Heaven. A realm for the souls of all those who had lived up to God's expectations. Here there was no sin, no pain and no sadness...

Until he came.

In a fit of uncontainable fury, the primordial demon of pride marched with his legions on the gates of heaven. The guards posted there stood no chance as they were mercilessly slaughtered. Untold thousands of angels were recalled from other battles to fight against Samael's legion of vengeful devils.

The demon of pride stood in black and gold armour at the head of his legion as they held position at the gates.

For three months they would hold the line at the gates. He wasn't about to let some feathered parasites infest this world anymore. Corson would be avenged, of that there would be no doubt.

As darkness settled around the bastion the devils had set up, Samael stood watch. He knew the angels wouldn't let this stand for long.

His hunch was verified as his sister approached, an angel that Samael had sworn to face personally should she appear to fight.

Samael: "Azrael."

Azrael: "Hello, brother."

Azrael stood silently as Samael gave her a cold glare. His eyes were glazed over with anger, however Azrael was uninterested in such emotions. She was the angel of death after all.

However she did not come to fight. She needed only do as her title suggested in order to win the battle and crush the bastion after all.

Azrael: "I'm impressed you've held this position for so long, brother."

Samael: "I'm surprised you didn't just start singing. Yours is the song that announces death after all. What's your game, sister? Trying to get me to go back to the underworld without incident?"

Azrael: "Under normal circumstances, I would. However I understand your motivations behind this crusade of yours. If I were to try and fight you off, you would simply return and gain more ground. That is how you are after all, Samael. For every inch of ground lost in one battle, you gain miles in the retaliatory strike. Besides, I would not insult Corson's memory in such a fashion."

Samael's eyes flashed crimson in his fury as he crushed a piece of rubble in his hand.

Samael: "THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ALLOW THOSE ANGELS TO DO WHAT THEY DID!? Why not just do the usual and announce their deaths there and then!?"

Azrael: "Samael, I had no control over those angels. You know as well as I do that I only involve myself if heaven itself is under threat."

Samael's glare was full of primordial fury, however Azrael did not see it. She was blindfolded after all. A personal choice of hers. She saw no evil, making her job of announcing death far easier.

There was also a slight... personal issue which she chose to blindfold herself for.

Samael: "So you only involve yourself if heaven's threatened. So why did it take you this long to make your way here!?"

Azrael: "That is... Uh..."

Samael's glare softened and his mouth formed a thin line as he deadpanned.

Samael: "You couldn't remember the path to the gates, could you?"

Azrael: "I- I could! I- I just... I took my time! Yes, I took my time getting here is all. Heaven is vast after all."

Samael facepalmed, his anger had far from subsided, but it had settled for the moment. Despite her power and prestige as the angel that announces death, Azrael was such a klutz at times.

Azrael: "Samael. Though I may not be able to see what the gates look like... the stench of blood and death that hangs in the air has made it clear to me. The gold bars of the gates are stained red and the flayed bodies of those who murdered Corson are impaled atop the spikes."

Samael: "For being blindfolded, you're certainly perceptive."

Azrael sighed before poking and prodding at the ground with the end of her staff to find somewhere to sit.

When she found one, she seated herself upon a large piece of white sandstone debris.

Azrael: "... If you remain here, you will incur father's ire."

Samael: "I don't care what I incur, Azrael. If father wants to get in my way, then I'll put him down like a rabid dog, same as how Corson was put down. He was given no honour in death and was met with disrespect and defilement!"

Azrael: "Samael. I acknowledge that you are the strongest of us. You were once the strongest angel in heaven. But... I am saddened that you have allowed your anger to lead you to make such a foolish decision."

Samael: "FOOLISH!? You would DARE call this crusade foolish!? What happened to the angel who lead murderers to their deaths prematurely!? What happened to the woman who manipulated the deaths of certain people purely out of her own self-interest!? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER, AZRAEL!?"

Azrael recoiled from Samael's berating. Ultimately he was right. Considering some of the things she did in her early life as the angel of death, she had no place to speak of such matters.

