章節 25: Chapter 25: Last Words
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Chapter 25: Last Words
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- Damien -
- Flashback -
I found myself in another one of Lucifer's memories.
Yes. This time it was Lucifer, not Helel.
I could tell the difference.
Now, I understood what Azazel and Shemhazai meant when they said they were not the same people.
The one standing in front of me held the same face as mine but his eyes, they made even me feel the wrongness of his very existence, and I was a Devil.
Comparing this with the Helel that I had been seeing all this time, Yeah, any sane person would call them different.
Helel had emotions, all kinds of emotions, love, anger, kindness, ruthlessness, compassion, as well as pride. All of them mashed up in one body to make one being. When I watched his memories, I could feel the charisma of the guy. His actions had a meaning. He cared. Yes. That was the word for it.
But Lucifer, Lucifer didn't care.
No.
One look in his eyes and it was clear.
I didn't think there would ever come a day when I would say this, but Rizevim was correct when describing him then.
Yes. This guy was capital E Evil.
With him there were three other people. Two men and one woman. All Devils with twelve wings. The original Satans.
And against them stood a figure who was honestly blinding.
It was as if he was the personification of light and holy.
This was my first time seeing him and yet I didn't need anyone to tell me who he was. I just knew.
In fact, anyone who encounters him would not need to be introduced. One look at him would make his identity pop up in their minds.
Father…
The feeling was very nostalgic and yet so alien.
It was like I had experienced this all before but at the same time I was seeing all this for the first time.
The scene in front of me was the fight from the Great War. The fight between the leaders of both sides. The final fight between them.
For the first time since I started watching the memories, I didn't know what to say. I knew that my soul was merged with the previous Lucifer's soul but this was probably the second time his feelings were so… so heavy. So contradictory.
With every attack that He landed on the other three, a part of me growled in anger. It was the feeling of seeing a close friend getting hurt.
But…
Every time a blow was struck on him, another part of me wanted to rip the hands which dared to do such blasphemy.
It was as if two parts of me were warring against each other, as if they were trying and tearing my very being in two. Unlike the other times, where I could just watch the scene as an audience, this time though, I could feel everything myself.
And it was not a good feeling at all.
The fight continued and I could finally see the powers of the leaders.
I could understand how Asmodeus could use his flames to such a level and Leviathan could manipulate water. Even her 'Sea Serpent of the End' form.
Ingvild might be stronger than her in raw power but she was an absolute master when it came to skills.
Beelzebub, bringing chaos with his bees. The Lord of Flies was indeed an appropriate title. Everything decayed wherever his flies went.
And despite my personal feelings towards him, Lucifer was an absolute beast when it came to fighting.
I was sure that I could easily defeat him with my current level of power but if we were to fight at an equal level, there was a good chance that he would kill me.
And last but absolutely not the least… him.
Each one of his attacks were carving out mountains and valleys in the Underworld, erasing all traces of demonic power from the surroundings, purging all evil. Even when his light erased all creation, it felt… healing.
The longer I observed, the more I learned. The more I could see.
A few things were becoming obvious.
He was holding back against Lucifer.
There were two times that he could have struck him down and without the Denial of the Divine, the other three would have easily been dealt with but he held back. But he didn't do so…
And he was not the only one.
Lucifer was holding back too
No.
He was actually hesitating to actually land a blow on him.
He defended and countered but never actually tried to attack him for real, to kill him. It was very minute. People who don't know him might not even recognise it. Maybe I did because I knew his Skills. I knew what he could but was not doing there.
And then something happened.
He struck Asmodeus. A Slash from the waist to the collar bone, almost bisecting the demon in two halves.
The demon didn't stand a chance and was killed in moments.
And that's when things grew serious.
Lucifer's attacks became more lethal, the prior hesitation diminishing greatly. Beelzebub and Leviathan became more crazy. Trading blows for blows.
Wounds started appearing on his body too.
But he didn't back down.
Another attack struck true. It was Beelzebub this time. His spear ran straight through Lord of Flies' heart. Leviathan took this opportunity to attack him and sent him flying towards a nearby mountain. But not before getting a stab to her kidney.
Lucifer followed and in that window of opportunity, pointed his sword directly at his heart ending the fight.
Both sides were bloody from the war.
"Why now? Just why did you start the war now?" Lucifer shouted.
There was immense frustration in his voice.
"You were not even paying attention to what we were doing all this time and now suddenly you want to clear everything. Wipe all of us off to clear the records. Are we just that….are we really so worthless compared to those filthy clay dolls of yours…."
*Shunk*
All his words were stopped.
Wide eyes looked at the tip of his sword embedded in the heart of the person in front of them.
I stood there, absolutely stunned.
What?
He moved on his own….and let the sword pierce him.
*Clang*
The sword fell down from his hands and Lucifer looked at the scene in utter horror as he stumbled, falling to the ground on his back.
