Chapter Text
Lucifer tried not to focus on the almost childish glee he felt the second his fist met Adam’s mask, sending the so-called First Man flying as he slammed into the steel structure and fell down the glass ceiling of the hotel’s rooftop, screaming like a little girl all the way down.
He succeeded… barely.
Thanks to his daughter, who unknowingly shifted his focus fully back on her as she dropped right into his arms.
(He couldn’t remember the last time he had held her like this.)
It felt so nice, holding her like a princess she was again, so much that he wanted to cry.
Last time, she had been so small that she could still fit comfortably in his rather diminutive arms, safe and sound in her chamber as she begged him for a bedtime story with her big, puppy eyes. But now, she was no longer the little girl he once knew. Fully grown, strong, and beautiful, just like Lilith, Lucifer could say without a doubt that she was the best thing he had ever created, a flower that bloomed so stunningly kind and pure even in literally the worst place in the universe.
Lucifer could not be any prouder.
“Sorry I wasn’t here sooner, sweetie,” he said, giving his daughter the warmest smile he could ever muster.
He had to admit, toying with Adam was more entertaining than he had expected. Sure, the guy had always been fun to tease since Eden, with that short temper and ego that were more befitting a high seraph than a lowly human who was created from dust. But that was the point why he made it his mission to sneak down there whenever the opportunity presented itself. Because in spite of Adam’s smugness that could induce a feeling of annoyance in even the ever collected Raphael, Lucifer could not help but find the human fascinating; a being created in their image, yet fragile and fallible, so much that the mere lack of oxygen could cause one to die a painful death (or at least, that what Metatron had told him).
Moreover, the Adam back then hadn’t been as infuriating as he was now. The human had been prideful, there was no doubt about it, but the reason for that pride was… surprisingly innocent. Adam, when he was first created and took in the wonder of the world for the first time, had simply jumped to the conclusion that since he shared the most similarity with the Children of God, it automatically made him naturally superior to the rest of the other creations.
It was the kind of logic that the young Lucifer found quite endearing. So naturally, he wanted to learn more about humans, Eden, and, by extension, Adam himself. Even though he had to endure many scolding from Father and other angels for teaching their First Man how to play lyre, resulting in the human playing it all day and night that the melody started to grate the ears of nearby angels (he could not help it, Adam looked at him with so much awe and sparkles in his eyes when Lucifer first played a song for him and practically begged him to teach him. How could anyone say no to that?!)
It was a fond memory...
That was why he had hung out in Eden the most out of his siblings, simply opting to entertain Adam and show him new animals he had created, even though Father didn't approve of most of them. But at least Lucifer was able to convince him to keep the platypus! The best thing any angel had to offer, if you asked for his opinion.
None of his siblings would agree with him, though. After all, his purpose did not lie within the Garden. He was the Morningstar, created by the Heavenly Father to help him expand the universe, to craft the stars and the sky high above Heaven, Eden, and Earth with Michael—
Nope, not getting there.
He refused to ruin his rare good mood and push himself back into a depressive state by letting his mind wander back to the past that he had no desire to reminisce about.
Not Eve, not the apple, not his father, not the Fall, and certainly not the brother who would never forgive him.
So, back to the present.
"Your first wife didn't seem to hate what I had to offer, or the second~, bow chicka wow wow."
The taunting earned him the reaction he had expected. Adam was now losing whatever cool he had left as his rage skyrocketed. Launching himself at Lucifer thoughtlessly as if he stood a chance against a seraph like him.
"Hold still, you slippery fuck!"
The First Man screamed and fired the most powerful holy light he could ever muster at Lucifer, which he casually dodged. However, the holy ray ended up splitting the hotel behind him in half, and that made Lucifer feel a beginning of fury. That was Charlie's Hotel. And although Lucifer could fix it better with a snap of his fingers, how dare this bastard destroy what was dear to his daughter!?
But before he could act on that anger, his dear daughter's scream caught his attention first.
Lucifer pushed that rage aside for now as he lunged at Charlie's falling form, catching her once again in a princess-carry style. And this had quelled his current boiling emotions a little.
"I got you." He grinned reassuringly at her.
Before any heartfelt words could leave Charlie's lips as she stared at him with relief and happiness, Fucking Adam had to ruin it. Charlie had managed to catch Adam's punch with her glowing right arm (since when she can do that?). Nevertheless, the man's foolish attempt at attacking made Lucifer see red.
He couldn't remember what happened next.
