22: Pandemonium (2)

The next morning, I took Hanniah down to the dining hall. My insides felt like they’d been put through a blender.

All the food here was prepared by elite chefs, supposedly delicious, and reportedly wasteful. The linen-covered tables were surrounded three rows deep, crowded to the brim. At the center, where the grand dishes were laid out, only Mammon was sitting there alone.

I remembered how he’d seen me in such a humiliating state the night before. Forcing a calm smile, I sat down and helped myself to a plate of meat, eggs, vegetables, and a glass of milk.

Mammon had one leg propped up on a side table, his chin resting lazily on his hand as he looked at me. “You…”

I glanced up at him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Mammon smiled, as if deep in thought.

His face was small, but his nose was sharp and elegant, exactly like his father’s. That’s why, despite Lucifer’s age and his cold expressions since the Fall, he still carried that inescapable air of youth and elegance. Mammon, however, was a real youngster, his features striking as a blossom in spring, with a natural roguishness that probably charmed no end of young demon girls.

He took out his pipe and lit it, turning his head to puff away. From the side, without looking at his eyes, he really did resemble a younger version of Lucifer. I caught myself staring.

He noticed at once, and though he didn’t lift his head, his gaze shifted my way. “What’re you looking at?”

I quickly found a topic. “You don’t see anyone else smoking in here. Even if you’re a prince, that doesn’t mean you can.”

Mammon twirled the pipe in his fingers, brushing his hair aside with the same hand, elbow resting on the table. “Why do you care so much? You’re not my dad. Anyway, you’re up early.”

“Nine isn’t early.”

“I sleep at four in the morning and wake up at five in the afternoon.”

I had just picked up my fork, then set it back down. “Seems like your greatest talent is ruining your own body.”

“Being young is the greatest asset. I didn’t sleep at all after the banquet last night, but I’m still glowing.” Mammon gave his cheek a playful flick. “Old man like you can only dream of skin like this.”

I stared at his dewy complexion for a long moment. “Doesn’t look like much.”

Mammon sighed dramatically. “Ah, that’s the problem with being too powerful—people forget to notice your looks.”

His narcissism left me at a loss. I decided to change the topic. “So what kept you up all night?”

“Playing, of course.”

“What could possibly keep you playing all night?”

Mammon grinned. “My mother always said, the older men get, the worse they become. A man your age who’s still this upright? That’s a rare breed.”

Little brat. I scowled and turned my attention to the giant fried egg on the table. “What is this? Why is it so big?”

“Dragon egg.”

I froze. Hanniah nearly dropped his fork. “You…”

“What? A dragon egg’s just an egg, same as a chicken’s. It’s really nourishing, though, too much and you’ll get heaty.”

Hanniah looked from the egg to him, then refused to touch it.

But I, being a Seraph with some pride, kept a straight face and cut into the egg without hesitation. “Mammon, didn’t you party all night? Aren’t you tired? Why are you here having breakfast with us?”

Mammon’s hands paused mid-motion. He fiddled with the egg for a long time without success. I speared a forkful of molten, golden yolk and slid it in front of him. “Here, eat this.”

Mammon blinked, startled, then bit into the egg without a word. He turned away, trying to look casual but his face turned red as he chewed.

“Too hot?”

Mammon shook his head, mouth full, cheeks puffed like a squirrel.

“Then why’s your face so red? Not tasty?”

He spun the pipe in his hand a few times, then abruptly stood up, muttering around the mouthful, “I’m going out for a smoke.”

No sooner had Mammon left than Lilith arrived. She wore no makeup, her bare face gentle and youthful, like a girl in the bloom of spring. She placed a steaming glass of milk on the table and smiled at us. “Your Highness Michael, Your Highness Hanniah, good morning.”

I smiled back. “Your Majesty, what a surprise.”

Lilith said, “Why don’t you have Mammon show you around Rhodheoga today? If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come to me or Lucifer.”

Hanniah replied, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Lilith turned to me. “Is there any place in particular you’d like to visit, Your Highness?”

I’d meant to say Snowmoon Forest, but still wary of Lilith, I chose the safer route. “Where does Your Majesty think is best?”

Her eyes lit up. “Snowmoon Forest. Just yesterday, Lucifer said he wanted to take me there. How about this: the next time we go, you join us. It’ll be more fun with more people.”

Something knotted in my chest. I shook my head immediately. “No, no—thank you, Your Majesty.”

Hanniah smiled. “Everyone in Heaven knows how well the two Majesties get along.”

