by Dahlia Lu
"I did not hand her over to you just for this to happen!" Chevalier aimed his punch at Lucifer's face. It was a little bit of a shock when he didn’t dodge. "I actually wanted to do that for a long time,” Chevalier confessed.
"Now that you got that off your chest," Lucifer headed out and threw back over his shoulder, "I have a promise to keep.”
Chevalier suddenly remembered. "You can't be serious about the extinction crap, right? Right?" Chevalier pushed Trent toward the door. "Go stop him or we'll all have to go live in Hell!"
Chapter 19: Truly Precious
Seth had been staring at the egg for a while now. He had never seen a live one before, and it fascinated him to watch how his kind came to be. Aside from his unconventional birth, he was the same as any other demon. More powerful, in fact, but pale in comparison to what Arvin used to be before Lucifer stripped him of his powers. All he had now was a bunch of novice spells and a room full of Soren’s potions.
He wondered how long he had to wait before the egg hatched. If it would hatch within this century, it would be nice. He would have the rare opportunity of observing how a true demon develops and compare it to his own experience.
Seth put the egg into his bag and walked into the throne room when he heard a hearty laugh from his father. Arvin hasn’t laughed like that in a long time.
Arvin turned to face him. “Do you feel that?” he asked.
Seth tried to sense something strange in the atmosphere but found nothing worth noting. “What am I supposed to feel?” he replied.
“Lord Lucifer is angry with the humans,” Arvin said with a wide grin on his face. He strode toward Seth. “He has ordered their extinction. Seth, transport us to the Earth Realm. We must not be late.”
Seth obediently drew his summoning circle on the ground. He held Arvin close to him as they sunk into the circle. When they arrived at the other side, they were greeted by a fleet of demons. They lowered their heads to Arvin as a sign of respect.
“I am late, after all,” Arvin smiled.
“Did they all answer Lucifer’s command?” Seth asked.
“Yes,” Arvin replied as he brushed by him. “It’s in our blood. His rage is ours.”
As his father walked away from him, Seth felt the eerie gap between them growing larger. He stood on one side of the cliff now, while Arvin and his demons stood on the other. He was alone. He could not feel Lucifer’s rage. He could not even hear the summoning. He had never been one of them.
He was nothing more than genetic DNA stolen from Arvin while he slumbered. It was no wonder Arvin never acknowledged him. There were never any connections between them. He might possess a demon’s appearance and power, but he was something else entirely.
He watched as Arvin and the other demons disappeared into the night. He wondered if this battle was even his own. He highly doubted they needed him, or even wanted him to be there.
With a deep breath, he transported into Lucifer’s mansion.
†††††
Chevalier stared worriedly out of the windows. He did not need to see them to know that they had gathered in the city. They numbered in hundreds, if not thousands. It would take them no time at all to tear this place to shreds. The extinction of mankind would not be far behind.
He was also angry at their treatment of her, but they had already paid the price. They were slaughtered and their corpses were blown to bits. Lucifer had to make an entire race pay. His headache returned.
“I was wrong,” a voice said.
Chevalier turned around and discovered Seth standing by the door. “Shouldn’t you be with your hordes?”
“You and I have more in common than Trent and I,” Seth said. He pulled out the egg from his bag and handed it over to Chevalier. “I do not need it to solve any mysteries.”
“What is it?” Chevalier stared at the clear egg. There was a golden core inside.
“This is Trent’s other self.”
Chevalier accepted the egg with both of his hands. “Is this…”
“Inside that egg is a demon’s core. As the egg matures, the core will grow the flesh and bones around it, creating the demon. It can store vast knowledge and is virtually indestructible. Only two weapons in existence can break it: Michael’s sword and Lucifer’s Bow. For some weaker demons, the poison from blackthorn can stop it from functioning. The core itself is the demon’s true immortality. Even if they are blown to bits, as long as the core is intact, the demon will rise against as if nothing ever happened. It will take some time, of course, for the core to reconstruct the demon’s body. That is when the demon goes into hibernation, a sleep that may take thousands of years. At this stage, you must protect the egg until she hatches, because the core is still very soft.”
“You sound as if you’re leaving a will.”
Seth turned away. “Unlike other demons, I do not have a core. I was created from genetic materials…a defective copy. That is probably why I cannot feel…never mind that. If I get decapitated or anything like that, I would surely die.”
“Do I have one?” Chevalier asked out of curiosity.
“I wasn’t around when Soren made you a demon. I wouldn’t know how you came to be. There is a chance you do have one, or maybe you don’t. If I had to guess, I would highly doubt it. A demon’s core cannot be artificially created. Even by mating, the creation of one is extremely rare. Arvin had to spend thirteen years searching just for an inactive one. That is probably why the demons prized Trent.”
Seth was distracted by the entrance.
Chevalier turned his attention toward the door. “You shouldn’t make eavesdropping a habit,” he said, knowing very well Hana was right outside. He faced Seth once again when he realized she had dashed off. “Why do you want to give it to me?”
