Alexander sat deep in thought in a seat while Maze and Celine became better acquainted with Anna. They left him alone, for they knew there must be a multitude of things playing through his head. As darkness began to fall, it was time to offer the Demons of Dis and the first four circles a spectacle. The news that Mazikeen of the Lilem would give a demonstration in the arena with a human who was still alive had spread like wildfire. Before he went down with Maze and Celine to begin the spectacle, he had first terrified four guards. They were to guard the entrance to his suite at all costs, and no one was to enter the room. He had put it to them with hellfire in his eyes that Anna was better left alone. In the throne room, he had sat on the throne for a moment to divide the top floor of the palace into two spacious suites. One half for himself and Maze and the other half for Belios, Bearus, and Anna when she wished to be with her father and uncle. In addition, he had also manifested a very spacious, luxurious pillow for Wodan and Cerberus. Thick, extremely soft material was sewn with a golden thread so they no longer had to lie on the hay. He had given that to Arad while inquiring about the condition of the Hellhounds. Apparently the two were already doing quite a bit better. Wodan came and went from the fields, and each time he seemed to be more cheerful and lively. That and the prey he brought for Cerberus had a miraculous effect on her. She too was revived. It was clearly visible that the two were regaining a sense of being alive. News that little Antichrist heard with great pleasure. Then the party had made their way to the arena in Dis. Kinley stumbled after Alexander's horse, bound at the wrists. The knowledge that he was in Hell and was looked upon with open hostility by every Demon he saw did the man no good. His faith in God and his conviction that he had always done God's work he had worn all his life like armor utterly convinced he was right and protected by God. There was nothing left of that bravado. He knew he was left to his own devices and that God would not lift a finger to help him.
No one noticed, well, almost no one, that Alexander was not quite there, that he was partially absent in his mind. In the arena, he did his best to pay attention to everyone introduced to him by Morax. He surprised everyone because he seemed to have a warm smile for everyone, seemed to have a kind word, and not a few Demons he just pressed the hand. This young new king very pleasantly surprised the Demons present. He was so different from Lucifer. He seemed to radiate light and warmth, and his new subjects indulged in that. The atmosphere seemed almost festive. Everyone began to realize that this was the beginning of a new existence. It was amazingly thought-provoking for Belios, Bearus, and Morax to see how, with a smile and a few heartfelt warm words, the young king effortlessly won everyone over and assured himself of the loyalty of the Demons who approached him. Not only had he freed them from Lilith and her scum, but he was also approaching them as an enlightened ruler and not a despot.
Kinley was more or less dragged into the arena by Maze, and a cheer rose among the Demons present. Alexander took his seat on the symbolic throne in what had once been Lucifer's private box. Another thing Alexander hated and wanted to change as soon as possible. He did not want to sit in a box elevated above the rest like an emperor from ancient Rome. Celine took a seat to his left and the spot to his right remained empty while Bearus, Belios, and Morax took seats behind him. Alex took in the scene for a moment, thinking that without a word, everyone seemed to have found their positions around their new King of Hell. Belios, Bearus, and Morax were his generals who would protect his back. Celine had automatically become his left hand in Hell, his counselor. Yes, things were different now that he was king. No longer a nanny but a counselor, and yet a stab of pain went through his heart at that thought. It became dead silent in the arena, and all eyes were on him. He signaled to the waiting Mazikeen that she could begin her demonstration. When all eyes were on her and her work, Celine bent slightly toward him and whispered:
"Is everything okay, Alex? You are rather absent-minded."
He kept his eyes fixed tightly on Maze, who was taking Kinley to task, and answered just as softly:
"No, not really. I feel like I'm losing the thread; my brain doesn't quite seem to be working. It's like there's a ball of cotton in my head. And I'm distracted by Cas. Because of my fault, she's freaked out, and I desperately need to apologize and make amends."
"Why didn't you tell her anything? I thought you and your sister had no secrets from each other."
He looked into her eyes for a moment:
"You know why ... because I was stupid. If I had told her, she probably wouldn't have told Mom and Dad. However, she would have worried without end from the moment I came here. I thought I could spare her, but apparently that little plan exploded in my face."
Celine nodded, turned her attention back to Mazikeen, and said:
"You're going to get your ass kicked by your sister, kid, but that's nothing compared to what your Mom will have to say to you."
He looked at her sternly:
"And why didn't you kick my ass more? I expected you to lecture me until my ears bled."
