Kapitel 85: Offer
'We couldn't get there even if we tried everything we could.'
'Inter-dimensional traversal was always tricky. It was hard to do with all the resources needed with maximum effort but it still takes so long.
There was no way we could have made it in time. Even with the accumulated knowledge till now, it is still hard to do it.
All we could do was observe Lucifer as he butchered and defiled our brother once more.'
The events of the past recapped itself in her mind for a second before leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. A taste so vile that no flame of hers could cleanse it off her tongue.
Her venomous gaze made Lucifer shrug in silence.
'In the end, the Apostles of the Elemental Gods prevailed.
Lucifer's inexperience with his new power proved to be a vital point in taking him down.
Since he was not overpowered with divine magic, he naturally resurrected in hell over time, away from our watch.'
The time it took for him to resurrect has allowed the rest of the dukes to pass the crown of the demon lord around and catch up.
The head start Lucifer got from the exp from killing Seraphile propelled his attributes to a higher level and the gap persisted.
As the demon lord, he had prevented the growth of the other dukes in fear of being overthrown.
His absence triggered the explosive growth of the dukes and even with killing Seraphile again, he was caught up.
Due to this very reason, he gave up the crown.
He was prideful for sure but not stupid. He won't fight against 6 equals for the throne.
The ever-increasing number gap in numbers and the sudden explosion in the dukes' strength meant that the angels would have it tough moving forward.
The dukes getting stronger is equivalent to the demon race collectively getting stronger as the weaker ones are culled in accordance to the new standard of their lords.
It might be wasteful and plain stupid thing to do but demons don't care. They have their standards and anything that doesn't meet it will meet its demise.
The true concern for the angels though, wasn't the dukes.
It was whether or not Lucifer retained the powers he acquired prior to his first death.
He had created quite the tension on this topic since he had avoided battlegrounds like the plague since his revival.
Nobody saw him fight after that so they could only speculate.
The rest of the dukes avoided him too. They didn't want to go out and fuck around with Lucifer, they didn't want to be the one to find out.
Of course, the thought that Lucifer was just bluffing out of his ass existed. He was the duke of pride, not duke of power.
He could just be putting up a facade of mysterious aura and unimaginable power by avoiding fights.
'That could be the case.' Uriel judged. She would have believed it if not for meeting Lucifer again after all these years.
Lucifer in front of him was not the Lucifer that ran away from fights thousands of years ago.
He had an aura of absolute confidence. Confidence that naturally lured people over and established dominance.
The type of confidence that encircles people's minds like gigantic python and chains them with authority.
He didn't seem to mind that he was going to fight soon. He was still acting as if he was invincible.
'Only one way to find out.'
Uriel initiated the fight with the same shooting star slash. She turned 90 degrees in the air, turning her head in Lucifer's direction and her feet on the opposite side.
'Let's see if you can get out unharmed out of this attack!' She yelled inside her mind as she kicked the air with a sound similar to that of a thunderclap.
The flames engulfing her swords became brighter and brighter.
Then out of nowhere, pitch pitch-black hue swallowed it whole.
Uriel created her own phantom flame by using her own rage against Lucifer to fuel her hellfire.
It erased hellfire's enhancing power but the destructive power increased exponentially.
Acedia observed the bright black stripe tearing through the sky and charging at his former boss.
'I guess it's over now. Sort of pissed that I couldn't get my hands on that human but it is what it is.
I'm tired.'
He crawled up on the ground and started snoring.
Meanwhile, Lucifer stared amusingly at the upcoming slash of annihilation.
He raised his right hand and held it in the air as if he was about to grab the blade before it could reach him.
His expression, his posture, and his eyes didn't change, causing Uriel to yell out like a berserker.
The double-edged blade of the judge tore through the air and reached Lucifer's stretched hand.
Under her wrathful gaze, Lucifer stood rooted to his place.
Then right before the blade could reach him, he leaned backwards a little bit and retreated a step back.
The sword drew a hauntingly beautiful arc with the pale flames dancing on it and it missed him by a millimeter.
'Tsk!'
Without stopping her momentum, she pulled her sword to the right side of her abdomen with the tip pointing to her enemy.
With both of her hands around the hilt of the sword, she thrusted it to the left side of his chest where the heart is supposed to be.
He sidestepped a bit and the blade went past him.
She swung it again without decreasing the speed of the blade at all.
Lucifer dodged it by soaring upward and teleporting a few hundred meters away from Uriel.
He gave her a tender smile with caring eyes.
"Dangerous toy eh?" He commented.
"It's dangerous you know? Or at least it would have been if not for your inadequate swordsmanship."
After receiving taunt after taunts, Uriel's patience was wearing thin.
She prepared all of the faith remaining in her supply and prepared one final attack.
"But it's your lucky day." Lucifer continued.
"I can see you are not in the most optimal condition to fight so I propose an offer."
"Like hell, I would trust your offer again!" She shouted.
"Come on, let bygones be bygones." He laughed.
Then any trace of friendliness was wiped from his face, only leaving the cold and ridiculing expression behind.
"Unfortunately for you, you do not have much of a choice this time."
"!"
Uriel jerked her head backward just in time to see Satanel next to the divine vault encasing the human inside.
Lucifer sneered. "If you just exhaust your supply of faith right now, you won't be able to protect the human. The other seraphs would take more time to manifest so no reinforcements are coming anytime soon either."
"What do you want!" She snapped.
It was true that reinforcements would take some time to arrive but that doesn't mean it won't. She just needed to buy some time.
A smile bloomed on Lucifer's face one more time and he opened his mouth.
Uriel's eyes widened.
"You are crazy." She muttered.
She was prepared for a fight to the death but not this.
'How is this bastard so carefree? No, it is because he is Lucifer that he is this carefree. He is absolutely convinced that he would be chosen.'
It seemed she would have to follow his lead if she wanted the human to be saved.
She patiently waited for her siblings to arrive.
***
'Hnngh, did I pass out again?
Body feels so sore, what happened?'
Aster woke up in a comfy bed unbeknownst to what just happened.
A tough choice awaited him following his awakening.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
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