He stumbled forward, right to his face, spear in his hand and….let it fall to the ground and….hugged him.
The man froze.
I stood there watching something which no one else alive probably knew.
The last words of God.
- Flashback Ends -
"Master?" I heard Gretel's voice as I opened my eyes.
"Hmm?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, surprised.
She pointed towards my cheeks and I took a moment to notice that my cheeks were wet.
Tears?
Huh.
"Maybe drinking wine from the Graal was not a good idea." I smiled wryly. But I knew more than anyone else that the scene I had seen did affect me.
I wasn't even the man's son and I was feeling annoyed by this whole thing. I really wanted to find the last relic as soon as I could, just to have a good talk with him.
She placed a hand on my shoulder and I gripped it with one of my own.
"Gretel."
"Yes Master."
"I think I know what the purpose of our faction is." I said. The scenes I had seen gave me direction.
"Yes?"
I smiled. "I will tell you later. For now, we have a guest to meet." I looked down from the second floor of the club at the newly arrived guests while hiding my aura under my 'Prince of Lies' magic. Azazel was going to have the time of his life.
With all the pieces in place, I decided to go along with the main plan.
I looked at the other side of the room. Cleria was there with her peerage.
"Call everyone. It's time to start 'Operation Regicide'."
She nodded then paused a bit to ask. "Who will be leading the whole thing?"
I got up and raised and made a hand sign. A Shadow Clone appeared behind me and took the seat.
"I will."
- Azazel -
"Is this one of your pranks, Azazel?" Michael asked as he looked around the place. Following him were two people. The seven foot giant always made him feel he was not human. The power radiating from him even when he was not doing anything certainly didn't really shout out human.
To be honest, if Father had still been around, this man would surely have attained the title of a Saint or maybe even a Seraph like Metatron. He certainly deserved the rank.
Vasco Strada was a man he could honour. Not even his enemies could deny this fact.
The other one was the wielder of Excalibur Galatine, an up and coming exorcist, David Cero.
"My prank? No. I am a guest here just like you. Today's party was organised by someone else? Come on in."
He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything and quietly followed him nonetheless.
"What is going on here, Azazel?" He asked, this time more serious.
"Just the party for the opening of a bar."
"A bar named Hell? And that message for the address? 'Straight up from the church.'"
He chuckled. "That! Was a good one, right?"
- Michael -
He let out a sigh mentally. Talking to Azazel was always like this. Getting a straight answer was never an option.
Today, he came here because a letter was sent to Ariel, who was stationed in the Vatican to watch over the Church.
It held an invitation to this place.
The surprising thing about the letter was the Holy Power on it. The same Holy Power which had appeared a while ago, the one from one of his brothers who appeared near the shroud recently
He came personally because there was still hope that he could meet and find out about them. Honestly, he wanted to come alone but Ariel sent two exorcists to accompany him, with the intent of showing the good side of the church.
Azazel, opening the gate, had just thrown cold water all over it.
Was this perhaps a sudden meeting to ask about the changes in Heaven and the Church?
"Are those?" He looked at the gathering in front of him.
The Norse, the Youkai and the Fallen Angel. There were even Devils.
"As I said. It's not my party. Take a seat. The host will be appearing soon."
"Michael." The young Lucifer got up to greet him, followed by the Leviathan.
Odin merely gave him a nod. The relations with the Norse had been cold at best since that incident. The fact that Bryndhildr was sending him a blatant glare was evident of it. Odin's reaction was tame compared to that. To be honest, the old God would have declared war if he was in his younger days. His age brought him great wisdom.
"Sirzechs, Serafall." he greeted but noticed an odd reaction on their faces. "Is something the matter?"
The red haired devil shook his head. "I didn't know you were invited too."
"Oh?"
Azazel interrupted. "Probably because of the host."
"And who's the host?"
"Family."
….
Before he could ask anything, a person appeared on the stage. He saw the one at the front and felt a twinge in his heart. Celine. That child… After her unfortunate fall, they had thought she had perished or perhaps… chosen to end herself.
An end which several Angels had chosen over the ages than live as a Fallen.
Uriel hadn't spoken a word.
Not when she had Fallen… and not even when she had gone off the radar completely.
But his change in behaviour was visible when he begged to be allowed to personally handle the assignments against any Fallen Angels till the end of the war.
A major reason for Azazel ending the war early was because Uriel alone had burned seventeen legions of Fallen Angels in the war.
Everyone was worried that he would fall but he miraculously held on.
The reason he gave was that he couldn't protect his daughter and his duty prevented him from helping her so the least he could do was make sure none of the other Angels faced the same unfortunate fate.
It did help.
The Fallen had been shaken beyond anything and completely stopped such ambushes. It also made them the first to back out from the Great War.
"Celine." He whispered.
"Uriel would have finally calmed down." Shemhazai said.
"Yes… yes he would." No doubt, he would. "Where was she? Did she join you?"
