Chapter 86 Work
Lucifiel stared blankly at the fallen angel before him.
They possessed identical faces, exuding the aura of the same soul.
This proved that the other was not lying. He wasn’t a demon that had seized his body, but…… another version of himself.
His relentless pursuit of perfection had split his soul in two. One half carried all the negative flaws, allowing the other to remain flawless.
Demon horns, blood-red eyes, jet-black feathers.
The same soul, yet burdened with different fates.
Lowering his head, Lucifiel covered his face with his hands. Clear tears slipped through his fingers, falling to the ground.
He had thought himself fearless and unbreakable. But he wasn’t.
Lucifer had carried all of Lucifiel’s darkness and suffering, so that Lucifiel could always remain bright and happy.
“……I’m sorry,” the kind angel whispered, his voice trembling with sobs.
“……I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Lucifiel. You are me, and I am you. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Lucifer understood how deeply shaken Lucifiel was. After all, for tens of thousands of years, the Chief Seraph had believed himself to be truly perfect. To suddenly realize that all his darkness had long since taken form in another half of his soul, it was no surprise that his mind would collapse under the weight of it.
Lucifiel’s faith had just crumbled, and now, in the blink of an eye, his self-perception was also undergoing earth-shattering changes.
Truly pitiful.
Lucifer felt sorry for Lucifiel. As the proud Chief Seraph, Lucifiel would never allow himself to be pitied, nor did he need anyone’s sympathy. And as the ruthless Demon King, Lucifer had never felt compassion for any being.
But he could feel heartbroken for himself.
Lucifer pulled the weeping angel into his arms, gently patting his back. His crimson eyes lowered, and his voice was soft. “It’s all right, Lucifiel. I’ll take care of you. I’ll protect you.
“Cry as much as you need to, but after this, don’t ever grieve for Yahweh again. He’s not worth your tears. You devoted yourself to him, and yet he humiliated you for the sake of a mere mortal. The only one you can trust is yourself.”
Lucifer ran his fingers through the fallen angel’s golden hair, letting Lucifiel sob against his chest. His voice was low and steady. “I will always love you. I will never hurt you or betray you. You can rely on me. You can only rely on me.”
Lucifiel let himself break down in Lucifer’s arms, but as his tears finally dried, his expression regained its composure.
He was not weak.
He had been the one to stand against God in open defiance. He had led a third of heaven’s angels into a three-day, three-night holy war. He had fallen through the void for nine mornings and evenings.
His will was unyielding, his pride unbreakable. He had never once lost control before other angels, not even when the God he worshipped had humiliated him before all of heaven and forced him to his knees.
Only in front of another version of himself did he completely lower his defenses, breaking down in uncontrollable sobs.
Lucifer was right.
No one understood him better than himself. There was no need for pretense or vigilance.
And he would never drive a blade into his own heart or stab himself in the back.
“Thank you.” Lucifiel stepped out of Lucifer’s arms and rose to his feet, once again the elegant and beautiful seraph.
Politely, he asked, “May I go outside?”
Staying in the darkness for so long was dull.
“You want control over the body?” Lucifer arched a brow. “Of course, you can. But your soul is still heavily wounded from Yahweh’s attack. You need to rest in the sea of awareness. Once you’ve recovered, I can return control to you.”
They were two halves of the same soul. Whichever side held the stronger consciousness would dominate the body. In the past, light had always suppressed darkness, so Lucifiel had remained in control. But now, darkness had overtaken light. Lucifiel’s soul was still weakened from battling God, allowing Lucifer’s consciousness to firmly take hold.
Of course, Lucifiel could still manifest if Lucifer willingly relinquished control. But with Lucifiel’s soul injured and the hell’s environment unsuitable for an angel, Lucifer had no intention of letting him out.
Lucifiel: “My wounds are almost healed.”
He wasn’t new to hell. He had been recuperating in the sea of awareness for several days.