Lilith leaned on her elbow, her voice soft and warm. “Yes. He’s a man with strong opinions, but also very romantic. I never dreamed someone like him would fall in love with me.”

Hanniah said earnestly, “Why not? Your Majesty is so beautiful. Why wouldn’t he?”

“I used to be so insecure. I always thought someone that extraordinary would lose interest quickly. I even prepared myself for a breakup. But we’ve been together over seven thousand years now. I still can’t quite believe it.”

Insecure…

Who wouldn’t feel insecure being with Lucifer?

I used to think it was completely irrational that he would choose to be with me. I had interrogated him childishly over and over, forcing him to make promises.

And he—how patiently he would answer again and again. That he loved me. That he would never leave me.

It was just that… the vows he never fulfilled with me, he fulfilled with Lilith.

……

As soon as Lilith left, Hanniah lit up with curiosity. “Father, did you notice? She seems really different from when we first met.”

I shook my head, too tired to care.

“I didn’t see it at first, but the last couple days, I’ve been thinking that you two actually look a lot alike.”

“Mhm. We have the same face.”

I could already guess what Hanniah wanted to ask. Luckily, before he could open his mouth, Mammon walked in. He put out his smoke, clapped a hand on my shoulder, and said, “Come on, let’s go for a stroll.” Then yanked me so hard I nearly dislocated my arm.

There weren’t many people on the street. A few stalls had just opened. The Demon Realm’s traditional storefronts hadn’t changed in thousands of years. Street vendors heaped a mess of goods on top of bright red cloth and conducted their business with casual ease.

Things from Rhodheoga rarely made it up to Heaven, so I stopped to look at every stall carefully. I picked up a round fruit and asked, “What’s this?”

“Coral fruit,” Mammon said, tapping it with his pipe. “Fished up from the mermaid world via the undersea city route. It’s a spherical form of coral. That glowing part underneath is the leaf.”

“Coral has leaves?”

“The Demon Realm isn’t like Heaven, Archangel. Grind this down into powder and it’s a powerful tonic. Rare stuff. Sells for two Anra. No need to buy it, though. I can get one for you.”

I nodded and picked up a translucent green fish bone. “Why does this fish have legs?”

“That’s a magically engineered hybrid. Wearing its fossil boosts spellcasting. Twenty Ori, but not worth it. You don’t need to buy it either.”

I made a neutral sound. To him, nothing was worth buying. Classic cheapskate.

Suddenly, Mammon looked energized. “Wanna hit the library? My dad’s dragons, my mom’s dragons, and the baby dragon that’s mine, they’re all there.”

“You mean Kongo, Anglu, and their kid?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your dragon’s name?”

“Anra,” Mammon grinned. “Sounds rich, right?”

I gave him a blank stare, then patted his face helplessly and continued walking with Hanniah. After a while, I noticed Mammon was no longer with us. I turned back and saw him still touching his own cheek. As soon as he spotted me, he quickly pulled out his half-finished cigarette, took a drag, and blew a few smoke rings like nothing had happened.

Seeing him catch up, Hanniah asked, “Lord Mammon, the Demon Realm’s library must have books really different from Heaven’s, right?”

“What are you looking for?”

“History, weapons, schools, minerals, customs… That’s what I can think of for now.”

“Oh, Beauty of God! Do you know how long it would take to read all that? Did you come to the Demon Realm just to camp in the library?”

“Heaven doesn’t take the Demon Realm seriously. Even books on the Demon language are full of gaps. Now that we’re here, of course I want to learn more.”

“Fine, you study, I seduce. Michael, come with me.”

I slapped his claw away. “Mammon, if you keep running your mouth, I’m going to get mad.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t provoke you.” Mammon raised his hands in mock surrender. “Tell you what, Hanniah. Don’t go digging through all that stuff. If you do, your dad will follow you. I know all of it already, I’ll explain it to you. Especially minerals. Hehe, I can name and describe all three thousand eight hundred eighty-four kinds found in the Demon Realm. Especially, especially black pearls.”

Hanniah nodded. “What about slave ships? Do you know about those?”

I answered, “The earliest slave ships date back to the Age of Factions. Back then, Heaven and the Demon Realm hadn’t yet gone to war. The Demon King was constantly trying to follow Heaven’s lead, which led to blind worship of magic. Most demons who couldn’t use magic ended up enslaved. In the beginning, slaves had no freedom, no personhood. They could be traded like goods or slaughtered outright. The meaning’s completely different now. Aside from heavy workloads and low pay, there’s little distinction from ordinary citizens.”