"No she didn't. She was captured by the old Satan faction and was imprisoned. She was freed along with several other Fallen Angels, a few years ago by someone."
He frowned. "I thought we had agreed to free the prisoners of war."
"We had no idea that they had kept people with them. You already know how the relations between us are." Serafall hurriedly tried to correct.
He turned towards Azazel and questioned. "Were there any prisoners from Heaven?"
"Alright, calm down. There were no pure Angels in captivity. All of them had fallen hundreds of years ago. We didn't even know who were captured as pure angels. They are Fallen now."
He closed his eyes and offered a prayer for his brothers and sisters who had suffered. Another example of his mistakes.
Azazel passed him a glass of juice and he took a sip, trying to moisten his dried up throat. "Who freed them?"
A voice came from behind him answering his question.
"Me."
He turned back… and spit out everything in his mouth.
A flash of light and a clicking sound followed.
– Diahauser Belial –
It was finally time.
He had waited for this for years, a chance to clear his sister's name who had to live as a dead person and even then was known as a traitor and a criminal, all because of the greed and faults of some older people on the council.
"Diehauser. The orders are for you to not show your face. We are to put all the blame on the ones involved in the King Piece scandal. This whole scene has to look like an internal dispute." Cleria repeated again.
"I know." How could he not when had gone over the plan hundreds of times to clear out any variables. Not only him but Merlin and even Damien had done the same. "Have they captured the rest of the King Piece users?"
"Yes. As of twelve minutes ago, Roygun Belphegor was caught and interrogated. She gave a statement that she only accepted the King Pieces because she was interested in the Rating Games. She was close to you so I ordered her to be kept aside till after I consult with you."
She… he let out a visible sigh.
He could actually see her doing so. Roygun has always been crazy about Rating Games.
Still, he wasn't the one incharge of the mission.
"What did He say?"
"Master is willing to give her a way out if she testifies against them and give us all the proof of the Rating Game scam and the ones involved in it. He just wants your opinion."
His opinion?
Suddenly he thought of something and understood.
A test.
Damien had appointed him incharge of the whole mission till now and only came himself to watch over the final step when Zekram's involvement with Lilith came out.
Since he was the leader, what kind of decision would he take?
Would he put his acquaintance above others?
No.
If he did so, how would he be any better than those he was fighting against?
He let out a deep breath and spoke. "Along with confessing everything publicly, and providing testimonies against those responsible, she will also be banned from leading a team in a Rating Game… ever. Apart from that, she will have to provide half of her assets as compensation for the training and upliftment of low level and less privileged Rating Game players who have been losing their opportunities due to the King Piece users. Request Master to add these to her sentence too in exchange of leniency."
….
"I see. I will."
He conjured a magic circle to connect to other members and gave the orders.
"Start the plan."
In front of them was the largest broadcast station of the Underworld.
He used a Transformation Technique to change his look into that of one of their insiders in the Old Satan faction, a cadre who was captured and made to sign a loyalty contract so even if they found a link, it would be to the Old Satan faction and not them. Even his Clan Trait was transferred to him to solidify the disguise.
Those contracts made Diehauser feel chills down his spine.
To think someone was capable of such a thing.
It was literally the term 'Deal with the Devil' personified in terms of a contract.
Then again, what would someone expect from his reincarnation? The only thing which Diehauser was glad about was that unlike the rumours he had heard about their creator, Damien wasn't insane.
He had taught the boy enough to know of his core personality.
Their spies had already infiltrated the place and were aware of everything ahead of time. So as soon as the orders came, they got ready.
A barrier was erected over the place. They had already placed markers in the walls of the building, strong enough to prevent the entry of those Super Devils. The building's security spells were shut off at the same time.
The occupants of the building were alerted but it was already too late. His team had begun the mission.
He took the lead and started taking down the guards by himself. Cleria had surrounded the building with her team members in disguise.
They couldn't put up much of a fight anyways. The strongest of them being Reven Phenex, the second son of the Phenex House but they had already prepared for it too.
One of the King Piece users, Markus Amy, engaged him with his peerage members. He was one of those who had been captured during the attack on Kyoto and had to pay large compensation to the Youkai. The biggest cause of their dissatisfaction was the decision of Ajuka Beelzebub to ban them from the Rating Games.
They were asked to return their King Pieces. Even his request to pass on the King Piece to his son was rejected. They were given a period of time to return the pieces so that they could use it to retire and leave the public eye so that their change in strength was not noticed causing doubts.
Within twelve minutes of the barrier being erected, the building was under their complete control, all the security personnel subdued and locked up.
He put the information up for broadcast.
- Damien -
"Master, the first part of the attack was successful. The information is being broadcasted all over the Underworld." I heard Cleria's voice in my ears through our link.
"Wait for one hour and begin the second phase of the attack. Tell them to put everyone in the building to sleep and move out of the premises only leaving Shadow Clones to take care of everything there."
