Enemies In Arms - Part 2

After passing through the forest, Lucifer finds himself soaring above a towering mountain made of golden-brown rock. There isn't a single green plant in sight, yet the rock formation is majestic to behold. However, he is annoyed by the presence of two individuals who have been tailing him for an unknown amount of time.

"Why are you two fools still following me?" Lucifer wails, irritated by their persistence.

He cannot be sure how much time has passed since they began following him. He has tried to speed up his pace, but they still manage to keep up with him. It's not that he doesn't want anyone to accompany him, but their presence feels strange to him.

"We're all headed in the same direction, aren't we!? So stop assuming that we're after you!" Malique tries to be smart, but he's not prepared for the hidden truth that is about to be revealed. He has to raise his voice because the wind is too loud for a normal tone to be heard.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Lucifer abruptly flies backwards so that he can face them and signs up a mischievous smirk.

"What do you mean...?" Malique asks, but Michael, who has been gliding by his side the whole time, cuts him short.

"This isn't the most idealistic way to Heaven," Michael explains. "Lucifer might be taking a detour or something."

"I know you too well, Michael," Lucifer snaps and comes to a halt, forcing the other two to stop as well. "Just come out straight with it. What more could you lose?"

Instead of hovering in the air, Lucifer decides to land, and the other two follow suit. In the descending motion, Malique can see the expression on Michael's face change from soft to a tilted-wary look.

"I'll teach you one extra thing, Malique," Lucifer continues. "We, Angels and Demons alike, aren't that much different at all. See for yourself, the Archangel Michael, known for his calm and composed stature, is this agitated? We all have two personalities that cancel each other out, and one of them always wins, most of the time. Like the good and the bad, the Angels consistently have the good side victorious. And vice versa. Ain't that right, Michael?"

"Enough!" Michael snarls, and everyone goes silent. Malique starts to grasp more and more mysteries in the making through Michael's reaction. "I have to give that to you for being the one who can see through my actions."

"Well, am I honoured," sneers Lucifer, sarcastically bowing with one side of his head up to sneer at Michael.

"Now that's settled..." Michael speaks again after Lucifer aligns his spine. "Why are we here?"

"Who knows?" Lucifer shrugs, and Malique notices how Michael grips his knuckles tightly, probably frustrated.

"Who knows... Stop playing with me!" Michael enrages after he loses all reasoning, and honestly, it terrifies Malique to see such a person change. "You know what's up! Or you could have been setting everything up!"

"Hahahaha, how can you be this daft, Michael? You failed me." Lucifer mocks while belittling Michael. "About my memories and all, I don't even have a recollection of this place."

Lucifer dwindles around, flailing his arms out to subject the whole area. According to his testimonies, his impression ended before the Great War incident, and the event took place in Heaven. To be honest, Lucifer does not even know what Hell is and where it is placed.

"In the middle of nowhere, you possibly think that I know the way back home? Haha."

"Then tell me, why are we here?" Michael calms himself down and resorts to this approach.

"Don't know," Lucifer replies lightning fast and realizes that the answer cannot satisfy Michael, so he redirects it. "I had a hunch."

"Stop with the lies..."

"Lies?" A word that triggers Lucifer's nature escaped Michael's mouth. "Don't tempt me, Michael. I told you countless times that I gain nothing from it."

"Now, now. You two. Relax." Malique, completely unsure of how to ease the situation, tries his best, hoping that the best comes to the end. For a traitor, he utters nothing but the veracity of his story. No alteration or fabrication can deem him suspicious.

But thank the heavens that the quarrel finishes with no one getting hurt or worse, killed. Lucifer has left into the rocky terrain, searching for something that he claims is the intuition he felt. For Michael, he sits down exhausted with the thought and precautions he planned for the future.

"Are you alright?" Malique musters the courage to check on Michael's well-being or precisely, mental state.

"This is the second worst day I've ever gone through in my entire life." Guess what happened on his first worst day? Bingo, the Great War, what else could it be?

"Good, you're still fine." Malique retains his seriousness, and it could not help but make Michael chuckle amusingly.

"Haha, what's gotten into you? Normally you've been the one to play around?" Michael prices.

"Well, we can't be having two me's, right?" Malique replies jokingly.

"I have to apologize, Malique." Michael suddenly confesses. "What you heard just now, all the things that Lucifer sprawled out had no trace of falsification in it. The information was classified as the Archangels or Angels with a higher order. To be fair, you and Hadraniel need to be included."

"Forget about that. None of that matters now," Malique reassures Michael, who is feeling guilty and depressed. Although pretending to be Michael is exhausting for Malique, he wants to support his friend.

After a brief moment of silence, Michael asks, "Has he gone far?" Referring to the person they were just fighting with.

"Lucifer? I don't think he's gone that far," Malique responds, looking in the direction where Lucifer disappeared.

"Do you think he's still around the area?" Michael clarifies, knowing that ignoring their enemy's movements could be a mistake.

"I can do a quick survey if you want," Malique offers. "You can stay here, and I'll be right back."

"I'm fine, Malique," Michael responds. "Don't treat me like that. It feels weird."

"Alright, we'll do it together if you prefer that." Malique grabs Michael's right hand and pulls him up. Michael brushes off the debris on his clothes, and Malique offers to help him with the hard-to-reach places.

Now ready, they progress through the track in search of the wanted man. Likely, Lucifer is still there, as collecting the allegation he made earlier suggests he won't be heading to Heaven anytime soon. Malique is also confident that he can spot Lucifer if he went airborne before they reached him.

However, Lucifer is not leaving a trail, and they can't find any fresh footprints on the desert floor. "You picking up any senses?" Michael asks out of the blue.

"Yeah, he's not far," Malique responds. He begins to notice Lucifer's demonic aura emanating from behind a huge cliff in the distance.

Flapping their wings, they take extra care not to make too much noise as they pursue Lucifer. They land a thousand feet away from his location and jog the rest of the way.

When they reach the top of the cliff, they see seven silhouettes that create an illusion of multiple Lucifers. "Oh, Malique isn't it? Enjoyed the time?" Beelzebub's voice, one of the Seven Demons of Sins, greets Malique.

"He doesn't look too happy to see us. Disappointing," Sathanas adds. Malique realizes that the seven silhouettes belong to the Seven Demons of Sins.

"How did I miss this!? Crap!" Malique thinks to himself, realizing that associating with Lucifer had an impact on his senses. His strong spirit unintentionally covered everyone else's, causing a disturbance that even Michael, an Archangel, could not detect.