Chapter 15 My Name
The Mortal Realm.
After Lucifer balanced the battlefield, the allied forces, led by their commanders, launched an offensive against the demons. The First and Fourth Legions were the main forces, with the Third Legion providing support, and the Second Legion guarding the main front to prevent demonic ambushes. The two sides were locked in a fierce battle until dawn.
At daybreak, the situation gradually became clearer. Baal, fighting and retreating under Michael's attacks, was forced to retreat into the forest swamp by the approaching dawn, pursued by the Third Legion, which had been resting and recuperating overnight.
The swamp was shrouded in miasma. Beelzebub, pinching his nose, circled the swamp three times, finally leaving dejectedly after confirming he couldn't find a suitable breakthrough.
"What? He escaped!" Michael, who had caught up, gave him a reproachful look upon hearing the news.
"He clearly headed towards the third formation, why didn't you stop him in time?"
"It's all your fault for being so useless, that's why he escaped," Beelzebub scoffed. Michael's movements weren't restricted by the legions; he should have kept Baal firmly in check, but he let him escape.
On the way back to camp, they bickered, blaming each other for holding them back. Gabriel, who had already returned, heard their argument from afar and couldn't help but twitch his lips.
These two have never gotten along since birth. Even after separating them into two groups, why were they still arguing?
"Shut up!" Samael couldn't help but snap.
"Don't get angry, you're badly injured," Gabriel quickly pressed him down, trying to calm him down. His murderous aura was all masked by pain.
In terms of ferocity, the Seraphim legions were far more formidable. This time, they annihilated the most demons. Samael, leading the entire Seraphim legion at the forefront, unexpectedly suffered losses.
"Stop arguing, you two. Now that you're all here, go report to His Highness," she said to the two who were still bickering. Hearing this, Michael and Beelzebub calmed down, their faces showing obvious worry.
Lucifer had single-handedly balanced the battlefield, but this had rendered him immobile. The elves then established a territory centered on the Seraphim, forming a protective array guarded by several Cherubim. The wounded Elven King was also there, making it a true command center.
When the Seraphim gathered, Lucifer was listening to Raphael report on the battle's outcome and losses. He sat calmly at the center of the array, and if it weren't for the pure light constantly flowing from his body, one would never have guessed he was bound.
Seeing them approach, Atreides was the first to nod in greeting. His usually aloof nature, coupled with the effects of recent injuries, had softened his otherwise handsome face, giving him a clear understanding of his own strength. The Elven King genuinely admired the powerful Seraphim, especially Michael, who had shone brightly in this battle, and Beelzebub, who had driven the Demon King to the swamp.
Lucifer, however, was not in the same mood. He looked at the hesitant Seraphim approaching with an inscrutable expression in his eyes.
Raphael continued his report. After finishing the count of prisoners and those captured, he mentioned that Beelzebub was roasting apples when Baal passed by. Michael couldn't help but chuckle, immediately earning him a cold, yet palpable, gaze from Lucifer, which instantly made the two Seraphim obedient.
"Your Highness, please calm your anger. Michael allowed Baal to escape to save Samael. Beelzebub, though impulsive and greedy, is always like this. He acted immediately upon seeing Baal," Gabriel pleaded matter-of-factly, which only made Beelzebub scoff. This plea was worse than no plea at all.
As expected, Lucifer almost laughed in anger.
After a severe reprimand, Beelzebub was punished with three months of fasting. Angels are exempt from food, a punishment insignificant to most angels, but a severe torment for Beelzebub. He was utterly dejected, his angelic spirit devoid of any will to live.
"This time, we are so grateful for Your Highness," Michael exclaimed. Otherwise, the losses they would have suffered from this natural disaster were unimaginable.
"If only we could have helped," Michael said. He didn't know how much energy it would have required to support such a large protective array, but it certainly wouldn't have been easy.
Beelzebub found his demeanor annoying and, not to be outdone, squeezed in. "Yes, Your Highness, you've worked hard. Please let me know if there's anything I can do."
"Hmm, then I'll leave it to you." Lucifer nodded.
"Not at all, not at all…" Huh? What did you just say?
Michael and Beelzebub, who wanted to reiterate their loyalty, were dumbfounded. They knew their commander well; his highly responsible nature meant he wouldn't pass on anything he could handle. They had been prepared to waste their breath, but unexpectedly, their commander readily handed over the heavy responsibility to them.
Lucifer almost immediately felt the pressure on him lessen considerably. It was as if he had been fighting against the entire universe; the overwhelming pressure was terrifying, to the point he dared not even think about it. Now, that unnatural power was gone.
