Diavolo still has Belphie right now for treason. I know he's usually fair for a ruler. But...
...I'm just worried that you'll end up like Belphie, if I... don't get involved somehow. [He slowly licks the salt off his fingers.] I know it's not true. You're strong. I trust you. But...
I don't know what I'd do if Diavolo took you, too.
[He brings a hand up to his chin to consider that.]
You're not wrong to be concerned. If the situation is already tense, my arrival and subsequent connection to you could very well make things even more volatile. Quite the conundrum, indeed...
[Maybe he can start with something that he found peculiar the last time Beelzebub mentioned this.]
What did Belphegor do to be accused of treason, exactly? Do you know?
He did. It used to be his favorite place, and humans used to be his favorite creatures of Father's. He'd sneak down there all the time, and Lilith would follow.
It changed as soon as we fell.
[It was jarring. He remembers how much Belphegor had wrestled with who to throw his anger at, who deserved it the most. For a while... it was everyone.]
He says he blames humanity for what happened to Lilith, but... I worry that he really blames himself. He's never said much about acting on it. That's not like him.
[Yeah, that sounds like a logical conclusion to wind up on. The human world was all fun and games until it inadvertently caused their downfall.]
Whether he intended to act on it or not, perhaps his harboring of such rage against the human world was enough for Lucifer to not want to take any chances.
[But they were guesses. And he wasn't like Satan or Lucifer. Those guesses didn't gain much traction.]
But that's why I want to talk to Lucifer. Barbatos said he's under house arrest, which might mean Lucifer hiding Belphie could have been as much of a crime as whatever Belphie did or said.
Lucifer is really close to Diavolo. Really, really close. Enough that I think he might choose the crown over us sometimes.
So... I want to know what his reasoning was for everything. Even if I have to beg for it.
[Temenos nods along, feeling around for another snack without taking his eyes off of Beelzebub.]
What information he's withholding must be the crux to understanding the situation in its entirety. For everyone's sake, I hope you are successful in getting it from him.
[Ah... Even Beelzebub can find some topics appetite-ruining. Looking back on it, Temenos can think of a few moments that may have been similar and he simply hadn't known Beelzebub well enough to realize it at the time.
He sets the unopened snack on his lap and reaches out to touch Beelzebub's hand.]
I'm looking forward to it.
[He wants this to be another hope to hold onto, given the situation.]
And I'll do my part to make sure you have a fighting chance. One hurdle at a time, hm?
[The demon falls quiet, letting his palm turn to gently take that touch.]
Temenos, I...
...
[He bites his statement down with an exhale, breath shuddering as his free hand brushes through his own hair. Stuck in his head in a moment of vulnerability.]
[A deeply selfish part of him wants to say "yes." But what he ends up saying is entirely different as he takes Beelzebub's hand.]
It was very brave of you to come forward, and it was also the right thing to do. That bravery is the reason why an innocent person isn't being executed instead.
...I just wish we could have found Nona's killer as well.
[That guilt hasn't left him yet either, and it likely never will leave him.]
returns to this five hundred years later to rewrite half the tag
Maybe if I'd said something sooner... maybe we would have had more time.
[Imagining Nona curled up in that cold room all on her own, covered in blood... he's not going to be able to forget it. Just like he couldn't forget Lilith.
...
He lets out a tense sigh as he grips Temenos's fingers, his own palms shaking slightly.]
...
I know there's nothing that we can do now. And if she's going to end up wherever I'm going... I can find out from her. If she wants to talk about it, that is.
...
[Still, bravery doesn't cut away the pain or the fear, and it doesn't provide any more answers to questions that can't be answered for now. He doesn't know if he can believe it.]
...I don't know how brave I am, Temenos. I want to be. But...
I wonder if it's okay that I don't feel very brave right now.
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Diavolo still has Belphie right now for treason. I know he's usually fair for a ruler. But...
