This is How I Live

A gurgle of ridiculing laughter came out of Mephisto. His eye twitched as he continued to watch Montana happily drinking his soup while petting the big black dog next to him.

His name was Mephistopheles, and he had a very bright spotlight on him every time he walked around Hell. Due to his fame and negotiation skills, the King Asmodeus made him representative to almost all complicated transactions that deemed to be tricky at most.

When he was passing by the worried King, he was ordered to find Caliga. When he found Caliga, he was asked to get an explanation from Belphegor. When he found Belphegor, he was pushed to handle a rather tricky contract.

He didn't realize that the trick itself was on him instead.

"A man with a hellhound… without a real contract." Mephisto's head began to hurt as he contained his rage to burn everything that there was around him. He didn't want a frail mortal body to handle the pressure so he cursed Belphegor again and again in his mind.

"Stupid old man wouldn't make sense…" He hissed before deciding to leave for now.

"Mon, I'll be back soon. I'll just go over your contract with Belphegor one more time. I'll see what I can do to help—"

Montana turned to him with shocked eyes and then reached out to tug on his black suit. "W-Wait…"

For the first time, Mephisto felt the shake of terror coming from the human in front of him. The person who didn't seem to be scared of demons showed fear right in front of him. He couldn't help but smile sinisterly. "Yes, dear?"

"Help me think of a way to keep on having humans to feed Caliga…" Montana murmured.

Actually, he had been thinking about this since last night. Now that Mephisto opened the conversation about his deal with Belphegor, he realized he had no real answer. Those six thugs were only won by a fluke. He had no idea where to find a person to feed to a hellhound every week. He couldn't possibly be a serial killer or a vigilante, right? He couldn't physically handle that.

Mephisto froze for a while before looking out in the distance. "To think about it… that was the contract you signed. Having a hellhound… no, keeping a hellhound would make you…"

Laughter suddenly blared from Mephisto, so loud that Montana jumped in his seat. Did this demon suddenly go mad? Why was he laughing out all of a sudden? Was there a demon doctor somewhere?

"How could I be stupid?! Ahahaha, I forgot this is Belphegor's contract! How could I—?!" Mephisto couldn't help but laugh out so badly as he derided himself. However, when he shot down to curl, he accidentally headbutted Montana who got to his feet in worry.

Bang!

The two suddenly whined as they consoled their heads.

"Dammit. Belphegor, you deserved to be worked to death." Mephisto rubbed his forehead. "I finally figured out how to make arrangements for you. No wonder Belphegor left this deal to me. He had no idea what to do about this either. Geez, he's propagating laziness so much he was picking it up himself."

"Y-You mean you can help me?" Montana whimpered as he consoled his head with both hands. He was lucky Mephisto's horns were on the side of his head, or else those would have been punched holes on his head.

"Yes, yes, of course. You already sold your soul to Belphegor after all. It's a golden rule for us to keep our promises." Mephisto should be saying so in such a grand manner; however, he ended up murmuring his lines as his forehead ached.

Montana stopped whimpering and brought his hands to his side as he waited for his answer. The demon smoothed his suit and regained his aura of grandeur after clearing his throat. "Montana Mills, are you prepared to tread the path of death and bloodshed?"

A slight smirk was on Mephisto's face when he said so. He and Belphegor knew that Montana was naturally kindhearted and weak against strenuous activities. Forcing him to live in action and pain would make him miserable to the point of shutting them out. The more he would detest enacting a course of action, the more Belphegor would win against this human.

It didn't help that the contract of keeping a hellhound was irrevocable. Whether he died a loser or a cold-blooded killer, Belphegor already had a prize in his hands.

It's just that… the two seemed to misunderstood Montana's outlook. When Mephisto spoke of those words, there was a fire that ignited in the depths of Montana's soul. He brought his hand to his chest and mumbled his words in his mind… ones that made Mephisto's eyes glisten in interest.