"Master, what of the Satans?"
"They won't move." I reassured.
"Yes."
I called Charlene. "Start the plan?"
"Yes Master."
- Sona Sitri -
She looked at the lady standing in front of her giving a lecture. Helena Dantalion. The smartest woman in the Underworld.
She was explaining about the theories of Modern Devil magic and how it could revolutionise the entire Devil magic system. She had been researching ways to improve the existing system of Devil Magic for a while and had made great progress and instead of keeping everything to herself, she decided to educate everyone.
But that's what one would expect from someone like her. Helena Dantalion was probably the most renowned educationist in the Underworld. Many people called her the female version of Ajuka Beelzebub. All her lectures were full whenever she decided to conduct one.
Even this one, many of the Pillar houses had sent their children to attend the lecture.
Too many things had been happening everywhere.
Her sister has been very busy with work. And while it was good that she was not disturbing her, she was starting to miss her sometimes.
Everyone was getting busy with their own work. Even Rias was more than busy with training. She had changed a lot after meeting someone(she hadn't told her whom no matter how much she asked). But since then she started training beyond anything Sona had seen.
It even pushed her to work harder. She couldn't let her rival surpass her.
Rias was working towards her dream of becoming the Rating Game Champion so, it was only normal that she worked harder towards her dream too.
And thus, she was here.
So when she heard that she was conducting a new lecture and on such a topic which was directly related to her dream, she booked it directly.
The lecture was going all good and she got to learn a few things. It was then that a blast resounded in the area. The gates of the auditorium were blasted off and a few seconds later, people rushed in.
She, on reflex, tried to teleport away but found herself unable to do so. Looking outside from the windows to see that a barrier had been erected all over the area.
An attack.
Terrorists?
She tried to see who the people attacking were and could recognize a few faces. As far as she remembered, these were the peerage members of Alfred Purson, Megalen Zepar and Corason Asmoday, all three were top ten Rating Game players.
Why were they attacking them?
Charlene Glasya-Labolas, the younger sister of Satan Asmodeus rushed forward and created a barrier around the children who were running everywhere, creating a lot of chaos.
"Who are you people?" She asked but got no answer in return.
Helena Dantalion took charge and stood in front of them, creating ripples in space with her Dantalion trait and destroying two of the intruders who were nearing other children with casual ease.
Charlene Glasya-Labolas was not far behind. After stabilising the barrier, she attacked and took down another one.
The surprising fact was that Sona knew the ones who were killed. The Rook and Knights of Alfred Purson, the fifth position of the Top Ten Rating Game players.
They were all Ultimate Class Devils.
And yet, they took them out so easily.
This level of power, she didn't know any Ultimate Class devil who could do so. Were they as strong as her sister?
But amidst this chaos, the intruders managed to capture some of the children.
Alfred Purson had Seekvaira by her neck.
"Surrender and you will get a chance to live as long as they accept our demands. Resist and she dies." The devil shouted.
Sona could see them gritting their teeth but they had to relent.
While Helena argued with them, Charlene took the chance to pull her behind her. "Stay with me. They might try targeting us because of our siblings. Keep calm. Your fear is their strength. Don't worry, everything will be alright."
She controlled herself and nodded her head.
Yes. Everything will be alright.
She could only hope so.
- Damien -
"Sona Sitri is currently with me. The mission was successful and none of the children were hurt." I listened to Charlene's report from the other side.
"I see. Protect them. They are not a part of this."
"Yes Master."
The plan I made to stop the Satans was an age-old one.
Hostages.
Kidnap some important children, mostly heirs and heiresses.
In fact, there was an attempt on Rias and her peerage members too but they were repelled by the joint efforts of Rias, Akame and Gasper. The kidnappers were caught but committed suicide. When they were interrogated, they found that two people were from the King Piece users while the rest were from the Old Satan faction.
There were several reasons behind this. Akira didn't want Akame to be involved in this so we decided to skip them. The attempt would still help shake them up a little. Not to mention, we didn't want the slight risk of Rias going into Juggernaut Drive. And last but not the least, if Sirzechs were to move now, other houses whose children are hostages would call him out on it.
This whole situation is going to make the entire Underworld divided on how to handle the situation. On one hand, the old devils who would want nothing more than to kill them off to hide their mess and on the other, the Houses whose children are trapped who wouldn't want to risk it.
And with Sona and Charlene there, two of the Satans will be involved too.
The Archduke Agares' group will be siding with the Satans too as his Heiress is there.
All this will greatly reduce their response time. By the time they try solving this, our work will be done.
To avoid any unforeseen problems with the children's security, I placed them in captivity with Charlene and Helena together. Both of them showed a bit of their strength and would get more exposure after this incident was over due to this.
"I don't understand something?" Cleria asked me.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't we target anyone from the Astaroth House?"