She silently stood up and turned away. She then walked back into the inner sanctum of heaven before turning back one more time to her brother.

Azrael: "... Father will try to reach a peaceful solution to this conflict. If not, he will be forced to use more violent methods."

Samael: "I care not, Azrael. Father may be almighty, however he is weakened. Trihexa saw to that."

As the sun rose into a sky stained crimson by bloodshed, the so-called "Lord Almighty" made his presence known.

A bright pillar of light descended from on high as God spoke.

SAMAEL.

Samael scoffed as his father spoke in his commanding, authoritarian voice.

Samael: "The fuck do you want!? Corson's blood is on your hands, father!"

What Corson did was an act of-

Samael's eyes shone a furious red as he cut his father off.

Samael: "DON'T GIVE ME THAT FUCKIN' BLASPHEMY BULLSHIT, GOD!! YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT THAT'S JUST A FUCKING LABEL YOU USE FOR SOMETHING THAT GOES AGAINST WHAT YOU WANT!!"

Samael. You shall never truly understand my plan.

Samael: "Because you don't fucking have one! You come up with bullshit to keep humans in line with what you think is perfection! I say that's bullshit and I am demanding that you bring your sorry ass out here and stop hiding behind that fuckin' pillar of light like a fucking coward!"

God sighed, he had foreseen such a conflict arising between he and his son.

Very well. I shall hide behind no façade, my son.

Samael raised an eyebrow as the pillar of light vanished, and in it's place was an old man with a beard of white draped in white robes and a golden laurel crown atop his head.

Are you going to be more receptive of my words now, my son?

Samael: "Call me that again and I'm gonna break your leg."

God sighed once more before flicking his wrist and a large chunk of white sandstone debris floated over before planting itself in the middle of the roadway. Two more chunks followed suit and went to either side of the debris.

God motioned for Samael to take a seat, and despite the burning anger inside of Samael, he complied and took a seat.

Do you know why I created humans, Samael?

Samael: "Because we were on a roll with creating things to inhabit earth and didn't think of the possibility that we mighta gone a bit too far."

No, no. Nothing as silly as that. I created humans to be like the pure-born angels, except, I wanted them to be flawed.

Samael raised an eyebrow, but his anger toward his father was soon validated. God went on to detail that he wanted to create flawed beings so he could have an example for new pure-born angels to see. An example of what allowing oneself to be flawed would result in.

God's idea of flaws meant that humans mostly went to the underworld rather than heaven. In his eyes, a flaw was akin to a capital sin.

Samael had heard enough. He stood up from his seat and bellowed at his father.

Samael: "You may credit yourself as the creator, father! But you're just a sadistic pretender! I won't suffer it. I WON'T SUFFER YOU TO INFECT THIS WORLD YOU REPUGNANT PARASITE!!"

God sighed in disappointment. Samael could tell that his father was weakened. Now would be perfect, he could draw the dragon eater and plunge it through God's smug skull.

However he was the demon of pride, and his pride dictated his actions.

Samael: "Pick up your sword, you old fool."

God's gaze snapped to his son out of surprise. Samael's reddened eyes were resolute, if he was going to die, he would do so on the battlefield.

You know not what you invoke, my son.

Samael: "I don't care. I could have simply killed you here and now, however such a move would be an insult to my own pride as a warrior. Corson will be avenged, make no mistake, but I will not strike down a weak old man unless he is willing to face me in combat."

God looked into the eyes of the demon that hadn't slept once in years. The demon who once stood as an angel by his side.

God remembered those days, when Samael's flowing golden hair acted as a beacon of hope. Now that same former angel stood before him now, his hair dyed crimson and his eyes no longer the cerulean blue he once remembered. His irises were glowing golden while the whites of his eyes had been reddened by anger and lack of sleep.

God saw no alternative, so with a heavy heart, he turned to one of the archangels that accompanied him, Raguel.

Raguel. Pass me my blade.

Raguel was shocked and angered by God's willingness to go along with Samael's foolishness. However he relented and knelt before his lord as he held up a bright light which reshaped itself into a large broadsword.

Raguel: "Lord Almighty, do you not think this mere foolishness?"

