Chapter 39: Even in Hard Times, Life Goes On

                                    

                                          
Lucifer (Satan) was currently glaring at Mammon. "MAAAAMMOOOOONN..."
                          
Levi gave him a bored look. "Eh, I'm tired of hearing you impersonate Lucifer."
                          
Beel hummed. "Why don't you try saying something in Lucifer's voice that the real Lucifer would never say?"
                          
Ivy rolled her eye. "Why is this meeting happening in my room?"
                          
Lucifer (Satan) ignored her. "Ah, yeah, okay. Something Lucifer would never say... I'm in love with Ruri-chan! She's my baby! Kyaaa!💖💖"
                          
Ivy groaned heavily as she buried her face into her pillow. Beel put a hand over his mouth. "Pff..."
                          
Levi chuckled. "OMG! LOOOOL I'm dying! LOLOLOL"
                          
Satan (Lucifer) sighed. "They're taking advantage of the fact that I'm much less powerful here in Satan's body."
                          
Ivy groaned loudly. "Yes, and it's inexcusable. It's as if they want to add on to my current migraines."
                          
"Exactly. Now do me a favor and tell them that! Anyway, Levi, Beel, what are you two doing in Ivy's room?"
                          
Beel hummed thoughtfully. "Well, Lucifer said... um, I mean Satan said that if I hung out here and made a bunch of noise, he'd give me treats."
                          
Lucifer (Satan) glared at him. "Beel! Do you have to be stupid honest like that! Come on!"
                          
Satan (Lucifer) stared at the one in his body. "I see. So you're trying to harass me."
                          
Levi piped up. "Just bored, Levi is! Only reason for being here... mm, yes, only reason it is! Actually, the truth is that there's this new game that was released and I'm waiting for Akuzon to deliver it. I'm so excited it's crazy."
                          
Beel then noticed something. "You know, I noticed that Mammon isn't here. Weird, he usually camps out in Ivy's room all day long."
                          
Ivy looked around. "Oh yeah, where is the idiot?"
                          
Satan (Lucifer) was silent. So was Lucifer (Satan). Levi turned to Beel. "Beel, mention Mammon, you should not."
                          
Beel tilted his head. "Why not?"
                          
"Well, keep this between us, you must! A secret it is! I heard that Mammon and Satan hatched a plan to have a party with a bunch of succubi, taking advantage of the fact that Satan is in Lucifer's body!"
                          
"And... what happened?"
                          
"Find out their plan and tell them they couldn't go, Lucifer did. And go in their place, Asmodeus did. Very very happy, he seemed!"
                          
Ivy groaned at the way Levi spoke. It was starting to get annoying. Satan (Lucifer) glared at Levi. "For something that's supposed to be secret, you certainly don't seem to mind talking about it so loud that every one of us can hear."
                          
Levi kept talking. "Mammon is taking advantage of the fact that Lucifer isn't as powerful as usual to run rampant doing whatever he wants. Like, after class, he went and got the head of the newspaper club and brought him to Satan."
                          
Ivy's eye started to twitch. Lucifer (Satan) glared at him. "Levi, you idiot!"
                          
"Then, Satan pretended to be Lucifer, and said that he'd increase the funding for their club next year in exchange for a BRIBE!"
                          
Satan (Lucifer) turned to Beel. "... Beel."
                          
Beel blinked. "What?"
                          
"I want you to go find Mammon and string him up for me. Hang him upside down."
                          
"... Me? Um, I understand that you can't boss Mammon around right now since you're inside Satan's body, Lucifer, but still--"
                          
"I'll give you one hundred dozen Uncle Demon's donuts as a reward for doing this."
                          
"Deal!"
                          
Lucifer (Satan) turned to the one in his body. "So you're going to hang Mammon upside down, huh? Okay then, what about me? I know you want to punish me, but surely you can't hang your own  body upside down, now can you Lucifer?"
                          
Satan (Lucifer) glared at him. "Don't be so smug, Satan."
                          
"I'm Lucifer, not Satan. And you really should be more respectful toward your older brother, you know."
                          
Beel eyed them. "... Is it just me, or are things even worse between those two now that they've switched bodies?"
                          
Levi nodded. "Yeah, but it's funny. So, I don't mind."
                          
Lucifer (Satan) eyed Satan (Lucifer). "Right now I'm the oldest. So naturally, I get to use the bed."
                          
Satan (Lucifer) shook his head. "Wrong. I'm Lucifer, not you. So, I'll be using the bed, of course. You can sleep on the floor."
                          
"I'm taking the bed."
                          
"No you're not, I am."
                          
Ivy growled at the two. No one was taking her space. Beel sighed. "This is giving me a headache..."
                          
-Later-
                          
Satan (Lucifer) was sleep talking. "... zzz... I'll make you... pay for this... Satan... When I'm back in... my own body... zzz..."
                          
So was Lucifer (Satan). "... zzz... I'm... I'm Lucifer... All of you demons... kneel before me... zzz..."
                          
Ivy rolled her eye. She couldn't fall asleep like this. Ivy decided to head out into the hall. Ivy slipped out of her room quietly. She shut the door carefully and headed off.
                          
While walking, she heard someone sobbing and sniffling. This caught Ivy's attention. The noise continued. She then heard something. "Mommy..."
                          
Ivy heard the voice. She decided to head for the source of the noise.
                          
-Timeskip-
                          
Ivy arrived in the portrait hall, hearing the sob. She found the source. She didn't expect it to be Mammon. Mammon took notice of her. "...! Ah, Ivy! Pl-Please, you gotta help me! Lucifer made Beel string me up and hang me upside down!"
                          
Ivy blinked at her old friend. "But you're not upside down."
                          
"Beel agreed to at least hang me right-side up in exchange for some gum. He's too damn strong. These ropes are so tight that I can't manage to break free no matter how hard I try... Please...! You gotta help meee..."
                          
"In another case, I'd say yes. But right now, you need to think about what you did, cariño."
                          
"I have, and I'll never do it again...! So please... if you don't let me down, I'll hang here like this for at least the next 500 years... if I'm lucky!"
                          
Ivy thought about it. It did seem a bit excessive. Ivy then told Mammon that if he agrees to help her convince Satan and Lucifer to make up, then she'll let him down. Mammon blinked at her. "Satan and Lucifer... make up? Now listen, those two have been at each other's throats like this ever since Satan was born, you know? I mean, I guess you could say it's only Satan that hates Lucifer. But it's like... Lucifer doesn't give a flip about how Satan feels, which makes Satan even angrier, so--"
                          
Ivy started to turn away. Mammon noticed. "W-Wait, no! Don't leave! Okay, fine! I'll do it! I'll help you! I promise! Just get me DOWN from heeeeere!"
                          
Ivy hummed as she blew a small flame onto her palm, incinerated the ropes, caught Mammon, and then placed him on the floor. "Aaaah... excellent. My feet are back on the floor where they belong. Excellent... ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, I know. It ain't like I forgot my promise. All I gotta do is help you get Satan and Lucifer to make up, right?"
                          
Ivy nodded. Mammon hummed. "Hmm... now, let's see... Ooh! I've got an AMAZING idea! I think I'm a genius!"
                          
Ivy had a very, very bad feeling about this...