Chapter 20
A few years ago, Beelzebub would have been thrilled about the prospect of being chosen for the right of the first night ritual. But now... Beelzebub had languished for a while, understanding that the King wasn't indifferent to him, but rather, was just not interested in him that way. Fortunately, he wasn't the only pitiful one. Asmodeus, the flirtatious ghost, had been on a mission to throw himself at Satan these days, even disregarding his former lovers.
Dreams might be full, but reality is often harsh.
Beelzebub held on to a stack of re-enrollment forms, hummed under his breath, and took a path separate from Asmodeus, leaving behind a slender yet sharp image. Belial touched his nose, commenting emotionally, "Beelzebub's aura is quite strong these days. Must be that the sorrow of unrequited love hone one's character indeed?"
At his side, Asmodeus felt as if an arrow had pierced his knee. He too had experienced a heartbreak.
After one failed nocturnal attack, Lucifer pinched Asmodeus's blushing cheeks gently, remarking, "You are quite daring, dear Asmodeus."
Then Satan kicked the subordinate guilty of such impudence out of the palace. Asmodeus simply sat on the stairs, smiling foolishly all night. Even though the Emperor's affections weren't romantic for him, their camaraderie was equally, if not more, precious.
His Highness...
The image of Lord Lucifer still lingered in him.
Asmodeus thought about the golden figure in his memories. Time may have blurred Lucifer's image, yet he would never forget the past. The great archangel Lucifer of the bygone years had a beautiful pair of cerulean eyes, in which the brilliance of millions of stars seemed to fall and warm his soul.
Tugging at the ambling Belial, Asmodeus regained his smile, "Belial, let's go."
No matter who the King intended to provoke with the right of the first night, it was no longer his business to interfere. The most important thing at present was to let out this frustration for His Highness!
When Yahweh was not paying attention, the matter of marriage became a certainty.
In Hell, only the high-ranking devils were in the know. They were initially confused about Lucifer tearing up the Holy War agreement. Learning what had transpired, they promptly closed their mouths, virtually lighting a row of candles in their hearts for Lucifer. The audacious Baal, who had dared to suggest publicly that there were plenty of fish in the sea and Lucifer could father more sons, had been met with a cold laugh from Lucifer and then hung on a stone pillar for seven days.
How suicidal.
Bechymos, the dragon, looked at his boss and felt deeply embarrassed.
Baal, at the top of the pillar, pursed his lips in a gesture as if to suggest: hadn't his actions improved Lucifer's mood a bit? He even laughed!
"That was a scornful laugh... not a happy one." Bechymos, with a despairing face, left.
________________________
Hell's everyday life carried on in its lively way, until Michael discovered the torn Holy War Agreement, and heaven was in an uproar. Before the Agreement, heaven and hell would engage in war at will. There was absolutely no caution, causing countless casualties. As the scale of the wars grew and the hatred stoked higher, the situation spiraled out of control. This led the high-ranking devils to reluctantly agree on having a Holy War once in a thousand years.
The Messiah, who went to hell to sign the Agreement all those years ago, came back with an ashen face.
This hatred has become irreconcilable.
The Holy War Agreement was the only means to mitigate the damage.
Upon learning of the Agreement's dissolution, the angels of Heaven were filled with fear, realizing that they were about to return to the era of wars where life and death were not their own to dictate.
With the outside world in an uproar, the angel prison turned into a "sanctuary." Angels being punished here had no way of communicating with the outside world and could only glean scraps of information from the prison-keeping angels. This situation was unlike any before and the tense atmosphere was palpable. Angels imprisoned could not coax even half a word from the guards' mouths.
It turned out that heaven’s top three archangels had imposed a gag order, prohibiting anyone in heaven from discussing matters related to hell.
Especially in the angel prison!
Gabriel strictly announced the penalty for leakage of information.
She knew too well that the fuse this time was Yahweh, but she and her companions must protect Yahweh.
Yahweh could not be compromised.
If he were to find out, how could he possibly stay in the prison peacefully?