“Didn’t think you’d know all that,” Mammon remarked, somewhat surprised. “But of course, Your Highness Michael, ever the perfect angel, won’t say a word about the thousands of hybrid fallen angels who fled the Demon Realm for Heaven during that time. Even your ‘compassionate’ Lord Raphael never talks about that.”

I frowned. “What does Raphael have to do with the fallen angels?”

“He used to be half-demon, half-divine. Didn’t you know?”

“Nonsense! Raphael is a pure-blooded Seraph. He couldn’t possibly have demon blood.”

“He is now, sure. That’s because he went to Heaven. Who knows what kind of shady deal he struck with God. Later, he helped push for the War of Light and Darkness, made some grand achievements, and got fully purified into a Seraph. But originally, he had demon blood.”

“Mammon, as a prince of the Demon Realm, how can you speak so irresponsibly? Aren’t you afraid of causing trouble for your father?”

“Cause trouble for my dad? Please. Every demon knows this. It’s written in textbooks. If it weren’t for Raphael, Heaven and the Demon Realm probably wouldn’t have fought so many wars. He grew up here, yet now he acts more like an archangel than you. What a hypocrite.”

Ordinarily, any rumor from the Demon Realm would at least echo faintly in Heaven’s records. But I had never once heard of this. Arguing with Mammon now wouldn’t help anything. I’d look into it later when I had the chance.

“Fine. I’m not arguing with you. I’ll take Hanniah to the library—I’m curious about black magic.”

“Black magic? Then you need to ask the expert. What good’s a book?”

“The expert?”

Mammon didn’t answer. He just dragged us straight back through the market to Pandemonium.

Kade Palace.

Outside Lucifer and Lilith’s bedchamber stood several demonic statues—scythe-bearing, wings spread, lifelike and imposing. The decor inside followed a black motif, right down to the heavy velvet curtains that pooled to the floor.

Even from the doorway, we could hear piano music drifting through, soft and melodious, smooth and full. Every note rich and round. Mammon strolled in without knocking.

The floor was black marble, glossy enough to reflect one’s image clearly, so polished, even the light piano notes seemed capable of shattering it. We passed a silent fountain in the center hall and twisted through the corridors until we stopped at a parlor.

Inside stood a grand piano. A slender, snow-white vase sat atop it, cradling a single black rose. Lilith leaned against the piano, her graceful silhouette mirrored in its lacquered surface. She watched the pianist with a quiet smile, tapping light rhythms with her fingers.

Through the frame of the piano, I caught a glimpse of the player’s eyes—lowered, gentle.

So he could play. And surprisingly well.

Halfway through the piece, the music suddenly stopped. Lucifer’s voice came from within. “Why are you just standing there? Come in.”

“Dad, you’re spending your weekend playing piano? C’mon, go out and do something,” Mammon muttered as he slouched in, striking a few idle keys of his own.

Lucifer’s fingers tapped a few notes in response. “We just got here. And you already want to go out?”

“Nah. The Archangel wants to learn about black magic. I don’t know anything about it, so I came to ask you.”

The notes stopped cold. Lucifer looked up. “Michael?”

“Yeah.”

Lucifer paused for a moment and said, “Wait here. I’ll go to the library and find some materials—once I’ve organized them, I’ll give them to you.”

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you already have it all memorized? Why bother with materials?”

“Mammon, wait for me.”

As soon as Lucifer stood up, Mammon interjected, “Whoa, whoa, whoa—he’s just curious, he’s not writing a thesis. Just give him a verbal summary.”

Lucifer hesitated a long while before replying, “I’ll write it down. You hand it to him.”

Mammon turned and shouted to me, “Don’t mind him. My dad’s always like this, insufferably full of himself. He barely even talks to me most days.”

The piano music wavered slightly.

Lucifer suddenly stood up.

“I didn’t mean to trouble Your Majesty,” I said quickly. Turning to Hanniah, I smiled awkwardly. “Didn’t I tell you this wasn’t a good idea?”

Lucifer took two steps forward. “Wait.”

Mammon hooked his arm around Lucifer’s and started dragging him toward the door, turning back to wink at Lilith. “Mom, borrowing Dad for a sec!”

Lilith smiled peacefully. “Go ahead. Don’t be too long.”

At the threshold, Lucifer looked at me for a long moment. “What do you want to know?”

