Chapter Seventeen
What Happened
Shiver
Lucifer shook uncontrollably and dropped his new toy duck when he felt an energy he could only describe as incredible. It was nothing short of like standing with his Father once more, but the emotion behind it was more similar to… to his fall. The betrayal, the disappointment, the anger.
"H-honey!"
Lucifer called for his wife and got to his feet to look for her. He wasn't sure what would bring God to Hell, especially since he had made no attempt to contact them. It was before Charlie was born and he wasn't sure how his Father would react to seeing her.
"I'm here, darling," his beautiful wife called out from the living room.
"Did you-?"
"I felt it," Lilith confirmed with a nod from the couch but she was not panicking like her dear husband. "It is not Father, that's for sure."
"A… are you sure?"
Lilith looked at her husband with soft eyes and a small smile on her lips. Her husband was so nervous at the idea of God coming down that he was fidgeting with his fingers in that way he always did. It was understandable considering how much his brothers and sisters have let him know how much he is a disappointment to their family.
"Tch, come here, love," she opened her arms and sat to the side of the couch.
Lucifer walked over and crawled into his loving wife's embrace, putting his face into her chest. She cooed and began running her fingers through his hair, scratching and rubbing his scalp with practiced, rhythmic movements. The ministrations left the fallen angel a mess, his face relaxed and droopy while focusing on the nails that scratched and teased his scalp.
"Do not worry, my love," she hummed softly before her gaze traveled up and to the picture of her family.
The portrait is one of the fondest in the entire home, in her opinion at least, because it is the first one that has her, her husband, and her baby daughter. Charlie was so fussy that day and it only got worse as they had to pose for at least three hours. Lucifer had the unfortunate luck of having a few strands of hair pulled out when their baby girl cried her heart out. No amount of ducks in his possession could calm her down.
It took a teething ring for her to settle enough to finish the portrait, which had the teething ring added in by the artist. It was that day that Lilith had decided that no matter what she would protect and love her family to the end. She doesn't care if God wants nothing to do with their family. It doesn't matter if her husband's family wants nothing to do with them. She will give them all of her love and care to make up for it.
But now her daughter is attached to one of the most dangerous ningen she has ever had the misfortune of knowing, albeit at her own insistence when hiring the young man. Her sister had all but confirmed the boy is tied to Father somehow with the short talk they had. Eve, no matter how much she changed every other way, could not lie to Lilith like she could with Adam. They knew each other too well for that.
Everything will go to shit when the rest of Heaven and Hell find out about him. But she will make sure her family is safe during all of it. They will come out on top of this.
"Everything will be fine, I promise."
The Seraphim House has been in a meeting for at least an hour in debates about the upcoming Extermination Day. Like every year, they had to discuss the current population ratio of sinners to winners - almost always outnumbering Heaven by five or more to one. Because of the purpose of the twenty-four hours, an act of which is barely sanctified by God, requires precise and accurate numbers.
Extermination Day, as a whole, is a day where angels go and kill Sinners until their numbers are relatively equal to that of Heaven. It was a proposal that was, at first, denied and rejected by God. But when the effects of Darkness were becoming more profound due to the greater number of Sinners, He had no choice but to allow the act.
But there were some rules. First, no more Sinners may die than is necessary. Anytime this rule is purposefully ignored or broken, the Exterminator will fall from His grace and join the other demons in Hell. Second, no killing of hellborn or of fallen angels. They are not part of the cause of the Darkness growing stronger so therefore will not be targeted.
Adam, the First Man, was given the task of leading and ordering these attacks in accordance with God's wishes.
But the meeting had been disturbed by a veil of purple and black that overcame the magic gold aura surrounding and protecting the House. Stars flew from the veil, striking various marble arches and pillars, but no one was surprisingly injured in the chaos. It was a miracle, and some thought it was the work of God's power that protected them, but others saw that this was no attack.
The trajectory of the stars were off, purposefully avoiding any location an angel was at. Then there was the composition of the stars that, even if they did hit someone, would have had the impact of a pebble. A negligent attack that, when hitting the marble, sounded worse than it actually was.
It lasted all of fifteen or so seconds before the veil turned a blinding white and burned out. That left the gold barrier protecting the building to return despite the damage already being done.
"What was that?!"
"Is it the Darkness?"
"The Eldritch found us!"
Sera rose in her chair and looked around the chambers. There were no injuries, but the scorch marks around the room told of a warzone. It surprised her how no one had been hit and she was thanking God for His protection.
Sera, who she sees like a little sister, looked at her with deep, concerned eyes and a small frown.
"Calm down, everyone!" Sera called out loudly over the concerned chatter of her fellow Seraphim. "This is not an attack of the Darkness. They have never and will never be able to pierce through God's holy walls! This is clearly the work of another, similar sinister force."
Before she could continue, the main double doors to the room had been opened. Most of the angels in attendance were surprised at the arrival of three Elders and the First Woman; Michael led the charge but with him was his brother Gabriel, Azrael, and Eve. The last of which gave everyone pause as the woman had long since left the home she shared with her former husband
"Elder Michael," Sera greeted with wide eyes and bowed her head. "What do I owe the honor? Are you here because of the attack?"