“What do you plan to do once you’re out?” Lucifer asked. “Return to Yahweh? I should remind you that heaven has issued a warrant for your arrest. The moment you set foot on the surface, they’ll come after you. For now, you can only move within hell.”
Lucifiel: “……Never mind then.”
Suddenly, he wasn’t in such a hurry to leave.
Hell was just as dark as the space he was in, anyway.
Hiding in the body and watching through Lucifer’s eyes as he enjoyed life in hell was oddly entertaining.
It was a life he had never experienced. Although, in Lucifiel’s opinion, it was a bit extravagant and wasteful……
After a brief pause, he said, “I won’t go back to serving God.”
Unlike Lucifer, he wasn’t rebellious or brazen enough to speak Yahweh’s name directly. But he also refused to call Him “Divine Lord” any longer, instead addressing Him distantly as “God.”
He wasn’t a fool. After waging a three-day holy war and enduring nine days of descent, he wasn’t about to crawl back and offer himself as God’s servant.
Once, he had devoted himself to his divine lord with unwavering faith and admiration. But that didn’t mean he could continue to worship Him without resentment after being so thoroughly betrayed.
Lucifiel was proud. From the very beginning, he had refused to yield, and he would not bow his head now that it was over.
“A wise decision.”
Lucifer smirked. “Then stay in hell and rule with me.”
Lucifiel accepted his new identity, abandoning the light for the darkness, joining Lucifer in his reign over hell.
Although he remained hidden within the sea of awareness and could not control his body, he shared Lucifer’s five senses. He could see everything happening in the outside world and communicate with Lucifer in his mind.
In the past, under God’s influence, Lucifiel had believed that light and darkness could never coexist and that all demons were meant to be eradicated. But now, with another version of himself ruling as the Demon King in hell, he knew he couldn’t bring himself to end his life. So, he chose instead to change his perspective and accept the demons.
He couldn’t go against himself, after all.
Of course, accepting it was easier said than done. He had spent eons hunting down demons who escaped to wreak havoc on the human world. Deep-rooted prejudices were difficult to reverse in a short time.
But when Lucifer went to inspect the newly built amusement park, the innocent and lovely little demons surrounded him, cheering and jumping, offering him their candy as a token of gratitude. Lucifiel saw it all through Lucifer’s eyes.
No race was born evil. There were only evil individuals, not an inherently evil species.
Perhaps he could learn to coexist with demons.
Then, as he noticed the little demons wearing tattered clothing, he couldn’t help but frown.
Hell’s economy was in desperate need of improvement.
Lucifiel was eager to develop hell.
He had practically built heaven from the ground up. Aside from creating the Nine Heavens, God had done nothing. Lucifiel had been the one to establish education, infrastructure, commerce, medicine, and every other institution. But working for God could never be as free and unrestrained as establishing his own kingdom. He was experienced in ruling a nation. As heaven’s regent, he had managed its affairs with ease. Governing hell would be no different.
He couldn’t wait to put his plans into motion.
Then, reality hit him. Hard.
Lucifer didn’t work. He only needed to enjoy himself every day.
Previously, the palace had not been completed. With no proper place to work, it made sense that Lucifer had no official duties. But now, with a grand and lavish palace at his disposal, Lucifer still refused to work. Instead, he filled it with gold, jewels, fine wine, and extravagant clothing. Every day was spent in indulgence and excess, with endless feasting and revelry, while precious things were wasted and destroyed.
Lucifiel’s former sanctuary had been buried under mountains of documents. There had been no time for entertainment. He barely even had time to rest. While other angels observed the Sabbath, Lucifiel had always been working overtime.
Inside the resplendent palace, Lucifiel sat idly within the sea of awareness, growing restless. Finally, he asked, “Do you not have anything to do?”
“I do.” Reclining on a chaise, Lucifer popped a peeled grape into his mouth. “I’m eating, aren’t I?”
