'Meeting of The 7 Deadly Sins' - Short Story By Natasha Katherine Low

[I would like to start off by saying that the names (Lucifer, Belphegor, Asmodeus, Amon, Beelzebub, Leviathan, Mammon) used in this short story aren't thought up just to sound complicated.
They actually happen to be the designations given to the deadly sins we've all heard of (if research proves accurate), and it was a lot of fun giving these names the (pretentious) breath of life. You could try reading up on them and getting to know more about each of their niche specializations of destruction. It's all very interesting, trust me - if you're free enough to give it a go!] 

And for those that might be lost, the seven deadly sins are 'Pride (Lucifer), Sloth (Belphegor), Lust (Asmodeus), Wrath (Amon), Gluttony (Beelzebub), Envy (Leviathan, the youngest) and Greed (Mammon)' respectively. You can read more about them at Seven Deadly Sins if you want to. Enjoy!

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A party of this magnitude is fairly uncommon in this day and age.

Lucifer the Great (self-proclaimed) presides over the household as the eldest son, and the entity with the greatest influence on mankind. He has been the acting guardian of the household for thirteen centuries up to date, and has always been, and henceforth forever will be, charged with the necessary responsibility of clearing up all domestic-related messes.

It was an unfortunate truth that the legendary family never seemed able to get along with each other. Even if they did all happen to thrive in the same line of work. 

The situation had gotten especially worse for the lot of them the moment they had found themselves ridiculously capable of corroding as many hearts as they pleased. In this new generation, they were children too easily prone to running rampant, too unable to show any kind of restraint.

Lucifer had taken to scrutinizing their work from where he always sat - on his high horse -  and it was clear as day to him that neither of his younger siblings could ever hope to near his level of inane perfection. He made it a point to never intervene in their mischief - although he did, however, have to exile his youngest brother, Leviathan, one decade ago, when the good-for-nothing louse actually attempted to steal his glorious crown.

As you might expect, family gatherings were thus few and in-between in the household. In fact, the last time they had all been in the same room together was an eon ago, back when Lucifer had fallen from his mansion of feathers and diamonds. 

The siblings had rallied too many lost causes across the centuries, and there was almost too much misery for any one of them to savor in this day and age. Taking time out of their busy schedules to bicker amongst themselves was a luxury none of them wanted to indulge in.

Unfortunately, the time had quickly come for their Milleniumth anniversary. At least, that was what it was in name, and very grand-sounding it did sound. But in all honesty, Lucifer had simply had enough of his solitude, and had made plans to ensure that his siblings came back for once.

"How have you been, brother? How is your work under the scorching Eastern sun?" Asmodeus' voice rang out agaisnt the flawless diamond cutlery, low-pitched and feline, filtering silkily off Lucifer's beautiful glass staircase. She was clad tightly in a beautiful black dress, dipping low and as revealing as always. Her smile was genuinely blinding, as it always was, her eyelashes long and alluring, protruding above the captivating eyes that were painted the shades of every beautiful thing on the Earth.

Asmodeus was the only female in the family, the prized jewel, the glorious counterpart of their nonexistent mother. She was cherished deeply by all her brothers, even Lucifer himself, and even her youngest brother, amidst his disdained jealousy. She loved them all just as much, maybe inappropriately so, and genuinely feared the day that they would notice her less-than-sisterly advances. Yet, it was not her fault that she had been saddled to such fine specimen as kin.

Asmodeus had never given up on a conquest for love, no matter how short, or how wrong it might seem. It was a trait, an obstinacy, of hers that simply couldn't be compromised, never mind the fact that the other party shared her blood in their veins. On the bright side, Asmodeus was quickly becoming immensely popular in the hearts of numerous men, so she had that, at least, to help curb her ever-increasing desperation.

"They've barely started scraping the surface. I tell them to speed things up on a daily basis, but I suppose you just can't expect too much from the inferior species," Amon rumbled bitterly. His ringed finger was wrapped tightly around his golden cobra scepter in a show of intense impatience, the edges of his eyes pulling down in his obvious discomfort.

Unlike his other siblings, Amon had pupils that were marked black, through and through. The emptiness of them mirrored the fury and anger that he always seemed to have, toiling hotly inside him. He hoped that the perpetual late-comer - his second youngest brother, Belphegor - would make his appearance soon, or he could never hope to make it through the night, such was the magnitude of his suppressed anger.

"The food is looking good," Beelzebub boomed jovially, announcing his entrance with a very enthusiastic bow. He squeezed his way expertly between his siblings, and lightly prised their champagne glasses from their hands. "I'll finish this up, if the both of you don't mind," he told them cheerfully.