A mean smile appeared around her mouth:
"I'm a Demon, Alex. Yes, it would be fun to rip you a new one. But you know what's even more fun?"
He sighed deeply and said wearily:
"Let me guess, witnessing up close how that first Casiel is going to whack me on my coconut with a cast iron skillet and then openly enjoy how Mom is going to take me for the ride of my life?"
"Quite right, you little bugger... You see, you're not as stupid as you look..."
The beating Kinley received in the arena from Maze was truly a breathtaking sight to the Demons. It was at the same time subtle and extremely excruciating and painful for the priest. When she finally got to her point and simply tore his soul from his body, his screams of pain and misery went throughout the arena. Alexander stood up straight. The roar he heard from the Demons reminded him of gladiator movies he had seen. The big difference was that now he was playing the role of the emperor in this spectacle. He raised a hand, and soon silence descended. When it was completely quiet, he spoke to the soul of Kinley, who was on his knees beside Mazikeen:
"Well priest, how do you feel? Tell me, how do you like it to be completely at the mercy of someone else? How do you like being taken to task by someone who doesn't give a damn about you and is only pursuing that goal she set out to achieve?"
He let his words sink in with the priest for a few seconds and then said:
"Now you know how it feels because this is exactly what you did on Earth with those poor people who needed medical assistance instead of your bullshit. It didn't matter how much those people begged you to stop because you were tormenting them; you continued until their souls left their bodies. You didn't think about their well-being for a second; you didn't feel compassion for a second. You were so full of your own righteousness that you didn't doubt for a second that what you were doing was anything but right. You had only your goal in mind and didn't care how much suffering you caused. However, what you have done is insignificant compared to what I can inflict upon you, and trust me, little priest, I am not yet done with you. Not even God has ever punished a man the way I will punish you..."
Kinley looked at him startled. What he had just experienced, he couldn't possibly describe the experience itself with words. He had never felt such pain and misery. He feared the worst. But what seemed the worst to him paled in comparison to what the young Antichrist had to say next.
"I have a message to send to your bosses in the Vatican, Kinley, and through them to all faiths on Earth. For seemingly all faiths, or at least just about all, have such idiots like you in their ranks. Nauseating little guys like you who think they can do anything and are protected from everything because of that dog collar you wear. This madness must stop, and you are ideal to deliver this message. Remember the words with which your dear boss more or less began his pontificate? He would eradicate child abuse in your church. What became of that Kinley? How much did those words turn out to be worth? Barely uttered and already forgotten, replaced by the daily drudgery of preserving and protecting the political and so-called moral power of your little church. There are still filthy cowards like you walking around adorned in the cloth of the Church who can't keep their fucking claws to themselves. It's time someone reminded Francis that you can't just give your word as the self-proclaimed substitute for God and then not do shit with it! With you, I am going to make a start on ending this madness. That's why I'm going to send you back to the Vatican. Your dead carcass that lies there behind you, I am going to drape on the central altar of St. Peter's with a nice note attached. Surely you Christians find it so inspiring to look at my uncle's dead body on that cursed cross. It's as if you are addicted to kneeling before that cursed tool that killed him. Well now they will get to look at your dead body on that altar. My accompanying message will be short, powerful, and absolutely without room for misunderstanding. Revert to my uncle's message and lessons or feel my wrath! Your soul I will also send back to Earth. You will be trapped in a statue that I am going to make appear in the square in front of the Vatican. No one is going to be able to communicate with you, and you are not going to be able to communicate with anyone. When they investigate the statue, they will hear your heartbeat so they will know that you are in there with no means to be freed. But the people who take one look at the statue will feel that your soul is trapped inside it. You're going to become an eternal reminder of what happens to the clergy who disregard my words. You are going to overlook St. Peter's from that statue. No man or technology is going to be able to damage the statue; not a scratch is going to appear on it, and they certainly won't be able to move it or cover it. Whatever they may try, it won't matter because the statue will be visible to everyone at all times. Your soul in that statue, you will see the years, the decades, the centuries go by. You will witness what will happen to your beloved Vatican and what will remain of your faith in the future. You will stand there as a permanent reminder of what happens to an abomination like you for daring to try to kill a child of God and as a witness to the other misdeeds you have committed. But that is not the main reason why. The main reason is that you dared to plot to kill my father. I'm going to teach mankind that it's not God or the Devil they have to fear. But they're going to find that out soon enough. Everyone will know your name, priest, and for all the wrong reasons. Humanity is only going to dare whisper your name out of fear of what might happen if my words are ignored. You will stand there until Rome turns to dust again and humanity is gone from Earth. And if you thought that is the end of your punishment, the end of all your suffering, you are sorely mistaken. After the eternal city turns to dust, your soul is going to come back to Hell, and you will suffer the last part of your punishment!"