After Gabriel arranged everything and thought that she could be worry-free, she sank wearily into the chair of the prison chief. Her slender fingers rubbed her forehead. Unintentionally, she glanced at the window, which was facing the direction of the teleportation formation. She could see the angels arriving at the fifth layer of Heaven in the distance.
Samael used to sit here like this, gazing into the distance while taking a break in between handling official matters.
The sky was boundless, the earth stretching without end. The teleportation formation at the other end would occasionally flicker, the guards welcoming angels arriving one after another into the fifth layer of Heaven.
What was he looking at—
Gabriel didn't know.
As she rested her head on the table, Gabriel felt a sudden prick at the corner of her eyes as she recalled Samael's near pleads, "Gabriel, will you come with me?"
How had she responded then—
"I'm not going to Hell!"
"You can take your Lilith and play in hell as much as you want. Farewell!"
Once furious with Samael, she, the Archangel, drove him away. Later, she couldn't let her pride down and chose to stand on the side of faith.
God must never be wrong.
God will surely guide the right path.
Gabriel's fingers clenched the garment at her chest, numerous images scrambling across her mind, like a dream.
After Gabriel fell into a troubled sleep, her adjutant's worried expression eased. Gabriel's energy just now had been unsettling. Hetti tidied up Gabriel's desk and was about to bow and step away when she spotted a halo-like, spectral figure standing beside Gabriel.
"He" silently caressed Gabriel's blonde hair.
Gabriel's slightly uneasy expression dissipated, leaving her features pure as a child's; her eyes curled, her breaths deep and long.
The "person" capable of banishing all shadows soothed Gabriel, then gazed peacefully at Hetti. Hetti's knees immediately buckled, and she knelt down, exclaiming: "My God!"
All that filled her mind were those unparalleled golden eyes.
No wonder His Highness and the others were so special towards Yahweh, this eye color is too rare!
Just as she didn't know when God had come or when He had left, Hetti was also not aware. She staggered to her feet, her knees numb, her gaze transforming from hesitation to determination. She took this opportunity, while Gabriel was resting and her vigilance was lowered, to approach a cell forbidden to all angels.
Feigning casual indifference, Hetti first used her role as deputy warden to gain Yahweh's trust, then shared her worries about the issues between Heaven and Hell.
After that, she completed her mission and left.
She no longer owed anything to Samael, her former boss, known as the Wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Hetti, the former vice to the Chief Archangel and the deputy warden. And now the Vice-Secretary and Deputy Warden, she had survived the transition between two superiors and still stood on this land of Heaven.
________________________
In the prison cell of Angel Prison, the silver-haired "angel" gazed past the walls, his eyes reflecting Hetti's diligent work after she left. Even Yahweh seemed somewhat surprised. Hetti was one of the high-ranking intelligence angels who chose to stay. He didn't expect her to still do things for Samael, who had fallen from grace. Samael had such prestige, what about Lucifer? The former vice-regent of heaven and his Chief Archangel—
Yahweh thought to himself: "Lucifer, you have many spies in heaven."
The Book of Genesis flipped back and forth on the throne, casually asking, "God, are we going to war again?”
Yahweh's gaze drifted past the floating lights, looking towards a deeper, more distant place. After a moment, he responded, "Although it's not enough, we can take it slow. There's no need to sacrifice to hasten time."
The Book of Genesis exclaimed in surprise, "You've grown soft-hearted."
Back in the day, he was willing to push his most beloved Lucifer into Hell for this goal. But now, he was actually talking about "taking it slow."
"Perhaps—" There was not a ripple in Yahweh's eyes, just a cold calmness. "Angels are the race I blessed. Until the very end, how could I abandon them?"
He stood up from the simple bed, his robe falling to the ground, his silver hair streaming like a waterfall.
With a touch of his fingers, two illusions appeared in the void.
One radiant illusion took his place on the throne in the Great Cathedral, while the other silent illusion continued to daydream in the angel's prison.
"Alright."
