"Today, we're gathered here to celebrate our dear friends Medici and Azik both ascending to King of Angels. May they work tirelessly day and night, and if they do, I'll love them forever!"
In the villa, which hadn't seen such liveliness in ages, Alaric raised his wine glass, spouting words that ought to be called out, his grin barely contained.
The table before him was laden with food and drink, surrounded by his companions and trusty helpers, some seated, others standing.
After Azik successfully fused his other soul half and ascended to King of Angels, Alaric, with a grand wave of his hand, decided it was time for a celebration.
It was, after all, a fine day. First, Alaric had become a Disciple of Dealight; then, Medici reclaimed his status as a King of Angels; and finally, Azik fused his soul and ascended as well. Plus, it had been a while since Alaric and his crew had gathered. With everyone together, it would be a shame not to celebrate.
Hearing Alaric's words, Medici rolled his eyes, unimpressed. He clinked his glass against Alaric's, downed the red wine in one gulp, and said bluntly, "You're sounding a bit too human!"
Though he hadn't heard the term "24365" before, the Red Angel easily grasped its meaning... working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"24365?" Azik, unlike Medici, didn't immediately catch the term's implication. He wasn't as versed in Alaric's odd phrases, but he wasn't dim. Piecing together the context and Medici's reaction, he guessed the gist and teased with a smile, "What, if we don't work around the clock, you'll start disliking us, Lucifer?"
As he spoke, Azik raised his glass to clink with Alaric's, though unlike Medici, he only took a sip. Compared to the Red Angel, Azik preferred drinks like tea over wine.
"No way!" Alaric took a sip from his glass after clinking with both, then raised an eyebrow, smiling. "I wouldn't dislike you for not pulling overtime. But if you do, I'll like you even more."
"Who doesn't love a good worker?" Medici quipped, his tone dripping with sarcasm. As he spoke, he poured himself another drink... this time champagne, not wine... and grabbed Lil' Amon, who was eagerly eyeing a mix of several liquors, ready to down it in one go.
"You sure your tolerance can handle that mix?" Medici glanced at Lil' Amon. "Need I remind you, Lil' Raven, you're just a mid-sequence Beyonder now."
"What's it matter? Today's work is done. Even if I get drunk, it won't mess anything up!" Lil' Amon, clearly displeased, kept eyeing the glass, having just mixed at least five types of hard liquor.
"But I'm the one cleaning up your mess when you're drunk," Medici said with a roll of his eyes, fully embracing his mother-hen role.
"Lil' Red, you really are a model mother hen," Jack chimed in, his tone a mix of teasing and amazement. As he spoke, he stealthily swapped the drink in front of Klein, whose attention was on Medici and Amon.
"Settle down, you!" Medici shot Jack a look, then glanced at Lucifer, who was grinning at them, utterly baffled by Alaric's bizarre sense of humor.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lil' Amon bravely downed the glass of mixed liquor. His brows furrowed, his expression sour. "That tastes awful. The color was so pretty, though."
"Mixing drinks probably takes some expertise to get right," Klein said, shaking his head at Amon's contorted face and rapidly reddening cheeks. He picked up his own glass, took a sip, and froze.
Bitter!
It was, without exaggeration, as if his soul had been numbed by bitterness. He'd never tasted anything so foul in his life... not even the worst medicine from his past life came close.
Belatedly, Klein looked down and realized his glass had been swapped. It wasn't wine anymore but some kind of vegetable juice.
In an instant, Klein locked onto the culprit, turning to Jack with a resigned look. "What is this?"
"Bitter melon, purple watermelon, carrot, and celery juice," Alaric, in his Jack persona, said with a smile. "Oh, and a bunch of other herbs... good for your health. I even added a touch of Coptis root. Tasty, right?"
"..."
For once, Klein's face went blank. He looked at Jack and said, "You should try it yourself."
"No way! It smells bitter enough to kill," Jack replied, shaking his head without a moment's hesitation.
"..."
So you knew!
It was hard to say whether Klein briefly considered cutting ties with his friend. The next moment, as his gaze met Lil' Amon's eager eyes, Klein glanced thoughtfully at the vegetable juice, then casually set it aside. Looking at Jack with disapproval, he said, "Jack, has it occurred to you that I might actually get mad?"
"Sorry, my bad!" Jack apologized promptly, clasping his hands together earnestly.
But Klein knew... Jack's apology was sincere, but so was his intent to do it again.
At the same time, Lil' Amon's gaze landed on the soul-numbingly bitter juice by Klein's side, his fingers twitching subtly.
Three seconds later, the red wine in Jack's glass paused for an instant.
Ten seconds later, Jack raised his glass, seemingly about to drink, but paused just before it reached his lips. With a sly grin, he said, "You didn't think I'd miss that, did you?"
Klein and Lil' Amon exchanged a glance, and in the next second, both launched an attack.
Jack, clearly anticipating this, dodged their "assault" with a grin. But before he could gloat, his movements froze.
Medici, standing nearby, raised his glass in a mock toast, a smirk playing on his lips as he took credit without a word.
Azik, feeling a pang of guilt, stepped in front of Lucifer. "Sorry, but maybe it's better to let the kids handle their own disputes?"
"..."
"Fair enough, you might be right," Lucifer said after a moment's thought, weighing his tolerance for the vegetable juice and deciding not to intervene.
After all, a prankster getting pranked in return was its own kind of amusing life lesson.
In a way, Alaric was indeed a master trickster.
***
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