“Arvin left it in my care, but I don’t think he needs it anymore. When Lucifer summoned him, he had found his purpose again. But what is my purpose?”
“Why must there be a purpose?” Chevalier asked. “Without a purpose, you are free to do as you want.”
“What is a bird that cannot fly? What is an instrument that cannot make a sound?” Seth asked in a sad and almost philosophical tone. “I am broken.”
“Those kinds of thoughts will exhaust you,” Chevalier turned toward the woman inside the cage. She stared back at him with hostility in her eyes. “If you do not have a purpose, find something you can love and make it your purpose. That will keep your head busy for a long, long time.”
The two demons jerked their head toward the windows when they felt another presence in the room. The Archangel Michael stood before them in blinding light. The light quickly faded away.
“Do you have to be so flashy?” Seth asked.
“Did I miss Lucifer?” Archangel Michael tried to sense Lucifer within the mansion. “I believe I have.”
“You’re here just in time, Michael,” Chevalier said. “Lucifer is on a rampage, and you’ve got to stop him from destroying everything!”
“If he is busy, I will come back another time,” the Archangel smiled.
“Wait…” Chevalier raised a brow. “You’re not going to stop him? He promised the extinction of mankind! Isn’t it your job to stop him?”
“You have grossly misinterpreted our roles,” Archangel Michael replied. “Besides the minor detail that I have promised to not interfere with his affairs, it is within his power and rights to do as he deems fit.”
“You’re just going to let him do whatever he wants?”
“Yes,” he answered. He walked toward Kali’s body and swept her bangs from her pretty face. “It was only a matter of time before the Earth cleanses itself again. If mankind survives, which I have no doubt when it comes to their persistence, they will just start over anew and wait for the next cleansing. It will be interesting to find out if Lucifer or mankind will prevail in the end. I just hope Lucifer does not overexert and exhaust himself like he did last time, or else I would not have anyone half as interesting to talk to for the ne
xt ten thousand years.”
Chevalier massaged the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Are you sure you’re enemies?” Chevalier asked cynically.
The Archangel gave him a faint smile and disappeared.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
He looked to the demoness in the cage and saw she was smiling mockingly at him.
“There is no helping it. I don’t see why you would want to,” Seth said to him and exited the room. “I will take my leave.”
“What are you smiling at?” Chevalier yelled. “If you don’t let go of Kali soon, I’ll lose my tempter and make you disappear.”
“You will not harm me as long as she is still inside,” the instinct replied. “I am safe. As long as I have her as a shield, I am safe.”
“Do you really think so?” Chevalier approached closer to the cage. “You’re right, I may not be able to do anything about it, but Lucifer will.”
The instinct flinched at his name.
“You know it too, don’t you?” Chevalier unlocked the cage and opened the door. “You can run now, but he will always be able to find you. He will hunt you down like an animal and he will squeeze the life out of you with his two hands. If he cannot have what he wants, he would rather break it.”
“I have put a lot of effort into taking control of this body,” she retorted. “I refuse to return to darkness!”
“If it is control that you want then take that body,” Chevalier gestured toward Kali’s corpse. “It may not be powerful, but it is immortal. If you must cling to the one you have now, then you also wait for your death.”
Chevalier walked away from the cage at let her have the room to decide. “Your days are numbered.”
“He will not kill me?” The instinct asked cautiously. “He will let me go?”
“I will personally guarantee it.”
†††††
The thunder rumbled angrily across the sky. The ominous thunderclouds were boiling with tremendous energy and shadowed everything in their path. Trent stopped in his tracks when he saw fire bolts falling from the sky to the center of the city. At the sight of him, people closed their doors and windows out of fear.
The dark angels flew above him towards his same destination. Trent took himself to the location where he felt his father’s presence the strongest. He saw Lucifer in mid-air. Below him was an army hundreds of thousands. Behind him were a fleet of demons, all under his command.
It appeared that he had entered in the middle of the conversation.
“We will rid the earth of you evil fiends!” the commander of the tanks below yelled. “We will blast you into oblivion!”
“Such big words for a little man,” a front demon mused. “You speak of evil as if you knew what it was.”
“You are the ones who are the embodiment of evil,” the commander retorted. “You infested the earth with your evil! You find your way into the hearts of good men and turned them against their better judgments! I know who you are. You are the plague that has been terrorizing our kind for thousands of years!”
“Are you a representative of your kind?” Lucifer asked.
“In this situation, yes.”
“Very well,” Lucifer said. “Then perhaps you can tell me in specific details of our evil deeds.”
“There are too many to mention!” the commander shouted after a short hesitation. “You should be the ones explaining yourselves! Why are you declaring war on us?”
“Your choice of words amuses me. In order to declare war with you, we must first find you our equals. However, this is not the case. You are here to hear my judgments.”
“Judgments?”
