"Be my darling!"

-ˏ` He watches you from afar, not interfering much, at first. But with time, I can see him slowly redirecting your attention to somewhere else, maybe something he knows a lot and can be of help, too. The time spent on his office with him is quiet, but comfortable enough that you don't feel afraid of him - he knows he can give people the impression, but it's all he ever knew. Control and discipline. Unpacking trauma and changing takes a long time.

-ˏ` His gestures are calculated, his words rehearsed, as the one responsible for the exchange program he keeps you closer than he keep the angels or Solomon. He say it's because you have no magic, so he must be there for you in case you need his assistance. It's an offer you're happy about, even more when you can ask him about demon culture or other things pertaining Devildom; you don't realize yet but passing this much time with him start to shape the way you act and travel through Devildom, with calm and obedience instilled in you.

-ˏ` Later into the program, it's common for you to drink tea together and play chess, read books or just work into your assignments. It's a routine reinforced by small treats and gifts Lucifer gives you, something to keep you this way so you don't realize the hand that holds your leash. While working does get boring sometimes, he tends to put on some music on his record player and invite you to waltz with him. Lucifer also loves to hear you talk about your childhood, hoping somehow that it was better than his, that you didn't suffered too much growing up, at least someone had to be happy.

-ˏ` Loves to hear you speaking actually, it makes the voices on his brain to finally go quiet, the fears, the doubts and insecurities are all silenced when you're talking about your latest interest or something you were dragged into by his brothers. He should feel annoyed by that, but his brothers are so funny sometimes that he can't help but laugh at their shenanigans with you. He's fond of them just as he's fond of you. He looks at you like this btw: 🥺💓.

-ˏ` As the exchange program is nearing its end, he had successfully you wrapped around his fingers. Though he's a master in his game, rewriting facts into hypothesis, molding feelings and feeding them to you with a soft understanding that it takes time for you to chew on them and interpret them the way he wants you to. Lucifer opens up slowly, because being vulnerable is still foreign for him, he starts praising and complimenting you more often, flirting with you restlessly to the point your whole face is burning in embarrassment. When you forge your pact with him, it seems the roles still get reversed; as he acts much more like your master than you act towards him.

-ˏ` Lucifer knows he’s possessive in his love, the way his eyes mark you, the way his hands itch to touch you, though he sees nothing wrong with it. Rather, he prides himself on it and tells himself it’s with the best of intentions that he keeps you trapped in his room when the program ends. So what if you can't return home? You're right here, in your new home, with him (and his noisy brothers, too). There was no way in hell he would have let you return to the human world after entering his heart and making it your personal place. Someone doesn't just enter the Avatar of prides heart and plan to go away after.

-ˏ` Losing your sheep qualities, devoid of that naivety, rebeling against him makes himself even prouder. Because, sometimes, he'd prefer you to rebel against him or the things he been doing. It's his dirty secret, if you will, seeing your face contort in anger and rage, feeling the way your heart races, the way you fight back in every step; you're the most perfect pet he had designed and you're about to burn out if you keep fighting, but that's alright, he'd be here to collect your pieces and put you back together again.

-ˏ` He is most doting, that's true, bringing your favorite food, combing your hair and helping you getting dressed, letting you pretend that you're still in control, even though you're starting to go quiet and disassociate, lost inside your head since you hadn't found a way to escape his room for weeks on end and his brothers doesn't seem to be of help (that would be because he turned his room to be soundproof with his magic). When you fight, you only feed the sadistic nature within him, because he rather you cry than him, that's why you aren't allowed to go away.

-ˏ` He would feel lonely and that's something he doesn't want to. He felt that way too when Lilith died, when he made his brothers fell from heaven because of him and guilt is something he doesn't want to feel again. He doesn't want to feel guilty when he thought of the infinite scenarios where you forget about him, where you get married with another person, when you go on with your life, leaving him behind just as another face you met once.