"Wouldn't have helped. Ajuka would have moved regardless. While he would want to protect his family, he is not the type to risk damage to the Underworld. To be honest, he is the only one who is truly a Satan among the current ones. Sirzechs might be a good wartime leader….but he was not effective for peace times." Just like Michael, he was a general not a King. "He and the other two are good… but they are no Satans."
"... I see."
"Start the second part of the plan. I will be returning. We need to begin our show there too."
"Yes Master."
Gretel made a Shadow Clone to follow me while her real self went in for the second part of the plan.
__________________________________x_________________________________
I reached my bar and found my Shadow Clone washing his face in the washroom.
"What happened?" I asked, curious.
In reply, he just deadpanned at me and dispelled.
Getting the memories of the clone I let out a chuckle.
Well, let's get the game started, shall we?
I walked out to the hall and the atmosphere was weird to say the least.
Michael was still staring at me as if I was a ghost.
His guard, David Cero, I assume had all his body tense as if he was waiting to jump on me at any moment.
And Azazel had a wide grin on his face while showing me a camera.
"That was not good, you know. Spitting on me at first sight. Some might even think you are jealous of my handsome looks." I smiled.
It did help break the tense atmosphere a bit.
Odin let out a snort while Thor blatantly laughed. Shemhazai merely shook his head.
While the devils were looking awkwardly at the scene.
"I… you… what?" He stuttered.
Looking at his face, I couldn't keep it in any more and burst out in laughter.
Some of the others did too.
I walked up to him and for the first time in real life took a good look at him.
Except for the blonde girly hair and golden wings, he looked exactly like me.
Still, looking at him in real life was quite different. I knew a lot about him through the memories of Lucifer but the feeling of looking at him was… quite nostalgic.
I offered him a hand. "Damien Lucifer. Nice to meet you, Archangel Michael."
– Chysis Gremory -
The day had been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster for her.
An invitation from a Lucifer. Even now, she sometimes found herself staring at the boy's face in a daze. But then again, she was probably not the only one.
Archangel Michael was looking at what was probably his Mirror Image with silver hair without blinking an eye. He'd been doing so since the boy entered the room.
Everyone on his side had gathered behind him and each one of these could cause tremors through the world.
Merlin Asmodeus.
Ingvild Leviathan.
Even the Lucifuge girl who was poised as if a coiled snake waiting for anything to endanger her Master so that she can pounce on them.
She could see why Grayfia was so shaken from her last Romania visit.
Each of them had surpassed their predecessors by miles.
Actually, even Celine, someone whom she had faced several times, seemed so far away just by standing in front of her.
She could take a guess, especially after seeing the same in Rias.
He told everyone his story, of how he was born and how he escaped with the help of Razevan Lucifer.
"If I may?" The exorcist asked.
"Yes?"
"What exactly are your intentions now? You surely didn't call everyone here to just meet and greet."
She had heard about this human. The one who is called the Strongest Human alive, able to match Ultimate Class beings with ease. Even if she wasn't in touch with the present day affairs, she still knew the name Vasco Strada.
He was one of the rare few who had honour in the Church.
But today, despite his voice and mannerisms being perfect, she could sense a slight tone of hostility from him. Then again, it was understandable. He stood in front of the literal devil, the personification of everything he was taught growing up heretical. Lucifer was the very thing exorcists were made to oppose.
The other exorcist on the other hand was completely different. He wasn't even trying to hide his feelings.
"Obviously. Any doubts?" He answered.
The exorcist remained stoic.
"Although, you seem to dislike me for some reason. Maybe that's what's affecting your reasoning ability somewhat."
"I do not hate you. What I dislike is what your face, your name represents." The exorcist answered, unwaveringly.
His subordinates were offended but a simple raised hand returned their expressions to normal.
"Oh, and what exactly does my face represent? All of the world's evil? Everything that is negative in this world? Someone who eats newborns for breakfast and angel hearts for dinner?" He smiled sarcastically at them.
The two exorcists kept quiet although the blatant rage on the younger one's face was obvious.
"And is that wrong? The person whose face you carry is a killer… a murderer." The younger one scowled.
"Well, I carry Michael's face." He joked, making several people laugh while the exorcist scowled. "As for taking lives? They were offered deals. Their free wills were never taken away… unlike the children in the church." He smirked, while the exorcists frowned. "And yet they chose to accept it even at the cost of their own souls. Then again, if you look through history, you will find that Angels and The Church have taken more lives than any devil dead or alive." He continued. "I know you will not believe me so you can ask him." he pointed towards Michael who was sitting there with their mouths open.
"When a war is fought, both sides are at fault. Some more, some less. A difference in belief doesn't allow you the right to kill someone else."
"They were sinners." The younger exorcist protested.
"Oh… well going by that logic, those who accepted the deals of the devil were also sinners. Why all this blame then?"
"You tempted them!"