He somehow placed Charlie safely on the ground after he smacked the Exorcist's commander to the dirt. He felt his horn grow and his body covered with hellfire as his demonic form finally reared its ugly head. Then, he proceeded to beat the former human senselessly.
'Time to end this.'
Lucifer thought as he raised both his hands, gathering the fire into his palms and slamming down, evaporating Adam back to the dust he was created from, once and for all.
Or at least, that had been the plan.
If someone did not pull exactly what he had done to the First Man when he first joined the fight.
At first, he didn’t realize what had just happened. Everything occurred too fast for his mind to process the situation properly, leaving only numbness to be felt.
Yet, the pain was soon registered.
Agony began at the left side of his face before spreading to his mouth, head, and neck, so much so that he tasted blood and felt like his jaws were broken.
His body hit the now ruined hotel, bringing down whatever was left standing of it as he could feel himself being buried underneath.
Sure, Lucifer admitted he was accommodated to pain, but it was only a mental one, where he cried himself to sleep until he had no more tears to shed and only to be left to inexplicable emptiness as his mind drifted to the past, the regret, the tears of his father, and the fact that his family, his wife, and his daughter all had left him all alone with his own thoughts as a company and a constant reminder of the mistake he could never correct.
But physical pain?
He dared to say that he had never, ever felt one for the past millennia, nothing since the utter torment that was his Fall, when his wings, body, and soul were burned, crushed, and consumed by the hellfire itself.
(When the very familiar blade had shattered his halo into thousands of pieces.)
So, of course, he responded with the most appropriate reaction, most befitting the King of Hell.
“Okay, WHICH ONE OF YOU PIECES OF SHIT DARED TO FUCKING PUNCH ME!?!”The roar of rage from the Devil cut through the air and seemed to shake the very foundation of Hell itself while the Fallen One emerged from the rubble. The flame between his horns grew bigger, brighter, and more uncontrollable as his eyes glowed bloody red and his tail lashed out, destroying whatever the wreckage left until all that remained was nothing but dust.
Sadly, this display of power would fail to intimidate the one who delivered that punch.
“Awww, poor Little Luci.”
Amidst the stunned silence of demons and exorcists alike, a jovial voice suddenly rang out.
The voice completely extinguished the anger in Lucifer’s heart as his blood turned to ice.
And then, to his horror, the shadow within the debris shifted.
No.
Not quite a shadow.
It was something more powerful, more profound, something primordial.
The darkness itself was moving.
No…
Father, please, no.
“Being the high and mighty King of Hell for so long that you can’t stand a little bit of pain anymore? Such a downgrade from your past self if you ask me, Lucifer."
The formless abyss gathered in front of the hole Adam fell into before slowly forming into the shape of a man, thus revealing the smiling face of the new arrival.
The mysterious being appeared rather unassuming, short, and had no wings or horns to be seen, like nearly everyone on this battlefield, with the large, shining halo on his head being the only thing indicating what this man was, as its sharp edge pointed downward, reminiscent of the letter "V."
But besides that, one could almost say that he was no different from a mere human… if it was not for the fact that he looked practically identical to the King of Hell.
The same shade of blonde hair, porcelain white skin, and rosy cheeks… the only noticeable difference was the bright green eyes, a stark contrast to Lucifer’s red ones in his usual form, that seemed to bore into the Devil’s very soul.
"Michael?"
It took Lucifer a second to realize that the small, hollow voice, tinted with the tiniest trace of fear, was his.
"You got that right, Luci!" His brother confirmed his terror with delight, hands clapping cheerfully in a manner of a proud parent congratulating their child for successfully taking their first step or something like that, Michael's grin never wavering. Instead, it seemed to get impossibly wider, nearly splitting his cheeks in half.
And somehow, despite his flat teeth, the angel managed to make it a more frightening sight than any cannibals on this battlefield.
"Oh, no need to start all of those ridiculous royal pleasantries. We both know I'm no stranger here," Michael continued merrily, so unconcerned that one could easily mistake him for being oblivious to the dead silence surrounding the area. "Though I do admit that it's been literally millennia since I set foot here. But worry not. I'm sure I can familiarize myself with all the changes here in no time."
The man then proceeded to pace around nonchalantly, all the while scrutinizing the ruined wreckage as if it were a five-star private house waiting to be bought.
