READER'S POV

"ASMODEUS...! YOU ROTTEN BASTARD...!" Mammon shouted angrily.

"AAAAAH I can't take this anymore! I wish you'd just disappear ! You can go burn in the fires of hell for all I care! If I could snap my fingers and send you there right now, I'd do it!" Asmo shouted back.

"That's it! You shut that big fat mouth of yours RIGHT NOW, you $#&*! *#&$! *$&!! %#!" Mammon swore at his brother.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're money-grubbing trash! A scumbag who'd sell his soul for a Grimm! The only thing that might make up for your awful existence is if you just ended it! Now!" Asmo shouted back.

"Hey, that's no way to be talkin' to your older brother, now is it?! You'd best start shoin' me some respect!" Mammon argued back.

"Respect?! What did YOU ever do  to earn my respect?! I'm EMBARRASSED to have someone like you for an older brother! Mortified even!" Asmo shouted back.

Satan, Beel, Levi and I stayed in the background with a sweat drop running down the side of our heads as we watched the two idiots squabbled and threw pillows at one another.

"All right you two, that's enough. Stop throwing pillows at each other. You're sending dust flying everywhere," Satan told them with a frown.

"It's no use. They won't listen. It's like they don't even hear us," Levi mumbled as he played on his Switch.

"The food here at the Demon Lord's Castle sure is something, huh? The shadow swine offal they served at dinner was amazing," Beel spoke with a smile as the other two continued to argue and swear at each other.

"$%#! %$#%! And...and also, you're a...um, a *&%#$!" Mammon shouted.

"Maybe it's time you learned some new WORDS, Mammom! Because your vocabulary is pathetically small! Just what I'd expect from the stupidest demon in the Devildom! You really set the bar for what stupid can be!" Asmo shouted.

"WHAT?! SAY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YA!"

Levi and I sighed in annoyance before he spoke up, "...How long are they going to keep going at each other like this? It's a total waste of time. They're getting nowhere, and it's driving me crazy."

"Mmm, I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow..." Beel mumbled about food, as usual.

"What brought this on to begin with, anyway?" Satan asked before we remembered the events from earlier on today.

EARLIER...

"All right, I'm going to go ahead and call this officers' meeting to order. To start things off, Lord Diavolo has an announcement for us," Lucifer spoke up.

"Yes. Well then, I assume that some of your have already heard the rumours about the group retreat. And they're true."

"I'm planning an exchange party between demons, angels and humans to be held at my castle. I have a feeling that this will turn out to be the interesting experience for all of us," Diavolo spoke with a smile on his face.

"Maybe for you, but for me it's simply going to mean more headaches," Lucifer grumbled.

"Now, now, don't say that, Lucifer," Diavolo spoke with a smile while patting Lucifer's shoulder.

We were surprised when Diavolo made this announcement. I've been in Devildom for a while now and I've never been to the Demon Lord's Castle.

"A group retreat, huh? I'd heard the rumours, but I never thought they were true," Satan commented.

"So, demons, angels and humans are all going to get together and have an exchange event? Nothing like that has ever happened before, has it?" Asmo asked Diavolo.

"No, indeed not. But there has to be a first time for everything. And you all are going to be present to witness this particular first," Diavolo told us.

"A group retreat? Just the fact you'd call it that tells me it's gonna be a huge hassle..." Mammon grumbled.

"Will there be food? ...Good food?" Beel asked him.

"Ah yes, why don't I let Lucifer give you a rundown on what we have planned," Diavolo told us before Lucifer explained the details to us.

"The exchange party will be held at the Demon Lord's Castle. In addition to spending the night there, you'll be attending several events, including a dinner party and a formal dance."

"A dinner party..." Beel mumbled before drool started coming out of his mouth.

"I assume you must have some questions?"

"I do, what's the Demon Lord's Castle?" I asked the others.

"It's my castle, the place where I live, as the name implies," Diavolo told me.

"It's hands down the most magnificent, impressive structure in all of the Devildom," Satan commented.

"And it's just like the castle where the heroine lived in Fantasium Fantasia 9! Now, when it comes to the Fantasium Fantasia series as a whole, it goes without saying that the fourth instalment is a timeless masterpiece," Levi started his usual Otaku banter.

"Afterwards, the games went 3D polygonal and the old producer and BGM composer both left, so the general opinion of people online is that those games were trash. Personally, while I agree that the 2D sprite graphics of Fantasium Fantasia 4 were great, I think Fantasium Fantasia 7 is clearly a masterpiece as well, on par with 4 even. It's known for having an excellent scenario and character designer, and what's more-"

"Yes, the Demon Lord's Castle is like something straight out of a fairy tale. It's absolutely beautiful!" Asmo interrupted him.