'Perhaps this… is how I live…'

"I am," Montana answered, eyes locked onto those dark eyes belonging to the negotiator.

Mephisto didn't expect for him to have a burning passion inside him. None of Belphegor's contracts had a person with such intense determination before. However, it was formless. It was as if Montana didn't know where to put all of those burning fire.

Now that someone was asking him to bet his life into something, Montana was giving it his all. It was strange for someone who didn't even bother remembering his deal with a demon prince.

The demon stopped hovering and planted his feet on the ground. Even if he wasn't floating anymore, he still towered over Montana's average height. He leaned in closer and used his hand to hook some fringe behind Montana's ear.

"Then, let's do it this way. Do exactly as I say, and you will be able to keep Caliga well-fed for all the years to come."

"Okay."

Montana only nodded even if he had doubts over such a vague proposal. Then again, it was Mephistopheles speaking, and his words shouldn't be that useless. Besides, demons would often promise lives without apparent suffering; his life wouldn't be that bad in ten years, right?

Heh, it's already bad as it was. Should he say 'worse'?

Mephisto's hand slid down his face slowly, his fingers gently stroking Montana's cheek. He then tilted the human's chin up and locked their lips together.

The sudden rush of confusion washed over Montana, but he felt a certain kind of satisfaction from it. His eyes closed, and he let his hands move according to his feeling. The kiss was light and yet heavy at the same time. He couldn't properly quantify it, but there was some weight to it. When his hands held onto Mephisto's shoulder, he knew he wouldn't want to pull back anymore.

Perhaps it was because it was the first time he had ever gotten so intimate with someone.

However, no matter how much Montana loved the feeling, he was maligning Mephisto. The devil's kiss was a normal way to seal contracts. Since Belphegor couldn't seal it without any proper arrangements for his bliss before damnation, the demon prince didn't initiate a seal. Now that Mephisto figured out how to go about it, he had to put a seal into it.

It's just that… his eye twitched as he started feeling that Montana was trying to make out with him instead. Of course, it would start taking effect as soon as they finished the seal, but Montana didn't seem to be letting him go.

"Mon, I'm not… this is not… I'm sealing the contract… why are you trying to get your tongue inside my mouth?" Mephisto knew of this man's orientation, and he had no rights to call him out. So he just laughed out their little misunderstanding.

"…!" Montana froze and slowly pulled back, his head hung for so low just to avoid Mephisto's eyes. His face had turned red, and the heat was making him dizzy again.

'This is so embarrassing. Even if I die, it wouldn't make much difference…'

His hands trembled along with Mephisto's shoulders as the demon laughed out harder. The back of Mephisto's hand covered his mouth as he laughed at Montana's misery.

Then again, such an already pitiful creature didn't deserve to be humiliated like this. His contract was for sloth and not for lust. Moreover, his interest was so innocent without malice and decadence.

"It's alright, it's alright. Don't worry about it." Mephisto restrained further laughter and cradled Montana's head with both of his hands. "You don't have to feel so bad…"

"I hate you…" Montana begrudgingly lifted his face to glare at the demon, but he failed in his current circumstances. From Mephisto's perspective, he was some reddened bun-face trying to pout while crying like a baby.

"Oh, I can fix that." Mephisto actually licked his lip before leaning down again and kissing Montana one more time. This time, Montana didn't fall for it as he was still sulking. However…

Mephisto's tongue slid inside his mouth, and Montana could feel his blush intensifying. The earlier feeling he had suddenly rushed back to cloud his judgment as he closed his eyes and shared a hot kiss with the demon.

This time, it wasn't maligned. He could truly have this chance to taste someone.

Mephisto's arm then snaked behind his waist and pulled him closer against him. To be more specific, he slammed Montana's body against his chest… even that heating organ between his legs pressed against the demon. He wasn't surprised, but Montana's sudden moan made him smile so maniacally.

Perhaps it was good to borrow a few more pints of power from Asmodeus, the demon of lust, after all.