-ˏ` As merciful as he can be, his patience isn't something to be taken for granted because it has a limit. And while it is funny when you're acting bratty and moody, he has rules for you to follow and not following them earns you a punishment. Mostly is depriving you from food and water for days. There's no need for physical punishment when he can let your own body punishes you with their physiological needs. There's no need for him to move his hand when your mind is your greatest enemy, creative in its own way in torturing you with your imagination.

-ˏ` But if you don’t break the rules, then he will continue to lovebomb you like he used to do with his gentle words, with his kisses, and limited freedom when he takes you out in the middle of the night. His gifts now consist of things that have his name on it, like personalized necklaces, for example, or peacock themed since that bird represents him, or red clothes; he is very creative, that's for sure and he really love seeing you matching with him, it feeds his pride just right. If you have a pact with him, he will give you clothes that expose his mark for everyone to see that you are his, his lover, his pet, his.

-ˏ` He likes the period where the fight leaves you, where you're hollowed and quiet, when he can collect you like a doll and have you sitting in his lap as you nuzzle your face into his neck. Your humane smell calms him as he breathes in, humming softly as you close your eyes and drift into sleep, the sound guiding you to rest. Your weight above his grounds him. It keeps him in the present moment as he traces circles into your back, as he watches over you as you sleep.

-ˏ` Lucifer loves you, even in his twisted way. And he will make you love him too.

ㅤ

-ˏ` Mammon is very sweet and suffocating like a new puppy that keeps following you wherever you go. It's cute in a way because his friendship and love is something innocent and shy, as he guides you into this new world with a soft smile and a tsundere attitude. He's happy, for the first time in a long time, he's really happy. You're like a fresh air in the middle of the desert, and he's breathing like he was drowning, as he keeps on taking you with him to his favorite places, being so uniquely him that you can't help but being intoxicated with him. Again, cute as a puppy, but that's the image he's purposely using specifically for you as it makes you trust him more easily.

-ˏ` Things with Mammon will always be paradoxical, not because he's pretending to be something he isn't, which he does a lot of times, even with his brothers. But because he has secrets and sides you may never know that only comes out when it's inevitable, for anyone else he may he scummy, an idiot, but for you, he's not like this, he isn't perfect, he's flawed just like anyone is and that was make him perfect, because he keeps trying to be better each day. His greed stems from fear of loss; watching his sister die without being able to do anything, losing his home, his place as an angel as he followed his older brother to hell. Not having an identity in Devildom, being denied acess to every single establishment because he was an angel. Things like this warped his vision, him, in general.

-ˏ` You don't know the length he would go to keep you exactly as you are, exactly clueless to all he's doing in pushing away any demon trying to befriend you or that have other intentions, according to him, and as the demon responsible for you, of course you trust his judgment. Despite his cute attitude and words, inside him lie something much darker and dangerous, almost imperceptible and quiet, but when it explodes it consumes everything. He's much more forced as a yandere imo. We know him from the games always proclaiming he's Mc's first and as their first he would stay unique. I don't think he'd allow you to make pacts with the other brothers.

-ˏ` You're his master. His mate. His treasure. His! Mammon doesn't have any interest in entertaining his brothers and share your attention with them. Rather, he redirects your attention to him always, learning how to read you just so he can influence your moods and desires at that moment. He always take you on little dates, paying for absolutely everything you want, matching clothes, plushies, whatever you desire. He spoils and he spoils you rotten. He even gives you allowances.

-ˏ` I honestly don't feel like he is the most dangerous yanderes between his brothers, simply because he contains a lot of his more violent tendencies for your sake. He would avoid things that make you hate him like kidnapping you or hurting you in someway, he make it seems that among his brothers he's the safest option for you, even if that isn't entirely true, because while he doesn't hurt you explicitly, other people around you receive his brute force 100% without you ever knowing what had happened to them.

-ˏ` Yet, as contradictory that is, he likes showing you off and having others know that they can't win your heart. It's already his for the taking and he takes very good care of it, when he's not paying up his debts, he's spending all his money into you, whether you want it or not. Each day you're given a new gift. Small things like a new eraser or a new pen. Then, a new phone, a beautiful wristwatch, diamond earrings, and if you don't stop, he'll keep going.