Alexander made a motion with his hand, and the priest's soul disappeared from Hell to begin the second part of his imposed punishment. With a jerk, he turned around and said bitterly:
"Back to the palace, now..."
For a while it had looked like an ordinary weekday in Rome. Reasonably sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and despite the fairly early hour of half past nine in the morning, there were already a few hundred tourists in St. Peter's and the square. Suddenly the members of the Swiss Guard patrolling in and around the Vatican were startled. The alarm was raised from two places. The first thing that was done, of course, was to put the pope in safety. A couple of burly fellows picked him up from his office and swiftly transported him to a secure room. His feet might have touched the ground on the way over, but that was not exactly something the pope was sure about once he thought back to the experience. The captain of the guard, who was in command of those guards patrolling the grounds for the moment, sprinted from the radio room toward the heart of St. Peter's Basilica. He heard through his radio that something extraordinary was going on there, but excited voices and calls for reinforcements also echoed from the square. He ignored those voices. What was happening there was outside the walls and could be dealt with by someone else. His main concern was the absolute sanctuary of the Catholic Church, the basilica that held the throne of Sint Pieter. The messages were becoming increasingly chaotic and made less and less sense. In front of the main altar, he came to an abrupt halt. On that altar he saw the body of a man with a bare upper body, and it showed a multitude of bloody wounds. His brain needed a few seconds to register what he was seeing. At a distance, a number of nuns, priests, and monks were on their knees praying. Some of his men were struggling to keep a mob of tourists at bay. Everywhere he looked, he saw cell phones and cameras trying to capture an image of the gruesome scene. The captain snarled to the guard closest to the altar:
"What the hell is going on here?"
A member of the guard who looked rather pale in his dark blue suit at first did not say a word. Tourists love the tall tale that the colorful uniform that the Swiss Guards wore was once designed by none other than Michelangelo. That story is like so much tourist folklore. It was a guy named Jules Repond who had served as the commander of the Garde in the early 1900s who designed those based on some sketches by Rafaël. And those uniforms were worn only by members of the Guard who had special protocol assignments, such as guarding the Papal chambers or on special High Holidays when all members of the Guard were decked out in their ceremonial uniforms. On weekdays, the majority of them donned a dark blue uniform that resembled a hybrid of a tailored suit. The captain had to nudge the young man, who had his gaze fixed on the altar, before that one began to speak:
"The body appeared out of nowhere, Captain, right on the altar."
"What do you mean? Surely, a corpse cannot suddenly materialize in broad daylight in St. Peter's! What are you babbling about, man?"
The younger man replied bitterly:
"With all due respect, Captain, but have you forgotten where we are? That corpse did appear out of nowhere, damn it! Ask the sisters! Sister Celestine was just making the flower arrangements on the altar, and all of a sudden it appeared out of nothing. Ask her if you don't believe me."
At that moment, another member of the guard came to a halt next to the captain. He must have sprinted here because he was almost completely out of breath.
"Captain, we have a big problem in the square. The people out there might start to panic."
"Why that, for Christ's sake? The corpse is here, not out there!"
The man blinked his eyes for a moment, looked at the bloody corpse on the altar, struck a sign of the cross, and said softly:
"Captain, out there a big statue has appeared. Pitch black, the statue is the image of a priest; it is absolutely lifelike, especially the face. The sight is truly terrifying.
"What do you mean, appeared? That's St. Peter's Square! You can't just put a statue there unnoticed!"
"What I said, captain, appeared... One moment everything was quiet and noisy as we are used to from the tourists and the rest. The next moment that statue stood there, and there was a dead silence. A moment later the commotion began. Some set off running, others started praying, but most are on the verge of panic."