"...At first glance, sure. But I know the truth... I know about the tons and tons of horrible stories they tell about that place. It's enough to make your skin crawl," Mammon told me before Beel spoke up.

"Dinner...there's gonna be a dinner..."

"Barbatos has a secret torture room beneath the castle. And every night you can hear his victims screams of agony echoing up from outta there...And there's a huge mirror, and behind it is the entrance to a secret labyrinth, And inside the labyrinth lives a monster that feasts on the innards of demons..."

I sweat dropped when Beel and Mammon told me about the castle.

"As, Asmodeus claims it's like something out of a fairy tale, and Mammon thinks it's a hell house. Who do YOU believe, (Y/n)?" Satan asked me.

"That's obvious, Asmodeus. I don't believe a word that comes out of Mammon's mouth. I know he's trying to scare me," I told Satan.

"People want to believe things that they find personally appealing. So clearly, you like beautiful things just as much as I do, (Y/n). Yes, I feel like you and I would get along quite well."

***

After school was over, I sneaked into the attic to tell Belphegor about the exchange party.

"They're having an exchange party...? Hmph, ridiculous," Belphegor grumbled. "But, did you say you managed to make a pact with Beel? Because that's a far more important development to me!"

"Relax, I've made a pact with Beel and the others have started to trust me."

"You didn't strike me as the type of person who would come through for me, so I didn't really have my hopes up, honestly."

"Hehe, sorry."

"Don't be, you've managed to make pacts with Mammon, Leviathan and Beelzebud now... Finally, you're halfway to your goal. Now, let's hear what else you have to report. What did Lucifer say about the room up here in the attic?"

"He told me he placed a spell on the staircase so no demon aside from Lucifer is able to climb it. But, the only other species are allowed are the humans and angels. They're the only ones who can climb them since they're not demons. Also, Lucifer doesn't know that I know about this room but what confuses me is that Raven is able to come up here with me since he's a shapeshifting demon."

I told Belphegor while Raven laid beside me while yawning. Belphegor looked at me and then back at me.

"Since this is Lucifer we're talking about, I assumed he would've put some sort of spell on this room as well, like he did with the staircase, it's no wonder Raven can't see me except for you. What's going on here? How is it that you are able to see this room?"

"I don't know, it's weird," I lied.

'But, I'm beginning to suspect it might have something to do with my ability to see and communicate with the demons in the human world.'

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Either way, it's good news for us. Because this means that Lucifer doesn't think you've been in contact with me. Also, I've learned something new here."

"What is it?" I asked him with a curious look on my face.

"You're not just any ordinary exchange student. I suspected as much. There's a reason you were chosen to come here. Out of all the humans he could have picked, why did Diavolo choose you...?" Belphegor told me.

"That's a good question," I mumbled.

"...Well then, your next step is clear. You can worry about making pacts with the other brothers later. Right now, we've got bigger fish to try. You'll be going to the Demon Lord's Castle for this exchange party or retreat or whatever it is, right?"

"That's right, why?"

"You need to search for clues as to what exactly it is that makes you so special while you're at Diavolo's Castle. I'm sure you're curious to know the truth as well, after all. You must want to know why it is you were chosen. I can't help but wonder what secrets you'll dig up. This should be very interesting indeed," Belphegor spoke with a smirk.

'If that's the case, then maybe there's a chance I can find clues about my past and maybe some information about my parents.'

I thought to myself before I left the attic with Raven following me.

The next day...

I was in my room packing some of my stuff for the trip while Raven laid on my bed watching me.

"What did he tell you?" He asked me about last night.

"He's just glad that I'm making process and that I've got three more brothers to make pacts with. Well, two, if Lucifer doesn't eat me for dinner."

"I don't know about this. You said so yourself that you don't trust him. What if it comes back to bite you?" Raven asked me as I opened my wardrobe to see what nice outfits or dresses I should take with me for the formal dance.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Now which one do you think would be okay for the dance?" I asked Raven as I held up a (F/c) dress that reaches my knees and the other that's the same length but in a different colour and it has a belt.

"The one with the belt looks nice. You can wear a blue denim jacket to match with it."

"Simple and casual, nice one Raven," I spoke with a smile before I packed it away into the bag.

"You're welcome."

I packed away my PJs and after doubling checking to make sure that I have everything I need for the next three days and two nights, I picked my guitar case and I was ready to go.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

I put down my guitar case on the bed before I opened one of the drawers and then I got the new collar for Raven.

"I ordered this on Akuzon for you."

Raven looked at the collar and he wagged his tail happily before I put it on his neck. The collar is blue and the tag is in a shape of a bone with Raven's name on it.

"What do you think? do you like it?"