"Except... it doesn't seem to change much, does it? Gloomy, contaminated, and still very red... too much red, honestly. You do realize that it won't hurt to add a bit more color here, right? Maybe a bit of blue and white over there. Oh, and some green would be nice too. Believe me, a little greenery around here would do a wonder to your kingdom!" The angel then paused for a few seconds before adding, "I'd advise against black, though. The vibes are grim enough as it is, and THAT coming from me, of all people, must mean something."
His brother just continued to prattle on and on about the hellish scenery. Wait, no... he was now babbling about the importance of safety. And as if wanting to prove his point, Michael kicked a small stone that hit whatever was left of the hotel and sent it crumbling down, adding even more dust to the "contaminated" air he had just criticized not even a minute ago.
"..."
"See what I mean?" Michael gestured dramatically at the latest mess he himself had just created. "Just a little knock, and it collapsed into nothing. For real, Luci, you're the king. You should care more about the most basic essentials of your subjects and visitors alike, you know. We wouldn't want anyone to accidentally..." His steps stopped in front of the freshly dead Exorcist, with her golden ichor still warm as it bled over Hell's very ground. And, although not sparing the corpse a glance, his intention was clear enough in the eyes that stared unblinkingly in Lucifer's direction.
"Get themselves killed , after all."
The sentence was finished with an emphasis on the word "killed" and a predatory grin more fitting of a ravenous beast than any sentient being that ever roamed Earth, Hell, and Heaven.
Okay, Lucifer had enough of this guy's bullshit.
If the bastard thought he could just waltz right in his domains and casually threaten him in his own fucking house , then this motherfucker had another thing coming his way very soon.
"What. Are. You. Doing. Here. Michael?"
Lucifer snarled with all the rage he could muster, eyes glowing red as his tail whipped behind him agitatedly, trying his best to mimic the terror mortals were fond of depicting him to be in their myth: The Devil, the personification of evil itself that had doomed all of men kind since the beginning of Creation. And he succeeded; primitive fear gripped tightly in the hearts of the surrounding sinners, angels, and, regretfully, even his daughter as well.
(He tried his best to ignore how his six wings flared wide, all feathers puffed up in an attempt to make himself seem bigger than he actually was.)
Michael only blinked intelligently in response.
“What do you mean what am I doing here?” The most infuriating asshole in existence asked with a tone so reeked of false innocence that it couldn’t be anything but a desire to piss someone off than they already were.
"You made it sound like I've committed a crime or something. I mean, it's not like there is something wrong with visiting a relative I haven't seen for ages," the angel said, sounding so convincingly clueless that it could trick a newborn infant with ease.
Lucifer had no time for his brother's twisted mind game.
"Oh, you of all people should know why," he growled with barely contained rage. "You know better than to set foot in my kingdom ever again, or are you telling me the great Saint Michael has been diagnosed with dementia during the time I haven't seen your face?"
He dared to hope that his rather... admittedly pathetic insult would grate the angel's nerves a little.
"Tsk, tsk, silly Luci."
But no, the so-called Champion of Justice's expression hadn't changed from its default smug superiority in the slightest as Saint Michael continued his walk, now strolling around The Devil, never once breaking his eye contact with him.
“Of course, I know better than anyone,” His brother said with a laugh. “It’s impossible for me to forget such a big deal between us, Brother.
“Then you’re a bigger fool than I could ever be if you do remember and still dare to show your face here, Brother .” The last word was coated with so much venom that Lucifer rarely used it with any demon or angel nowadays. “A fool who thinks you could fight me in that state you’re currently in.”
Before any retort could come out of the asshole’s smart mouth, a quiet, uncertain voice broke the tense atmosphere first.
“Dad, who… is he?
Charlie tentatively cut in as she stared at the newcomer with unmistakable wariness. Yet, despite her injuries and unease, she still slowly stepped towards Lucifer. The pitchfork was now back in her hands as she clenched it tightly, indicating that she was willing to fight alongside her father if it came to that, regardless of who the new foe was.
The shocked, audible gasp could be heard from his brother's mouth as soon as the Princess of Hell finished speaking.
"You never tell her about me?! " Michael's voice was full of disbelief. His hand clutched the white suit right above his heart exaggeratedly, sounding betrayed. "How could you, Luci?! Two hundred years, and you and Lilith didn't even deign to mention me? Little old me? When I'm the most well-known angel ever known to the humans you used to adore so much?!"
Before Lucifer could retort to the two-faced bitch that even if he were on a speaking term with that side of his family, he would be the last person he would ever introduce his beautiful, kind-hearted daughter to. The other most annoying voice in the Creation interrupted him first.
