After discussing a few more points for the future, Alexander decided it was time to take a closer look at Dis. He stood straight, snapped his fingers, and was back dressed in his battle gear, minus the blood stains. Maze asked:
"Can you ride?"
He looked at her, not really understanding, and asked:
"Drive? Drive what? Although on Earth I am too young to officially drive on the road, I did go to a closed circuit a few times with Micky. So yes, I can drive, but here I don't have much use for that..."
Maze sighed:
"Do you always enjoy bothering people with so many words, kid?"
He nodded energetically with a mischievous smile. The Demon shook her head and said gruffly:
"Horseback riding!"
He blinked his eyes a few times and asked:
"Horses? You have horses in Hell? Then what did they do wrong to end up in Hell? Stole sugar cubes?"
"Not horses like on Earth, Dumbo! Hell horses, we call them Hellmares..."
His eyes began to sparkle, and he said:
"I can't wait to see those beasts!"
While Anna and Alex were chatting pleasantly together, they followed Maze, Bearus, Belios, and Morax toward the stables. There they were already awaited by the stable master and his farmhand. At the sight of the generals surrounding their new king and Anna like a phalanx, the two dropped to their knees and bowed deeply. Something Alex did not like at all. He realized that Hell needed a certain decorum and protocol, but this was excessive. At that moment, he decided to have a hearty word with Lucifer. To ask him why he had allowed this overly submissive thing to continue. He showed nothing of his irritation, however, and said with a smile:
"Please stand up. May I know your names?"
The stable master and the farmhand stood up. The man said:
"My name is Barbas My Lord and this is my son Arad. I am the stable master and take care of the royal Hellmares but also Cerberus and Wodan. This here is my son Arad who assists me in my duties."
Alexander looked at the two:
"Pleased to meet you, Barbas and Arad. But what exactly do you mean by taking care of Cerberus and Wodan? I was of the opinion that Cerberus guarded the gates of Hell and that she and Wodan had their own place close to the gates."
The younger Demon, Arad, who could not be much older than Alex, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, spoke up:
"That was true, My Lord. The two were brought here some years ago for care."
"Care? Are they sick or injured?"
The young Demon shook his head and said rather sadly:
"No one knows, My Lord. They do not seem injured or sick. Yet there seems to be less and less life in them."
The young Antichrist immediately felt that something was wrong. That the dogs of Hell might not be physically sick or injured but that there was something emotionally, something psychologically wrong with the two. He said gruffly:
"Show me where they are, please."
Arad preceded him and stepped into a spacious, barely lit room. In a corner close together were two large bodies. This was not normal, thought the Antichrist. Normally, Hellhounds were much larger and looked much more threatening. Normally from afar, they looked like wolves, but they were much bigger than that. If one did not look closely, one could mistake them for bears. One was jet black, and the other was a mixture of all kinds of colors. Now they looked more like large everyday dogs that one also encountered on Earth. Alex stepped toward the two and sat down on his knees next to the large bodies. Gently, he placed a hand on the two heads, and only then did they open their eyes. The jet-black Wodan had red eyes where normally the fire of Hell should be visible but which now seemed to barely light up. The other, Cerberus, had yellow eyes, but Alex saw little life there either. He stroked them over the head and established a telepathic connection. He said:
"Hello, I am Alexander. I am the son of Lucifer."
Immediately he heard the voice of Cerberus:
"Is the king coming back? Please tell me the king is coming back. We need him so much..."
"'Easy girl... No, Lucifer is not coming back."
He heard her wailing yelp in his head and said quickly:
"I am the new king. Please tell me what happened so I can help you."
"You want to help us?"
"Of course!"
Cerberus sighed deeply:
"Then what deal do you have for us, My Lord?"
Alexander felt a stab go through his heart. Seemingly everything in this Hell was about making deals and self-gain, even something like helping other beings who were clearly in need and suffering. He said softly:
"No deal, Cerberus. I just want to help you and see you healthy again. That's really all."