"And they made the choice. They gave in to the sin. I didn't hold their legs and drag them. It was 'Free Will' which you are all so proud of. No dear, what you hate is not me. What you hate is your own weakness. Your own fault. And what do humans do when they don't want to owe up to their faults? They push the blame onto someone else." He remarked sarcastically.
She did notice that he was using a first person's speech when addressing it. His words had changed a bit. She didn't know if it was intentional but the effect of seeing it first hand was something else for someone like her who had seen the original Devil.
The boy was a mirror image of him and yet different. He had every bit of that fabled pride but instead of exuding it from his entire being, he kept it tightly wrapped around himself… somehow in better control. And he was doing it unconsciously.
It was as if he was the Devil… and yet more than just the Devil.
"You all say that I do this because I hate humans. I do not hate humans." he began, making many people pause and look at him. "Lucifer married Lilith, the first human female. I have several humans as my subordinates whom I love and cherish as my own family. I have called a human woman mother and would gladly have burned the world if she had just said it once." He spoke and everyone just listened.
The words were stunning for everyone. Even them, who had followed the original devil and yet there were things she couldn't deny.
"No, what I hate is when all of you don't take responsibility for your own actions. You all commit sins and then blame it on others, never really trying to look at your own self, always thinking of yourself as special. And what's that phrase you use? 'The Devil made me do it'. What bullshit! That would imply the Devil gave a damn about your miserable little lives. Don't overestimate yourself so much. If you don't make an effort to improve yourselves, then why should we sacrifice everything to wipe your asses?"
By this point the room was completely quiet as he continued speaking.
"'Free will' What nonsense? Was Lilith given free will?" He threw a fleeting look at Zeoticus and her son seemed to wither away from it. "You are all just lucky that He took a liking to you otherwise…"
"Helel!" Michael raised his voice.
"Damien! My name… is Damien." He replied back.
The Archangel realised what he had said and backed away, wide eyed as if struck by something.
Azazel stepped in at this moment. "Alright, we are getting completely off-topic here. This is supposed to be a meeting to get to know each other and make everyone's positions clear, so that you don't make mistakes with any identities. Damien is not with the old Satan faction. He has his own people and is recognised by the Youkai, the Fallen Angels and the Norse." He turned towards them. "No idea about them. So, you as the leader of the Angels, needed to know this to decide what path Heaven will be taking." He then turned towards Damien. "And you Damien, stop being provoked. You called him here for peace."
He took a deep breath and spoke. "I apologise. I am allergic to the scent of hypocrisy. It makes me feel uncomfortable. For this same reason, I invited only Michael and not anyone else." He shrugged casually.
Archangel Michael seemed to have collected himself and let out a sigh. He turned towards the exorcists. "Both of you, wait for me outside."
"But my Lord…"
"It is fine." Michael reassured.
"Yes Sir." the Older of the two bowed.
With the annoyance gone, the atmosphere calmed a bit.
"What exactly are your intentions, Damien? You have amassed yourself quite a group. I dare say, very few people would want to fight with you at all. So… what is it that you want to do?"
"Live. We want to live our own lives without getting dragged into the mess of the Three Factions… unfortunately that isn't so easy to do. So the amassed forces. But let's not get to the fighting art shall we? That's not what I called you here for. What I want is… a deal."
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"We do not mess with your people and in return, you leave us alone. Among all the three factions, Heaven and the Church are the most likely to attack us. And thus I have called you."
"So what do you propose?"
"We divide areas. Your people don't enter my area and my people won't enter yours. We do not attack each other unless provoked or attacked first. And no, me existing doesn't count as provocation."
Merlin passed over a file and let him have a look with the clauses we had prepared.
"I will discuss it with my fellow brothers and sisters and give you a reply." Michael replied. "Now, can we move on to other topics? I came here on someone's invitation. Will I be meeting him?"
"Oh! You didn't invite him, Damien?" Azazel asked, surprised.
"And how would I do that? Knocking on Heaven's gates and dropping in an invitation?" He deadpanned, making some chuckle.
He then turned towards Michael. "No. Although, he left a message. As long as Heaven follows the path shown by Father, he will protect it. He would do the same for all three factions." This earned him some raised eyebrows. "But… should anyone try to start another Great War… he will end them personally."
"Who was this again?" Azazel asked, scoffing lightly and taking a sip of his wine.
"The Mysterious Super Angel guy."
The Fallen leader choked.
"What?!"
"Pretty cool guy if you ask me. We have quite similar thoughts and he seemed to have no problem with us either. Offered to send the letter to Michael as a way to show his intentions. Also left another message and I quote, 'As a gift for finally getting your head straight and doing what you do best. As she used to say, you were always a general and he… was the King.'" He passed a piece of paper to Michael who accepted it with almost shaking hands.
- Damien -
The look on Michael's face was priceless.
I was not lying. I really did give him a gift for getting his head straight.