-ˏ` Very attuned to your moods and thoughts. He's comforting when you needs him to be, funny when you needs him to be, quiet when you needs to think a little. For someone who can be so greedy and needy for your attentions and affections, he's also very considerate with you Mammon loves you and would do anything for you to always be happy. He considered giving you a love potion once - just in case things went south somehow, but that's the only boundary he would cross that you know about.

-ˏ` During your sleepovers, he likes collecting things from your room: hair from your brush, used underwear, a gloss or two, nothing that you'll miss much. But for him? These are his absolutely treasures and they immediately entered his shrine, which he likes to stare a lot because it smells just like you. Alone in his room, he likes remembering all the nicknames you give him, all the hugs you exchanged, all the cheek kisses, all the stares. He could die happily just like that.

-ˏ` He is soft and sweet until you try to leave him for whatever reason it is, in this scenario he starts to freak out, asking for another chance to be better, hyperventilating as he cried and begging for you to stay.

ㅤ

-ˏ` Leviathan's envy is something to be studied. It's a painful feeling that occurs when he realizes he lack something, coming from a place familiar to Mammon's, it started right after the fall when he watched everyone around him: they had no worries, no fears, they had a stable roof over their heads, they had food in their tables and beds to sleep. His brothers had too, but was it really theirs to start with if Lucifer had to work for the Prince? Was the House of Lamentation really theirs if Diavolo stopped paying for it? Was anything in Devildom really theirs?

-ˏ` Levi feels guilty being envious of everything around him. And he feels even guilty when he start isolating himself in his room, playing endless games, watching endless animes until his eyes are red from sleep, just so he won't focus on feeling and processing everything he went through and how he will never be the same. It's not easy confront these things, but he doesn't even want to try. He's afraid and he doesn't even admit out loud.

-ˏ` Meeting you left an impression on him. He doesn't know why, though, but it's addicting and he founds himself orbitating around you like a star trapped in a blackhole. He's a very delusional and suffocating yandere, but he tends to hide it well behind his envious facade as he slowly makes friends with you, learning about what you like, what makes you, well, you. For the first time in a long time, he's interested in something else other than animes and games, he's interested in you.

-ˏ` He's still a bit shy around other people but everyone can see him going out more, mostly with you. He tends to depend a bit on your support, especially when he's having a bad day and can't manage or handle doing things. Your moods also influence his; if you're happy then so is he, if you're sad then so is he. He experience life a lot through your and your accomplishments, a bit envious he couldn't be there when you achieved something, even if that happened before the exchange program.

-ˏ` Levi tries first to appeal to his shyness and awkward conversation skills to make you stay with him and play with him longer, he mostly does that when he feels that you haven't been spending a lot of time with him. He has everything he needs in his little fortress of a room, since he spends most of his time there. Food, drinks, blankets, games, animes, mangas. Yes. He has everything you need in there. He may or may not have some of your clothes there too, but he totally didn't stole there, he mentions how you must have brought with you (you didn't).

As you walked toward the kitchen and cursed the teacher for several minutes, damning yourself for your class having to put on a play during the summer festival, you found Opera. Sitting on one of the chairs doing absolutely nothing, they looked at you with a grin from ear to ear.

"Just the person I wanted to see right now, my star!" They exclaimed, making you frown. You grabbed some things to eat on the way as you watched your lover get closer and closer to you. You felt your cheeks burn all the way to the tips of your ears — you were already melting because of their approach, and they weren't helping either; you could feel their breath on you, tempting you, as they giggled softly.

Their warm breath hitting the sensitive skin of your neck and their fingers lightly tousling your hair. You weren't able to push them away. The sight energized you greatly, and they knew it. They were hoping to help you somehow, even if only through some kisses and a massage. It was their way to show their support for you.

Opera wasn't in the same class you were, and their class was also busy with presentations. It was one hell of a month full of rehearsals, but at least they always got up a little more earlier just to have breakfast with you and see you in general, even if you always had lunch together during break.

