz had woken up looking like garbage and feeling worse. The only reason he was able to execute his morning hygiene was that he couldn’t bear the idea of looking anything less than perfect for Iruma. Even the makeup he’d snuck out of his mother’s bathroom hadn’t been able to entirely cover the unsightly dark marks under his eyes.
And any hope that he’d be able to hold it together was rapidly eroding in the light of Iruma’s concerned smile. “Azz-kun, are you okay? You seem distracted.”
No, he wasn’t okay, and yes, he was distracted. Clara was hanging off one arm as though he were playground equipment, singing some daft song, and he could practically feel the eyes of everyone in the hall on him, and Iruma was worried about him and drawing closer. Iruma was just trying to help. He emphatically was not helping.
“I’m fine, Iruma-sama,” said Azz, swallowing hard, and trying to ignore the little voice in the back of his head. The one that his mother’s perverse words had stoked. The one that made him itch in his own skin. The one that was whispering that he really would just feel so much better if he threw reason to the wind and seduced Iruma.
“Are you sure?” Iruma pressed. “Did you sleep okay? We could go get some drinks from the vending machine if you want. Or if there’s something bothering you, I’d be happy to listen.”
“Well, perhaps. Yes, we should go somewhere private to talk,” said the little voice, eagerly jumping on the chance to get Iruma alone before his reason could get a grip.
“All right,” said Iruma. “Clara, do you mind going to play somewhere else for a bit? We’ll meet you in the batra after.”
Clara reluctantly released her hold on Azz’s arm. “Aww, do I have to? Azz-azz looks and smells nice today.”
Alarm bells rang in Azz’s head. His mother had warned him he might be inadvertently releasing pheromones, his frustration causing his innate succubus traits to assert themselves, and as much as he didn’t want it to be true…
“Just for a little while, promise! And then we can all play together!” said Iruma.
Clara pouted and huffed but walked away, and Azz was alone with Iruma. Well, alone in the hallway of Babyls, where anyone could see them.
“You do look good today, Azz-kun!” said Iruma, and oh, no, if Iruma was being affected by his embarrassing succubus bloodline… “Let’s go out into the courtyard by the flower gardens, so we can talk.”
Azz nodded. His usually sharp mind felt like it had been shoved full of clouds, his thoughts fighting through a thick fog. Iruma had his hand, and he was so warm and his skin was so soft. They were headed to the courtyard, the perfect secluded location for Azz to push Iruma gently down into the grass and kiss him in the way he deserved. He’d show Iruma exactly how deep his devotion ran, how willing he was to provide Iruma with anything he wanted or needed —
He gasped, pulling his hand from Iruma’s as the last feeble sparks of his reason attempted to reassert themselves. He heard Iruma calling to him as he fled down the hallway, and for once, he didn’t — couldn’t — answer.
It was only when he was confident he’d shaken Iruma that he stopped and steadied himself against a wall. He was gasping for air, but not because the short sprint had winded him. Fire was consuming his heart and lungs, threatening to swallow him whole.
“Hey, are you all right?” said a demon girl with short pink hair and enormous curly horns. “You don’t look okay.”
“I’m fine,” he managed. “Leave me be.”
“You don’t look fine,” she pressed, getting closer. Too close. “Wouldn’t you like a shoulder to cry on? I’d be happy to listen.”
Azz looked up. The expression on her face was hardly one of caring and concern. No, there was something far less innocent there. And he realized that his astoundingly inconvenient succubus blood would naturally be affecting more than his friends.
“I’m not interested,” he said firmly, pulling away from her only to find himself slammed up against the wall by a demon almost a foot taller than him. He had angular features, sharp purple eyes, flowing black hair that reached down to his waist, and a wicked grin on his face.
“If it isn’t the top scorer of the Misfits Class,” he said, his voice like a glue trap. “I’m glad I found you. It’s hard to catch you without your little blue-haired plaything.”
“Plaything — !”
“I’ve been watching you, Asmodeus. Thinking someone like you needs a man and not a boy. Thinking what I could do with the most beautiful demon in the school. Do you know what I —”
Kalego pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you want to explain why you set a third-year on fire, Asmodeus?”
“…I believe he was attempting to flirt with me.”
“Hm.” Perhaps it was Azz’s imagination, but he thought he saw the smallest twitch of a smile at the corner of Kalego’s mouth. “Regardless of how irritating that may be, it is generally against the rules to attack another student. You’ll receive detention, and you’ll need to clean up the scorch mark you left on the floor.”
Azz nodded. He was more concerned with bringing shame to himself and disappointing Iruma than this mild punishment. “Was he seriously injured?”
“He was not. He’s in the infirmary being treated, but the burns were superficial.” Kalego was glaring at him over his tented fingertips. “More importantly, I thought that Shichiro had taught you to properly manage your evil cycles.”
There was no hiding his instability from a Chet rank. As much as he hated Kalego seeing his weakness, he couldn’t deny it. “He had,” said Azz, with a sharp pang of guilt. He’d shamed his master as well. “Perhaps… perhaps I should go discuss this with him. When I’m not in detention.”
“Speaking with Shichiro can be part of your detention,” said Kalego, waving him off.
“Truly? You’re just allowing me to go?”
“If this gets any worse, you’ll be a distraction to the entire class. It’s not something I wish to deal with,” he said. “While you are there, ask him for something to block your pheromones.”
Azz’s face heated up. “I’m not — !” But his protest was ignored, because Kalego had already turned heel to walk away. Azz clenched his fist painfully enough to hurt, retaining just enough reason to know that lashing out at Kalego for a situation that was entirely his fault would end badly. With great effort, he turned and made his way to Balam’s office.