Two pairs of eyes stared at him suspiciously. Wodan finally pressed his muzzle against Cerberus' head, after which she said:
"Since King Lucifer has gone away, Wodan can no longer go hunting in the fields. Normally it was always the king who went hunting with him. However, the Demons have stopped caring about that. Because he cannot hunt, he is slowly withering away."
Alexander smiled softly:
"That will be resolved soon enough, I think. I'll get Wodan back to hunting. Every day if he wants to."
He looked into the black Hellhound's red eyes:
"Wodan, you are welcome to go hunting every day if you like. If you think you can make it, you can go out as early as this afternoon. I'll provide an escort. But will you do me a favor, please? Don't make it a bloodbath. I know that hunting is part of life here in Hell and that an important part of our Demons' diet is game. I realize that and accept that. But somewhere it doesn't sit well with me. I am not in favor of killing for pleasure or just killing to kill. Will you please try not to make it an utter bloodbath when you are in the fields?"
Wodan squeezed his eyes shut. His eyes began to light up at the prospect of hunting. He pondered the words of this young king, and finally he growled, and Alex heard in his head:
"Promise, no killing just for killing or simple pleasure and no carnage."
Alex smiled softly at him:
"If I understand correctly, you get much of your life energy from hunting. Where do you get most of your energy from?"
"Humans!"
The king remained silent for a moment and then asked after a minute or so:
"If you can hunt humans, does that mean you have less need to hunt and kill other animals here in Hell?"
Wodan pressed his muzzle into the boy's hand, and he heard:
"Yes, My Lord. I was created to hunt the souls of depraved ones. When King Lucifer forbade us to go to Earth, I was forced to switch to ordinary hunting to stay alive. But that does not give me enough energy and now that they do not let me out for even that…"
"If I let you hunt this afternoon, evening, and night and then hunt every day here in Hell to kill once a day, can you rebuild your reserves and become healthy with that? I am changing all kinds of things here in Hell, and I need a little time. But in a few weeks I can send you to Earth so you can hunt specific targets, specific humans. Human souls the world can do without. How many souls do you need to hunt to be optimal, Wodan?"
The jet-black dog thought for a moment and then said:
"A few souls a year, My Lord."
Alexander managed a mean smile and replied:
"Then in the very near future you are going to be particularly healthy, Wodan. For I have a serious list of depraved souls who may disappear from Earth."
The black Hellhound literally began to drool at the prospect. Alex turned to Cerberus:
"And you, why are you in such bad shape?"
He heard a sad voice:
"Lilith..."
Alexander groaned and felt his blood begin to boil when he heard the name. He hissed:
"Then what did that bitch do?"
"After Lucifer left, she started to use our children in the arena. Slowly, one by one, all of our pups met their end in long, painful, bloody battles..."
That answer was enough to make Alexander erupt. Until now, his conversation with the two dogs had been in silence, but suddenly everyone heard him shout:
"That fucking bitch! I should have ripped her into pieces this morning just after I took care of Pazuzu. This more than barbaric act will not stand!"
He had to struggle to control his breath. In his eyes, the hellfire had flared up again in all its intensity. He turned to Belios and snarled:
"General, let it be known in Hell that Wodan and Cerberus and all their descendants, ALL of them, are under the special protection of the crown. The first one who even looks at them the wrong way, I will burn out of existence with Heaven fire! Very public, very painful, in the middle of the arena for all to witness. This kind of bloodthirsty bullshit is not going to be repeated one more time!"
Belios saw that his king did react very notably to the news Cerberus had told him. Although he had not heard it, he could guess without any difficulty what it had been. He therefore hastened to say:
"Thy will be done, My Lord! The Hellhounds are untouchable from now on..."
"If only you fucking knew that!"
"Berios, I need a hunting party to accompany Wodan to the fields. He can hunt all afternoon, evening, and night at will."
"I'll provide a group of Demons, My Lord."
Alexander turned to the dogs again and spoke softly, and his compassion was more than audible:
"I am sorry you were left to your fate, and I am so sorry that Lilith did such a barbaric thing. Believe me, that will never happen again."
Still somewhat suspicious, Cerberus asked:
"And you are doing all this for us without wanting to make a deal? Without getting anything in return from us?"