"I want to see you slay it as the protagonist! Show them what you're capable of, my love! Leave everyone breathless with your perfection! Leave everyone wanting more and more." Opera wrapped their arms around your waist and hugged you tightly.

You returned the embrace with the same intensity, nodding. You stayed like that for a few more minutes, until they pulled away and gave you a light peck on the lips. It was so quick that by the time you realized what had happened, Opera had already pulled away and was walking toward the front door wirh a smug smile on their lips, tail twitching with malice as they turned around to see your flustered face.

"Your mouth is so warm and soft. But if you want more kisses, you're going to have to perform perfectly." They left, leaving you behind. However, not for long — with a determined smile and renewed strength, you ran to catch up with them.

You always wanted to have that experience. Everyone always said that the first kiss was the most important thing in a young teen/adult's life, it was a precious memory. Something so important that it could be compared to the happiness of realizing a dream, an achievement you dreamed of.

And then you came up to Asmo one day, hinting that you wanted him to kiss you while he did your nails. And it wasn't like he didn't realize it because he already knew, he'd known inexperience from afar and he wanted that more than anything. So when it was all over, your nails dry and the gossip was over, you looked away for a few seconds, but Asmo held your face and looked deep into your eyes.

“Is that what you want, my dear? Oh, of course you want a kiss from the most beautiful person in the whole world, right?”

Asmo's kisses are always unpredictable. Some of them are slow and deep. Others are hungrier and more provocative. But every time it starts the same with just a light innocent kiss and other small, wet kisses on your cheeks to leave you with great anticipation for something more. He is paying attention to your reactions at all times, after all he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable during the act.

And then his hands pull you closer by the waist, for more contact, so that skin to skin is touching when he finally takes your lips with his. Your tongues touching and exploring the inside of each other's mouths, teeth clashing a few times as he tries to teach you how to do everything right. His fingers are always on your cheeks, playing with your skin. And when you part, a thin line of saliva still links you, his amber eyes looking at you with intensity as he smiles widely.

-ˏ` He watches you from afar, not interfering much, at first. But with time, I can see him slowly redirecting your attention to somewhere else, maybe something he knows a lot and can be of help, too. The time spent on his office with him is quiet, but comfortable enough that you don't feel afraid of him - he knows he can give people the impression, but it's all he ever knew. Control and discipline. Unpacking trauma and changing takes a long time.

-ˏ` His gestures are calculated, his words rehearsed, as the one responsible for the exchange program he keeps you closer than he keep the angels or Solomon. He say it's because you have no magic, so he must be there for you in case you need his assistance. It's an offer you're happy about, even more when you can ask him about demon culture or other things pertaining Devildom; you don't realize yet but passing this much time with him start to shape the way you act and travel through Devildom, with calm and obedience instilled in you.

-ˏ` Later into the program, it's common for you to drink tea together and play chess, read books or just work into your assignments. It's a routine reinforced by small treats and gifts Lucifer gives you, something to keep you this way so you don't realize the hand that holds your leash. While working does get boring sometimes, he tends to put on some music on his record player and invite you to waltz with him. Lucifer also loves to hear you talk about your childhood, hoping somehow that it was better than his, that you didn't suffered too much growing up, at least someone had to be happy.

-ˏ` Loves to hear you speaking actually, it makes the voices on his brain to finally go quiet, the fears, the doubts and insecurities are all silenced when you're talking about your latest interest or something you were dragged into by his brothers. He should feel annoyed by that, but his brothers are so funny sometimes that he can't help but laugh at their shenanigans with you. He's fond of them just as he's fond of you. He looks at you like this btw: 🥺💓.

-ˏ` As the exchange program is nearing its end, he had successfully you wrapped around his fingers. Though he's a master in his game, rewriting facts into hypothesis, molding feelings and feeding them to you with a soft understanding that it takes time for you to chew on them and interpret them the way he wants you to. Lucifer opens up slowly, because being vulnerable is still foreign for him, he starts praising and complimenting you more often, flirting with you restlessly to the point your whole face is burning in embarrassment. When you forge your pact with him, it seems the roles still get reversed; as he acts much more like your master than you act towards him.

