The Demon’s Bride

Ian take a stride forward and Elise followed him from behind as he made his way outside, following Orias who had left to lead them toward another room on the same floor. They hadn't seen Lucifer or know in what condition he was currently but Elise had noticed the blood on the ground that was smeared on the blue carpet. She also knew Ian had noticed this by how quick he sped up to the room Orias had led him to.

Standing in front of the room was both Beelzebub and Esther who seemed to be flustered as well.

Beelzebub reached out his hand to the door before Ian could come in, "Stay calm," he warned.

Ian didn't answer. He looked at Beelzebub with a nod before turning the door knob open and entering the room at once. Inside was Lucifer whose body was covered with bandage across his pale skin. His long black hair spread on the bed's sheet as his eyes were tightly close. His lower half had been covered by the blanket and there was traces of blood on his face where there was one scar that had wounded his jaw.

"What happened?" Ian noticed how his uncle's body was battered and his expression was too pallid even for his usual pale complexion.

"He was attacked on his way back to Hell. I found him when I and Esther was on our way to enter the castle. I notified the servants and carried him here. From what I could see his entire body had been wounded, he was attacked or perhaps he had been in a duel with someone else," Beelzebub explained. 

Elise didn't understand. She knew how strong Lucifer was. After all, he could show his aggressive side toward Satan without a fear of his life. Satan too, didn't seem to ever want to make the demon his enemy. It was difficult to think someone could manage to put him in this state.

"Did he said who it was?" Ian questioned, his eyes that looked at Beelzebub appeared to be a calm before storm which wasn't noticed only by Elise but the rest of the people in the room. 

Beelzebub silently shook his head in response. 

"How is he now?" Elise then asked, finding Beelzebub's twisted face as a sign of a terrible outcome.

"I don't know what occurred to him. Usually wounds like these might seem to be a big matter toward other demons and angels but this should be nothing against Lucifer. Yet he's unconscious."

Ian frowned as he came closer. With his eyes closed, he used his sense before saying, "His soul is here and there's no curse."

"I remember there was one said a curse that is invisible to the eyes and act up all of a sudden," Esther who had been studying the situation from the side said. "There was no trace nor sign. It's a curse that was once well known in the back alley of Hell."

"Perhaps it's the same curse that's currently affecting Lucifer?" Beelzebub questioned.

"We should find someone who knew more about curses," Esther suggested.

Elise looked at Orias, "Where is grandfather?" the servant shook his head in response, cuing that he doesn't know which had Elise confused. "He's not in the castle?"

Ian also looked at Orias who felt the pressure of being questioned by the high demons. "During the early hour of the day, his majesty was in his room but all of a sudden he left." 

"Any place you knew where he would go to?" asked Elise again but Orias had no idea as Satan was a master who never had a proper schedule nor would consult to his servants of his daily activities. 

"If he's not in the castle, bring anyone you know who is skilled in the area of curse," ordered Ian that was enough to get Orias quickly on his feet and dashed out from the room.

"I heard another ruckus around here, what happened?" Esther asked Elise, wondering what was the commotion she heard from the neighboring room.

"Michael and the rest of the angels suspect us as the culprit who harmed Gabriel. Heaven had betrayed us by claiming that he had seen Ian attacking Gabriel and tearing his wings," said Elise with her eyebrows knitted tightly. It felt to her as if she had been put in a narrow box where the sides had been tightly glued close, trapping her inside with no way out. 

It was hard to predict what Ernest was planning to do when the man seemed to have planned out everything for years, enabling him to guess theirs steps ahead of themselves, or she should say, Apollyon's plan. Seeing how well Apollyon had read their next step it felt as if he was seeing their future and making choices were akin to picking a cursed card where she knew a setback was waiting for them.

"Raphael gave the punishment to Ian, a punishment to kill him," Elise uttered before biting down her lips.

Esther was taken aback at the news as well as Beelzebub who was standing near the bed. He had been the person who cornered Gabriel that day alongside Heaven but they had not attacked the angel at all, and the culprit was rather the dark sorcerer.

"They didn't only manipulate the angels but the Heaven as well," remarked Beelzebub. "This is terrible."

"What do you mean?" Esther found Beelzebub sudden worried expression that was rare to be a terrible premonition.

Beelzebub raised his two hands, "Heaven and Hell are drawn between a very fragile line. The demons are cursed and the angels are given a punishment. Like how Ian cannot die and how Gabriel could only say the truth. It's all to prevent both side from attack each other. To protect the balance. With the blame of harming Gabriel now lies on us, there is nothing that could restrain other angels from Heaven to attack Hell."

Elise stared at Beelzebub as her blue eyes widened she looked at Ian, understanding what Beelzebub meant. "It's a war between Heaven and Hell."