The captain now began to turn pale. The Swiss guard had not stolen its name. The guard consisted exclusively of Swiss men, but they had also been selected for being faithful Catholics coming from loyal Catholic families. The sudden appearance of a corpse and the statue began to look very much like the work of God, or at least something supernatural. And if this was the work of God, it was obvious that this one was pissed. Pissed at the Catholic Church; otherwise, this miracle would never have happened in the sanctum sanctorum of the Catholic Church or so blatantly openly. A cardinal made his way toward the captain and said softly:
"Captain, clear the church and the square now!"
The officer blinked his eyes for a moment as if he did not fully understand the command. Therefore, the cardinal repeated his words in a gentle manner but in a tone that did not tolerate opposition:
"Clear the entire church and also the square. No one comes in, and those who witnessed this stay here for questioning. I mean the priests, the monks, and the nuns. All civilians are out of here and gone. Then you cordon off the square, no one on it. No tourists, worshippers, and especially no press! Don't worry about the cameras and cell phones of those you send away. There will be images and photos on the Internet by now. We can't hide this, so we won't even try. GO!"
The captain nodded and got to work. Cardinals were rarely opposed, but certainly not this cardinal. He was called God's pit bull within the Church for a reason. A generally friendly man and always smiling. Where other cardinals loved to flaunt around the Vatican in their full garb of princes of the church, this one mostly wore a simple black suit, hiding his scarlet red sash around his middle. The only thing given him away as a cardinal was the scarlet bonnet. However, he was a potential threat to anyone who crossed his path, whether it was for violating church rules, engaging in corruption, or something more serious.
At the moment the cardinal made his orders clear, Lucifer's cell phone began to vibrate. At first he wanted to ignore the device, thinking it could be someone from Lux trying to bother him with something in the middle of the night. Or one of the party animals wanting to know if he would come out to play. He enjoyed this quiet moment in the garden in the company of his siblings but also the company of Linda and Ella. The Devil had come to the conclusion that these two were his two best friends among the humans he knew. They accepted him as he was and did not want to change him at any cost. Slowly the vibration became a continuous stream that just didn't seem to stop. Annoyed, he fished the device out of his inside pocket and watched what appeared on the screen. Swiftly he moved his fingers across the screen, and his eyes widened until he softly muttered:
"Oh, this is absolutely not good..."
Ella noticed how uncomfortable the Devil was getting next to her on the bench and slid a little closer, leaning against him. She tried to read along, but his fingers moved so fast she couldn't follow. She asked:
"What's up, Lu?"
He handed her his cell phone and said:
"I think our Antichrist has just issued his calling card and announced his arrival to the whole world..."
There was dead silence in the sitting area. Gabriel looked at him and asked suspiciously:
"Would you like to repeat that, Luci? I think I didn't quite understand what you were saying."
Everyone looked at Lucifer as he lit a cigarette and said extremely tense:
"What I just said! Alexander has given an unmistakable business card to the Catholic Church. I assure you that the entire world will quickly become engulfed in chaos. Knowing humans and their fondness for social media, the internet is going to be on fire at this time. I don't know what happened in Hell or what Alexander was thinking or what he is planning, but Father's commandment that the Celestial must not mix with the human ... well, he just blew that off the table!"
He had barely uttered the words when a call came in on both his device and Ella's. From the looks of it, Chloe and Daniel had also gotten wind of what was going on in Rome.
Once he arrived at the palace, Alex couldn't settle down. It felt like his entire insides were shaking, and it was a feeling he didn't like at all. It was as if he wanted to crawl away into a corner to completely shut himself off from everything, and at the same time, it felt like he could explode. He paced through the suite until he suddenly stopped in front of Anna. He looked at her and smiled, but the warmth was missing from his eyes. She could see that he was worried and definitely not feeling well. He asked:
"Anna, do you think you would want to come with me to Earth right now?"
The girl smiled and nodded.
"Good, thank you. Would you go say a quick goodbye to your dad and tell him we will be back as soon as possible? I need to get out of here for a while; I'm getting suffocated here. I need air and space to think, and that's why I need some distance from Hell."
The girl stood up and walked to the other half of the floor where Belios and Bearus were just moving into their new quarters. She said goodbye to the two and said she would go with Alex to Earth. Once that was settled, the Antichrist snapped his fingers, and he appeared with Maze, Celine, and Anna in the garden of the beach house. Those present sat looking at him expectantly. He said nothing, however, took Anna's hand and pulled her to him on a free sofa. Finally, it was Gabriel who asked anxiously:
"Could you give us a word of explanation, Alex?"
He manifested for himself a glass of tomato juice and for Anna a glass of lemonade before answering:
"I take it the news from Rome is already spreading?"