"HAHAHAHAHA, you cunts are so dead right now!"
It seemed that Adam, injured but sadly still alive and well, finally regained enough strength to crawl out of the hole he was thrown in. And in spite of his swollen face (courtesy of Lucifer nonetheless), a triumphant smirk could be seen stretched widely across it.
"You've really gone and done it, Lucifuck! You finally fucked up enough for the boss to come down and deal with your twink ass himself!"
With his mask broken, the First Man's revealed golden eyes were full of sadistic glee and mania as he managed to drag himself back to his feet again. His confidence had now fully returned with the unexpected reinforcement.
Nevertheless, Adam obviously did not dare to step out of Michael's shadow, content to stay in his protection after enduring the massive beating from Lucifer. That damn coward.
The only positive thing that came out of this was probably the fact that Michael's arrogant face finally turned sour at the former human's exclamation.
"Language, Adam," Michael scolded him with a frown, looking like a displeased dad after hearing his kid swear in front of him for the first time. Unfortunately, it appeared that he did not put enough command in his tone to put the First Human in his place.
"You asked who he is, Sunshine? Welp, allow me the privilege of introducing His Royal Highness to all of your sorry asses in this damn shithole!"
Adam declared uproariously as he spread his golden wings and flew up, clearly intending to create as much fanfare as possible despite his less-than-stellar appearance.
"Behold, you motherfuckers! The one and only, the Sword of God, the Angel of Destruction, the First Ever Exorcist, the Fucking Slayer of you loser ass Demons, the Founder of the Exterminators, and the Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts—Prince Michael the Taxiarch!!!"
After the Leader of the Exorcists' declaration, the deafening silence became even more daunting than before. His daughter's spider friend quietly uttered, "Oh fuck," clearly recognized that name from the time he was still alive, and he was not the only one to do so. The winged cat and many sinners in the area were immediately stricken with alarm as the weight of the situation began to sink in.
The Exorcists, on the other hand, immediately broke into murmurs after the newcomer's identity was finally confirmed, quietly whispering among each other and staring at the white-clad angel in awe and disbelief.
Not far away, Maggie's eyes slowly widened in horror as her biggest fear became a reality.
Yet, the root of the apprehension only mumbled, "You know what, I give up," evidently not at all amused at his former charge's overly enthusiastic cacophony of vulgar words used to describe his many epithets. With a tired groan, Michael shifted his focus back on his own brother, the reason he came down to this hellhole in the first place.
"Thank you, Adam. So, now that the introduction is said and done. I believe it's time we go back to business." The Taxiarch, thankfully snapped from the "let's annoy the hell out of Lucifer and hope he dies from aneurysm" mood, fucking at last answered his question, "I came to inspect the... disturbance of this year's Extermination Day."
"Oh, right. The day I recall quite well that strictly only involves sinners and your shitty foot soldiers," Lucifer growled, "which I and Lilith made it clear in the treaty that you, the Supreme Commander of Heavenly Military, under no circumstances, are allowed to either directly or indirectly interfere with this matter." Lucifer made sure to state the details of the said treaty word by word. Let this haughty brother of his know that Lucifer's memories had not always failed him, no matter how Michael liked to insist otherwise with all the jabs he'd sent his way all those years ago when they were fledglings still learning the way of the world.
Back then, Michael always complained about how unreliable Lucifer's memories were, forgetting where he last placed their toys or the way back to their nest, as if the bastard had not been the one who decided to venture too far and drag him along in the first place, resulting in the harsh scold and a painful peck on their heads when Father inevitably found them before carrying them back by the scruff of their necks.
"My, my, don't act so high and mighty like you didn't also break the treaty, Luci," the Heavenly Prince responded with a laugh, seeming perfectly unconcerned with his own blatant breach of the treaty that could threaten the very peace of both Heaven and Hell by large margin and not just the status quote between sinners and Exorcists.
"In fact, I highly doubt we were the first to violate it, judging from the situation I found my subordinates in," he said, gesturing at the states of Adam and Exorcists alike.
"Well, your subordinate tried to kill my daughter first," Lucifer retorted heatedly, his anger rising back up at the image of Adam gripping Charlie by the neck, a second away from killing her. "That was more than enough to warrant my interference."
"An interesting observation, indeed," his brother agreed cheerfully and continued, "However, that does raise a point worthy of discussion, don't you think?"