God turned to Raguel with a melancholy smile.

Foolishness? Perhaps from your view it may be. However I now see that this was my error. I created Samael to embody pride which lead to his downfall. Truly, I have failed as a father, haven't I?

Samael raised an eyebrow in surprise, it was very unlike God to own up to his mistakes. However the deity turned to his demon son and raised the sword of light.

God spoke no words to his son, but instead charged forwards at blinding speeds. Or at least, it was blinding for normal angels and devils. Samael side-stepped his father and slashed at his back with his own sword, the dragon eater.

God stumbled as he felt the searing pain of the blade slashing his back, however he turned back to his son, who had seemingly lost all of the fury he once had. There was no pride to be gained from this, even Samael had realised that now.

Samael: "... Just how weak did Trihexa leave you?"

I'm certainly not as spry as I would be normally.

Samael clicked his tongue in response. His father was stubborn, he knew as much from experience. but he was controlling, he kept in mind that if he faltered for even a moment, God wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of him and strike him down.

Thus he kept his distance and allowed his father to wear himself down. The angels and archangels watching the battle began to weep as God became progressively more tired. After an hour of battling, the almighty lord was covered in slashes from the dragon eater.

Samael kept a stoic expression, but he was pained to be doing this. He never wanted this war in the first place. Had God not tried to control the human world in the same manner he controlled his angels then perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps devils and angels could even coexist as allies, perhaps even Nephilim could be born without any problems rather than being hurled to the wolves.

God charged again and Samael shed but a single tear as he ducked under the strike and slashed at his father's leg. 

The lord tried to get to his feet, however he felt a hand on his back.

Samael: "No more. You're far too weak. As your firstborn son, allow me to relieve you of the pain of your existence."

With his final words spoken, Samael removed one of his gauntlets and thrust his claws into his father's side, causing God to gasp as a biting coldness embraced him.

The venom of God. Samael's namesake.

Samael: "I am sorry, father. You brought this upon yourself."

God tried to get up, but the venom that he himself had created unwittingly was coursing through his veins. 

Azrael reached up and removed her blindfold, allowing her silver eyes to gaze upon her father. She walked through the crowd of angels as they parted to grant her access to God. Samael saw her coming, but knew she would not attack him. He stepped aside and allowed his sister to kneel next to their creator.

Azrael then leaned into God's ear and sang but a single note. One quiet enough that only God would hear it.

He felt himself becoming colder as death began to take hold of him, he took one final look at Azrael and smiled as he saw her eyes. He slowly turned to Samael as the light began to fade from his eyes.

The demon of pride watched his father slip away in front of him.

The brilliant white of heaven gave way to a dark grey as rain began to fall upon the holy kingdom.

The angels huddled together in sadness and fear as devils glared at them hungrily. One of those devils rushed to a couple of angels with his sword drawn, however he was grabbed by the throat by Samael.

Samael: "Our purpose here has been fulfilled. There is no glory nor pride in conquering a broken people. Come! We return to the underworld!"

The devils looked at Samael in shock as he turned from the kingdom of light and forcibly teleported his legions back to the underworld.

Raguel: "All of this... Just to turn away at the moment of victory!? IS THIS WHAT YOUR PRIDE HAS COST US, SAMAEL!?!?"

Samael: "Shut up, Raguel."

Raguel's eyes widened as he heard the melancholy, defeated tone in Samael's voice.

Samael: "There was no victory this day. Nor any defeat. Only deicide."

Samael didn't give heaven a second look as he walked through the gates and slammed them shut behind him. The demon continued to walk back to the underworld. Choosing not to teleport, only to walk. He wanted to see the cost of his blind anger and the cost of both his and his fathers pride for himself. When he reached the altar that lead to the human realm, he walked through it and emerged in the human world.

He wandered through fields of bodies, blood soaked grass and destroyed towns and cities.

Sodom. Babylon. Gomorrah. All places that were ravaged by their petty squabble labelled as a war.

He spent his next three years in isolation until a familiar face found him.