Michael said softly:
"You could say that, yes. A miracle in the heart of the Christian faith in broad daylight with hundreds of witnesses is not exactly subtle. A corpse appearing on the main altar of the most important church on the planet and a pitch-black statue that even a blind person could not look past in the square in front of the Vatican. Yes, there is talk of that. In less than an hour, I wouldn't be surprised if the entire world was awake and in uproar. Why this display?"
Alexander squeezed his eyes shut and leaned back on the soft sofa. He took a few deep breaths, but that could not prevent his hands from beginning to tremble gently, and some sweat appeared on his forehead.
"It's a message. Not just for Christians but for all faiths among mankind. I left a message with that corpse so they know I want to speak to them in the very near future. This bullshit with so-called exorcising demons and other crazy stuff that always victimizes the weak needs to stop. All those idiots should be reminded that all of them, regardless of what faith they serve, work for the same boss: the guy who created this universe, God! I had that idiot priest who wanted to kill Lucifer at my disposal, so I used him. This is the way I wanted to open the dialogue. But I also wanted them to absolutely understand that this will not be a non-committal dialogue. That they have no demands to make and that there will be no negotiations."
He emptied his glass in a few large gulps, shook his head, and said annoyed:
"After all I have learned in the past few days here when I was scanning the planet from time to time. After all I have seen with my own eyes. After everything Rae Rae has told me during her visits, I can say this with complete certainty: that what I thought I knew about the situation here is nowhere near how bad the real situation is. I was not prepared for this. I'm unbelievably underprepared even. This is much, much worse!"
He refilled his glass with shaky hands, and doc Linda saw the storm coming before everyone else even began to suspect that something was wrong with the boy. Drops of sweat began to form on Alex's forehead and his T-shirt also began to show wet spots. She suspected that the young antichrist was heading for an anxiety attack, and it looked like it was going to become a whopper. She listened intently to what and how he said it. Ready to intervene when necessary. Unnoticed, she made eye contact with Ella and handed her baby Lucas so she would have her hands free when the moment came. Ella followed Linda's gaze and immediately understood why the latter had given the baby. This did not seem to bode well.
Michael looked at him sternly and asked:
"What does this mean for us, I mean us gathered here?"
Before Alexander could answer that question, Daniel, Beatrice, and Chloe more or less speedwalked into the garden. Chloe looked angrily at Alexander, staying right in front of him while Trixie immediately sat down next to him. He now had a girl sitting on either side. Decker asked snidely:
"Please don't tell me it's Kinley who showed up at the Vatican! That body is so mangled I couldn't recognize it. Did you kill him?"
Suddenly everyone felt Alexander's short fuse, and he snapped at the detective:
"Yes, it's Kinley, and no, technically I didn't kill him. Maze ripped his soul out of his rotten carcass! Practically speaking? Yes, I sentenced him to death because I asked Maze to execute the punishment!"
In an equally terse manner, Decker bit back:
"What are you thinking? This isn't a video game! You can't just kill somebody when you feel like it! There are rules to follow. Humans do not go around killing people!"
Alexander jumped right up. His condition appeared to worsen with each passing minute. His hands were now shaking so badly that it had become visible to everyone. Sweat was running from his head, and his T-shirt seemed to be soaked through. He was not himself; he could not really think anymore; otherwise, he would have paid attention to his words and not said what he was about to spit out because Daniel and Trixie were present. His response was filled with bile and contempt:
"Hear who's talking! The cop who conspired with a mad priest to commit a first-degree murder. Are you so short of memory that you've already forgotten that you wanted to kill my father, MY DAD?"
Decker turned pale at those words and took two steps backward. Lucifer got wide-eyed, and his mouth fell open when he heard the boy call him Dad, but even that word didn't really register with Alexander. It was too late, though. Decker had lit the fire to the fuse with her accusation, and there was nothing that could stop an outburst from the young Antichrist. He was rapidly approaching a frenzied panic attack. He snarled:
"Miss Decker, you were terrified of the wrong person!" The Devil is a softy who doesn't hurt anyone. I AM THE MONSTER you should be afraid of! And based on what evidence did you want to play judge and executioner after you decided to help Kinley kill my dad? Rumors were seemingly enough for you to pass a death sentence. No fucking need for watertight evidence. Newsflash Miss Decker, it is not my father or God you should fear; it's me, THE ANTICHRIST!"
