Chapter Text
Lucifer was still mulling over Mammon's odd behavior when his phone buzzed. It was Diavolo. With a slight sigh, Lucifer answered, his thoughts still on his brother.
"Hello? Is there something wrong, Diavolo?"
Diavolo's voice was more serious than usual. "Lucifer, could you come to the palace? We need to talk about something concerning the school. I wanted to go over it with you first before bringing it up with your brothers."
Lucifer noticed the change in Diavolo's tone. He wasn't usually in this grave. "Alright, I'll be right over."
Soon after, Lucifer arrived at the demon lord's palace.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lucifer asked, getting straight to the point.
"There have been some situations with students using certain substances on school grounds," Diavolo explained, a worried look on his face. "It's a new thing called 'Astral Dust,' and it seems to be quite popular among some demons now. We need to figure out a way to stop them from using it."
“Astral dust?” Lucifer replied, his voice laced with confusion. He’d seen many abominations in the Devildom, but a drug that offered such a twisted duality of effects was a new kind of unsettling.
Barbatos simply nodded. “Yes, it’s a rather vigorous substance. The side effects include: vivid hallucinations, difficulty in sleeping, intense anxiety, and it can, at times, induce extreme violence. Though, in a twisted, unfortunate way, it also grants the user an immense feeling of happiness.”
Barbatos’s gaze flickered to the floor, as if even he found the last part particularly distasteful. “It’s becoming… problematic”
“Problematic is an understatement, Barbatos.” Lucifer replied as his jaw tightened. “Where did this ‘Astral Dust’ even originate? And more importantly, who is distributing it in the Devildom?”
"We haven't figured out who's distributing it yet," Diavolo admitted, a nervous laugh escaping him. "What I'm more focused on right now is how we address this with the school and, more importantly, how we stop student from using it. I wanted to tell you about this first because i genuinely wasn't sure what to do!"
Lucifer let out a long sigh, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Let's discuss this properly during our meeting tomorrow." The weight of the situation, and Diavolo's uncharacteristic uncertainty, was clearly getting to him.
The grand doors of the council room swung open, and the brothers filed in, taking their usual seats. Asmodeus let out a dramatic sigh. "Hmm, I wonder what thrilling topic we'll be discussing today."
Satan, ever the pragmatist, offered a guess. "It's probably that thing that has been going around, the drug thing?"
Just as Diavolo prepared to address them, starting with, "As you all may know there has be-", the doors burst open again. Mammon stumbled in, looking disheveled.
"Mammon, you're late again," Lucifer seethed, his voice a low growl.
Mammon flinched, practically shrinking under his brother's glare. "Eek! I was, uh... just doing homework, that's why I was late, hehe..."
Lucifer merely sighed, waving a dismissive hand. "Just go sit down."
As Mammon awkwardly shuffled to his seat, Diavolo continued, his tone serious. "As I was saying, you may all know that there has been a certain drug that has been circulating the school. Some students are even using it on school grounds now." He paused, letting his words sink in. "It's called Astral Dust."
The moment Diavolo uttered the name, Mammon visibly flinched. His head slowly lifted, eyes wide, and a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Lucifer, ever observant, immediately noticed the change in Mammon's demeanor at the mention of the drug. His gaze dropped to Mammon's knee, which was now bouncing nervously. He's hiding something, Lucifer thought, a familiar suspicion solidifying in his mind.