He didn't let his guard down, maintaining a high level of power output until he confirmed that the supernatural force had indeed disappeared. Although the anomalies caused by that power still existed, they weren't as strong as before.
This made his expression much better.
While that power was terrifying, its inability to persist indicated limitations in its use. He had concluded that this power had been deliberately created.
To address the problem at its root, passive resistance was futile; they had to take the initiative.
Having grasped this, and confirming that the combined power of several Seraphim was sufficient to resist the power, he decisively stepped aside. Without even glancing at the expressions on the faces of the two Seraphim who had been conscripted, he instructed Raphael to summon Belial, while he discussed the plan with the Elf King and the other Seraphim.
"What's wrong, Michael? Your face is all scrunched up. You're not just saying that, are you?" Beelzebub couldn't help but mock Michael's unpleasant expression.
"Come on, you make it sound so great," Michael retorted, but he had little intention of arguing. He believed Beelzebub didn't really want to quarrel, because only now did they truly understand the immense pressure Lucifer had endured.
"As expected of His Highness," he sighed softly, the same words, but with a completely different state of mind than before.
"This is the difference between us and him," Beelzebub said, looking in Lucifer's direction, his eyes filled with admiration.
He and I are like an insurmountable chasm.
"I heard you were ambushed by Samikina?" Lucifer asked, looking at the Archangel, whose brows were furrowed in obvious pain but who gritted his teeth and remained silent.
"Yes, that cunning demon. Next time, I will definitely annihilate him!" Samael angrily raised his wings, but before he could flap them twice, Gabriel caught him.
Lucifer looked at the red-faced Samael, then at the engrossed Gabriel, and spoke with a hint of helplessness.
"…Alright, Gabriel, stop touching his wings."
He used a healing spell to heal Samael's wounds, and under the pure power of light, Samael's wounds gradually disappeared.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Don't be so formal," Lucifer patted him on the shoulder. Just then, Raphael brought Belial, and he gathered everyone for their first post-war meeting.
"That's it. Night is the time of demons. Baal will inevitably reappear, and then, perhaps even more unexpected calamities will descend."
"I must go to Hell," he said, then turned his gaze to the detached Belial.
Belial remained lazily leaning against the tree trunk, always looking weary, silently observing everything.
This demeanor always attracted the attention of the gods. Lucifer had long noticed that the gods showed Belial a different kind of care than other angels.
Of all the angels in the three realms, Lucifer had the most audiences with the gods, and was hailed as God's favorite. However, even Lucifer himself couldn't guarantee that his audiences would always be granted. Belial, on the other hand, was truly granted every request by the gods.
Lucifer found it difficult to genuinely agree with his companion's approach, nor did he quite understand God's unspoken favoritism towards Belial, yet he remained impartial in his judgment.
During this great battle, he discovered Belial's true capabilities. His angels and elves trusted him implicitly, and the demons' several breakout attempts were successfully thwarted, demonstrating his considerable strategic acumen.
His only shortcoming was his laziness.
Belial was not the best choice for a commander, as he wouldn't initiate attacks, but he was a competent defender.
"Belial will oversee the camp in my place, Raphael will assist him, and Gabriel and Samael will monitor Michael and Beelzebub, rotating them as needed."
The archangels agreed. Lucifer glanced one last time at the Elf King, who seemed quite moved, even accepting his unusual arrangement of the angels. He sighed inwardly.
Elves, indeed, are rather weak.
He stopped dwelling on these thoughts, leaped up, and soared into the sky.
Hell's depths are no less than Heaven's height. Though paths lead to Hell from the mortal realm, ordinary beings find it difficult to enter, unable even to locate the entrance. Lucifer, as the chief of the Seraphim, guided by God, was far beyond the reach of ordinary creations. He quickly descended, his six wings of holy light gleaming in the darkness.
Unfazed by raging fire or freezing ice, impervious to poison or harsh water, and shielded from the biting winds and torrential rains, Lucifer successfully traversed the raging flames of Hell's outer perimeter, reaching the rocky layer.
To prevent demons from frequently harassing the mortal realm, God created the gates of Hell, blocking all living beings from entering or leaving. Lucifer did not attempt to open them himself; he would not disobey God's will. The news that Vasak had found a second path had already spread throughout the three realms, and the fact that demons could freely enter and leave the mortal realm even with the gates of Hell closed confirmed this rumor.
In fact, he didn't need to search at all. The darkness could not conceal his radiant form. Lesser demons, seeing him and fleeing in alarm, actually pointed him in the right direction.
The air was thick with murky pollution, the environment harsh, and countless dark creatures surged forth, their fates hanging in the balance at Lucifer's command.
He effortlessly stormed the six layers of Hell, his Archangel's reputation quickly overshadowing even the most ferocious demon king, becoming the nightmare of the lesser demons.
