A faint smile curved his lips. "I didn't witness it myself, of course. I wasn't there when they threw you out, but the stories reached even Hell."
Lucivar scoffed. "Ugly?"
Lucifer laughed openly. "Ugly? This," he gestured to himself, "is what you call perfection."
His expression sharpened. "And I assume you already know why I summoned you."
Lucivar clenched his fists.
"You were beneath me in rank," he said bitterly. "Yet I was cast down as a devil. Not even a demon."
His voice hardened.
"In this state, I'm weak. I need you to turn me into a demon."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "And how are you so certain?"
Lucivar exhaled slowly. "Because Heaven is still watching me. Measuring me. Whispering, waiting to see what I'll become."
Lucifer leaned back, amused. "Oh?" He smiled. "That makes this far more entertaining."
Crossing his legs, he continued, "You are still infernal. A devil. But yes, I can elevate you."
His eyes glowed faintly crimson.
"More power. More strength."
"You understand the cost."
"I do," Lucivar said instantly. "So do it."
Lucifer clapped once. "Before that, get something presentable. Honestly, a cloth around your waist? Shameful."
With another clap, two succubi appeared and took Lucivar by the hands, leading him away.
Moments later, he stood dressed in a long crimson coat, dark gloves, and heavy boots.
He paused.
"This is comfortable."
His frown deepened. "Is there anything else? I need water."
One succubus turned to leave.
"No."
Lucifer had risen from his throne.
The pressure in the hall doubled.
"We've done enough for you already," he said calmly. "Now it's time for my question."
He stepped closer.
"Before I turn you into a demon, will you stand beneath me?"
His gaze burned.
"Do you wish to destroy humanity?"
"Do you seek the strength to overthrow the God who cast you down?"
Silence swallowed the hall.
Lucivar lowered his head.
He did not answer.
Lucivar finally spoke, his voice calm, almost indifferent.
"What makes you think I would accept your offer?" he asked casually. "After being cast down from Heaven, I already decided. I would never kneel beneath anyone."
For the briefest moment, Lucifer's smile faltered.
He stepped forward. The air tightened. His eyes were cold.
"You were fortunate once," he continued. "Loved. Revered. The highest among angels."
His lips curled faintly.
"But you wanted more."
Lucifer's gaze darkened.
"You sinned," Lucivar said, unflinching. "And Heaven cast you out."
"Yet unlike me, you chose to embrace it."
His hands clenched at his sides.
"You slaughtered the innocent," he went on, voice stripped of emotion. "People who had nothing to do with your fall."
The pressure in the hall shifted, heavy and suffocating.
He met Lucifer's eyes without fear.
"And you dare ask me to submit?"
Lucifer scoffed.
"Oh, you bastard," he muttered. "You truly intend to oppose me?"
He raised a hand.
Purple energy spiraled into existence, crackling violently. The hall trembled, stone groaning under the weight of his power.
Lucivar's instincts screamed.
If I fight him here, I'll lose.
I'm too weak.
Just as the attack was about to take shape, Lucifer stopped.
"So tell me," the Demon Lord said slowly. "What is your plan?"
"Why should I turn you into a demon?"
His eyes sharpened.
"As a devil, you cannot grow stronger. No Archangel has ever fallen and surpassed that state. Right now, you're barely above a human."
Lucivar lifted his head.
A crimson aura flared around him, raw and unstable, spilling outward like heat.
"That doesn't concern me," he replied calmly. "I already know what I want."
His voice lowered, controlled, dangerously so.
"I don't intend to wipe out humanity like you," Lucivar said, locking eyes with him. "But humans sin endlessly, again and again, because they believe there are no consequences."
His fists tightened.
"They lie. They murder. They betray."
"And every time, they are forgiven."
The red aura pulsed.
"We sinned once," he said quietly. "Once."
"And for that, we were cast down, stripped, disgraced."
He straightened.
"That is why I've made my decision."
His gaze hardened.
"I will kill only those who sin endlessly, those who mistake mercy for permission."
"Those who believe forgiveness excuses everything."
The hall shook.
"They will learn," Lucivar said, voice unwavering, "that actions have consequences."
Lucifer stared at him in silence.
He studied him.
Interesting.
No devil should possess such an aura.
And yet.
He's weak.
Barely stronger than a lesser demon.
Pathetic.
"Well," Lucifer said at last, his smile returning, "since you refuse to stand beneath me, leave."
He waved a hand. A portal tore open behind Lucivar.
"There's no reason for you to remain here."
Lucivar narrowed his eyes.
"You won't turn me into a demon?"
Lucifer's smile sharpened.
"Leave before I kill you myself."
Lucivar chuckled darkly.
"Oh really?"
"Don't underestimate me."
His eyes glinted.
"The next time we meet," he said, stepping backward, "there will be consequences."
He passed through the portal.
It sealed shut.
And vanished.
That fool, Lucifer thought.
He doesn't understand what awaits him.
Refusing me. Refusing demonhood.
There are always consequences.
Lucifer stared at the empty space where the portal had been.
And the consequence is always the same.
Those who refuse.
Die, just like the Archangels before him.
A thin, cruel smile crossed his face.
Lucifer turned away, returning to his throne as the darkness of the hall swallowed him once more.