Belphegor walked through the crowd with a furrowed brow as he looked for his brothers. You had been with at least one of them throughout the evening, so wherever his brothers were, you were sure to be there too.

Lucifer requested that Belphegor spend the evening with him and Diavolo, and Belphegor didn't really have any other option than to comply. Lucifer's reasoning was something about 'making amends and proving yourself'.

Diavolo began asking questions about how you were enjoying your stay, and Lucifer insisted that you be the one to answer them. Belphegor had no doubt that Lucifer's motivation was mainly just to hear you say how great of a job he was doing, but Belphegor kept his mouth shut.

Lucifer, of course, wasn't about to leave Diavolo's side, so Belphegor was the one sent to retrieve you. Finding you was proving to be more of a challenge than he thought though.

He knew that you started out the evening with Satan, but Satan dropped you off with Levi. Levi went home already, but when Belphegor called him, Levi said you left to find Asmodeus. Right now though, he couldn't find either of you.

As he walked, he caught sight of white hair. Mammon. Mammon had been pretty good on keeping tabs on you since you arrived in the Devildom, so he was sure to have some kind of lead.

"Mammon!" Belphegor called out and grabbed his brothers shoulder. "Huh? Oh, hey Belphie! Excuse me for just a sec," Mammon smiled to the demons he was talking to before turning to Belphegor and taking a sip of demonus. "What's up Belphie?"

"Have you seen the human lately? Or Asmodeus, for that matter?" Belphegor asked quietly. "Well, I haven't seen our human, but Asmo is with his own little group. I think they're closer to where Diavolo and Lucifer would be sittin'," Mammon explained thoughtfully.

"Well, wherever Asmo is, they should be too. That's all I needed though, so thank you," Belphegor nodded at Mammon thankfully before hurrying off to find Asmo.

This whole thing was turning into a wild goose chase, and he was going to end up nearly where he started. At least he didn't have to sit and listen to Lucifer suck up to Diavolo though. Although, he was probably going to get an ear full about taking so long to bring you back.

Just ahead, Belphegor saw Asmodeus surrounded by several men and women who seemed to be laughing at some joke that he just made. He was one step closer to finding you and getting back to Lucifer.

"And after that he asked where the spoons were, he still didn't know what I said and- oh! Belphie!" Asmodeus stopped mid-sentence as soon as he saw Belphegor standing along the edges of the crowd.

Asmo waved him over and the men and women stepped back a little, allowing Belphegor to shuffle his way up to Asmo. As he got closer, he realized you were nowhere in sight.

"Who are you looking for?" Asmodeus leaned in and asked quietly as Belphegor continued looking around. "I figured they'd be with you but nobody else has seen them and-" "Oh our little doll! I haven't seen them since the beginning of the evening unfortunately," Asmodeus interrupted thoughtfully.

The only person left he could check with was Beelzebub. Surely, hopefully you were with him.

"I'm gonna go check with Beel then. Thanks Asmo," Belphegor sighed as he began to get worried. Unlike the others, his twin would be easy to find. There was only one place Beelzebub was sure to be.

"Beel!" Belphegor called out as he hurried up to the buffet table. Sure enough, Beelzebub was standing at the end of the table with hands and mouth full of food. He quickly swallowed his food and smiled, "Hey Belphie! I thought you were supposed to be with Lucifer and Diavolo?"

"I was, but Diavolo was asking questions about the exchange program and I know Lucifer is wanting to stroke his ego but the bottom line is, I'm looking for our human," Belphegor explained quickly. "I thought they were with Satan?" Beelzebub asked, visibly confused.

"Well, they were with Satan. Then they spent a while with Levi, and Mammon saw them for a second and assumed they were headed towards Asmo but Asmo hasn't seen them since the beginning of the evening... and... they're obviously... not... here with you," Belphegor mumbled to himself, and he felt his stomach full with dread.

When the exchange program was being set up, most demons didn't have a problem with human exchange students. There were still quite a few that did find issue with it though. Some were more outspoken about it than others, of course. And surely there were some that were opposed that didn't speak on it at all.