"If you'd only turn that mindset to actual monetary gain... You'd find yourself a lot better off, brother," Mammon drawled acidly. Mammon's hair was slicked back attractively, although it did little to compliment his skinny, and, frankly, lanky figure. Mammon was eyeing Beelzebub's dirty tuxedo in absolute disdain.

He and Beelzebub had been the best of friends once. Their interests were similar, you see, and it was obvious that both never believed they had enough of what they wanted. But their actions had quickly unearthed a very obvious flaw in similarity. 

Beelzebub was satisfied consuming anything, as long as everything he touched led to waste. Mammon, on the other hand, was never done in his pursuit for actual material possessions. He happened to take great pride in lying and cheating to get what he wanted.

Call it a lack of drive, perhaps. Mammon had soon lost what respect he had had for his gigantic brother. He'd dropped the smaller game like a hot potato and had gone on to successfully seduce the whims of the largest corporations known to man.

Beelzebub sighed patiently. He had never quite understood why his younger brother had turned out so unhappy. They'd been on good terms, once upon a time. He hadn't been able to influence Mammon the way he wanted to, but at least Beelzebub himself remained perfectly ecstatic frolicking along the streets of the middle incomers.

"I see our brother has gotten himself a vaguely attractive house to live in." The siblings were genuinely surprised to see Leviathan swarm his way through the doors, wrapped grandly in the finest fabric known to man. His tone was bitter, and tinged green with envy as he glanced about him at the glorious abode.

"You're here," Asmodeus raised an eyebrow at him uncertainly. Leviathan's emerald-green eyes flashed once, the side of his mouth pulling up unpleasantly.

"Greetings, sister. I see you still have yourself some of those ugly diamond trinkets," he smirked quickly, his gaze resting lightly on her jewelry.

"Is it a fight that you're looking for?" Amon piped up sleazily. His eyes were sparkling with an abrupt excitement.

"I'm here," Belphegor announced slowly. The rest of the siblings were momentarily sidetracked. Every one of them took in his disheveled form and un-groomed hair with varying levels of disgust.

"You made it," Lucifer called out grandly. His younger siblings froze at the sound of his voice. They straightened unconsciously and turned to look at where he stood on the head of the staircase, triumph in his eyes. Lucifer was dressed up in his finest, spotless white suit. His luxurious blonde hair was perfectly flawless and his face appeared bright and effortlessly flawless.

"Brother," Asmodeus breathed throatily. Lucifer fixed her with a triumphant grin, raising his arms up in an elaborate show of welcome. 

"It's been too long since I'd last seen you, my kin," Lucifer announced. His tone was vaguely regretful, but neither of his siblings were stirred in the slightest.

"Funny that you should say that," Leviathan smirked darkly. "When you have your mutts watching each and every one of us every second of the day."

Lucifer was unperturbed. He smiled benevolently at his previously-exiled little brother. "I cannot help it if I'm popular, Levi," he said pleasantly.

Leviathan snorted at that. Amon shifted uneasily in his war boots. Beelzebub took the opportunity to down Asmodeus' glass of red wine.

"Now sit, sit. We have a lot of catching up to do," Lucifer called out firmly. He waved his hands easily, and the finest dining table appeared before them, decorated deliciously with the finest dishes known to man.

His siblings did as they were told, albeit reluctantly. They'd all faced Lucifer's temper before. Neither of them wanted to be at the end of his pitch-fork ever again.

"So we've all been around for a pretty long time," Lucifer stated pleasantly. He'd taken his seat at the head of the table, his eyes flashing a luminescent purple as he spoke. "Tell me everything. How is the progress so far? How have you all been doing?"

"Here's a good place," Beelzebub offered nervously. His other siblings shifted in their seats uncomfortably. Beelzebub was the only one who had moved to touch the steaming hot buns in front of them. "The children here are receptive to us."

"Increasingly so," Mammon chimed in, determined not to lose out to his brother. "It gets easier with each passing generation."

"The more they gain, the less they're willing to lose," Amon agreed. He relished the words as they left his mouth, half-consciously twirling the golden ring around his middle finger. "And the more they're willing to fight."

"There are a lot of things that one may desire now," Leviathan drawled lightly. He glanced around at his brother's pristine abode for the hundredth time that night, his lips curling up in obvious envy.

"Works better when they're younger," Asmodeus purred. Her eyes never left Lucifer's face. It was a good thing that he remained perfectly oblivious. Another boost to his ego and his head would have expanded beyond than the mansion they were in.