-ˏ` Lucifer knows he’s possessive in his love, the way his eyes mark you, the way his hands itch to touch you, though he sees nothing wrong with it. Rather, he prides himself on it and tells himself it’s with the best of intentions that he keeps you trapped in his room when the program ends. So what if you can't return home? You're right here, in your new home, with him (and his noisy brothers, too). There was no way in hell he would have let you return to the human world after entering his heart and making it your personal place. Someone doesn't just enter the Avatar of prides heart and plan to go away after.

-ˏ` Losing your sheep qualities, devoid of that naivety, rebeling against him makes himself even prouder. Because, sometimes, he'd prefer you to rebel against him or the things he been doing. It's his dirty secret, if you will, seeing your face contort in anger and rage, feeling the way your heart races, the way you fight back in every step; you're the most perfect pet he had designed and you're about to burn out if you keep fighting, but that's alright, he'd be here to collect your pieces and put you back together again.

-ˏ` He is most doting, that's true, bringing your favorite food, combing your hair and helping you getting dressed, letting you pretend that you're still in control, even though you're starting to go quiet and disassociate, lost inside your head since you hadn't found a way to escape his room for weeks on end and his brothers doesn't seem to be of help (that would be because he turned his room to be soundproof with his magic). When you fight, you only feed the sadistic nature within him, because he rather you cry than him, that's why you aren't allowed to go away.

-ˏ` He would feel lonely and that's something he doesn't want to. He felt that way too when Lilith died, when he made his brothers fell from heaven because of him and guilt is something he doesn't want to feel again. He doesn't want to feel guilty when he thought of the infinite scenarios where you forget about him, where you get married with another person, when you go on with your life, leaving him behind just as another face you met once.

-ˏ` As merciful as he can be, his patience isn't something to be taken for granted because it has a limit. And while it is funny when you're acting bratty and moody, he has rules for you to follow and not following them earns you a punishment. Mostly is depriving you from food and water for days. There's no need for physical punishment when he can let your own body punishes you with their physiological needs. There's no need for him to move his hand when your mind is your greatest enemy, creative in its own way in torturing you with your imagination.

-ˏ` But if you don’t break the rules, then he will continue to lovebomb you like he used to do with his gentle words, with his kisses, and limited freedom when he takes you out in the middle of the night. His gifts now consist of things that have his name on it, like personalized necklaces, for example, or peacock themed since that bird represents him, or red clothes; he is very creative, that's for sure and he really love seeing you matching with him, it feeds his pride just right. If you have a pact with him, he will give you clothes that expose his mark for everyone to see that you are his, his lover, his pet, his.

-ˏ` He likes the period where the fight leaves you, where you're hollowed and quiet, when he can collect you like a doll and have you sitting in his lap as you nuzzle your face into his neck. Your humane smell calms him as he breathes in, humming softly as you close your eyes and drift into sleep, the sound guiding you to rest. Your weight above his grounds him. It keeps him in the present moment as he traces circles into your back, as he watches over you as you sleep.

-ˏ` Lucifer loves you, even in his twisted way. And he will make you love him too.

ㅤ

-ˏ` Mammon is very sweet and suffocating like a new puppy that keeps following you wherever you go. It's cute in a way because his friendship and love is something innocent and shy, as he guides you into this new world with a soft smile and a tsundere attitude. He's happy, for the first time in a long time, he's really happy. You're like a fresh air in the middle of the desert, and he's breathing like he was drowning, as he keeps on taking you with him to his favorite places, being so uniquely him that you can't help but being intoxicated with him. Again, cute as a puppy, but that's the image he's purposely using specifically for you as it makes you trust him more easily.