Alex stood up, smiled, and said:
"Yes ... I know this may sound strange, that you are absolutely not used to this, but this is how I am; this is how I operate."
He was about to leave the room when he suddenly turned around again and asked:
"Is it your choice that it is always so dark here?"
Wodan replied:
"Not really, My Lord..."
The Antichrist nodded, turned to Arad, and said:
"Get help. I want this room completely, but completely cleaned. I want it to shine here. Provide lots of extra lighting, extra hay to lie on, and extra food. Come to the throne room after sunset to pick something special up. Understood?"
The young Demon nodded and made his way out.
"Good, now that that's settled, show me these infamous Hellmares..."
Barbas quickly preceded him to the stalls where the Hell horses were. He opened a box and said:
"This was the personal stallion on which King Lucifer always rode, My Lord. This is the strongest, most beautiful of all Hellmares."
Alexander looked at a beautiful jet-black horse. It looked a bit like a thoroughbred, and its skin seemed to shine. The mane, hooves, and eyes seemed to be made of Hellfire. It was truly an impressive sight. In a soft voice, the boy asked:
"What is his name?"
Barbas looked at him uncomprehendingly, and it was Maze who said softly:
"They don't have names, Alex. This is Hell; there is no need for names because these are not companion animals. They serve a purpose, nothing more."
He looked at her a little sourly and said softly, but icily:
"Bullshit..."
He walked gently up to the stallion, and it let him approach without any problem. When Alex placed his hand on the stallion's skin and caressed his flank, a shiver ran through the horse, and the stallion bristled. The Antichrist spoke softly:
"It's okay, big boy... In the future we will have a lot of fun; you and I believe that. Today, however, it should be a quiet ride around town. Do you think you can do that, a quiet ride?"
The stallion pressed his head against the boy and bristled again, but a lot softer this time. Alex manifested a large, juicy carrot and handed it to the horse. The stallion quickly and tastefully munched away at the carrot. The young Antichrist laughed:
"You seem to like that, don't you? Don't worry, there will be more than enough."
He looked back at the stable master:
"A saddle, please."
"I'll saddle the horse for you immediately, My Lord."
The next words made the man stand stock-still and wide-eyed. This was going to be a huge adjustment for him.
"No, bring me a saddle. I always saddle my horse myself, just as I also take it off and dry and groom it if necessary. And this isn't a horse; this is Lightning."
He gave the stallion a few loving taps on the flank and said:
"Say nicely, hello Lighting..."
The stallion neighed and bellowed two flames of Hellfire from his nose. The young Antichrist laughed out loud and was clearly in his element as he offered his horse an apple, which it wolfed down with great relish.
Alexander and his party, this time surrounded by a phalanx of hardened warriors from Bearus, rode at their leisure through the city. The residents of Dis stood watching their king from the edge of the roads. The Antichrist had taken Anna with him on his Hellmare. The Demons saw that their new king was not only a young boy but that he seemed to be smiling all the time. Anna also drew glances toward herself. This was something the Demons had never seen before and had never experienced in their existence. A young Demon of the lowest class is sitting with the king on horseback. Who wore a marker that she was absolutely untouchable? Who seemed to talk to the king at a stretch, pointing out all sorts of things to him. She had just pointed something out when Alex pulled on his reins to stop Lightning. He got out of the saddle in a smooth manner, after which he helped Anna back onto the ground as well. The others also quickly rose from their saddles and joined the king. The Antichrist turned to Maze:
"Anna said this is the best tailor in Dis?"
The Demon looked very briefly at the little building Alex pointed out:
"True. Well, at least for ordinary clothing. The warriors go elsewhere. Lucifer regularly had some made here for himself. So that says something."
Alexander beckoned the Demon closer who made the clothing. He asked:
"What is your name, please?"
The female Demon knelt before him and bowed deeply. Maze heard the boy's teeth grind as he saw that happen.
"My name is Näkki, My Lord."
"Get up, Näkki. I have a job for you, at least if you can free yourself. As the best dressmaker in Dis, you will probably be busy."
