The battlefield that was filled with chaos a few minutes ago was now as silent as a graveyard. The Allied forces watched from one side while the six devils watched from the other. In the middle were two beings. Both looked like normal humans but they were anything but normal.
"This realm of the upper world is not yours," Serenity finally broke the silence.
"I know," Lucifer replied nonchalantly.
"Please return to your realm," Serenity said.
"I don't want to," Lucifer returned.
"You will cause untold bloodshed and chaos in this world," Serenity reasoned.
"And this is my problem, how?" Lucifer asked back.
Serenity narrowed her eyes. It was clear that Lucifer was unwilling to yield to her request.
Lucifer chuckled. "If you want me to leave, make me. You want to come at me alone or together with those three, I don't mind."
"Three?" Serenity asked.
Lucifer folded his arms and spoke, "Are the three of you planning to just continue watching from afar?"
His voice was soft, but everyone could hear him. Even the ones in the mobile fortress who were the furthest away. His voice didn't stop there. It continued to travel for miles.
Not long after he spoke, three beings materialized next to Serenity. Two of them were Pride and Greed. Serenity didn't expect these two to be nearby, but he was more surprised by the third being. She was eyeing her with suspicion. This third being was Wrath.
"Hm… Quite a welcoming committee here," Lucifer remarked. "But I see that you are incomplete. There should be more of you. Where are the rest? More importantly, where is Hope?"
"He is… dealing with something important at the moment," Pride answered.
"Oh… More important than welcoming me?" Lucifer said. "I'm not sure if I should feel hurt or not. He does know the lot of you is not enough to stop me now, doesn't he?"
"Is it now?" Greed asked.
Lucifer chuckled. "Hehe. Greed, you and I could have hit it off if we tried. How about it? Come over to my side and I will share the world with you."
"Well, I do remember you are called the Father of Lies. So, no thanks," Greed replied.
Lucifer simply smiled at the response. He turned to Wrath and asked, "What about you, Wrath."
Wrath folded her arms. "I don't deal with the denizens of the underworld," She answered.
"Hehehe…," Lucifer laughed quietly. "You, Gods of the upperworld, seem to have been spoiled too much by your superiority up here that you don't seem to know how to act when you meet your better."
Lucifer floated into the air as he spoke. His body glowed. Three shining halos appeared above his head. At the same time, three pairs of feathery wings materialized on his back. Each of the six wings was composed of a different color of feathers. The colors were white, black, red, green, yellow, and blue. While he was glowing, the area around him darkened.
Everyone in the Allied forces found themselves unable to move. Even their thoughts seemed to have stagnated. The four Gods of the upper world eyed Lucifer with wariness. Simply with this one display, they understood that Lucifer wasn't bluffing about him being their better.
The glow, the shining halo, and the six wings vanished as abruptly as they appeared. Everything returned to normal again. Lucifer floated back down.
He spoke again, "Though I would love to teach you punks some manners, I'm not a rude God. I know I am a guest, for now. At least until the corrupted mana fills this world and my underworld legions take over all the lands up here. Until then, how about we grown-ups stay out of our children's affairs?"
The four Gods and Goddesses looked at each other.
"We can't let his underworld forces do as they please," Serenity said.
Pride looked at Serenity. He projected his thoughts instead of speaking directly, "We don't have a choice. We have to agree for now."
Serenity was unwilling, but she knew that it was the truth. With Hope no longer around, it was not certain they could stop Lucifer.
Pride took charge and said to Lucifer. "Very well. We will stay out of this, but you have to promise you will do so as well."
"Hehe. I'm the father of lies, remember? But okay, you have my word. As long as you meddling Gods do not stand in my legions' way. I will sit back on this one. After all, from what I see just now. The forces of this world are nothing but an army of weaklings."
The six devils behind Lucifer laughed disdainfully at the words. The Allied forces could only grit their teeth in shame. They couldn't refute that statement after what had happened just now.
"Very well," Pride said.
"But you have to let this army leave!" Serenity exclaimed. "They are unprepared. Let them retreat and make proper preparation."
"Now, why would I do that?" Lucifer asked. "But then again, you might be onto something. If it is too easy, then they are not worth crushing. Do you agree with me, Satan?"
Satan laughed. "Harhar, I doubt that it will make any difference. But yes, I do prefer if they bite back a little."
"All right. Go away, you mice," Lucifer shooed the Allied forces. "My legions will advance following the spread of the corrupted mana. You can prepare yourself to be crushed, or you can start digging holes, hide, and hope that they don't find you."
"As for the four of you," Lucifer turned to Serenity and the others. "If you show up before me the next time, you better have Hope with you, because I won't be just talking to you the next time. Are we clear?"
"Very well," Pride said again.
"Okay then. Nice talk," Lucifer said and vanished from there.
The six devils stood their ground. They neither retreated nor advanced.
Serenity turned back and gave the Allied forces a look. They immediately caught her meaning. They started retreating. The mobile fortress had two broken legs. It was limping as it crawled. Serenity pointed her finger. Green light wrapped around the mobile fortress. A second later, the fortress was as good as new.
"Hey! I thought we agreed no meddling?!" Mammon called out.
Serenity turned her eyes at Mammon, which caused him to recoil.
"Let's leave," Pride said.
They then disappeared one by one. Serenity lingered a while longer. She gazed at the retreating Allied forces before she vanished.