"I love it!" Raven smiled at his reflection in the mirror after looking at his new collar.

"Good, let's get going. The others are waiting for us."

Raven nodded his head before we headed down stairs to the entrance hall.

"All right! it's finally time for our retreat! Three days and two nights!" Mammon shouted in an excited tone.

"So, (Y/n)! Are you pumped for this or what?!"

"You bet I am," I spoke with a smile on my face.

"ALL RIGHT! Now that's what I wanna hear!" Mammon spoke happily.

I wasn't kidding when I said that I was excited. This might be the first time I get to go on a trip with friends and spend the night at an old castle. Last time, I wasn't invited to a sleepover and I had to make up some excuse not to go on the overnight trip when I was 13 since the other kids were bullying me at the time.

"Mammon, you're being really loud," Levi grumbled as came over to the entrace.

"Aw, what's wrong with you, Levi? Get that grumpy look off your face, killjoy! Ah, I know what's goin; on here. You stayed up real late last night playin' gmaes and readin' manga and stuff, didn't ya? Yup, I knew it! One point for Mammon!" Mammon cheered.

"You're like...too excited right now, Mammon, and it's really annoying," Levi grumbled before Satan came down the stairs.

"Mammon being annoying is nothing new, but yeah...this morning he's ESPECIALLY annoying."

"At first, you were complaining about how this retreat was going to be a drag," Levi told him as he placed his bag on the ground.

"Ah shut up, both of you. Sure, I thought it was gonna be a drag, but now that it's actually time to go, I'm excited! Anythin' wrong with that, huh?!" Mammon spoke with a grin.

"What are you? an elementary schol kid about to head off on a field trip?" Satan asked with a frown.

"Whoa, Beel, that bag of yours is waaay too big! Pff, I bet it's stuffed with food, ain't it?" Mammon asked Beel as he came down stairs with a large suitcase.

"Well, what about Asmodeus? I'd say he's the one you should be criticizing when it comes to luggage," Beel pointed out as Asmo came over with two suitcases in his hands.

"Gooood morning, everyone! My, you're all early. Ugh, I just couldn't decide how I wanted to do my hair this morning, you know? It took so much time..."

"Asmodeus, WHY do you have so much luggage?" Satan asked him as he looked at the suitcases.

"Yeah. It's only for two nights, ya know? You think you're headin' off on a tour of the three worlds or something'?" Mammon pointed out.

"This is actually quite a bit less than what I wanted to bring. But then it occurred to me that I only have two hands, so I could only bring wo suitcases with me," Asmo spoke with a smile.

"Actually, larger doujinshi artists generally ship their stuff when they go to conventions," Levi pointed out and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Sorry Levi, but I'm not sure what you're even talking about right now," Asmo told him.

"So what do you have in there? Food?"

"Or the kitchen sink?"

Mammon and Satan laughed when I asked him that. Asmo frowned at me before he spoke up.

"Very funny, (Y/n). No I did not and I did not bring food, I am not you, Beel! I guess most of it is just clothes, makeup and random beauty products? I mean, everyone expects me to look my best at all times, now don't they?"

Raven and I looked at each other before Mammon spoke up.

"Man, even LEVI makes more sense than you, Asmo!"

"It looks like everyone's here," Lucifer spoke up as he came into the entrance hall. "It won't do to keep Diavolo waiting. We should head over to the Demon Lord's Castle right now. I want to get there before the angels and Solomon do."

"Lucifer, is it okay if Raven came along with me?" I asked Lucifer before he looked at Raven.

"It's fine as long as you keep him on a leash and he's well behaved."

"Yes sir," I spoke with a smile before I looked at Raven.

"Oh come on!" Raven shouted angrily.

"Sorry Raven, Lucifer's orders," I told him before I placed the lead on his new collar.

"So, we're goin' to the Demon Lord's Castle... I hope you're ready, (Y/n), 'cause there ain't no guarantee you'll come back from this alive, ya know?" Mammon told me.

"I know you want (Y/n) to be interested in you, but you do realise it sounds as if you're trying to scare someone, don't you Mammon?" Satan asked Mammon.

Mammon blushed a bright red colour before he shouted at him, "What? Whaddya mean?! Pff, why would I want (Y/n) to be interested in me, huh? There are a lotta rumours about that place, that's a fact. From what I hear, there are ghosts wonderin' the halls, y'know?"

"Well, what I heard is that there's an underground labyrinth beneath the castle," Satan told me.

"So, ghosts and an underground labyrinth, huh...? I could totally believe both of those rumours. But at the same time-"

"Quit standing around and get going!" Lucifer interrupted Mammon.

"Right, right. I'm comin'..." Mammom grumbled before we left the house.

I was looking forward to this trip and I hope nothing goes wrong.