Having dealt with issues on both ends, the corners of Yahweh's lips curved up slightly. He left the stunned Book of Genesis and descended to the lower realm.
It took a while for the Book of Genesis to react, shouting, "God! You're off to have fun again, what about the operation of the world!"
Yahweh had already arrived at the sea of flowers in the mortal realm.
Bathing in the fragrance of fresh flowers and the tenderness of life, he picked up a flower petal from his silver hair.
"The world is important, and so is Lucifer."
________________________
Yahweh didn't intend to wait idly in the mortal realm. His finger intentionally plucked at the boundary, playing a melodious rhythm on the solid barrier, urging Lucifer in hell to sense what was happening here.
He has arrived.
"Luci, come here quickly."
In the Ninth Circle of Hell, Lucifer suddenly frowned, sensing that a barrier in the mortal world had been triggered.
He became somewhat distracted during the meeting.
Yet even a distracted Devil could still deceive his underlings, making them think their respected boss was contemplating how to deal with the representatives of the Holy War, along with subsequent issues. But with an endless abyss relentlessly "corrupting" him, Lucifer's thoughts simply couldn't stay pure.
Whenever he thought of Yahweh, his first instinct was to drag him back and teach him a lesson.
How could his beloved run away!
And then—
Cough.
Lucifer remembered the night he spent with Yahweh. Although Yahweh was somewhat resistant, his body was in perfect sync with him while they were intimate.
The wonderful first-time experience filled Lucifer with vague fantasies of wanting more.
But Yahweh had a miscarriage.
This news poured cold water on the burning passion within Lucifer.
After the meeting, Lucifer had practically forgotten half of what was discussed. Fortunately, he had his trusty right hand, Beelzebub, who meticulously recorded every detail of the meetings, annotated both his own and other fallen angels' opinions, then happily presented them to him.
Lucifer read through the meeting report with an unreadable expression, and praised Beelzebub, "Well done."
This caused Beelzebub to unwittingly smile a bit more.
Yet, Satan's next sentence wiped the smile off his face, "I am going to visit the mortal world."
Beelzebub: "......"
He wanted to stop Lucifer but couldn't find the words to speak. Lucifer merely smiled gently in response, choosing to ignore Beelzebub's worries.
Lucifer headed towards a small grove in the human world.
Strangely enough, he let Yahweh sense his presence but kept him in suspense by not showing up.
Yahweh looked for him in the grove several times, perplexed, calling out, "Luci!"
From the grove, to the flower field, and the winding walking path, Yahweh was led on a merry chase by that omnipresent aura. In the end, realizing that Lucifer was toying with him, he chose to stop. Yahweh's body hadn't fully recovered. The adverse effects of his intimate relationship with Lucifer caused him to have a constant pain in his abdomen.
Worry was etched across Yahweh's face as he held onto his belly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
His enticing strategy paired with the act of playing the victim finally brought Lucifer out.
Lucifer, surrounded by darkness, stood under a tree and said in a calm tone, "You've escaped to the human world. Do you have any plans to return?"
Instead of answering his question, Yahweh responded, "I've been feeling terrible. I haven't been well for days."
Golden eyes drooped.
"Luci."
His voice faded a little, tinged with sorrow.
Lucifer remained silent for a moment.
Seeing Yahweh's newfound knack for striking right where it hurts most, Lucifer couldn't resist and walked over. Yahweh broke into a smile, the first time he had smiled so happily.
But he had celebrated too soon.
Lucifer didn’t rub his belly for long. Suddenly, with a swift 'smack', he slapped Yahweh right on his backside.
Yahweh froze, a sharp pain radiating from his behind.
It stung, with an added odd numbness.
Looking dangerously serious, Lucifer stated, "Dare to run away again?" His arm gripped Yahweh's waist as his palm massaged the sore spot. He was quite pleased with Yahweh, who had walked right into his trap. "I haven’t quite settled the score with you for the public embarrassment last time."
Yahweh: "......"
How gentle and amiable Luci was, and how incredibly good he was to his beloved!
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
No comments:
Post a Comment