Michael smiled at the woman kindly and shook his head. "No, Sera, we are not here about the sudden spike in energy. We have an idea of the culprit but we require the assistance of Junior Seraphim Emily at this moment."
Sera looked at the young girl next to her before swallowing thickly. "Has she done something?"
"Stop asking questions and let us be on our way," Azrael gave a lazy stare at the woman before his lips curled amusedly. "If you would be so kind."
Sera nodded her head before looking at Emily. "You heard the Elders, Emily. Go with them and help with whatever they need."
Emily shakily nodded her head and floated down to stand in front of Michael. He gave her a smile and waved his hand for her to follow. "Come."
Emily nodded and obediently followed the blonde man, glancing at Gabriel to see he had a bright, caring smile on his lips while Azrael looked indifferent. Eve, however… the brunette was looking at her silently with a dark gaze. It made her shiver in fear.
They walked through the halls of the Seraphim House and up a few floors before they stopped in front of a door. It was a room meant for small meetings between angels, allowing a comfortable occupancy of fifteen people. It even had a projector and screen when needed!
"Please sit, Emily," Michael motioned to a chair as he opened the door and stepped to the side.
The young Seraphim did as she was told and picked a seat on the side closest to a window. Michael sat across from her while Gabriel sat on his left and Eve on his right. Azrael picked the furthest seat from everyone at the end furthest from the door.
Michael sighed and gave a smile to Emily. "I'm sorry for dragging you away like this, Emily, and for the tense secrecy but we had some questions about an event you were part of two years ago."
At this, Gabriel procured a packet with the timetable of Purgatory angels in rotation. This one was dated two years ago, however, with a big 2019 on the top right.
"You see, you were in charge of Ninkai sector 213's ningen in June as part of your Seraphim training," Michael quickly flipped through the packet to the month. "On June 5 of 2019, Earth calendar year, you had judged and sentenced approximately seven individuals of that day. Do you remember them?"
Emily cocked her head to the side and scrunched up her face in thought. "Y-yes, I do. The first was Jirobo, then there was Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon, Ukon, Kimimaro, and then Naruto."
"Interesting, the last one is not in our records," Michael set the packet down and folded his hands on top of it. "We have the sentencing and judgement papers of the first six, but Naruto is oddly missing."
"Missing records?" Emily was surprised and frightened at the implications that could mean. "B-but I had the papers to sentence him! There was- ah, it… it was gluttony, envy, idolatry, and wrath! I remember them because it was surprising how harshly the boy was being sentenced."
Crack!
Emily jumped when the sound of splintering wood could be heard and she looked over to see Azrael holding his head in pain. One hand gripped his hair while the other was a fist indented into the wood table.
"What were the sins truly?" Azrael grit out softly as a feigned smile stayed on his lips. "Was his life taken into account? Was his soul measured? Did you do any of the fucking tests that prove if a soul is truly sinful or not?"
Emily cowered in her seat and her eyes screwed shut tightly at the harsh words. "I'm sorry! I was still new to my job!"
"Calm down, Azrael," Gabriel shot a glance at the raven-haired man before scooting forward to take Emily's hands into his. "There is no punishment for you, Emily, I promise. But we need to know what he was sentenced for. We need to know what that document said."
Emily whimpered as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes before she nodded her head. "I… I remember it."
"Hey, Naru?"
"Hm?"
Charlie poked her fingers together at the man's distracted noise of acknowledgement. "Do you think… is it possible for Sinners to redeem themselves?"
He looked up from his new seal project to look at the Princess. She sat with him in his study, swinging her swivel chair from side to side as she looked anywhere that wasn't him. It was oddly cute how she looked.
"Why do you ask, Charlie-hime?"
Charlie shrugged noncommittally. "I just wanted to know your opinion on it."
What did he think about it? He sat back in his chair as he twirled a rubber band with his fingers. "Let me put it this way. A loving father may not agree with what their child does, or who they hang out with, but they will still love them unconditionally. When that child makes a decision to be their own person away from their father's teachings, that father will leave them alone because he loves and respects his child."
Charlie's eyes narrowed as she began making the connections the boy was trying to make. "That means…"
"When the child has found out that what they thought they wanted is not good for them, he will be there for them. If they truly wanted to change and be like their father tried to teach them to be, a father who loves unconditionally will still accept them." Naruto sighed and let his head hang back to stare at the ceiling, even ceasing his movements with the band.
He wondered if his father was like that. Was he proud of how much he endured in life? That he never went back on his word even as it led to his death? Was he still cheering for him while he was in Hell?
He hoped so.
"A loving father…"
"DOES NOT EXIST!"
Naruto's scream reached his ears suddenly, surprising him as he had gone deaf for a second after the bright flash enveloped him. The memory he just had to relive brought tears to his eyes.
His naive thoughts on how his father would love him and root for him unconditionally. In reality, his father was the reason he had to suffer so many years of abuse and hate. His father was nothing but a bastard and he hated him with every fiber of his being.
"Yo, are you still alive in there?!"