The Demon stood up quickly and blushed with Alexander's compliment. This was something the Demon was not accustomed to, being praised, and certainly not by their king. She therefore replied quickly:
"For you, My Lord, I always have time."
He did know that the Demons would drop everything they were doing and turn to his assignments. It just didn't please him that he would take precedence over everything and everyone just because of his title. He also knew that it was far too early to change that immediately. That it would be something that took time. Something the demons would have to get used to gradually. He put a hand on Anna's arm and said:
"This is Anna. Would you do me a favor and make some new dresses for her? As you can see, she is at the service of myself and only myself. I think that should include an appropriate wardrobe. But make sure it is something she feels good in, feels comfortable wearing."
Näkki looked at the girl:
"Of course, My Lord, I can take care of that, absolutely."
He turned to Maze and said:
"Princess Mazikeen, would you please accompany Anna and give her some advice? And while you're in there..."
She saw his smirk appear on his face.
"Perhaps you could have a royal dress made for yourself, worthy of a true Princess..."
The Demon, who truly hated dresses if they did not serve a special purpose such as having a wild night, knew very well why the boy had asked this. She couldn't possibly refuse or, as she would have preferred, give him a ball scrub for daring to ask such a thing of her. She suddenly realized that this was a game Alex seemed particularly fond of playing. Taking revenge and retaliation in a completely innocent, playful way. She figured that if he wanted to play, she was only too happy to play along. When she answered, she was already thinking about how to take her revenge:
"Of course My Lord. I'll take care of it."
He read in her eyes the decision she had made and replied:
"Oh, this is going to be fun..."
Maze and Anna followed the tailor into the little building. Alex looked around him for a moment and said:
"Morax, I have a job for your people. Select souls from the fourth circle. People who in their lives filled an important position on Earth but treated people who had a lower rank, status, or whatever as a nobody. This becomes part of their punishment. I want them to go to work for Dis and our Demons. They are going to sweep the streets, clean the windows, wash dishes in canteens. All those kinds of jobs. I want to be able to eat off the ground here in Dis, so to speak, because I want to see it shine here. Do they do that job well? Then I'm going to make the punishment in their cell less intensive. Does this give them insight into their own behavior when they were alive, and do they really regret their selfish and haughty behavior? Then they can leave their cell from the fourth circle and go to a higher circle."
Bellios asked in a soft voice:
"I assume this is step one in your plan to get them to ... euch ... more Northern regions?"
He looked at his generals with a smile:
"Yep, the souls in circles three and four have messed up a bit, but I'm convinced they don't belong here forever. I want to give them a chance to come to understanding, to truly repent. Once they have achieved that, then they must have the chance to leave this place."
Bearus nodded:
"Good, those people don't belong here forever. Hell, as it is now, is a torture place without end. I don't know what God had in his thick head when he came up with all this here, but there's been a damn flaw in the system from the beginning. Being locked up here without any chance of release until the end of time is not justice!"
The Antichrist smiled at the general:
"You totally get it, Bearus!"
Morax asked:
"Then how many souls do you want to put to work, My Lord?"
"As many as possible! We will have to build up slowly. The people of Belios and Bearus will also have to get used to it. Let's say we will start with ten for the palace and garden. In addition, a hundred for Dis, and we'll build up from there. I don't want to see another trace of these damned ashes! Give the cobbler, the blacksmith, the baker, the butcher, whoever, a helper to do the nastiest and dirtiest tasks. I think you understand what I'm getting at."
The four were waiting in the garden of the beach house for Rae Rae to show up with their new guests. They heard her wings, but they didn't have time to catch their breath. Celine already had a dagger in her hands and started running toward Lucifer. The Devil got big eyes and swallowed when he felt the dagger's point against his throat. The Demon hissed:
"Let me be very clear, friend! If one hair on his curly blond head is missing, I'm going to end this whole mess in this universe! I'm not going to torture you or anything; I'm just going to snuff you out! Got it?"
Lucifer looked at her, impressed, and nodded softly. Casiel put a hand on Celine's arm and said:
"I don't think Alex would like you taking his father to task like that, Celine."