I looked away. “Black magic. I can look it up myself though, there’s no need to trouble Your Majesty.”

Lucifer took the lead. “In that case, come with me to the library.”

Mammon was stunned. “Dad, you’re seriously going to dig through books? That’s exhausting. I’m not doing that.”

“If you don’t like reading, you can go home.”

Mammon snorted and darted ahead with no real protest.

The library was some distance from Pandemonium, so Lucifer called for a carriage. On the way, Hanniah was once again marveling at the outside world. Mammon played along, chirping out “Dad” in the most charming tone possible. While he and Lucifer chatted, Lucifer’s gaze would occasionally drift to my face, and whenever it did, I would meet his eyes. Every time, I was the one who looked away first.

Half an hour later, Lucifer said, “We’re here.”

Under a sky thick with clouds stood a massive cylindrical building, its entrance framed by tall iron gates. The Kongo family had each claimed a corner of the grounds, father and mother shooting sparks at each other while poor Anra remained stuck between them, laughing and crying all at once.

Hanniah laughed. “Father, those three dragons really do remind me of you, the Heavenly Father, and me.”

“You think everyone looks like us.”

“No way. You two are always cuddling and forget all about me. It’s tragic.”

He said it so seriously I couldn’t help but reach out and pat his head. “Silly kid. Maybe you shouldn’t stick to me like glue.”

“I cling to you because I admire you.”

Mammon shivered theatrically. “My goodness, my Beauty of God, could you say anything more nauseating?”

Hanniah blinked. “What did I say wrong? Don’t you love your father?”

“Michael, your son is just like you,” Mammon said, elbowing Lucifer. “Then again, I get it. My parents are the same—always busy being lovey-dovey and ignoring me. But I’m not like you though, I’m not some clingy little duckling.”

That got Hanniah riled up. His cheeks puffed red as he tried to argue back. Mammon pulled a face, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Lucifer said coolly, “Let’s go.”

The four of us entered the library. The main reading hall was the size of a football field—circular, open in the middle, with two inner levels and an outer ring stacked with bookcases. Surrounding the shelves were ornate, antique desks and chairs. Above, a massive glass dome let in pale light. Each bookshelf was flanked by three levels of stairs. Rare books had to be climbed for. Most of the people inside were elderly dark mages. If not for the turning of pages, I might have mistaken them for obsidian statues.

Mammon leaned against a shelf. “Honestly, I hate coming here. The second I walk in, I feel illiterate.”

Lucifer replied, “Which is why I keep telling you to read more.”

“I’m a warrior,” Mammon said. “If I’ve got free time, I’d rather spend it on my biceps than reading.”

“Your arm strength is already impressive,” said Lucifer, “but your brain could use a little weight too.”

“You praise me like that and I’m gonna get shy.”

“Oh, I am praising you—your skin’s getting thicker by the day.”

“You’re so cool, Dad. Thanks, Dad!”

Hanniah was visibly overwhelmed by this bizarre father-son exchange and fled into the stacks with a quick wave.

Lucifer said, “You two find a seat. I’ll go look for the books.”

I got up to follow him. “It’ll be faster with two. Let me help.”

“It won’t take long.” He stopped in front of a shelf, raised his hand lightly, and pointed toward a section. Two books immediately fluttered out and landed perfectly in his grasp.

We found a place to sit. Lucifer held up the books. “These are both beginner-level black magic texts. The blue one covers theory. The gray one for practical training. You currently use white magic, which in nature is pure and sacred, focused on helping others and self-improvement, gentleness overcoming hardness. Black magic is the opposite—it curses and controls, using force to counter force.”

Mammon slumped on the table like he was half-dead. “I hate magic. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Lucifer continued, “Imagine this: you want a thousand gold coins. As you try to earn them, you run into a friend who pays back a five-hundred-coin debt from years ago. You still need to earn the rest yourself—that’s how white magic works. But with black magic, you earn nothing, then get hit by a carriage, and they compensate you two thousand coins. It’s more than you hoped for, but you’re also badly injured. That’s black magic.”

“No wonder it’s so addictive.”

“In my view, black magic is much more practical than white magic. The more powerful your are, the more easily you control it.”

“Too bad I only know fire-type white magic.”

Lucifer glanced at me with a faint smirk. “Oh? I thought you were like Mammon and don’t use magic at all.”

I replied seriously, “Your Majesty Lucifer, someone who’s never been to the battlefield will never understand how helpless it can be.”

