The Sacrificial Bride (Diavolo x Fem!OC)

Chapter 5 - Little Demons

Diavolo made his way through the dimly lit corridors of the castle, deep in thought. His steps were measured, each footfall echoing the solemnity of his thoughts. Much like Lea, he struggled to shake the weight of recent events from his mind; The enigmatic curse that bound him to Lea was a riddle he was determined to solve. Lucifer and his brothers were already busy studying the matter, trying to find a way to break the spell. The Avatar of Pride hadn't been exaggerating even so slightly when he brought up the dangers regarding Lea's presence in Devildom— And her connection to Diavolo—, so the sooner they resolved this matter, the better.

As a prince of the Devildom, Lord Diavolo currently enjoyed the favor of the common folk... But as any ruler, he also had his enemies. If word got out that he had been bound to a human, it could make him look weak, and drastically affect the opinion of the public and his position as the future ruler. But, it was not merely a sense of duty as the prince of Devildom that fueled his determination to undo the curse; It was a profound empathy for the predicament in which Lea found herself. It was him the cultists were after— Lea was only being used as nothing but a pawn in their sinister plans, so he couldn't help but to feel partly responsible for her fate. The least he could do now was to keep her safe and ensure her well-being; She was a stranger in a strange land, a human in a realm that was vastly different from her own, so it was expected for her to feel overwhelmed by the world around her. Diavolo was determined to make her feel at home in Devildom, and try to be a source of comfort in this world unfamiliar to her.

As Diavolo made his way to Lea's room, he couldn't help but smile at the memory of his latest meeting with the human girl; Even though he was initially taken aback by the circumstances of their first encounter, he was genuinely intrigued by Lea. There was a mysterious spell which bound the two of them together, but it wasn't just magic that pulled him to her. Ever since Diavolo had woken up that morning, he had been anxious to see her. He had been able to exchange only a few words with his human guest so far, and he was curious to learn more about her. She seemed like a fascinating young lady, and getting to know her would also be an excellent opportunity for him to learn more about humans.

As he arrived at his destination, to his surprise Diavolo found that he wasn't the first guest behind Lea's door this morning. "Hm? What's going on here..?" He muttered under his breath as he approached the door; Three small blobs of darkness hustled by the door, their movements telling him they were desperately trying to squeeze underneath the door and into the room. "My, my..!" Diavolo chuckled at the unexpected sight. "Little D.'s, I can see you're all very eager to meet our guest, but trying to force your way into her room isn't the most well-mannered thing to do..!" He snickered as he snatched one of the little creatures up into his arms. Those blobs of darkness were nothing else but Little D.s, the tiny demons that inhabited the demon lord's castle. "You don't want to scare her, do you?"

"Scare her? No no no!" Little D. in his arms shook its hands vigorously. "Don't want to scare! Just want to see!"

Diavolo laughed heartily, finding the antics of the little creature utterly adorable. The Little D.s were a bit mischievous at times, but they were also quite charming, so the prince of Devildom had a soft spot for them.

"You all get to meet Lea eventually, but maybe this isn't the best time-" Diavolo explained, but his words were cut short when one of the Little D.'s attempted to climb up his leg, causing him to lose his balance momentarily. As he was forced to lean against the door, the situation took an unexpected turn; Little D. in his arms, that devilish little rascal, used the opportunity to grab a hold of the door handle. Before Diavolo could do anything, the door swung open. Struggling to regain his composure, he only barely managed to prevent himself from crashing inside the room face first.