Lucifiel: “I meant serious busisness.”
Lucifer: “Eating is a serious business.”
“That’s not what I……”
“Is it sweet?” Lucifer asked.
“……Sweet.” With their sensory sharing enabled, Lucifiel could also taste the cool, juicy sweetness of the grape.
Lucifer chuckled and popped another one into his mouth. “Then have another.”
“……”
Gluttony was forbidden in heaven. Angels didn’t need food for sustenance, and even sneaking a small snack had always been a guilty indulgence. As the embodiment of the seven virtues, Lucifiel had only ever eaten fruit on special occasions.
But in these past days of following Lucifer’s lead, he had tasted all kinds of delicacies and realized just how much he had missed out on.
Perfection, he thought, could be rather dull.
Savoring the lingering sweetness of the grape, Lucifiel finally returned to the point. “I was asking if you have any official duties to handle.”
Lucifer looked genuinely shocked. “Why would I do that? The diligent ones are all in heaven. I already embraced my fall, and you still expect me to work?”
Lucifiel was caught off guard by his tone, as if asking him to work was an unforgivable thing. “……I could do it.”
He added, “I’m bored. I need something to do.”
After working tirelessly for tens of thousands of years, suddenly taking so many days off made him feel a little uneasy.
“You’re using work to pass the time? Shouldn’t you be eating, drinking, and having fun when you’re bored?” Lucifer looked genuinely baffled. “Do you like working?”
Lucifiel thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t say I like it…… I’m just used to it.”
“You definitely don’t like it,” Lucifer said with certainty. “If you truly enjoyed it, I wouldn’t have such a strong reaction and hate work.”
Lucifiel: “……” That actually made sense.
As the embodiment of the seven virtues, Lucifiel had upheld them all to perfection. Naturally, Lucifer was steeped in all seven sins. Pride was his most defining trait, but that didn’t mean he lacked laziness.
Of the seven sins, the only one he hadn’t indulged in yet was lust. The rest had surfaced, more or less, over the past few days.
“But we can’t just do nothing,” Lucifiel argued, pulling out his trump card. “Do you want hell to be overshadowed by heaven forever?”
That struck a nerve. Lucifer was the supreme overlord of hell, Yahweh was the divine lord of heaven. He refused to be trampled beneath Yahweh’s feet.
Ten minutes later, a pile of documents appeared on Lucifer’s desk.
Lucifiel had planned to guide him through the process, but as he watched, he realized he didn’t need to say a word. Every decision Lucifer made was exactly what he had in mind.
Even their handwriting was identical.
They were the same soul. Of course, their thoughts were connected.
Watching Lucifer work so effortlessly, Lucifiel suddenly felt a sliver of doubt. “Have you come out before?”
“Hm?”
Lucifiel hesitated. “Back in heaven, there were times when I fell asleep while handling official duties, but when I woke up, all the work had already been done.”
Back then, he couldn’t explain it. He had assumed he was simply too exhausted, that his memory had blurred from overwork. But now that he thought about it……
“It was me,” Lucifer admitted.
He continued writing as he spoke, his tone languid. “You were overworked to the point of collapsing, barely able to stay awake, yet you kept pushing yourself. Your mind was so weak from exhaustion that I was able to take control. I forced you into sleep, took over your body, and finished your work for you. I knew you’d obsess over mistakes, so I even rewrote any typos. I came out many times. You overworked yourself too often. That’s the only reason I was ever able to take over.”
Lucifiel was stunned. “But…… don’t you hate working?”
“I hate it,” Lucifer said with a click of his tongue. “But I hate watching you push yourself to the brink even more. If I didn’t step in, you wouldn’t have rested at all.”
Lowering his gaze, he added quietly, “I don’t want to be able to suppress you. I want you to be truly free, to live without worries. If that were the case, I can stay hidden forever. If you ever feel troubled, let me take over. I’ll handle it for you.”
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