The Devil's Playmate

THIRTY-FIVE

   Benjamin ended up staying for a while.

He still wasn't completely back to normal. Not with how he ended up attacking Lilith, who came to check up on him.

The empress had been pinned down, hands wrapped around her neck in a threatening grip, and she ended up choking. More from surprise than air loss. She stared up at Benjamin, gazing down at her with disgust before curses and disdain slipped from his mouth.

She was a devil. A horrible, terrible creature that shouldn't be existing.

It had stunned her.

She's never seen Benjamin look so cold, staring down at her with an empty gaze. She felt his hands tightening further, and although it didn't feel like anything, she stuttered a gasp and squirmed underneath his hold.

His eyes were always gentle when he looked at her.

Now, he looked at her like a piece of filth.

Lilith moved her head to the side and refused to look, sent into shock by that gaze of his.

And then her entourage of demons had to step in to force Benjamin back down on the bed, begging for him to come back to his senses and that he was hurting Lilith.

With his brain all knocked up, he couldn't even go near the others unless they were Satan. For some reason, only that demon had the privilege of not being attacked.

Even Belial wasn't wanted because Benjamin called him a mistake, that what they were was something akin to an abomination. It hurt Belial, but he trusted Satan to help a lot more than the others. Although trust wasn't a common thing between their kind.

By the time Benjamin slightly grasped his senses, he still needed Satan's help to point out who were his actual friends instead of enemies. Even then, Benjamin couldn't quite grasp the idea of being with them. Like he was actually friends with the demons, partners even. He chose to stay far away from them as possible.

It seemed like he'd never go back to how he was. He didn't even go back home for a good while. Eligos ended up having to be the one to explain to his sister that he was staying over at his house. A simple sleepover.

Lucy was suspicious, but never said anything since it was the weekend. But she expected Benjamin to be back home right before school starts. They can't make any promises on that.

But as their worries grew, Benjamin's hostility somewhat eased. He no longer had the urge to attack the nearest demon, and he stopped cursing at them.

Whatever happened to him was starting to settle down. Everyone was relieved, but still restless.

Benjamin, however, felt the most ill despite being so quiet. He was uncomfortable staying down in this place. He wanted to go back home, yet his body stayed rooted in the bed, just wasting away for hours upon hours. And when he finally gained the strength to get out, he collapsed on the floor, heaving and gasping for air.

Benjamin gritted his teeth and got up, ignoring the sudden vertigo and hobbled out of the door.

He needs to see Satan.

Except, the demon he wanted to see wasn't there. He bumped into someone else. An unknown entity which startled him badly enough to make his knees buckle, falling back down on the ground.

In a daze, Benjamin barely made out his appearance. He was also startled, slightly panicking as he tried to help Benjamin up. He had long, dark hair and dark skin that matched Mammon's. There were marks of gold decorating his skin, and his eyes were two different shades of color. One blue and one gold. And the clothes he wore were decorated with all sorts of gems with a collar made of pure rubies he had.