Him getting his A game resulted in the Church being reigned in a lot, preventing a lot of problems.
So, I decided to solve a few of his problems.
I gave him the information about the Angels who were using the Heaven System's loopholes to avoid falling and a method to prevent that.
Should help him get things done.
"Oh, what the hell. Since we are already on this topic, I will bite the bullet and ask. Is Heaven preparing for a war?" Azazel asked Michael.
"No. We do not desire war." Michael replied with a tone of finality.
Yup.
The General was back again.
Azazel knew better than to question that tone.
But someone else didn't.
"But Heaven's actions might say otherwise." Serafall pointed.
"Oh? And how so?"
"Heaven is rapidly increasing its power. It does make others feel a bit tingly."
"But didn't the Devils do the same? Use the Evil Pieces to rapidly increase their numbers? Recruit exceptional talents and increase their strength rapidly? So, why is it that when Heaven does the same, it's seen as an act of war?" He questioned, not giving her an inch.
I had to forcibly keep myself from smiling at his reply.
Poor Serafall, who had never seen this version of Michael, was at a loss of words for a few moments.
Sirzechs, realising that his fellow Satan had been had, intervened. "Please don't misunderstand. We were taken aback by the suddenness of this decision."
"Yes… we decided that we have had enough of a mourning period. It was time to work."
That shut him up for good.
I knew this look. This Michael was like an iron cage. One could keep banging their heads on it and it wouldn't shake.
"Since we cannot increase our numbers like the Devils using the Evil Pieces and reproducing like our Fallen brethren is difficult for us, we decided to increase the quality of our forces instead. You weren't expecting us to remain as we were while the other two sides kept increasing their power, correct?"
"Obviously not. How you run your faction is all on you. But we, as sides who have stood with and against each other for centuries, were curious about the sudden change. That is all."
Michael nodded.
It was at this moment that a communication magic circle appeared on Serafall's Magic hand lit up.
She bowed slightly, apologising and received a call.
On it appeared a man.
Someone I knew.
Behemoth.
"My Lady. There has been a rebellion in the Underworld. Six of the Top Ten Rating Game Players have rebelled. They have taken several of the prominent children hostages… including Young Miss, Sona."
Serafall froze over as ice started to spread.
Ingvild snapped a finger and the ice melted and the water all vapourised under her command but Serafall wasn't waiting for any of it.
She had already teleported away.
Sirzechs who was taken aback by the sudden message also got up and bowed to us. "I apologise for suddenly leaving the meeting. I hope we can continue this some other day."
"It's fine. Go do what you are supposed to do."
Azazel and Shemhazai got up too.
"It looked serious. We should check it too."
"Okay."
They left soon after.
"You will not be going?" Odin asked me.
"If I find something interesting."
"Bah. You younglings. Do whatever you want. It seems like you people will be busy either way so I will take my leave. Come Thor."
The old God stood up and the Thunder God followed but not before giving me a light bump on the shoulders.
The Youkai were guided aside by Musashi to discuss some different matters.
The only ones left in the place were I, my subordinates and… Michael.
He hadn't stopped staring at me since he arrived here.
Finally, when everything quieted down, he broke the silence. "How?"
The look on his face was plain. It was as if there was no other chance. The look of one hundred percent confidence.
"I don't know."
"What will you do now?"
"Find out… why."
He stopped for a moment and looked as if trying to force himself to say something.
"How did he die?" He finally whispered out.
The look in his eyes… was painful to watch.
It hurt.
Despite knowing that I had no relation to him, it still… hurt badly.
I still couldn't help but ask him. "You don't think I killed him?"
The look on his face hardened. "I am not a fool."
Those five words said a lot. I understood.
Michael perhaps was the only one alive who knew Lucifer more than anyone else… maybe even more than Lilith.
Lucifer loved his father.
No, it was beyond that.
It was his whole obsession.
To prove a point to his Father, that humans were not worthy of his love. That's what made him rebel.
And this kind of obsession stayed.
To go against all that and kill his Father… was impossible.
The whole fact was an antithesis to what he stood for, to the being which was Lucifer.
And if someone understood this… it would be Michael.
So, his answer was enough.
"Do you want to see?"
He froze but then nodded.
I raised a finger and touched his forehead.
- Mindscape -
I showed him the whole scene of the fight.
The Archangel Michael, the strongest Angel, the right hand of God, shed tears as he watched the wounds being inflicted on his Father's body.
We reached the scene where God threw himself on Lucifer's sword and he fell to his knees.
Both of us quietly listened to his last words.
"I know that you are angry at me, blame me for many things so… with this… let go of your rage… your anger and return home… son."
The man whom these words were addressed to was still frozen in shock.
"I know that I have not handled some things as well as I should have. I didn't stop you when you left home. I didn't stop you when you discarded your light. I didn't do some things which a father should have… for those I apologise."