With that, Michael's gaze slowly moved from Lucifer to where his daughter was, acknowledging her presence for the first time since this whole ordeal began. The blazing green eyes observing her were sharp like a hawk watching its prey.
"What is she doing here?"
The words coming out of his mouth were much more of a statement than a question. And unlike before, Michael's tone lacked any ebullience. Instead, it was full of heavy accusation, causing Charlie to immediately stiffen at the severity of his voice, suddenly feeling very much like a rat in the presence of a cat.
"As my brother has said, the Extermination Day only concerned the elimination of sinners, not hellborn," The Taxiarch said with a matter-of-fact tone before starting to circle around the father and daughter once again. Yet, his gaze never once left Charlie.
"So I will ask again, what are you doing here, Princess? "
The repeated question seemed to snap his daughter from the trance she found herself in. She stammered to answer, trying and failing to prevent her voice from shaking under the pressure of the angel's scrutiny.
"I-I have no choice! Adam was going to destroy my hotel and kill all of my friends!" Charlie cried out. "As the Princess of Hell, I have to protect my people!"
Her answer seemed to surprise Michael a little as his steps paused, and he looked at the princess almost intriguingly.
"Hmm, how interesting," the angel noted. "Yes, very interesting indeed," he hummed before snapping his fingers, conjuring a golden contract into existence, which promptly floated to Charlie, allowing her to see its contents clearly.
"When your parents and I discuss this treaty, I've already foreseen that some hellborn might assist sinners during an Extermination, whether for the former's benefit or genuine goodwill towards the latter. So, I struck a deal with your parents, 'if a hellborn demon attempts to attack an Exorcist or hinder the eradication of a sinner's soul in any way. The angel is allowed to attack the hellborn in self-defense while focusing first and foremost on incapacitating them. With the condition that both parties would try their best to avoid the fatality unless the worst comes to worst," the Taxiarch stated in a formal tone. "Therefore, by technicity, neither you nor Adam is breaching the treaty here, Princess."
The word 'But' hung heavily in the air, and Michael continued before Lucifer or his daughter could interrupt him.
"Here the keywords 'both parties would try their best to avoid the fatality,'" he said evenly, "And based on the past test cases, none of hellborn had ever succeeded in harming an Exorcist before. So it could be argued that Hell has fulfilled the condition without fail for thousands of years."
The Prince of Heaven then stared pointedly at the several bodies of dead angels.
"However, it appears that's not quite the case for you, is it?"
"Well, it's not my fault that we both just discovered that angels can be harmed in the first place!" She shouted in frustration." So, you can't use test cases as a precedent for these circumstances, as I reckoned that the hellborn never tried to attack you guys with angelic steel before."
"Oh, but I'm not talking about that little discovery, little one," Michael remarked with a grin. "You claimed you had no choice, while, in my opinion, there were many ways to avoid this bloodbath and save your favored subjects' lives.
"For instance, the simplest solution would be asking your father for this place's protection," the supreme-commander of all angels continued evenly. "As the Princess of Hell, I believe that was well within your power, wasn't it? With Lucifer's protection, even Adam would have no choice but to leave your hotel alone in spite of his threats."
He then stopped his lengthy explanation before glancing away from Charlie.
"Yet, you chose to jump straight to a butchery of my soldiers, rallying an army, arming them with angelic steel, and, from the looks of it, training them well in advance for the incoming Extermination, even promising rewards that are the taste of angelic flesh to those who fight for you."
The wingless angel then looked back unblinkingly at her, his green eyes staring into the Princess's very soul.
And at this moment, Lucifer could feel his stomach drop as a sinking realization hit him like a truck.
His brother had been observing the situation from afar all along.
"Which means you've thoroughly violated the treaty, Child. Adam might've tried to kill you, true, but he wasn't the first to aim for death."
Lucifer wasn't the only one who was lying in wait.
"So..." Michael's attention shifted from the stunned Charlie to him, his intentions clear in his gaze. His brother then slowly clenched his hand into a fist.
And the golden contract instantly crumbled and was torn into pieces before fading to glittering dust.
"Let us both settle our business at last, shall we?"
Michael had been waiting for this moment for a very long, long time.
The green-eyed angel’s smile was full of manic and bloodthirsty glee.
A smile that concealed the scorching, indescribable rage that was boiling behind those emerald eyes for more than ten thousand years.
”Time to die, Big Brother. ”
And then, the Prince of Darkness lunged at the Demon King.