“Come in, come in,” said Balam, as soon as Azz knocked on the door frame and peeked his head in.
“My apologies for disturbing you with no notice. I realize our training isn’t scheduled for today…”
“It’s no trouble at all. Would you like some tea?” he said, bustling about with the kettle. “Something calming?”
“Yes, please,” said Azz, sitting on a stool. Honestly, even just being in Balam’s office had a calming effect, surrounded by the smell of old books and blooming vines.
“I see you’re struggling with your evil cycle,” said Balam, handing Azz a steaming mug of tea. “Is there something wrong with your safeguard?”
“Iruma-sama is fine!”
“I mean is your safeguard not working like it should?”
“Oh. That,” said Azz, staring intently into his tea as though he might find answers in the tea leaves settling at the bottom of the mug. The last thing he wanted to do was reveal his feelings to anyone else, but if he had to choose, he knew that his master was both trustworthy and kind. His bloodline magic would enable him to tell if Azz was holding anything back, regardless. “It seems that lately, I find the thought of Iruma-sama more… agitating than calming. My feelings for him have become rather complicated.”
“You’re in love.”
“It’s not that simple!” said Azz, spilling tea over the edge of the cup.
“It’s not?” said Balam, tilting his head to the side.
Heat blossomed in Azz’s chest once more. “It is and it is not,” he said. “Are my feelings truly so obvious?”
“I’m no expert on romance, but I could see the way you talked about Iruma when you wanted to make him your safeguard in the first place.” Balam pushed his hand through his thick locks. “So Iruma is no longer an adequate safeguard against your evil cycle because Iruma is the inadvertent cause of your evil cycle. Is that it?”
“In a darknut shell, yes.”
“I see,” said Balam. “Natural evil cycles, as opposed to the artificial one I taught you to manifest, are generally caused when demons have desires they can’t or won’t satisfy. So the problem, then, is your desire for Iruma.”
“Must you put it like that?” said Azz, wishing he could sink into the floor. The mug shook in his hands. “I’ve never been so frustrated, wanting something so intensely and not being able to obtain it.”
“Why can’t you obtain it?”
“I pledged fealty and service to Iruma-sama. I’ve pledged my very life to him! I can’t burden him with —”
“Let me rephrase that. Have you forgotten that you’re a demon, Asmodeus?” Balam suddenly looked a great deal more imposing. “Have you forgotten that you’re rank He? Have you stopped trying to strive higher? Do you think that you can reach the highest ranks and be Iruma’s sworn spear if you don’t pursue your heart’s desires with all your might?”
“I…” said Azz, his eyes wide. “I suppose not.”
“Have you even tried talking to Iruma about this?”
“I haven’t,” he admitted. “I felt like I couldn’t. If he rejects my feelings… if I lose him…”
“I know Iruma quite well by now. And while he may not feel the same way about you, he isn’t going to reject your — friendship, you call it? — so easily,” said Balam. “After all, I’ve heard what he says about you, as well.”
“He talks about me?”
“‘Azz-kun is so cool, Azz-kun is so smart. I want to learn to do magic like Azz-kun’s. Azz-kun is always working so hard, and he’s so thoughtful, too.’ That’s what he says.”
“Oh, Iruma-sama,” said Azz, hand over his heart. “He always honors me with his words, more than I can bear.”
“If you can trust Iruma with your life, then surely you can trust Iruma with your feelings.”
Azz was stunned. “You’re right. You’re right! I haven’t trusted Iruma-sama to do the right thing, and as a result, I’ve become a dull blade, unfit for service,” He stood up, raising his fist to the sky. “I’m going to go right now! I’m going to go…” The fire in his heart was enough to crush the cold fear in his stomach. “I’m going to go tell Iruma-sama everything.”
“That’s the spirit!” said Balam to Azz’s back as he ran out the door. “Wait, wait!”
“What?”
“Here.” Balam handed him a small bottle. “This will help with your, uh, other issue.”
“Oh… right,” said Azz, taking it sheepishly. It certainly wouldn’t do to have this important talk with Iruma when he might be influenced by Azz’s unfortunate bloodline.
Iruma was sitting against a tree, among the less dangerous flowers in the garden, reading a book, when Azz found him. The afternoon sunlight was streaming through the leaves and giving Iruma a warm orange glow. Azz, somewhat calmed from his discussion with his master, felt his heat within him rise once more.
“Azz-kun!” said Iruma, looking up. “I’m glad you came. I was worried about you.”
“I’m sorry I made you worry, Iruma-sama,” said Azz. He knelt next to Iruma on the soft grass. “But there is something I need to tell you. Something important.”
Iruma set his book aside, giving Azz all of his attention. “Of course. You can tell me anything, and I’ll listen.”
Azz took a deep breath and looked into Iruma’s concerned eyes. As much as he despised being so vulnerable to his own emotions, he knew that if there was anyone in the Netherworld he could trust with his heart, it must be Iruma.
“I’m in love with you, Iruma-sama,” he spilled. “Not just as friends or soulmates, but romantically, and with my entire being. I would like to kiss and hold you — and I realize that that’s disrespectful to ask, and I don’t expect you to accept my feelings, but —”
Azz’s half-prepared speech was broken by the soft touch of Iruma’s hand on his cheek.
“Azz-kun,” said Iruma, looking surprised but pleased. “I didn’t know that’s how you felt.”
“It is,” he said.
And Iruma smiled, and in his eyes, Azz could see that insatiable greed, and this time, finally, it was all for him, and Azz realized he wasn’t going to be denied.
Iruma helped close the distance between them — bold, so much bolder than when they’d first met — and the wildfire that threatened to consume Azz’s heart became the warm glow of a fireplace on a cold winter’s day.