Her golden, flaming wings lit up the cave he had retreated to. The cave where his nephew was once entombed. The phoenix looked down at her old friend with a solemn smile.

Samael gazed up at her as her embers lit up the tomb around them. It was there that Samael, the demon of pride, became Samael Rathalli, husband of Allia.

In the present time, everyone minus the demons were in a state of disbelief. Samael was the one who struck down God, but he felt no pride for what he had done.

Xenovia wiped away tears from her eyes while Y/n stayed silent. Asia was on the verge of crying her eyes out.

Allia: "Samael pledged himself to me, to us, that day in the tomb where your cousin Jesus was buried."

Y/n still couldn't believe what he was hearing from his mother. He turned to Malina to back up what Allia had said, she nodded before speaking plainly.

Malina: "When your dad got back to the underworld, a lotta devils questioned his authority since he didn't allow a full invasion of heaven despite being in the perfect position to do so. I was amongst those people."

Allia: "Indeed, however the primordial demon of pride is nothing to scoff at. He shrugged off their doubts and had Belphegor and Dantalion personally deliver the final strike to the fallen angels before the great war officially came to an end."

Malina: "Then there was the devil kings' coup d'état."

Sathanas: "That failed spectacularly. They killed Gusion and Gamigin and SEVERELY pissed off Samael. You get three guesses as to how that went."

Y/n: "So... Does Raguel still hold a grudge?"

Allia: "You'd be better off asking Jegudiel or Uriel about that. I haven't spoken to Raguel in a very long time."

Y/n went silent again when he noticed a shadow looming over the group. Turning to the doorway, he saw his father leaning against the wall with a solemn expression.

Y/n: "D- Dad!"

Everyone jumped as they only just noticed Samael standing there.

Samael: "I came to see how everyone was settling in, and I find you telling my old war stories without me, Allia?"

Allia: "He deserves to know, Samael."

Samael: "I'm not denying that. I just would've liked to be here to fact check. But to answer your question, Y/n. Yeah, Raguel still hates me. Though that may have been because I relentlessly trolled him for decades after the war."

Allia: "Like the pufferfish incident."

Samael: "I was thinking more along the lines of the porcupine prank that Jegudiel and I pulled off."

Y/n: "So, you were in good relations with Jegudiel the whole time?"

Samael: "Not for a long while. Took me thirty years to get Jegudiel to start hangin' out with me again."

Samael's smile turned solemn again as he took a seat next to Allia on the sofa.

Samael: "I've only spoken to Gabriel, Michael and Uriel since getting outta Cocytus. So I don't know if my other siblings forgive me. It's unlikely though. Cassiel hates my existence, that much I do know."

Allia: "She shed many tears for many years when you dealt the killing blow to God."

Samael: "Yeah, sounds like her. Fuckin' cry baby."

Xenovia: "Forgive me if this sounds rude. But how can you talk of such events so casually?"

Samael: "Xenovia, when you get to my age, you learn the importance of the phrase 'Forgive, but never forget.' It's one you'll be hearing a lot if the three factions make peace. Raguel's of the mind that he can never forgive and forget. I kinda agree, but instead of forgiving, I just stopped caring. Things are a lot easier to deal with when you have absolutely no fucks to give."

Samael himself then went on to regale the group of some of the other stories from the great war and even some from before it.

When he had finished, the sun had vanished and it was fully night time. Y/n offered to let everyone stay over for the night, an offer which the others accepted. Though Xenovia only accepted on the condition that she got to sleep with Y/n like they used to in the orphanage.

While everyone slept, Samael leaned back on one of the sofa's with a glass of red wine in his hand.

Samael: "Things really were different back then, huh?"

He smiled to himself as he remembered the day Y/n was brought into the world. Jegudiel, Bartzabel, Allia and he all celebrated the birth of Samael's first and only true child.

He recalled where they were. A massive cathedral hall with a huge white throne at the far end. The same place where Samael was born. 

The primordial demon smiled and looked at the sky through the window.

Samael: "Yeah, maybe if things were different, you'd get to meet him... Ya old dick."

End of Chapter.

Next Time: Beautiful Duality