-ˏ` Things with Mammon will always be paradoxical, not because he's pretending to be something he isn't, which he does a lot of times, even with his brothers. But because he has secrets and sides you may never know that only comes out when it's inevitable, for anyone else he may he scummy, an idiot, but for you, he's not like this, he isn't perfect, he's flawed just like anyone is and that was make him perfect, because he keeps trying to be better each day. His greed stems from fear of loss; watching his sister die without being able to do anything, losing his home, his place as an angel as he followed his older brother to hell. Not having an identity in Devildom, being denied acess to every single establishment because he was an angel. Things like this warped his vision, him, in general.

-ˏ` You don't know the length he would go to keep you exactly as you are, exactly clueless to all he's doing in pushing away any demon trying to befriend you or that have other intentions, according to him, and as the demon responsible for you, of course you trust his judgment. Despite his cute attitude and words, inside him lie something much darker and dangerous, almost imperceptible and quiet, but when it explodes it consumes everything. He's much more forced as a yandere imo. We know him from the games always proclaiming he's Mc's first and as their first he would stay unique. I don't think he'd allow you to make pacts with the other brothers.

-ˏ` You're his master. His mate. His treasure. His! Mammon doesn't have any interest in entertaining his brothers and share your attention with them. Rather, he redirects your attention to him always, learning how to read you just so he can influence your moods and desires at that moment. He always take you on little dates, paying for absolutely everything you want, matching clothes, plushies, whatever you desire. He spoils and he spoils you rotten. He even gives you allowances.

-ˏ` I honestly don't feel like he is the most dangerous yanderes between his brothers, simply because he contains a lot of his more violent tendencies for your sake. He would avoid things that make you hate him like kidnapping you or hurting you in someway, he make it seems that among his brothers he's the safest option for you, even if that isn't entirely true, because while he doesn't hurt you explicitly, other people around you receive his brute force 100% without you ever knowing what had happened to them.

-ˏ` Yet, as contradictory that is, he likes showing you off and having others know that they can't win your heart. It's already his for the taking and he takes very good care of it, when he's not paying up his debts, he's spending all his money into you, whether you want it or not. Each day you're given a new gift. Small things like a new eraser or a new pen. Then, a new phone, a beautiful wristwatch, diamond earrings, and if you don't stop, he'll keep going.

-ˏ` Very attuned to your moods and thoughts. He's comforting when you needs him to be, funny when you needs him to be, quiet when you needs to think a little. For someone who can be so greedy and needy for your attentions and affections, he's also very considerate with you Mammon loves you and would do anything for you to always be happy. He considered giving you a love potion once - just in case things went south somehow, but that's the only boundary he would cross that you know about.

-ˏ` During your sleepovers, he likes collecting things from your room: hair from your brush, used underwear, a gloss or two, nothing that you'll miss much. But for him? These are his absolutely treasures and they immediately entered his shrine, which he likes to stare a lot because it smells just like you. Alone in his room, he likes remembering all the nicknames you give him, all the hugs you exchanged, all the cheek kisses, all the stares. He could die happily just like that.

-ˏ` He is soft and sweet until you try to leave him for whatever reason it is, in this scenario he starts to freak out, asking for another chance to be better, hyperventilating as he cried and begging for you to stay.

ㅤ

-ˏ` Leviathan's envy is something to be studied. It's a painful feeling that occurs when he realizes he lack something, coming from a place familiar to Mammon's, it started right after the fall when he watched everyone around him: they had no worries, no fears, they had a stable roof over their heads, they had food in their tables and beds to sleep. His brothers had too, but was it really theirs to start with if Lucifer had to work for the Prince? Was the House of Lamentation really theirs if Diavolo stopped paying for it? Was anything in Devildom really theirs?

-ˏ` Levi feels guilty being envious of everything around him. And he feels even guilty when he start isolating himself in his room, playing endless games, watching endless animes until his eyes are red from sleep, just so he won't focus on feeling and processing everything he went through and how he will never be the same. It's not easy confront these things, but he doesn't even want to try. He's afraid and he doesn't even admit out loud.

-ˏ` Meeting you left an impression on him. He doesn't know why, though, but it's addicting and he founds himself orbitating around you like a star trapped in a blackhole. He's a very delusional and suffocating yandere, but he tends to hide it well behind his envious facade as he slowly makes friends with you, learning about what you like, what makes you, well, you. For the first time in a long time, he's interested in something else other than animes and games, he's interested in you.