The words made me understand why Lucifer turned out the way he did after leaving Heaven. About how he turned into that…
He had discarded his light.
Now, it might not seem like much in words but that was only till one realises that Angels were beings of light. It was a part of their very souls.
… yes. This madman… ripped out a part of his soul and discarded it.
It was literally Voldemort syndrome.
Kinda made sense when I think about his drastically different behaviour, the power of his mother and the Fallen Angels…
Yes.
The Fallen.
What God did when creating Angels was use the light as a seal using his blessing, grace, over their darkness from his wife.
The Angels who give into the sins, empower their mother's side and lose the blessing , letting the darkness manifest in the of black wings.
Lucifer on the other hand, who had thrown aside his light was a complete creature of darkness. The only reason his power remained as much as it was, was because there was no light suppressing the darkness and thus one side worked at full power.
"This war… I was forced to fight… to prevent a dreadful future from happening. There wasn't a moment in this war, which I didn't regret shedding the blood of my children but in every piece of the futures I saw, without this war, our world would have been doomed."
Yes.
Knowing his abilities as a Seer, that statement was not ominous at all.
"So I leave all this to you." He brought out an orb of light from his own chest. "As a last wish from your Father… promise me that you will not let another Great War happen… and take care of your little siblings. Know this… no matter where I am, or what happens to you, I will always love you all… my children."
With that said, he took his last breath.
Michael was on his knees crying his heart out.
I don't think he had done so since he had to act strong for the sake of the other Angels.
We kept watching.
Lucifer stood up, as if a zombie.
First he made a coffin for Beelzebub and Asmodeus.
Even Leviathan was shocked. "Lucifer."
"They are my comrades. They supported me when I had nothing, fought with me and gave their lives just because of their trust in me. If I leave them laying here… I would be a disgrace of a king."
With that done, he moved to his Father's body and picked it up, making a coffin for it and placed him there softly.
Michael, as if realising something, asked. "Where is his body?"
"Keep watching."
We did.
As Lucifer and Leviathan kneeled there, mourning, another person came to the scene.
The face which made me want to rip it into pieces.
"Oh, what's this? Asmodeus and even Beelzebub are gone? And so is God, hahahahaha. So the old man finally kicked the bucket. Well good riddance."
"Rizevim…" Lucifer's voice sounded. He didn't turn back but I knew the anger in his tone. Michael did as well.
"Yes father. What are the orders? Do we start the invasion of Heaven? Or do we go there after we crush the Fallen, those cowards… so many options, so many choices."
"We are not going anywhere. The war is over. Go and call back all our forces."
"What! What do you mean the war is over? We are just getting to the good part." he shouted.
"Rizevim, follow my orders. We have all lost too much. Anything more and there might not be anything left." Leviathan chided.
She apparently understood Lucifer's mind as well being comrades for so long.
"You can't be serious… Just because some people die, you are stopping the war? We are Devils… since when did we care about a few deaths"
"Rizevim!...That's an order. Now leave." Leviathan commanded sternly.
"Are you of the same opinion Father?"
"Yes." Lucifer replied without even turning back.
Rizevim quietly stood there without any words.
"Such a waste. To think that the mighty Devil… would fall to this point one day."
The next second, he attacked. Leviathan was thrown aside from the force of the sudden attack. The surprise and her previous wound made sure that she lost her life instantly.
Lucifer stood up, rage filling his eyes and attacked.
But the man was already weaker than his son, not to mention, was exhausted from the war. He stood no chance.
He was thrown on his Father's coffin.
"But don't worry Father. I will let the world remember you as the Devil. Not a pathetic guy who wanted… peace. Hmm, maybe hanging the body of God on the front lines would be good to send the Angels into a crazy fit. Yes. That's a good idea. Since we are reaching the climax, why not go all out on it."
"You dare!" Lucifer roared but at this point even he knew that he couldn't resist.
Maybe this was called karma.
"You will die. If not by my hands today, then by the hands of someone carrying my blood but… you will die. I curse you." He spewed as if poison. One of his hands, slowly pushing the orb of light from God into the Spear letting it absorb it.
The spear was teleported away by him.
Yes. Another thing which had always bugged me.
How did God make a Spear containing his dying will?
This seems to have been the answer.
It also explained why the Spear seemed to call out to me and why I could turn into an Angel when I touched it.
"As for touching my Father's and my comrades' bodies…" He turned back towards the coffin behind him and hugged it, only turning his head behind, "You are not worthy."
And then there was light.
A bright light which threatened to burn everything down.
It enveloped us but we remained unharmed as it was just a memory.
When the light subsided, there was nothing left.
The memory ended.
Both Michael and I were back at the bar.
The last memory was too much for him to take.
"Sean." I asked.
Michael looked at me as Sean summoned the Longinus.
"And here's the proof of my words." I held the spear.
"The Lord is my God."
And twelve silver Angelic wings sprung out.
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