The Demon growled, looked at the girl, and said:
"And since when is that little bugger old enough to want something? Just because he's here on the throne of Hell now doesn't mean I can't put him over my knee!"
Rae Rae coughed and tried to defuse the situation slightly or somewhat, saying:
"Gabriel, Jophiel, Ella, and Lucifer, let me introduce you to Alexander's sister Casiel and to Celine. Casiel, Celine, these are Lucifer, Jophiel, and Gabriel, and that lady over there is one of Lucifer's friends, Ella Lopez."
After everyone had more or less politely greeted each other and taken a seat on a comfy chair or sofa, Casiel looked at the Devil and asked:
"So you're Alex's dad?"
Lucifer nodded at the girl.
"Indeed, to my great surprise, I appear to be the father of that boy, yes. Something I still have some getting used to."
That was the moment Linda appeared in the garden with Lucas. The girl quickly left the sofa and joined the doctor. Her eyes already seemed to light up as much as Trixie's eyes when she first saw the baby. After Linda was introduced to Celine and Casiel, she took a seat on the couch with Ella and Lucifer. Cas scooped up Lucas and sat back down in her seat with the baby, who was still snoozing. Without looking at the Devil, she said:
"Lucifer, I hope you understand that when Alexander returns to Earth, you will find yourself in a world of immense pain." If the situation in this Hell is really as bad as Rae Rae has said, then..."
Celine finished the sentence:
"Yes, then it could happen that he came here for nothing. At least the main reason for his coming might well be nullified by himself."
The Devil looked at them like they were crazy, and Celine sighed.
"May your mother have mercy on you, Devil! When Alex is back on Earth, he'll have to vent. And who do you think he'll target? Let me give you a free clue: your Father and you will play an absolute starring role in this!"
Lucifer felt uneasy, his feathers going straight up, so to speak, so he said gruffly:
"Me? What do I have to do with it? I never asked to be the king of Hell. Do you have any objections? Tell Father!"
Before he could blink, Celine was standing over him again with her dagger pressed to his throat. She hissed, "
"You damn fool! After all this time in Hell, you're still as blind as a newborn! I should carve you up right now, drag my boy out of Hell, and leave this whole fucking universe to its fate. You and your Father are both idiots, and you only see your own right. Your thinking always comes from your own ego!"
Lucifer felt insulted by the Demon and wanted to call upon his powers as the Devil to put her in her place. At that moment, he felt his connection to Hell's throne was permanently cut. Celine got a mean smile on her face and asked sweetly:
"What's up, Devil? You lost your mojo with the demons? That's what I'm talking about. You're using Hell and its inhabitants to suit yourself, but you never think to give back to them. What do you say, Archangel? Do you want to see if you still have it in you to take on a Demon?"
Things seemed to be about to get heated, but then Michael's amused voice cut in.
"This never gets old... I always liked it when Luci got his ass kicked by a girl. Let's see, we've had Mother, then Laia, a few times our Jo here. Ah, the good old times..."
The Archangel came to stand next to Celine and looked at her with a big smile.
"Can't I convince you to stick around for a while? Just for fun, to watch you kick Luci's ass. I'm sure a lot of my sisters and brothers would be thrilled to reward you well just to witness that."
Celine took her dagger off the Devil's throat, looked at Michael, and smiled. She seemed to be impressed with the prince of Heaven and said:
"For the right price, I could be found to kick his feathered ass every day of the week and twice as much on Sunday in the square in front of the palace..."
Michael nodded, looked deeply into the Demon's eyes, and finally replied:
"Welcome to our universe, Celine. I just want to thank you, in the name of our Heaven, our Hell, and also our humanity, for everything you've done and meant for Alex."
The Demon gave a little bow and said softly:
"It's been my privilege to be by that little shit's side, and I'm happy to say it will remain so."
He chuckled and shook her hand, then looked at Casiel.
"And you must be Princess Casiel, the twin sister of our little crown prince. Welcome."
The girl nodded to Michael and said warmly and politely:
"Thank you, My Prince."