-ˏ` He's still a bit shy around other people but everyone can see him going out more, mostly with you. He tends to depend a bit on your support, especially when he's having a bad day and can't manage or handle doing things. Your moods also influence his; if you're happy then so is he, if you're sad then so is he. He experience life a lot through your and your accomplishments, a bit envious he couldn't be there when you achieved something, even if that happened before the exchange program.

-ˏ` Levi tries first to appeal to his shyness and awkward conversation skills to make you stay with him and play with him longer, he mostly does that when he feels that you haven't been spending a lot of time with him. He has everything he needs in his little fortress of a room, since he spends most of his time there. Food, drinks, blankets, games, animes, mangas. Yes. He has everything you need in there. He may or may not have some of your clothes there too, but he totally didn't stole there, he mentions how you must have brought with you (you didn't).

Rollo's gaze swept over the crowd, seemingly consuming the energy of the fervent believers who prayed with fervor. Their knees ached from the continuous effort, their eyes barely daring to open until the prayer ended. He smiled.

"Beware of those who do not want to be like you! For they are wolves, who want to steal the sheep from the flock. Therefore, kill those wolves! For it is not the wolf's throat that should be the sheep's slaughter, but rather the shepherd's slaughterhouse."

The silence that followed was not one of peace, but of a potent, volatile absorption. It hung heavy in the chapel air, thick with incense and the sweat of conviction. Rollo let it simmer, his hands resting on the edges of the pulpit as if channeling a divine current. His eyes, sharp and discerning, scanned the bowed heads, finding not submission, but a kindling fury.

"Look around you," he commanded, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial hush that forced them to strain to listen. "Look at the purity of your neighbor's devotion. This is the flock. This is the sacred unity. But beyond these walls…" He let the sentence trail, his gaze lifting to the stained-glass windows, where the sunlight painted serene scenes of saints. "Beyond is the wilderness. And in the wilderness, they walk."

A low murmur rippled through the congregation. A woman in the front row clenched her rosary until her knuckles turned white. A man beside her set his jaw, his eyes hardening.

"They do not kneel. They do not accept the blessed structure of the shepherd and the fold. They question the path to the slaughterhouse of salvation, calling it cruelty." Rollo's lip curled, a beautiful, beatific contempt. "They champion the chaos of the wolf's chase over the ordained peace of the shepherd's knife. They say we are prisoners. They say we are blind."

He slammed a fist onto the pulpit, the crack echoing like a gunshot. Several worshippers flinched, not in fear, but in ignited passion. A bunch of puppets in his hands to manipulate and play with. "They are wrong! The wolf's freedom is a lie! It is starvation, terror, a lonely death in the dark! The slaughterhouse is light! It is a purpose! It is a warm, sure hand guiding you to a glory you cannot yet comprehend!"

Rollo leaned forward, his voice becoming intimate, dripping with a terrible tenderness. "I see your struggles. I see the world pulling at you, with its false songs and its glittering, empty promises. It tries to make you wolves. It tries to make you forget the sweet, simple truth of the sheep. Your devotion here is a battle. And I am your general."

He straightened, throwing his arms wide. "But a general does not only defend! To secure the peace of the fold, he must clear the wilderness! We must not merely guard our hearts against the wolf's ideas… we must hunt the wolves themselves! For every wolf you convert or drive away, you strengthen the flock. For every wolf you silence," his voice dropped again, lethally soft, a testament of his compromise to his church; rather, his deity. You.

While everyone was happy to play their parts in his little game, yet you still clung to concepts like independence and freedom.

A foreigner who stole his heart, his breath, and then after you had cast your spell on him, you planned to go back to your country, as if all those shared glances, soft smiles and greetings had meant nothing to you.

Rollo’s gaze found specific individuals in the crowd, the burly carpenter, the stern-faced schoolteacher, the mother who had lost a child to illness and found solace only in his words. He spoke to them now, directly into their souls.