“Is that so? I’m just curious. You’re an angel but how are you so strong physically?”

“Strength’s not all good. Swinging a blade endlessly is fine for staying alive, but it also makes you a shield. If the enemy numbers even a bit more than usual, it’s impossible not to get hurt. And it’s always the kind that doesn’t kill but hurts like hell for days. That’s the worst kind.”

Lucifer held the cover of the book for a long while, silent.

Then he said, “Michael. If you truly see yourself as my enemy, isn’t it beneath you to waste time fighting foot soldiers?”

“Heroes don’t judge worth by rank. If someone can hurt me, then they’re worth taking seriously.”

Lucifer fell into an even longer silence. So long that I finally felt compelled to break it. “By the way… I heard from Mammon that your textbooks say Raphael had demon blood?”

“It’s true.”

“But… do you have proof?”

Lucifer closed the book, and his voice grew distant. “Michael, technically speaking, I shouldn’t be here showing you our magical texts. Right now, I’m speaking to you in a personal capacity. If you want to challenge the Demon Realm’s educational system, then I see no reason to continue this conversation. Save it for the next formal exchange.”

He drew the line so cleanly it made me realize how casual—how presumptive—my words had been.

Maybe… maybe sitting beside him, reading together like this, I had confused the present with the past.

“I’m sorry,” I said, clenching my fists under the table. “Please continue, Your Majesty.”

Lucifer reopened the book and resumed the lesson. He began to explain the Demon Realm’s hexagrams and the psycho-material duality of the Sons of Satan, eventually leading into hexagram-based demon summoning.

At that, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I summoned Mammon once.”

“I heard. He said you contracted with him.”

I felt my face flush hot, then pale. “The way I was dressed that night… it was really inappropriate.”

“No. It wasn’t strange.” Lucifer muttered something under his breath. I didn’t quite catch it, but it definitely wasn’t the “You looked beautiful” that I thought I had heard.

“Mammon really likes you,” he continued, his gaze deep, striking. “Even if you haven’t known each other long, I’d really like it if you could guide him more. Of course, you can refuse.”

I waved my hands quickly. “No, no—I like him too. I’m just worried I won’t be here long enough to teach him much.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Maybe ten or twenty days after the Day of the Fall. It depends on God’s will.”

Lucifer seemed like he wanted to say something else, then said, “If you want to tour any other places, you can ask me.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He weighed the books in his hands. “I’ll go find a few more basic volumes for you. You can take them back to Heaven to read slowly.”

“Really? I was getting ready to copy everything by hand.”

Lucifer rose and greeted a few of the elder sorcerers nearby, then headed toward the shelves.

He’d hung his cloak up earlier. As I watched his back—the sharp black boots, the fine trousers outlining long legs, the broad shoulders that even thick black hair couldn’t hide—I found myself dazed.

I quickly stood and ran after him, patting his shoulder.

The towering shelves were layered and deep, blocking almost all the light. As he pulled out a book, he turned and looked at me in slight confusion. “What is it?”

I froze too.

What was I doing?

Just then, seeing his back under the dim light had overlapped too much with that distant memory in the Tower of Luminescence. I shook my head and fumbled for an excuse. “Do you still need those two?”

“You still want to read them?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you think they’re worth reading, take them. There are plenty here.”

“Okay.”

I turned to leave.

But suddenly, my wrist was grabbed. Startled, I looked back.

Lucifer hesitated, then frowned. “You should return to Heaven sooner. Send someone else—anyone else. Just seeing you irritates me.”

My throat went dry. I couldn’t speak. But when I looked up, I saw that Lucifer’s eyes were slightly redder than usual. A ripple of fear passed through me. I instinctively stepped back.

“All right. I’ll leave tomorrow morning. I’ll ask God to send another archangel.”

The bracelet bit into my skin.

I began pulling my hand away—only for him to grip it tighter.

“Don’t replace yourself. Stay here. But don’t come see me again.”

I looked up into his eyes. “Your Majesty, please let go.”

His hand loosened slightly—then tightened again before I could escape. My temper flared; I was just about to brute force him off when he suddenly shoved me back against the shelf. My mind blanked. I looked up instinctively.

And in the next moment, his lips were on mine.

The gemstones sewn into my robe were pulled loose, clattering onto the floor.

Lucifer’s kiss was rough, almost violent. I was caught off guard, tried to pull his hands away, but he pinned my wrists behind me against the shelf. My voice came out in broken gasps as he wrapped an arm around my waist, pressing us flush together.