"This is good," Lucifer said instead, his eyes clear and alight with life. He leaned back in his seat luxuriously, a look of effortless interest clouding his handsome face. "And how about you, brother? Belphegor," he called out, his tone slightly sharper at the lack of response.

Belphegor glanced up slowly from his knees. His eyes were cloudy and lifeless. His scrawny hands rested heavily on his own legs. If he had not spoken before this, more than one of his own siblings might have presumed him a corpse.

"I am good," Belphegor slurred calmly. He might have been annoyed at being forced to speak out, but being anything but carefree was just a little too much work for him. "More have succumbed to my ideals. I have halted the progress of a larger handful of economies," he reported dully.

Lucifer was pleased at his words. He had always been worried for his lifeless bum of a brother. It satisfied him greatly to see Belphegor working out in the open again. The rest of the siblings were likewise relieved, a rare occurrence for them indeed.

"Let us have some food. Why have we not begun?" Lucifer laughed lightly, graciously ignoring Beelzebub's empty plate. He waved his hand once, and even that was filled to the brim again. "Barbequed Loss? Buttered Ambition? Chilled Neglect?"

There was a sudden uncomfortable silence and the immediate scraping of cutlery. None of them took more than a single spoonful for themselves, spare Beelzebub and Mammon.

"I will have to take my leave soon. The rebellion is about to make it's move and I really must rally the opposing forces," Amon announced sheepishly. Lucifer allowed him a dark look, an action that was quick to force Amon's head back down.

"We've never really needed you here," Leviathan smirked cockily. His eyes were cold and full of disdain as he glanced casually at his black-eyed big brother. "Amon, always destroying all my precious assets and possessions. You leave me that much less to desire, my brother."

Amon's eyes flashed dangerous. Lucifer held out an angry hand before the challenge could escalate.

"Enough, Leviathan. We should all learn to co-exist," Lucifer said coldly. Leviathan's smirk deepened.

"Tell me how, dearest big brother. How will lust fare in the face of war?" Leviathan chuckled. Asmodeus glanced up at the mention of her name, startled. Amon's expression darkened further. "And tell me how pride can exist when a man is forever envious?"

There was a broken silence. Asmodeus' eyes were widened in fear. Mammon and Beelzebub were silent in absolute disbelief. Amon merely grit his teeth angrily.

"You mock me now?" Lucifer said slowly. There was no more laughter in his voice. Danger rolled off him in waves. It was envy alone that equaled the contempt in the air.

"I am saying this is all a farce," Leviathan corrected cockily. He got to his feet quickly, his chair scraping back agaisnt the marble floor. "Neither of us here can co-exist. We may survive on separate planes. But none of us can ever hope to survive together if we all want the same thing."

"We should not have met," Amon snarled angrily, his own chair thrown backwards by the sheer force of his rage.

Asmodeus, Mammon and Beelzebub got to their feet unsteadily. Their glances darted between the faces of their kin anxiously. Belphegor glanced up from where he sat slouching over in his seat.

Lucifer laughed hollowly. The depth of his anger sent shivers down the spines of his younger siblings. Only Leviathan retained his own bitter mask, the side of his mouth pulling up into a nasty grin.

"You've made a mockery of me," Lucifer told him quietly. He laughed again, this time with increasing fury. "And we could have had one good night tonight, Levi."

"Enough with the illusion, dear brother. To harbor one of us is work enough. Dine with us all and you'll come to wish you were never alive," Leviathan sneered. Lucifer growled angrily, lunging forward in his absolute fury. The table set before them was split in the magnitude of his power.

Leviathan's eyes widened in immediate surprise. He took a step back and bared his teeth as he disappeared through the white doors. Asmodeus quickly side-stepped Lucifer, infinite worry spread across her beautiful features. She disappeared after her younger brother immediately, and was almost instantly shadowed by Amon and Mammon (who only just managed to grab some of Lucifer's finest silverware on his way out).

Beelzebub gingerly folded his own doggy bag under his arm and turned to go. He pat Lucifer nervously on the back, to which there was no response, and hurried his way out of the gigantic ivory mansion.

Belphegor got to his feet unsteadily. "I'm leaving," he rasped calmly. Lucifer watched his last kin leave his mansion before he let out a snarl and marched his way back to his room.

Family gatherings were always the bane of his existence. It was probably why he was attracted to the humans in the first place.

It was the greatest family meal they'd ever enjoyed.

//

Acknowledgements: dalig.deviantart.com