The former Archangel’s tone was mild: “I have never called myself the Demon King.”
Mammon snorted and waved a hand: “That’s enough, you only changed a title, do you think your identity will change?”
Having said this, he gave a light hum: “Anyway, whether you’re the Demon King or not, it can’t change the fact that you ruined Lucifer’s plan. Michael, if I were you, I wouldn’t deceive myself.”
“Come to think of it, it really is strange. You and Lucifel weren’t that close, were you? I thought the one with a secret crush on him would be Raphael or Gabriel, so why is it you?”
The stone in his hand was crushed outright.
Mammon shivered involuntarily and mumbled: “That’s odd, there’s no cold air.”
“Mammon.”
Michael’s voice was very cold. He turned his head, his crimson eyes fixed on the demon in front of him, and said word by word: “I’ll say it once more. The relationship between Lucifer and me is not what you think. If you keep talking nonsense, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Mammon didn’t find this strange. The one in front of him was, after all, different from Lucifer; although the reason for his fall was unclear, he shouldn’t have stayed in the Abyss willingly. But, going by the fact that this Archangel was of the same rank as Lucifer, he clearly had more choices and should not have chosen this most extreme road.
Thinking of this, he said in a probing tone: “Do you have some use that requires you to leave Heaven, Michael?”
The ruler of the Abyss looked away and was silent for a while before speaking: “There is a bit of a reason, but—”
Mammon leaned in front of him and asked carefully: “What reason?”
Michael gave him a sidelong look and did not answer, but asked Mammon a question instead: “Rather than caring about my reason for falling, you should think about your own situation, Mammon.”
Mammon: “Huh? What situation do I have?”
Michael turned sideways, no smile on his face: “I just have no plan to deal with you fallen angels for the time being; that doesn’t mean I’ll really let you keep staying neutral in my territory.”
He didn’t like power and position; that sounded a bit funny. Whether as a high-rank angel of Heaven, or later as Archangel appointed in a time of danger, or now as master of the Abyss, from any angle he looked like someone who wanted the best.
But in fact, these were all things he had no choice but to do.
As a fellow fallen angel, Michael had no intention of making things difficult for fallen angels; unlike the angels of Heaven, he would not instinctively reject companions because they had chosen the side of darkness.
But he had reasons why he had to take action against the fallen angels.
Looking at the person in front of him, who counted as the central figure among the fallen angels, Michael’s expression was as calm as ever: “The Abyss does not need a second voice. Do you understand what I mean?”
Mammon soon caught on.
Smiling, the demon, who looked pure and innocent, propped up his cheek: “Oh, you hope the fallen angels can be of use to you, Michael. It’s not impossible, but you know, fallen angels value benefits. Back then Lucifer promised them a free world so that they would follow him, so what about you?”
Mammon pressed toward the master of the Abyss in front of him, his voice low: “What can you give us? The status of great demon in the Abyss, or after conquering Heaven, one level of Heaven?”
Michael narrowed his eyes and then laughed out loud.
“What, I thought you were just unhappy that I replaced Lucifer, and it turns out you just want benefits?”
Meeting Mammon’s stunned gaze, Michael stepped aside from the position behind him.
Where there should have been a table, a door had appeared, dark purple and gold crossing each other.
“Mammon, you can ask those fallen angels for me, whether they are interested in the position of Abyss level lord?”
The demon raised his head, looked at the four characters carved on the door, and was left speechless.
—Chaotic Abyss.
It wasn’t that no angel or demon knew this name.
It was only that this was a name that existed forever in legend, and the place had never appeared before anyone’s eyes, so it had naturally been forgotten by everyone.
If not for today’s probing, Mammon would probably never have known, that the door was in Michael’s hands.
Mammon looked at him: “You renamed Hell the Abyss.”
Michael: “Yes.”
Mammon swallowed: “You call yourself the god of the Abyss.”
Michael smiled: “That’s right.”
Mammon’s gaze jumped back and forth between the door and Michael, and finally he covered his face in agony.
“I should have guessed! Since the Chaotic Abyss exists, why did no one jump out to object when you declared yourself god of the Abyss! Because, you are the master of the Chaotic Abyss!”
Michael comforted him: “So there are plenty of benefits, so consider hanging out with me.”
“Wait… that doesn’t matter now, does it? No! You were clearly an Archangel, and clearly Lord Lucifer’s subordinate before, so why… are you the master of the Abyss?”
Michael looked melancholy: “Life isn’t easy, working a few extra jobs is normal.”
“?”
