Arcadia, a large, powerful kingdom at the edges of Judah.
So prosperous and wealthy was the kingdom that many of its neighboring kingdoms were envious, and they would have long since attacked Arcadia for its riches—if Arcadia wasn't as mighty as it was wealthy. Arcadia's outstanding military might deterred others from attacking it.
The problem with Arcadia, however, was the rampant sinful activities of its inhabitants. Every inch of the kingdom was plagued by sin, which made the kingdom an eyesore to the Almighty. So, He sent a message to warn the king of Arcadia.
- - -
In the throne room of Arcadia's castle, the king was lavishing in decadence—a usual occurrence—when suddenly, a bright light engulfed the room.
When the light cleared, an angel of the Lord stood there.
This angel had fiery red hair and dazzling blue eyes. He had a white halo and four beautiful wings. He wore simple white robes, and a soft glow emanated from his fair skin.
This was the Archangel, the messenger of Heaven—Gabriel.
"Listen well, oh king of Arcadia. The Almighty has seen your immoral ways and has seen the sinful nature of your people. He sent me here to warn you. To warn you to cease your sinful actions and change your ways—else He shall lay waste to this kingdom and all who inhabit it," the messenger said solemnly.
"I know nothing of this god you speak of, but the sorcery which brought you here had better save you. Otherwise, I'll mount those wings on my wall!" the Arcadian king yelled.
His guards quickly brandished their weapons at Gabriel, who sighed at the king's response.
"Your ignorance and stubbornness shall be your undoing."
And with a flap of his wings, Gabriel vanished in a flash of light—leaving behind a confused and angry king.
- - -
Up above in the skies of the Earth, Gabriel flew.
He would usually return straight to Heaven after delivering a message, but today, he decided to enjoy the scenery the world had to offer. He flew above verdant forests, deep valleys, high mountain ranges, and vast deserts.
"The Earth is truly a spectacular place... and so are the humans. It's a shame they are tainted with such sins," he said sadly.
"Is it really a shame, though?" a charming, feminine voice said.
Alarm bells rang in Gabriel's mind as a dark barrier in the shape of a dome materialized and covered a multiple-mile radius.
Gabriel turned around to the source of the voice.
Before him stood a beautiful woman. She had ebony-black hair that fell past her shoulders, a slender waist, and enticing hips all the way to her feet. She had skin as pale as moonlight and curves that would tempt the most celibate of men. She wore a sleeveless black gown that displayed her fair, slender arms and hugged her proportions in all the right places.
Her most striking features were her supple red lips and blood-red eyes.
"After all, the more these humans sin, the happier, stronger, and better fed we demons are," said the woman, her voice smoother than velvet and sweeter than honey.
Gabriel's eyebrows furrowed.
"To what do I owe the displeasure of meeting you, oh Queen of Hell?" Gabriel said.
This woman is Lilith, Queen of Hell, Bride of the Devil, and Mother of Demons.
Lilith laughed at Gabriel's response.
"My, my! After all I heard about you being the politest little thing. Do all angels have a way with words like you do?" Lilith said with an evil grin.
"What happened to you?" Gabriel asked her sadly.
"Why, I simply became a better version of myself," Lilith said before raising a dainty hand and snapping her fingers—summoning forth a horde of nightmarish monsters.
"I've heard a lot of things about you, Gabriel. I hope you don't disappoint," said Lilith with a smirk, her hair billowing in the wind as she flew higher to observe the upcoming battle.
"I can't wait to taste angelic flesh!"
"His aura is so pure, I can't wait to corrupt it," the demons said amongst themselves as they charged toward Gabriel.
"Angelic flesh? All you heathens shall taste is my angelic might!" said Gabriel.
He lifted a hand up, and a massive orb of light, as big as a house, formed above his palm. Then it exploded in a brilliant flash, bathing everything within the mile-wide dome in a dazzling shade of golden light.
When the light cleared, all the demons were gone—leaving only Lilith and Gabriel within the barrier.
Gabriel smirked at Lilith, as if to say 'Was that your best?'
But before he could utter a word, a horrible pain overtook his senses, and he started to lose consciousness.
That's when he realized that those demons carried curses that would attack anyone who slayed them—and his arrogance had led him to slay them all at once.
As he faded out of consciousness, he saw Lilith smirking down at him.
"Lilith, you sly..." he muttered, then everything went black.
- - -
Hell—a dark, evil, and twisted realm full of suffering and hatred.
It is like a horrible reflection of Heaven. Its size is infinite as well, and its structures are arranged and built in a way that eerily resembles the Divine Realm.
Hell is divided into nine dimensions—one for each deadly sin—and three dedicated to the suffering of sinful human souls.
In the realm of Pride, ruled by Lucifer and his Queen, sat a grim-looking castle: Castle Morningstar. It stood tall and proud in the center of Pride, and its dark, brimstone walls housed all sorts of evils.
Within the castle walls, in its lowest depths, was a dungeon—and in this dungeon, Gabriel was imprisoned.
His ever-bright glow seemed dampened by the atmosphere… or maybe it was just his foul mood. He had just regained consciousness and was cursing himself for his arrogance.
"Oh? A visitor? And one from Heaven at that? We don't get those very often," a smooth, soothing voice said.
Gabriel turned his attention outside his prison cell, where a figure materialized out of the shadows.
The first thing Gabriel noticed was the figure's pitch-black eyes—void of any irises or pupils, which seemed to suck in all the light around them.
Then he noticed the rest of his appearance, which could only be described as… sinfully handsome. He had long, golden-brown hair that fell past his shoulders, a smooth, compacted muscular frame, and he was taller than most men.
His face alone could tempt most women and men, and his devious but charming smirk hinted at a seductive personality.
