I'm back after 5 months of silence (I'm sorry) to drop a fic that no one asked for (I'm so sorry) in hopes that someone might like it
I swear that I'm still active in the fandom, but I've had a lot stress and not enough time on my hands, and I'm not up to date with Nightbringer so I apologise in advance if I've accidentally shot the canon events in field somehow
I hope everyone has been keeping well and hopefully it won't be as long before I post again
I'm sorry in advance if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes in this fic
I hope enjoy it
~K'rasu xx
The Fourth-Born
The six brothers heaved a collective sigh of relief as Satan was finally restrained and bound to a chair with chains.
"Dammit, Satan!" Mammon hissed under his breath as he stretched and rolled his shoulder to ease the pain where the unruly demon had struck him earlier during a fit of rage.
"Be thankful that you didn't take the full brunt of his hit," Levi murmured as he cast a sideways glance towards a chest of drawers that had been seemingly cleaved in half.
"The damage is getting a bit extensive," Lucifer sighed wearily, crossing his arms to give Satan a reproachful stare while the wrathful demon glared straight back at him.
"A bit extensive?" Belphie gave Lucifer an incredulous stare. "That's putting it lightly! Just this morning he tore everything in the attic to shreds! And now look at the state of the dining room!"
Belphie motioned towards the splintered remains of the wooden dining table, the broken glass from the windows, and the chunks of stone that had been blown away from the walls, all of which were now scattered across the floor as a result of Satan's most recent rampage.
"And when he's not on a destructive rampage, he just glares at us or distances himself from us," Beel shook his head with a frown as he glanced towards Satan who could now be heard muttering curses at his brothers under his breath with a threatening aura.
"We can't really keep him retrained all the time either," Levi sighed.
"What else are we s'posed to do?" Mammon asked as he surveyed the wrathful demon. "He's too dangerous, it's only a matter of time before he seriously hurts someone."
"… couldn't we just open the front door and… you know…" Belphie let his sentence trail off with a sweeping motion of his hands.
"You mean just let him go?" Levi frowned. "Can we even do that?"
"He might be happier if we did," Beel frowned with a thoughtful hum as he looked back over at Satan, "he must be miserable to be restrained almost all of the time."
"Wouldn't someone just bring him back anyway?" Mammon pointed out.
"No one is going to be opening any doors and letting Satan go," Lucifer shook his head with another sigh, "whether you all like it or not, Satan is our brother and therefore our responsibility."
"Lucifer's right." Asmo finally chimed in with a nod of his head as he offered Satan a warm smile. "Besides, Satan is probably having just as hard a time as we are going in adjusting to life in the Devildom. Maybe even more so seeing as he doesn't share the same closeness that the rest of us do."
"Maybe he would if he wasn't so distant and aggressive," Belphie muttered under his breath.
"Well, maybe we should try to make things a little easier on him." Asmo pointed out. "We should be more mindful of how he's feeling too so that he can see that we're open to start a meaningful connection with him."
A brief silence fell over the brothers as they stood around Satan and watched him struggle and writhe against his restraints in a fit of rage.
"… I'm sure that would've been more meaningful if Satan had actually listened to you…" Levi broke the silence first.
"Maybe you should try saying it again once he's calmed down a little, Asmo." Beel suggested.
"I think the moment has already passed," Mammon said with a frown.
Asmo heaved a small sigh before he spoke up again, "well regardless of whether he heard what I said or not, I think that after everything that's happened to us, we should all be glad that we've gained a younger brother."
Lucifer stiffened slightly at Asmo's words before he slowly turned away from Satan to look at his other brothers.
"About that…" Lucifer paused for a moment before he took a deep breath and spoke again, choosing his words carefully. "The designation given to Satan by the Demon King is as the fourth-born, not the seventh-born."
Silence fell over the brothers.
Asmo stared at Lucifer in disbelief as the information that Lucifer had just given the brothers slowly sunk in before Asmo finally spoke up again.
"You mean to say that he's my older brother?" Asmo burst angrily as he pointed towards Satan. "Him?"