Upon entering the legendary Heretic Hell, the surrounding air became noticeably hotter. It was a stone forest of cliffs formed from cooled lava, though it appeared to have only recently solidified, still emitting rising steam.
Lucifer was observing when he heard joyful shouts from the cliff face.
"Six-winged Holy Light... Is that His Highness Lucifer?!"
He descended from mid-air upon hearing the voice and found a group of archangels and elemental spirits, all looking disheveled.
"Did you come to rescue us?" Raziel asked, moved.
"It's good that you escaped," Lucifer said with relief.
"We escaped, but His Highness is still inside…" Raziel looked troubled, then hopefully gazed at Lucifer. The prince who could rescue them must be exceptionally capable. Although worried, he knew that someone as lowly as them would be lucky to even cause trouble, let alone help. But Lucifer was different.
He described the situation in detail, which Lucifer listened to with furrowed brows.
"A silver-haired Seraphim?"
There were no silver-haired Seraphim. In fact, apart from Metatronta who remained in Heaven, all the other Seraphim had descended to the mortal realm. They were too busy on the battlefield to be in Hell.
Could it be that God… created another Seraphim?
"His Highness gave me a book," Raziel said, holding out the book solemnly to Lucifer.
"Can you believe it? Not long ago, this was a flowing river of lava. But with the help of this book, a single freezing spell not only stopped the lava's flow but also solidified it into a stone forest."
No wonder these stones are still steaming. Lucifer thought to himself as he took the book, flipping through it briefly, only to find it completely blank.
"Didn't you see anything either?" Raziel asked, observing his expression.
"Also?" Lucifer seized on the key point in his words and countered.
"Yes, it seems no one else can see the contents except me. At first, I thought it was because I'm a Seraphim." Raziel was the highest-ranking angel among them, and the other angels and elves naturally assumed it was because their rank wasn't high enough. Now, however, that didn't seem to be the case. If even Lucifer couldn't see the book's contents, then it was a book only Raziel could see.
"It seems that's not the case," Lucifer chuckled, then returned the book to Raziel.
"Since that's the case, make good use of it," he said, soaring back into the sky.
"The road ahead is clear. Take them back to the ground," Lucifer instructed before flying deeper into the sixth level of Hell.
This is getting more and more interesting. A supernatural power that defies common sense, a book he can't decipher—he has a premonition that all of this is related to that unknown angel.
The city of Agares is located at the very center of the sixth level of Hell. Lucifer moved with lightning speed; almost instantly, he slipped past the guards at the entrance. The bewildered demon only saw a flash of white light, then nothing at all.
"Perhaps it was just an illusion," he thought.
Without alerting the guards, he infiltrated the main hall and silently arrived at Agares's bedroom.
Instantly, he saw two bodies entangled on the bed and was immediately shocked.
Angels are not only physically clean, but also spiritually pure. Lucifer was shocked by this unprecedented sight, but quickly regained his composure, though his aversion to demons and silver hair only intensified.
Indeed, he discovered that both men on the bed had silver hair.
The one with shorter hair must be Agares. He looked old, yet his behavior was utterly repulsive. Lucifer found the scene utterly appalling, then heard the long-haired man suddenly speak.
"You do not suit my taste."
The clear, cold voice, like snow melting into water, descended from the mountains. Lucifer paused, feeling a strange familiarity with the tone, though he couldn't recall where he had heard it before. Yet, it undeniably evoked a certain fondness within him. He looked at Agares with disgust, unable to project that same loathing onto the long silver hair.
"This isn't my true form!" Rejected in his advances, Agares flew into a rage. He transformed into a young, handsome demon, and Lucifer had to admit that demons were a race adept at deception. Even someone accustomed to the striking good looks of archangels had to acknowledge that Agares' appearance was a refreshing surprise.
"This is the Mirror of Truth. Before it, nothing in the world can conceal its true nature," the cold voice declared. Its tone was flat, its words devoid of emotion, yet these very words enraged the demon.
A mirror that sees through the truth of everything? Regardless of whether it was real or not, Lucifer knew this was the being he sought—the unknown archangel the Thrones had spoken of, and the chaos in the mortal realm might be related to it.
"Impossible! I could never look so old!"
"You are indeed old." The silver-haired angel retorted, trying to make the demon accept reality. His earnestness almost made Lucifer laugh.
But the next second, his laughter vanished.
Seemingly sensing his presence, golden eyes glanced at him, a fleeting look that nearly stopped his heart from beating.
"My god—" Realizing his thoughts, Lucifer immediately felt a pang of regret.
That couldn't be a god. If a god left the Grand Cathedral, Metron...