Michael came close to the girl, stroked gently through the few hairs on baby Luca's head, looked her in the eye, and said:
"I have one more thing to add to this whole protocol thing. After that, hopefully we can put away the titles. Alexander's not the only one who hates it."
He took out a jewelry box from the inside pocket of his jacket. He opened it and held it out to her.
"This belonged to my Mother. Since you and Alex see each other as twins, and since Mother decided to give you some of her powers, it's clear that you, Casiel, are a rightful Princess of Heaven in our universe as well."
He took the necklace out of the box and hung it around the girl's neck. He made a little bow and said:
"Princess Casiel, the Angels in this universe are at your disposal, and you can count on their loyalty."
This was something the girl absolutely did not expect. She turned a little pale and replied softly:
"Thank you, Prince Michael, but as Prince Alexander always says, loyalty must be earned, and I'll do my best to be worthy of it."
The tall, broad-shouldered blond Archangel smiled gently at her.
"I'm sure you will be. You and your brother are something special, Cas. I'm excited to see what the future will bring."
They were silent for a moment or two until Celine spoke.
"Okay, young lady, just give Lucas back to his mom, and you make it to bed!"
The girl wanted to object and said whiningly:
"Ah, Celine..."
But Celine wasn't having it:
"Nope, nothing like that... Bed... Now! Alex's room is at the very top; hop away!"
Casiel reluctantly handed the baby back to Linda and made her way out. Celine plopped down on the seat she'd picked and muttered under her breath.
"That's what I mean. I'm going to get ulcers and gray hairs before those two grow up, damn it..."
Ella, who had been paying close attention, piped up:
"Alex has Maze with him; he's in good hands."
Celine looked at her for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Rae Rae and asked in turn:
"This one hasn't been initiated into that idiot's club for very long, I take it?"
The little Angel shook her head. Celine looked back at Ella.
"Mazikeen can better make sure my boy comes back in perfect condition, AND she can make sure she has a better relationship with her new King of Hell than she had with the previous proprietor..."
Ella looked at Lucifer, not getting it. Who started playing with his cufflink and said:
"Well now, that was how Mazi and I handled each other. It always worked out fine between us. You have to know her; there was never any malice intended."
Celine laughed.
"Nothing mean you say? So you did find it exciting when she conspired with your moronic brother to bring the soul of a completely depraved human back to Earth so he could use that to kill you and finally get you into Hell permanently. And there was nothing mean about her conspiring with Cain, either."
The little Latina was taken aback by those words:
"What?"
She looked from Celine to Lucifer and back and finally asked quietly:
"Then why did Alexander give her her freedom? He made her a princess of Hell. He gave her a throne of her own and took her to Hell as his right hand?"
Celine closed her eyes and muttered:
"I have no idea what's going on in that kid's head on a normal day, and I definitely can't predict what he's thinking or planning when he's really going for it. What I do know is that I can trust his judgment. What worries me is that he's overly trusting and believes in people's potential for improvement."
Michael joined the conversation:
"And that's why we're all here. We might not know each other well, yet. But we have to band together! Let Alexander be himself. Let him plan, build, tear down, whatever he thinks is necessary so we can all move forward together. We're going to protect him; we're going to make sure he doesn't have to worry about double play or betrayal."
The others nodded in agreement. With that, there was a pact to protect their crown prince.
Alexander and his generals conferred while Maze and Anna were busy at the tailor's shop. Suddenly, they heard a pair of large wings, and Rae Rae landed in the company of Celine. The Antichrist's former nanny didn't look too happy. She ignored everyone and stood right in front of the king. She practically whispered so that the Demons watching the Angel and the king from afar with wide eyes wouldn't hear her:
"My Lord, I think it's time you and I had a little word in private..."
Alex swallowed audibly and said quickly:
"Celine, welcome to my universe, welcome to my kingdom."
She wasn't impressed, though. Without looking away from his eyes, she replied sarcastically:
"Fine, yes, it looks impressive, My Lord. Talk...NOW!"
He sighed. He knew he'd get a brawl sooner or later when he took the throne, but he thought it'd happen later. He asked:
"Cas?"