Because they suited his needs now.

"Your hands that build, let them build barriers against the predators. Your minds that teach, let them teach the young to recognize the snarling lies. Your hearts that grieve, let them find solace in protecting other lambs from the jaws that would tear them from the flock." He brought his hands together in a prayerful gesture, his expression transforming into one of sublime, sorrowful resolve.

He prayed for you, even if he was thinking of defloring you multiple times in a row.

A fervent "Amen!" burst from the carpenter, loud and raw. It was followed by another, and another, rising into a chorus of righteous agreement. The kneelers were forgotten; now they stood, backs straight, eyes blazing. The aching knees were now a badge of endurance, a precursor to action.

God was proud of them for that.

Rollo smiled, a true, radiant smile that held the chill of a glacier. He had taken their fear, their insecurity, their longing for order, and had forged it into a weapon. He had transformed the passive promise of a serene salvation into an active crusade. The slaughterhouse was not just a destiny; it was a reward for the faithful, and its guarantee was ensured by the extermination of anything that threatened it.

"Go now," he said, his voice swelling to a triumphant crescendo. "Go with the peace of the flock in your hearts and the strength of the shepherd in your spirit. Be vigilant. Be discerning. And be not afraid to cleanse, for in cleansing, you sanctify. Go, my blessed sheep. And may your watchfulness be the proof of your faith."

The congregation streamed out, not with the quiet contentment of a usual service, but with a charged, buzzing energy. Conversations were hushed but intense. Eyes darted, not in paranoia, but in sharp assessment of the world outside the chapel doors, a world suddenly reclassified as a hunting ground.

For, if they were hunters, anyone who deviated from the path Rollo had set for them would surely be chased and brought to him.

Alone in the suddenly empty chapel, the scent of zeal lingering like gunsmoke, Rollo slowly descended from the pulpit. He approached the large crucifix behind the altar, looking up at the figure of the suffering savior for a fleeting moment.

Then, he went to the anteroom beside the pulpit with a growing anxiety. He spent hours preaching, the sound of his voice surely floating in the air for you to hear. There he found you, still tied to the bedpost for resisting earlier.

The sermon was over. The hunt, however, had just begun.

"Étoile, have you thought about what you did?" Nickname rolled off his tongue so easily that your insides churned. Fearful, albeit not regretful.

Never regretful for fighting for yourself.

You remained silent, lips pressed into a thin line as you turned your face to the other side. For someone who liked to manipulate, Rollo was manipulable if you played your cards right. For now, you were feeding into his desperation for connection, for any scrap of attention he could have from you.

And he would find none.

Above all, the referred wolf he so liked to cite was you.

Wolfish smile getting wider on your lips as you watched him pacing the room out of the corner of your eye.

"I'm sorry... do your wrists hurt?" He asked, trying to fill the silence with his mumbling as he rearranged the rope so it wouldn't ache too much against your skin. "Oh my sweet péché, I know all this stubbornness is all the enemy's doing. I'm going to cleanse you, remade you, bring all the good in you."

His promises were unnerving and unsettling, even more because he seemed so sure, so out of reality, as if dreaming a vivid dream without realizing it. Not even your attitude could help you.

"Then-" his voice got lost in the noise of your head as you watched his lips moving, breath got in your throat as you did what was necessary for your peace, sealing his lips with yours.

A chaste, gentle kiss that melted him entirely.

You were disgusted by it; but you had a plan and for it to work, as delusional as he was with his savior complex, he had to believe you.

"I... was lonely." You tried to appear vulnerable and weak, staring at him as tears fell from your eyes. Not happy tears to be comforted by him, though, those were tears of repulse. "I missed you. Stay with me. Please."

Through gritted teeth, you managed to mumble out. Letting the pain in your wrists and arms be your fuel to bear it, to endure it for as long as necessary.

If Rollo could see the doubts and self-loathing, he was rejoicing quietly at his small victory. He sat beside you, pulling you to his chest as his arms closed around you like a cage. The smell of chamomile was not calming, was revolting.

Insulting. Humiliating.