Of all the demons here tonight, he was positive there were some here that were still opposed to the exchange program. Violently opposed... just like he was. If they found you alone, there was good chance they'd hurt you. Hell, there was a good chance they'd try to kill you.

Judging from his facial expression, Beelzebub seemed to follow Belphegor's train of thought.

"I'll help you look," Beelzebub nodded as he put the food back on his plate. "Let me know if you find them," Belphegor replied quickly before heading off in the opposite direction.

The wild goose chase he had been sent on very quickly turned into something more serious.

Belphegor hurried through the crowd, pausing every now and then to take in deep breaths of the air through his nose. Demons had strong senses of smell, and humans had a distinct scent. You were sure to stick out of a crowd full of demons.

A gentle breeze came in from the open balcony doors on the opposite side of the room, and a chill settled over the crowd. There. The breeze carried your scent across the room right to him.

Belphegor threw aside manners and began pushing and shoving his way to the balcony. Worry gnawed at the back of his mind. He was hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst

• • •

"Do I make myself clear?" The man grumbled, his face inches away from yours.

"I-I can't just leave here-" "but you can. And if you know what's good for you, you will," he cut you off, anger seeming to pour from his body

"No, they won't," a voice spoke up from behind the two of you, causing the man to pull back from you. Belphegor came walking from the doorway, his arms crossed.

Relief flooded through your body. No matter how strained of a relationship you had with him, you admittedly felt safer with Belphegor having stepped in.

"B-Belphegor! I-" "I don't want to hear your excuses, Valac. Though I'm sure it would make for a good laugh," Belphegor sighed and shook his head.

"But this... this human is tainting Lord Diavolo's presence. Are you not also strongly opposed to the exchange program? Or do you think vermin like this should be allowed to just walk freely in the Devildom?" Valac argued angrily, and Belphegor stared back quietly.

"I'm not going to act like I wasn't opposed. I've done things I'm ashamed of. But there's no reason that the exchange program shouldn't happen. The three realms need to mingle and learn how to get along with one another," Belphegor explained genuinely, causing Valac to cringe.

"Do you hear yourself?" Valac shook his head, facing Belphegor angrily, "You sound like you've gone mad! I won't stand for this nonsense."

Valac stood taller and puffed his chest lightly, seemingly ready to fight. Belphegor stood with his hands shoved in his pockets, looking completely unbothered.

"Do you truly want to fight me? You really think that will end well for you?" Belphegor looked as though he was actively trying to hold back a laugh, causing Valac to fume even more.

Before Valac could speak, a voice boomed from the entrance of the balcony.

"What do we have here?" Diavolo asked, seeming to be genuinely curious about what was happening. Lucifer was standing at his side, looking both confused yet enraged.

"Lord Diavolo! I... I was just um-" "Something about vermin, hmm?" Diavolo cut Valac off with a smile, but this smile didn't look like Diavolo's normal smiles. No, this smile was downright terrifying.

Valac stood still, and had completely clammed up. Belphegor and yourself were watching curiously, and Lucifer still looked as though he could snap somebody in half at any given second.

"You need to leave, Valac. Now," Diavolo's eyes narrowed angrily, and it sent chills down your spine.

Barbatos, who you didn't notice until now, quickly steps forward to escort Valac out of the castle. Even though Valac was gone, the tension was palpable.

"It had been quite a while, and you still hadn't come back," Lucifer explained to Belphegor, to which the latter nodded.

"In any case, I apologize that you had to experience something so disrespectful this evening," Diavolo bowed to you apologetically. "It wasn't your fault, it's fine, really!" You tried to reassure him.

"If Belphegor hadn't shown up when he did, it would have been much worse," you admitted, itching the back of your neck awkwardly. Belphegor's eyes widened a little bit before a proud smile found its way onto his face.

"Well, hopefully this doesn't derail the rest of your evening! Let's get back inside, shall we? I'm sure others are wondering where our beloved guest of honor is," Diavolo beamed, and led the way back into the ballroom.

The rest of your evening was spent with Diavolo, Lucifer, and Belphegor. The relationship you shared with Belphegor had gained a new sense of closeness tonight, and you could feel that things were about to get even better from here.