I could have resisted. I wasn’t weak.

But each time I tried, I hesitated. In the end, the wall inside me fell with almost no effort. My eyes burned. I stopped resisting and slowly parted my lips.

His familiar scent enveloped me. His tongue entered.

I couldn’t keep up with his wild pace, but I tried, desperately, to match it, tangling with him.

At that moment, he paused. His grip on my wrists eased. His kiss gentled.

This version of Lucifer… I hadn’t seen in a very, very long time.

The faint ray of light overhead spun in the air. My heartbeat trembled with anxiety. I cupped his face and leaned closer, responding willingly this time. Lucifer seemed stunned again—then pulled me tight into his arms and kissed me deep.

I didn’t know how long we kissed.

It all ended with Mammon’s voice from behind the bookshelf:

“Hey, Beauty of God, what are you doing over there?”

My hand slid from Lucifer’s back down to his waist, then dropped to my sides. He pulled away from the kiss, rose, and reached for a book above my head.

My mind buzzed. I clenched my fists and leaned against the bookshelf for support. He took down a thick volume, flipped it open casually, and handed it to me.

“You can read this one.”

I looked at the title: Introductory Curses. I couldn’t even form a decent reply. Instead, I put it back on the shelf, grabbed Fundamentals of Black Magic, and started flipping through it at lightning speed.

“I’ll just take this one.”

Lucifer paused, then smiled that somewhat cold, distant smile.

“I forgot you’re of the divine race. That was improper of me.”

Mammon and Hanniah came around from the other side. Hanniah was absorbed in a book, head lowered. With his bright red bangs veiling his eyes, his tall frame seemed somehow smaller than usual.

Mammon stretched and leaned lazily against a shelf like his bones had turned to water.

“Still stuck on that topic, huh. Dad, Archangel, how boring can you get.”

“Father is a very studious man,” Hanniah said with a smile as he approached.

“That’s why he and the Heavenly Father always had so much to talk about. Every time they chat, I just sit there with nothing to add, but I always admire it.”

He turned to me, eyes bright.

“Father, tell me—why are you and the Heavenly Father so close?”

I forced a tight smile.

“We’ve known each other a long time, and understand each other. That makes it easier to connect.”

Lucifer was still leafing through Introductory Curses, as focused as a young child encountering magic for the first time.

My relationship with Metatron was really strange. I liked him, and I often thought about him.

But if he came to me one day and said he wanted to marry someone, I’d sincerely wish him happiness.

Lucifer’s marriage, though—

It was a thorn in my heart that refused to come out no matter how much I pulled.

“Yes, I always knew you two were close,” Hanniah said, wiping my brow with his sleeve. He pointed behind me at a beam of light.

“Hot? You must’ve been standing in that beam for a long time.”

Lucifer shelved the book.

“I have other matters to tend to. I’ll head off first.”

Mammon twitched his long ear and laughed.

“Oh, so the old man ditches his son? Haven’t seen her in a few minutes and miss her that much already?”

“Which eye of yours saw me spending all day with her?”

“Oho! So now Dad knows ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’?”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, amused.

“Son, next month’s black pearl commission—”

“Dad! I was wrong!” Mammon panicked.

Lucifer nodded slightly and tapped my book with his finger.

“That’s better. Let’s go back.”

We returned to Pandemonium. No one spoke on the way back except for Mammon.

Lucifer bid us a brief farewell and disappeared into Kade Palace. Mammon, upon leaving, glanced back and smirked at me:

“January 4th. The Arena. You and me. Skip it and you’re a coward.”

As soon as they were gone, Hanniah turned to me.

“Father, when are we going back to Heaven? I really miss the Heavenly Father. Don’t you?”

I froze.

“I do. Of course I do.”

He looked at me seriously.

“I miss him a lot. Let’s go back soon, okay?”

How much did this child know?

How much had he seen?

If he knew the things I’d done…

Would he still admire me, still love me?

If he knew…

That his father had feelings for the Sovereign of Demons…

I shook my head and led him back to the Hall of Baisiel.

In Rhodheoga, night always fell early. I sat at the bedside, book open, but I couldn’t turn the page for what felt like hours.

Then I remembered that Lucifer had tapped my book.

On instinct, I flipped back a few pages.

A folded note slipped out and fluttered into my lap.

I picked it up, the handwriting unmistakable:

Lord Michael,

Were you flushed from the light in the library

Or from the betrayal within?

Author: Tav Tav

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