Naruto blinked as his senses returned to him, albeit slowly, and he realized that he wasn't in a clearing anymore. He is surrounded by brightly colored dirt spanning at least fifteen yards in every direction around him. Looking up, he was double that in depth in the ground.
"Hey, you okay down there?"
Naruto looked around for the voice before he saw two familiar figures looking down at him. "Bee! Tex!"
Naruto stumbled to his feet before using chakra to jump out of the hole. He landed on his hands and knees as he was even weaker than he thought he could possibly be. So weak that he was no longer in his demon transformation anymore.
"What happened here?" Tex moved to look the boy over and his eyes widened in surprise. "There's not a scratch on you!"
"You should see the other guy, haha," Naruto laughed the man's concern off before yelping. "Hey!"
He should have known that Bee would have seen through his words. He had a feeling her vibe check was more than just figuratively. He should have also known that she was incredibly strong.
But to have pulled him up from his hands and knees and thrown him over her shoulder was not something he expected!
"Put me down!"
"You are in no condition to move, foxboy," Bee answered with an annoyed huff before a grin grew on her face. "Just enjoy being carried like a good boy as I bring you to my home. The party is already off and I told everyone to go back home so nobody will see you being womanhandled like this."
"That's not what I'm concerned abou- hey watch those hands!" Naruto growled as his ass cheek was groped by the Sin.
"Sorry, you slipped," Bee laughed without moving her hand.
Tex was following behind and his eyebrow was raised at the attitude of his boss. He could recognize her concern hidden behind the playfulness she expressed with the blonde Sinner. It seems that the boy was doing that as well judging by his boss's expression.
But he was also curious about what happened, so if silence was something they desired they had another thing coming.
"What happened after I left?"
Naruto looked at Vortex and shrugged his shoulders. "That Tribune showed up with another guy who was her reinforcement."
"Do you know who they were?"
Naruto's pause for both of their attention before he sighed. "Yeah. He was my father."
"Your father?" Text asked with wide eyes. "What's a Sinner doing down here without permission? And why is your father hunting you?"
Naruto sighed and tapped Bee on her back. "Can we stop for a second? This will be a long explanation."
Bee hesitated for a moment before nodding her head.
She put him down on the grass and leaned him against a tree.
"Ahh," Naruto sighed and looked at the leaves above him. "At the time of my birth, my village had been attacked and threatened with complete destruction by a monster that embodied calamity. To protect the village, he used a sealing art to contain the monster inside of me - who is supposedly the only person who could at the time despite being an infant."
"The sealing art he used, however, was special and forbidden to almost everyone else. The seal would call forth the Shinigami, the 'god of death' if you will, and in exchange for the user's soul the death god will do anything the user desires." Naruto's eyes closed and he took a deep breath. "That means that my father should be owned by a powerful demon who has been an integral figure in my world. That person is also trying to hunt me down, and he used my father to try and achieve that."
Vortex whistled at that. "Damn, that's fucked up."
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "My father… I didn't know who he was until now. It never clicked in my head. The man I wanted to be like growing up, who I looked up to, was my father and he cursed me to a shitty childhood filled with abusers. Because of him I was called a monster, a demon, and I hadn't even been sentenced to Hell yet!"
Bee frowned at the mirthless laugh that came from the blonde in response to his own words. But… she couldn't blame his attitude. If ningen are flawed in any way like humans, she can only imagine the evil they could do and say to a child.
"It's… it's whatever," Naruto sighed and laid his head against the tree. "I'm just glad whatever powers I got in my demon transformation was enough to send them running."
Tex coughed into his hand. "I do not think that was a demon transformation."
Bee perked up at this and looked at Vortex in confusion, Naruto doing the same but with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean, Tex?"
"A demon transformation doesn't grow wings, that's only found in Lucifer and Bael as they had been high ranking angels before falling."
Naruto's eyes widened at that as he could have sworn… "But Valentino is a Sinner who can grow wings!"
"He's a moth demon, it's to be expected," Tex shrugged. "But your wings were not of any insect, it was that of an angel."
Bee shot to her feet at that. "Are you sure, Tex?"
The hellhound nodded his head. "Very, boss."
Bee grabbed her chin and held her waist as she paced and mumbled to herself. Naruto just watched in concern and confusion at the many concerning auras surrounding the Sin; gray, lapis, and orchid.
But he had a concern.
"Sorry to interrupt whatever revelations you guys are drawing up, but if that wasn't a demon transformation what the fuck was it?"
Bee stopped her pacing to look at her blonde and her lips twitched downward before she approached him. "I don't know for sure, honestly." The white in her aura proved her right as she grabbed the boy easily and threw him back over her shoulder. "But that's a talk we need to have with my father."
"Oh cool, I get to meet your parents," Naruto huffed as he relaxed on the Sin's shoulder. "Can I say we're officially dating at this point, then? should I court you?"
Bee gave a loud laugh, even Tex chuckling at the blonde's words, before she shook her head. "No, you don't need to court me. I'll do plenty of that for us. As for being official…" Her hand found itself back on his ass and gave a harsh squeeze, making the blonde yelp. "We can talk about it."