The Demon just nodded.
"Okay, when Maze and Anna are done in there, we can go back to the palace."
With another nod, Alexander decided this was probably going to be one of those days. Celine would probably tear him a new one.
It still took about two hours for Maze, Celine, Anna, and Alexander to step into the suite. As soon as the door closed behind them, Celine took off. First, she looked at Mazikeen and almost growled:
"Listen up, princess, and don't forget a thing I say. I don't care how messed up your relationship with Lucifer was! Lucifer is out of the picture; Alexander is the new King of Hell. Remember, this time you're not just answering to Lucifer. From now on, Heaven and every Angel stand behind Alexander in the form of the authority of Michael. Every Angel and Demon in my universe is ready to go to war for that kid. So you better make your intentions known. Either you get up and go enjoy your freedom, or you stay and deal with the consequences, stay and fight to the bitter end!"
Alexander wanted to intervene to break the tension:
"Celine, I trust Mazi. It's all good."
She looked at the young Antichrist with a weary expression and said:
"Kid, go play with your wooden blocks for a while and let the adults speak..."
Maze looked Celine in the eyes and said:
"Alexander shouldn't worry about me. He can count on my loyalty. He's the one who can save this Hell, and I'm going to support him as much as I can. But you—I like you. You've really done a great job of raising this Antichrist. I couldn't get that Devil of his to do that."
Celine looked at Maze for a few seconds and then smiled a little. She nodded to Maze, and that settled things between the two Demons. When Alex thought for a second that that was the end of the matter, well, he was wrong. The blonde Demon turned to him, crossed her arms, and looked him sternly in the eye. The boy swallowed and waited for the storm to hit. She asked sweetly:
"Hey, could you explain how you got it into your egghead to take this throne so soon after your arrival? That's NEVER come up before, young man. Think hard and use me as practice because, trust me, your sister is ready to whack you on your coconut with a frying pan, and your Mom is dying to have an answer to that question!"
Alexander's eyes got big, and he asked softly:
"Is Cas that mad?"
"No, little idiot. She had a nightmare about her little brother being chased by a horde of rampaging demons, and she freaked out!"
"Oh... That's not good..."
"You think? Well, then you know what awaits you, Antichrist..."
The boy nodded energetically, then explained his rationale for taking over the throne:
"It just couldn't be any other way, Celine. Based on what I knew from Rae Rae and saw here, the decision I had already made at home was the only right one. Lucifer had to come down from the throne to create the opportunity to put this Hell on the right path. It seemed like everyone was paying attention to Lucifer and what he was doing on Earth. But at the same time, everyone was losing sight of Lilith. Hell was without a king for a hundred years, and during that time she laid the groundwork for taking power without actually taking the throne. I've been thinking about this at home. If you're Lilith and you want the power but you can't take the throne, you have to do it another way. Lucifer couldn't bring himself to put down a pretty much passive rebellion, and he never lost a second of thought about the Demons' fate. He was so angry at his Father and wanted so badly for Heaven to fail that he didn't care if Hell was stagnant. As long as Lilith didn't go after him, he wouldn't lift a finger to improve the situation of the inhabitants. In a way, Lilith would become the real power in Hell, and things would go downhill fast. If I'd held off a few more years, a few more decades according to the timetable in Hell, then the only way to regain power would be an open war with all the bloodshed that would come with it. This way, the first four circles and Dis are safe from Lilith and can start making progress. Believe me, it's about time."
Celine paced the living room for half a minute. The others were silent for a moment, giving her time to think. Finally, she asked:
"Okay... But this is phase one. If Lilith is so hungry for power, absolute power in Hell, then she's not going to stop. What's in store for you, and how can we help?"
Alexander plopped down on the sofa, closed his eyes, and said softly:
"War... not right away. Sending her to the lowest circles will make her build her power structure differently. But sooner or later, it'll happen. She hates Grandpa El and humanity so much that she wants to make his creation suffer. It's not the Antichrist who's pushing for the Apocalypse."
Maze said softly:
"Lilith is the Apocalypse, and the Antichrist is needed to stop her..."