“I have watched your kind since your first steps on the face of this Earth. I grew weary with your progress and your inability to change. Your kind never failed to repeat the mistakes of your predecessors. You pushed your limitations to grounds that were never meant for you, and in doing so, killing the mother who had bountifully provided for your kind. You evolved into nothing more than parasitic life forms and placed her into a position of distress. You are motivated purely by your own greed and have convinced yourselves that every ounce of human nature is good. You set out to wage war to destroy one another at repetitive intervals, but refused your own part of the responsibility. It is always some outside evil that possessed you to do something out of character. Whether it is your greed or your denial of your own evil, I could simply overlook those things. After all, I have tolerated you for millions of years.”
“Then why now?” the commander asked. “Why do you want to destroy us now?”
“Why?” Lucifer appeared in front of the man and startled him. “You want to know why? I will tell you. I want to destroy you because you broke something precious of mine that I can never replace. If I must live an eternity in desolation, then I will make all of you pay the same price.”
“W-what did we take from you?” the commander stuttered. He could already see his life flashing before his eyes.
Trent placed a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. “You cannot make them pay for our loss.”
When Lucifer turned to him, Trent realized he had made an error in phrasing his sentence. “There are innocent people who have nothing to do with this. Please don’t make them suffer the same fate.”
“Give me one good reason why I should not.”
“Because, Father,” Trent lowered his eyes. “I am a demon as much as I am them. Her blood flows in my veins. If you want to drive humankind into extinction, the last two people you need to destroy are Mother and I.”
†††††
Kali gasped when she opened her eyes and saw her own face staring back at her. The instinct turned to Chevalier.
“May I go now?” she asked in a polite tone that shocked him.
“Yes,” Chevalier approved. A smile lit her face as she exited the door.
Chevalier helped Kali up from the cold table on which she was lying. She brought a hand to her forehead when she felt an overwhelming headache.
“What was that about?” Kali asked. “Skye acted more pleasant than I remembered. I thought she would lash out at me.”
“She’s not Skye,” Chevalier replied. “Those scientists forced you to hide so deep in your conscience that you couldn’t even hear Lucifer calling you. Before you get mad at me, just know that I did it in your best interest. I traded your body to the instinct in order to give you back control.”
“I see,” she said in a timid tone. She did not look as disappointed as he had previously been afraid.
“You are not angry?” Chevalier asked, just to be sure.
“Why should I be angry with you? You did what you had to do,” she sighed. “I deliberately disobeyed him. He must be very upset.”
“You tell me, he’s mobilizing his army and promised the extinction of the human race.”
Her brows knit together. “Why would he do such a thing?”
“I don’t know…maybe because he’s Lucifer and he’s pissed?” Chevalier shrugged.
“Would he…” there were doubts in her voice, “would he listen to me?”
“More importantly, Michael said that if Lucifer goes berserk and exhausts himself, he may have to go back to sleep,” Chevalier misquoted the Archangel. “If anyone could stop him, it would be you.”
She was way ahead of him. She ran out of the door before he had the chance to follow.
Chevalier became distracted by the sound of echoing chimes. His eyelids became increasingly heavy to mimic physical exhaustion that he hadn’t felt in a long time. A ripple effect blew across his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he saw her running toward the city center from the street below the balcony. She had not yet learned how to trace as a demon, or else she would have been long gone. He appeared in front of her.
She gasped at his sudden appearance and was unable to stop herself in time. She thought she was going to fall down from the impact, but he held her firmly by the shoulders. She jerked her head up to look at him.
>
“Let me give you a lift,” he said to her as he swept her up off her feet. She found herself in a different location each time they made a transition.
When they arrived, they were surprised to see Arvin in the conflict as well. Lucifer summoned a blue flame arrow from thin air and drew it back on the string of his bow. Arvin’s eyes glowed fiercely with anger. “This is the second time you used Ragnarok against me, Lucifer,” he said between grinded teeth.
“Good-bye, Arvin,” Lucifer said in a cold and almost cruel tone. He launched the arrow at Arvin and felt a tightness squeeze his chest. He wanted to look away, but it was something he must witness for himself. His brother deserved at least that.
Arvin’s eyes widened when he felt an arm wrap around his neck. He discovered Seth’s body shielding his own. The arrow penetrated Seth’s back with immaculate precision. If his son had not shielded him, it would have surely broken his core. He looked to Seth with a question, but that question quickly dissipated when he saw the smile on Seth’s face.
“Please allow me to call you Fa-”
He could not finish his sentence. His body transformed into gray ashes and crumbled in Arvin’s arms.
“He was a nuisance, anyways,” Arvin said coldly, but his tears exposed his lie.
“Lucifer!” Kali called out to him.
Time stood still for several moments as Lucifer startled in recognition. Before she jumped into his embrace, she walked passed him toward Arvin. She raised her hand above her head and slapped him across the face. “This slap is for what you put me through!”
Before he could retaliate, she made use of her demon strength and slapped him again. “This is for what you put Lucifer through!”
The demons were growling quietly. If Lucifer were not present, they would have ripped her to shreds for such an act against their kind.
“If you were half the humble servant you claimed to be, you would have never done what you did to him! How dare you make him choose between his family and the woman he loves? Why do you torment him with your plotting and planning? Is this how you serve him, Arvin?”