Others’ part-time work is working for someone, and you went straight to seize the boss’s seat?
Mammon felt Michael had given him a new interpretation of what part-time work means today.
Wait, if he’s the master of the Abyss, given the relationship between Lucifer and Michael, why would things have turned sour?
“Lucifer doesn’t know you’re the master of the Abyss, does he?”
Michael looked puzzled: “Why would he need to know? It’s not like I want him as my subordinate.”
Mammon: “…If I learn this before Lucifer, will I be killed by him?”
Michael: “Hm?”
Once again, Mammon felt that Heaven was poisonous, truly.
Back then, Lucifel, who embodied all glory and beauty, had planned to fall because he couldn’t accept God’s ideas… and failed.
His successor, the Archangel Michael, suddenly turned in the middle of fighting his superior, and ended up falling in his place and becoming the Demon King.
And now Mammon had learned that this Archangel who had really fallen was actually the master of the Abyss, and being an Archangel was his side job… He couldn’t understand how the One in Heaven chose Archangels; every one of them was a rebel!
Having obtained the answer he wanted, and learned a few secrets that might get him silenced, Mammon left in a daze.
Michael had never thought about hiding his identity from the start; after all, although God had sealed his power as the God of Light, He truly bore him no ill will.
The reason he hadn’t told the other everything was just that the time hadn’t come yet.
And besides—
He gazed in the direction where Heaven lay, a trace of gravity in his expression.
There was one thing that still needed confirming.
With the One on the Eighth Heaven.
Breaking through Heaven’s defenses wasn’t hard; the problem was that the guardian angel of the First Heaven was his adopted son.
Michael looked at the map spread open, pondering a countermeasure.
If he attacked directly, it would easily cause heavy casualties. After all, he was not attacking with the mindset of conquering Heaven, and in his view extra sacrifice was entirely unnecessary.
“War means casualties”; Michael did not like that saying.
If he were only Michael, then he might really be unable to protect every demon, fallen angel and angel.
But he was no longer only Michael, the Archangel; the power he could use exceeded what the One in Heaven imagined.
After thinking, Michael decided to do something to the barriers after all.
He had only fallen a short while ago, and Raziel’s work on changing the barriers probably hadn’t been done much yet. And even if the other changed the barriers, in his view they were easy to break.
Raziel and the One on the Eighth Heaven were not on the same level at all in terms of barriers.
When no one knew, Michael broke into Heaven.
Remiel, the guardian archangel of the First Heaven, saw him and was knocked unconscious by him.
From then on, the First Heaven’s defense collapsed completely.
At the same time, the barrier angel Raziel suddenly fainted, frightening the other archangels, who checked on his condition one after another.
No wounds, a mysterious coma.
Lucifer had been in low spirits these past few days.
The reason was simple: their God allowed him to take Gabriel and his angel armies, but did not allow them to take Raziel with them. Originally, he had meant to persuade God before departure, but who would have thought that at this very moment Raziel would inexplicably fall into a coma.
Outside his palace on the Seventh Heaven, Raphael knelt before him.
The archangel who served him reported on the past few days: “I have already examined Raziel. There’s nothing wrong with his body; the cause of the coma may be fatigue.”
Lucifer’s face was cold: “Fatigue? I didn’t know that merely repairing barriers could tire him until he lost consciousness.”
Raphael could also see that Lucifer’s mood was not good, so he spoke: “Raziel was drowsy before, so it’s not surprising whenever he collapses.”
Lucifer suppressed his anger: “But, it shouldn’t be right when we’re about to attack Hell!”
Raphael was stunned: “Attack?”
Wait, didn’t he remember it was a rescue?
Lucifer was angry enough to be muddled and pressed his brow: “No, it’s to save Michael.”
Hearing this, Raphael let out a breath.
Thinking of something, he suddenly realized that his superior’s anger might be directed at something else, and felt his mood become subtle.
That Lucifer wanted Raziel to go to Hell with them, the other archangels had heard something of it, since Raziel himself had admitted it. Even he didn’t know why, when even the angel armies had been allowed to go with Lucifer, Raziel alone was not allowed to go to Hell.
Say he and Michael were on bad terms? It shouldn’t be so.
During Michael’s years in Heaven, although his popularity couldn’t be said to have been great, apart from the matter of his title, his reputation in other respects was fairly good.
After all, he was someone who had given up his own background advantage, gone off to angel school, and fought his way up to the upper levels of Heaven; thinking about it, strength had nothing to do with weakness for him.
Then, was there a great demon in Hell with a grudge against Raziel?