The angel's upper lip twitched in disgust, eyes filling with confusion.
"W-what kind of monster are you?" she asked once Lilith caught up on her story. "You say the Demon Lord who sealed you is decent, but Konrad—"
Her voice trailed off, and the demoness couldn't decide whether to be proud or angry.
She went with a pout.
"I said he's chill when not under your brother's influence," Lilih claimed, arms crossed. "Did you even know he plays the keys? And he's not half bad. A bit soulless, though."
"Who cares?" Gabrielle scoffed. "He sealed you in both timelines, and you saved him."
"Not my intention," the demoness shrugged, but yeah.
Her plans went a wee bit out of control.
But sometimes, that was fun.
"Ugh, feeling bad for Konrad. You've spent thousands of years to find him, only to ruin his life as a thanks," the angel moaned. "That's a greater demon for you."
"Hey," Lilith pouted some more. "I've done it because I love him."
Gabby's look didn't sit well with the demoness.
"You didn't pay attention," she accused her. "Told you how controlling Konrad's parents were. They forced him into a law career, and—"
"He almost became the president," the angel pointed out.
So she did remember.
"Yeah, poor guy," Lilith yelled. "He never wanted it in the first place, but people always roped him into stuff. And right before the elections, someone assassinated him."
"And thus his reincarnation," the angel connected the dots. "So you—"
"I figured, changing his life path could prevent that," she said, feeling proud. But only for a second. "Who knew your little brother already kept an eye on him?"
"So rather than letting him have one fulfilling life, Konrad got a mundane one full of suffering."
When she put it that way—
"At least he wasn't assassinated," Lilith noted, but couldn't hide her blush. "And, we got to date for a few months. You have any idea how much fun we had back then?!"
"For three months," Gabby pointed out. "Then he died alone on the day he would have anyway."
Ugh. On top of being right, she even rubbed salt into her wounds.
"So he only meddled with my plans because of you," the angel claimed. "Maou would have died before Konrad ever unsealed you. But now, rather than living a happy life together—"
"Hey," Lilith scoffed, unable to pout any harder. "My future sight's not always perfect."
Gabrielle shot her one of those glances again.
"Did it ever work?" she dared to ask. "Or were they memories from the previous timeline?"
"Huuuuh?!"
Huh? Were they?
The demoness never thought about them like that.
And now that the alternate timelines more or less merged—
When was the last time she got a vision of the future?
She was in uncharted territories now. That ability would have been more helpful than ever.
"And?" Gabby asked, snapping her out of it. "Have we won against Lu in that other timeline?"
"Oh, um." Lilith blushed harder than before. "He didn't, like—he never crossed the threshold."
The angel blinked.
"He never what?"
How does she explain it without pissing her off?
No, screw that. Pissing heavenspawns off was the best fun.
"For one, I've no idea what'll happen after the convergence. Two, I didn't corrupt him on the previous timeline, so stuff never escalated this far."
"Wait." Gabrielle grabbed her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. "What'd you say?"
Should she sigh or grin?
"I said, I didn't corrupt Lu before, so he didn't turn against you lot."
She went with a deadpan delivery. It worked. Gabby was seething with rage.
"So the whole thing was your fault?!"
And somehow reached the wrong conclusion. Of course, angels would be angels.
Arrogant and stupid.
"Did you miss that he had already stolen souls in both timelines?" Lilith asked. "With or without me meddling. No. Truth is, he was always corrupt, and I've only brought it to light."
Bam. Now, she should have been in complete shock.
But no. Gabrielle was only angry.
"He almost killed Michael, turning against the heavens. I had to—I've done terrible things to my own kind, to God's creations, because of you. Look at this place, what have you done?!"
Lilith sighed.
"So in your book, he could have been as corrupt as he wanted, as long as it stays a secret?"
That did give her validation for always messing with them.
They were all corrupt from the start, only refusing to see it.
But—Gabrielle's reply surprised her.
"No, you're right," she said, her voice a mere whisper. "It would have been only a matter of time before heaven would split over this. I, uh, owe you an apology, Greater Demon Lilith."
The bowing of her head went beyond her wildest expectations.
"Wait, what?" The demoness blinked. "Y-you admit it?!"
Victory. Was this what validation felt like? Or was this pity?
She should have laughed in the angel's face, but seeing Gabby being honest—
Hold on. She was honest, right? Angels weren't that great at acting.
"I've no other choice," the archangel claimed, head still bowed. "And I hate to say this, but the only way to correct all our wrongs is with your aid. Will you help the heavens, Lilith?"
Yikes. Could she say no?
To those puppy eyes—
"I, um."
This idiot was also Konrad's wife after all. And while she pretended not to care about him, and only used him for her own benefit—
Right. She could give her conditions, or something.
"I'm ain't doing this for heavens, or cuz' I made peace with your Old Man," Lilith claimed.
He must have been the source of the angel's arrogance, after all.
Things had to change on the highest level.
"And I also refuse to clean up your mess," she said. "But if you put up a word for me, admit you were wrong, and—the most important part—you'll always, always protect my Konny boy."
When Gabby raised her head, she expected her to look more—
Upset? Humiliated?
But no. She was serious, considering every word.
"I've blamed Konrad until now," she admitted. "But it was your meddling."
Lilith was about to snap back, but she added.
"And still, without Lucifer's corruption," Gabrielle paused. "With or without you, he wouldn't have been here in the first place. So I'll admit, angels aren't perfect. And I will protect him."
"Um, okay," the demoness mumbled.
This didn't turn out as grand as she expected.
But she still won. Questionmark? That's all that mattered?
"To be completely honest," the angel said. "I was always fascinated by that human."
Hold on. She won't confess right here, right?!
"Despite all the obstacles, and even knowing he wouldn't stand a chance, he always keeps going. No matter what. And not for his own benefit, either. He saves people, and—"
"Oh, yeah. Like how actual angels should be," Lilith interrupted, expecting her to snap.
But she didn't.
"Yeah. We could all learn from him."
The demoness shivered.
"Whoa. Cringe," she said, but her heart beat faster. "So? How do you want me to help?"
Again, she wouldn't forgive or forget. Angels were still lowly pieces of shits in her book.
But she was willing to work together with them for Konrad.
"Hmm, let's see—"