...I'm just worried that you'll end up like Belphie, if I... don't get involved somehow. [He slowly licks the salt off his fingers.] I know it's not true. You're strong. I trust you. But...
I don't know what I'd do if Diavolo took you, too.
no subject
You're not wrong to be concerned. If the situation is already tense, my arrival and subsequent connection to you could very well make things even more volatile. Quite the conundrum, indeed...
[Maybe he can start with something that he found peculiar the last time Beelzebub mentioned this.]
What did Belphegor do to be accused of treason, exactly? Do you know?
spoilers for OM chapter 13 like whoa
[What was it that Diavolo had mentioned? It feels like an eternity ago now, but...
...]
I don't know. Belphie wouldn't talk about it.
But... from what they said when they took him away, Diavolo thought he was a threat to the human world. A really big one.
He kept saying that Belphie going "missing" wasn't just Lucifer trapping him or punishing him. It was Lucifer sheltering him. [From Diavolo.
There's too much missing, though, for Beel to know how to feel about it in depth. And worry wouldn't help Belphie or provide answers.]
whispers: I see.
[He repeats, lifting a stray chip to chew on as he considers this. Judging from how deeply his brow furrows, things just aren’t adding up for him.]
Belphegor had a love for the human world, did he not? Did that change over the years?
yeah................... yeah
It changed as soon as we fell.
[It was jarring. He remembers how much Belphegor had wrestled with who to throw his anger at, who deserved it the most. For a while... it was everyone.]
He says he blames humanity for what happened to Lilith, but... I worry that he really blames himself. He's never said much about acting on it. That's not like him.
no subject
[Yeah, that sounds like a logical conclusion to wind up on. The human world was all fun and games until it inadvertently caused their downfall.]
Whether he intended to act on it or not, perhaps his harboring of such rage against the human world was enough for Lucifer to not want to take any chances.
no subject
[But they were guesses. And he wasn't like Satan or Lucifer. Those guesses didn't gain much traction.]
But that's why I want to talk to Lucifer. Barbatos said he's under house arrest, which might mean Lucifer hiding Belphie could have been as much of a crime as whatever Belphie did or said.
Lucifer is really close to Diavolo. Really, really close. Enough that I think he might choose the crown over us sometimes.
So... I want to know what his reasoning was for everything. Even if I have to beg for it.
no subject
What information he's withholding must be the crux to understanding the situation in its entirety. For everyone's sake, I hope you are successful in getting it from him.
no subject
[He doesn't realize he's stopped the flow of his own share of chips to his mouth until he looks down at what's been left half-eaten.]
I want to introduce you to all of them someday. When we're all together again.
no subject
He sets the unopened snack on his lap and reaches out to touch Beelzebub's hand.]
I'm looking forward to it.
[He wants this to be another hope to hold onto, given the situation.]
And I'll do my part to make sure you have a fighting chance. One hurdle at a time, hm?
no subject
Temenos, I...
...
[He bites his statement down with an exhale, breath shuddering as his free hand brushes through his own hair. Stuck in his head in a moment of vulnerability.]
Do you think I should have stayed quiet?
no subject
It was very brave of you to come forward, and it was also the right thing to do. That bravery is the reason why an innocent person isn't being executed instead.
...I just wish we could have found Nona's killer as well.
[That guilt hasn't left him yet either, and it likely never will leave him.]
returns to this five hundred years later to rewrite half the tag
[Imagining Nona curled up in that cold room all on her own, covered in blood... he's not going to be able to forget it. Just like he couldn't forget Lilith.
...
He lets out a tense sigh as he grips Temenos's fingers, his own palms shaking slightly.]
...
I know there's nothing that we can do now. And if she's going to end up wherever I'm going... I can find out from her. If she wants to talk about it, that is.
...
[Still, bravery doesn't cut away the pain or the fear, and it doesn't provide any more answers to questions that can't be answered for now. He doesn't know if he can believe it.]
...I don't know how brave I am, Temenos. I want to be. But...
I wonder if it's okay that I don't feel very brave right now.