Lucifer

Dark hair reaching his waist, amethyst purple irises, a well-built body, and an infectious composure.

That was the duke of pride, Lucifer.

He wore a simple attire with purple stripes, a direct contrast a person would expect from a demon of pride.

But the confidence he excluded was not uncalled for. Even though he was staring at Uriel, one of the very few beings that could harm, and potentially kill him, he stood as if he was taking a leisurely walk.

Uriel's face darkened as she glared at the reinforcements, then sighed.

She was fighting on a demonic ground. She would expect some of them to be close by.

'Damn it, not Lucifer. He is troublesome on his own but paired with sloth… Things are looking grim indeed.'

"But I can't afford to lose."

She gave a quick glance at the golden vault next to her and reminded herself of what was at stake.

Then, she manifested hellfire once more and this time, in a much greater amount.

It expanded like a dome, a bigger one than what Lucifer used, and trapped Lucifer, Acedia, and Uriel together.

She brandished her sword and prepared to engage in a close combat fight once more despite the divine essence fueling her starting to run low.

Lucifer, with utmost confidence, manifested feathery wings and hovered to her level.

He flashed her a friendly smile, one that would be expected from a relative or a very close friend. However, one should know that they are anything but close and that they will never accept themselves as siblings.

"It seems you have been tormenting my younger brother." He spoke in a friendly tone.

"That is very bad, isn't it? Angels abusing their power over us, poor demons.

That goes against your moral codes, does it not? Tsk, tsk. I smell hypocrisy." He continued without any shame whatsoever.

Anyone would know better than to fall into the demon's provocation but not Uriel.

She was the seraphim, the highest rank for an angel only second to their god, of Judgment and Vows, and as such, she was all about equality and equivalent exchange.

Lucifer had thrown filth towards the name of her kin and she wouldn't stay still. She would retaliate in kind and that meant burning him alive.

"What do you mean by angels abusing demons!" She shouted.

"Demonic magic is just as lethal to us as divine magic is to you, stop trying to justify your twisted actions with that pathetic lie of yours!"

Uriel gritted her teeth in fury. The image of her brother being massacred by Lucifer still lingered in her mind.

Dozens of millennia ago, when the seraphims were archangels and the dukes of hell were greater demons, an archangel named Seraphile existed.

He, the archangel of humility and kindness, was the counterpart of Lucifer and Uriel's brother.

He was kind and humble as expected. He always reminded the other angels that being humble was a priority and that they shouldn't let our superiority over other races get to our heads.

Demons, too respected him to a degree. He was like a big brother to everyone.

Back then, humans were not created yet and Gaia was still young.

The rivalry between angels and demons was still there but not as severe as now. Sure, a few scuffles took place sometimes but they were mostly harmless as Uriel remembered it.

Then one day, Lucifer got an idea.

He snuck into heaven and found Seraphile training. Blinded by his humongous hubris, he shamelessly exploited his kindness and lured him away from the angel's homeplace.

Then Lucifer killed him. Brutally butchered him to pieces and drank his blood.

His reasoning? He had thought that his angelic counterpart was limiting his growth and thus he sought to eliminate him.

Uriel remembered the brutal scene she accidentally stumbled upon while she searched for him.

Her insides churned and her hatred for Lucifer grew a thousandfold.

Ever since Seraphile's death, the war got more drastic. Without him to keep the angels in check, they started fighting more and more and became more brutal as a result.

And in the end, did Lucifer's goal of removing his limit work?

It didn't. According to him, he got a stomachache spanning a dozen years as a result and Raphael confirmed that it was most likely the case.

But the experience points he gained from the kill propelled him to greater heights than the others, giving him the crown of the king of hell.

As a remembrance, the angels had confiscated Seraphile's titles and sealed them.

As time went on, humanity was created and the titles that had been confiscated found a new purpose. More angels were born and some were killed. The titles of the fallen were confiscated and stored in a vault in heaven.

The title of Humility and Kindness became the first divine titles to ever exist, similar to Aster's Karmic Judge.

Once an appropriate host was found, the titles were bestowed upon the person, giving them a fraction of the angel's powers.

Aster's Karmic Judge was a special case. While all other divine titles were derived from an angel, his was a variation of Uriel's, meaning that his title is unique.

Was it a sign that another seraphim was about to grace the world with its presence? Uriel did not know but she was hell-bent on saving a person from a demon's grasp even if they were a human.

He bore a divine title, a title so linked closely to hers that she just can't give it up.

She desperately wanted to have a new face in heaven, a new person whom she could work alongside to defeat Lucifer.

Was she trying to fill the gap that Seraphile left in her heart? No, nothing, and no one could ever replace him and she knew that the most.

Not even Seraphile himself could not fill in that gap.

Her heart ached as she remembered a gut-wrenching event.

That time when angels and demons fought side by side for the first time.

That time when millions died by her sword.

That day when Seraphile came back.

As a fallen angel.