Whatever is it now? Gabriel thought.
"And who might you be?" he said dryly.
"I didn't think you'd have a faulty memory, Gabriel. Have you already forgotten me? Your closest friend? That's hurtful," the figure said with fake hurt.
Gabriel, confused, took a closer look—and that's when the figure overlapped with another in his memory.
The figure of...
"You!" Gabriel screamed as white-hot anger overtook him.
His figure glowed brighter as he transformed into his full angelic form. His halo became a crown of golden fire above his head. He grew extra pairs of eyes—two smaller ones on the sides of each eye. He became taller, and his wings grew larger, with eyes all over their rims.
He charged at the bars of his cell, attempting to rip them off the wall—but as soon as he held them, a dark energy jolted him and engulfed his entire figure.
Gabriel screamed in pain as the dark energy burned through him, forcing him back to his usual form.
The figure outside the cell laughed, and Gabriel glared at him.
"You always found pleasure in my pain, didn't you, Lumiel?" Gabriel said in a venomous tone. The figure before him had changed. Now it resembled Lumiel, his old friend. But now, his eyes were pitch black voids, with no pupils or irises, just empty blackness.
"Oh, don't be dramatic! You know that's not true. But even you have to admit, that was funny. Sad, but still funny," Lumiel said.
"And point of correction—it's Asmodeus now," he added.
"Oh, how brilliant! You went from one of Heaven's brightest to the Sin of Lust! I'm so proud," Gabriel said sarcastically.
Asmodeus laughed at that.
"Well, someone's bitter."
"Really? I haven't the faintest idea why!" yelled Gabriel.
Asmodeus shook his head and dissolved into smoke, which passed through the cell bars and reformed back into him inside the jail.
Gabriel, still recovering from the earlier shock, looked at him warily.
Asmodeus took a closer look at Gabriel—and that's when he saw a certain flower pinned to Gabriel's chest.
A look of surprise flashed across his face before an unknown emotion briefly overtook him, which he quickly masked.
Asmodeus sighed.
"Gabriel, you sentimental little..." He sighed again and knelt beside a still-wary Gabriel, who attempted to shift away from him.
"Oh, calm down! If I wanted to hurt you, I already would have," Asmodeus said.
He placed a hand on Gabriel's forehead and tilted his head up, making Gabriel stare into his eyes. Asmodeus smirked and took his hand off—and when he did, Gabriel felt better.
"I drained all the demonic energy rampaging inside you. Demonic energy is as toxic to angels as angelic energy is to demons."
Asmodeus answered Gabriel's confusion.
"I know it doesn't count as an apology... but I hope it can serve as a start," he said as he straightened the flower on Gabriel's chest.
Gabriel just looked at him wordlessly.
Asmodeus smiled and vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Gabriel with his thoughts.
---
Outside Castle Morningstar, at the edges of Pride—millions of miles away from the castle—a golden portal opened in the sky.
Out of this portal flew a six-winged angel.
The moment he emerged, the entire atmosphere shifted, and the entirety of Pride seemed to tremble.
The angel wore fine white armor with golden patterns and had a sword strapped to his hip. He had shoulder-length golden hair, piercing blue eyes, and handsome features. He had a bulky, muscular frame and was a giant among men.
The angel glanced in the direction of the castle—and with a flap of his wings, he flew toward it at massive speeds.
It didn't take him long to arrive, but an army of millions of demons stood before him.
"Urgh. How disgusting," the angel said and drew his sword.
The action alone struck fear into the demonic horde.
But before they could do anything else, the angel was already past them—standing at the entrance of the castle.
As for the millions of demons?
They were already scattered limbs painting the hellish landscape.
With a wave of the angel's hand, the gates to the castle and the barrier around it burst apart, allowing access to the castle.
As he flew in, several powerful dragons stood in his way.
The angel glared coldly at them.
---
Deep within the castle itself, a small demon could be seen running through the halls.
This demon had the height of a small child, the head and feet of a goat, the torso of a human, and the wings of a bat on his back.
The demon arrived before the doors to a very specific room, guarded by demon guards.
The guards attempted to stop him, but he quickly maneuvered past them and burst into the room.
"Mistress! Mistress Lilith! W-we're under attack! The castle is being sieged by the Seraph Michael! He's already slain millions of our ranks! Mistress, what do we do?" the tiny demon blurted out in panic.
Across the room, Lilith sat before a vanity mirror.
She now had long, snow-white hair, piercing blue eyes, and horns made of clear crystal wrapped around her head. She wore what seemed to be a bathrobe, which hugged her hourglass figure snugly as she brushed her hair.
"What can we do? The only person strong enough to contend against Michael is the Devil himself—who is not here at the moment," Lilith said calmly, not even moving her gaze away from the mirror.
"But Mistress! Are we to just let him rampage in our territory? Can't we do... anything!?" the tiny demon yelled.
Lilith frowned in annoyance.
"Unless you wish to face him yourself, then I suggest you shut your mouth. If you can do something about it, then do so. If not..."
She paused, placed down her brush, stood up, and walked over to the demon—who backed away in fear. She did this until the tiny demon stepped out of the room.
"...then don't interrupt me or barge into my room again."
With that, she slammed the doors closed.
The tiny demon, still in shock, ran.
He had decided to abandon the castle, seeing it as a lost cause. But just as he stepped into the inner courtyard, the head of a dragon flew over from the outer courtyard and landed before him with a thud.
The demon watched in horror as a six-winged angel flew over from the outer courtyard, easily bypassing the flight-restriction spells cast over the castle.
"Oh, another pest," the angel said coldly as he lifted his blade, aiming to strike.
"You know, it's rude to just barge into someone's home and kill their servants."
A voice sounded out.
Michael paused.