Lucifer heaved a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes wearily while he mentally prepared himself for the imminent headache that the conversation would bring, "yes, that is the official designation given to Satan. In order of oldest to youngest, it's myself, Mammon, Levi, Satan, then you, Beel, and finally Belphie as the youngest brother."
"But I was here first!" Asmo argued back. "How is that fair? Shouldn't Satan be the youngest?"
"Asmo." Lucifer gave Asmo a stern look as he spoke in a warning tone.
"You guys agree with me, right?" Asmo ignored Lucifer's warning as he turned towards the twins instead.
He then watched as Beel and Belphie shared a glance with each other before they both then shrugged in unison.
"I'm not bothered," Beel said in an indifferent voice.
"I don't mind being the youngest," Belphie mused aloud, "the youngest siblings are typically spoiled by their older brothers anyway, so I can live with that."
"I don't think you're supposed to admit that part out loud," Levi frowned as he shook his head at Belphie.
"No! We were all here first!" Asmo pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest with an irritable huff and turned his back on his brothers. "It only makes sense that Satan should be the younest!"
"What happened to that 'I'm glad to have another brother' attitude you had just a moment ago, huh?" Mammon teased Asmo with a smirk as he ruffled Asmo's hair while Asmo glowered up at him and pushed his hand away.
"It's what the Demon King has decided, so there's no point in arguing over it now." Lucifer spoke with a tone of finality.
"Actually, Asmo does kind of have a point." Levi said with a thoughtful hum, earning himself a warning glare from Lucifer. "Why did the Demon King decide to designate Satan as the fourth-born? It doesn't really make sense."
Asmo quickly rounded on Lucifer again, "right! Exactly! Levi's right, it doesn't make sense! So why did the Demon King choose to make Satan the fourth-born?"
Lucifer stiffened for a moment, bracing himself for another outburst from Asmo before he spoke again.
"Because our age designations have been given to us in ranks of our power."
Another silence fell over the brothers, broken once again by Asmo.
"Are you kidding me?" Asmo stomped his foot angrily. "How is he stronger than any of us? Beel was the one who restrained him just now! Doesn't that make Beel the stronger brother? And what about my charm? No one can resist that, not even you, Lucifer!"
"Oh for the love of—" Lucifer shook his head with a weary sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose again. Lucifer then took on his stern demeanour again. "That's it. This is the decision made by the Demon King. End of discussion!"
"No!" Asmo protested. "I'm reopening the discussion! Why does this little brat get to outrank any of us after being here for just five minutes?"
"Who are you calling a 'little brat'?" Satan spoke in a quiet but venomous voice, having finally stopped struggling against his binds to fix Asmo with a furious glare.
"You!" Asmo retorted just as angrily as he rounded on Satan.
Satan struggled against his chains with renewed vigour.
"Let me go! Let me go so I can tear this moron limb from limb!"
"Not unless I tear you limb from limb first! Then we'll see who outranks who in terms of power!"
Asmo clenched his fists as he lunged forward towards Satan, only to be immediately stopped by Beel who swiftly stepped behind Asmo and linked his arms under Asmo's to hold the Avatar of Lust firmly in place.
Satan let out a content hum, settled back against the headboard of his bed and smiled to himself as he turned the page of his book and let his eyes scan over each word with rapt attention.
His focus was only broken by the sound of his bedroom door opening, causing a flicker of annoyance to cross his face before he heard the sound of Amo's chipper hum.
"Satan~!" Asmo called out as he walked across the room towards the fourth-born. "How much do you love your little brother?"
The pang of annoyance that Satan had felt earlier immediately evaporated as he slowly looked up at Asmo with an arched eyebrow.
"That depends. What are you after?"
Asmo grinned as he replied, "I bought some new outfits and I want to take the most Devilgramable photo, a selfie won't cut it this time! So I need a certain smart demon to help me get the right angles and right lighting. What do you say, Satan? Will you help me out?"
Satan remained silent for a moment as he surveyed Asmo with a contemplative expression before he finally closed the book in his lap with a small chuckle.
"Sure, I'll help you, but only because I'm your older brother."