That had been the moment Chloe should have known, should have realized that she needed to keep her mouth shut. The furious look Daniel threw her spoke volumes. She knew him and recognized the look in his eyes when he was about to bring out his handcuffs. And he was looking in her direction after Alex said that she conspired to commit murder. Trixie sat on the couch and watched what was going on between her mother and Alex with large, tear-filled eyes. Almost begging, she asked:
"Mom, what did you do? Why did you want to hurt Lucifer?"
Her plea, however, did not penetrate the two. Alex appeared to be far from finished. Lucifer wanted to say something but got no further than:
"Alexander, please..."
Before he was rudely interrupted by Alexander, this one did not budge; he was too far gone now to back down. So he snarled without even realizing what he was saying:
"Shut up, Dad! I'm not done yet, and certainly not with you after my visit to your former kingdom. You should be ashamed of the way you have treated the people entrusted to your care, and I should kick you in the head for how you treated Wodan and Cerberus and left them to their fate! Your Father is as big an idiot as you are for getting it into his blunt head to make you the king of Hell. As if you would ever think of anyone but yourself, damn it. Having fun, bossing those poor Demons around, and feeling yourself exalted above them because you were once an Archangel, yes, you fucking did that! Getting your fill and wallowing in self-pity because your daddy sent you to Hell! What the heck did you do for them? In what way did you even try to do the slightest thing to improve their existence, the situation they were living in? No, you don't have to say anything because I already know the answer! You didn't fucking do a damn thing! Did you ever think one thought about those poor people in Dis and how they would be treated during your absence by Lilith? Did you ever stop for one second here during your vacation here in the sunshine to think about what would happen to Wodan if he couldn't hunt anymore and what that would do to Cerberus? They fucking almost died! Fuck you dad! But first, Miss Decker here, who thinks she knows everything so well and that everything is black and white."
He looked her straight in the eye, and Hellfire lit up in his. For the first time, she didn't flinch. Her anger caused her to keep looking into his eyes when he said:
"What makes you better than me? What makes you able to decide who deserves punishment, who deserves to die, and who doesn't? Who are you that you think you can question me? Have you somehow forgotten to whom the Earth belongs, under whose dominion humanity falls? The Earth and humanity fall under the domain of the King of Hell, and that's me, damn it! So your ass and that of all the other people on this fucking planet belong to me!"
In a completely unconscious way, Decker had placed her hand on the butt of her gun. The rest saw what was about to happen, and the Angels took their positions based on Michael's silently given order. Lucifer gently wrapped an arm around Ella's waist, prepared to swiftly pull her away and protect her and Lucas with his wings. Jophiel did the same with Doc Linda. Gabriel slid soundlessly next to Anna and Rae Rae embraced the crying Trixie. Finally, Michael placed a hand gently on Daniel's arm and shook his head almost imperceptibly so that the latter would not also draw his weapon. In this manner, anyone who could potentially suffer harm if the situation escalated would have a literal guardian angel at their side, capable of swiftly shielding them within a cocoon of wings. Chloe knew the boy was right but couldn't contain herself and said:
"I was absolutely wrong about Lucifer. I realize that all too well. Kinley used and abused me in my weakest moment, but yes, I should have known better. I'm sure I couldn't have gone through with it even if you hadn't shown up. But this is different; what you and Maze did is something completely different. I saw a picture of his corpse on that altar. That is not justice! This was torture and cold-blooded murder!"
"And what are you going to do about it, cop? Arrest me? Shoot me? Try to kill me and send me to Hell like you almost did to Dad? And what justice are you talking about? Human justice? Where is that justice for his victims? Or are those simply unlucky because they were not important enough? Poor mental patients not worthy of a second thought. His crimes were covered up by the church because otherwise it might bring about a lot of negative publicity. And speaking of that church... How many millions were murdered over the centuries by followers of that church because the leaders of that church told them that what they were doing was good in the eyes of God, that they were not committing sins, that they could enter Heaven, and would be welcomed as heroes? How many people did they not torture to death? How many innocent women didn't end up burned at the stake? How many women and children were not raped during their Crusades and other wars? How many women and girls did they not put in a burlap sack and dump them in a river or lake because they were suspected of witchcraft, and if they drowned, then they were declared innocent. Really generous of the church, wasn't it? The only way to prove your innocence was to die! How many slaves did they not trade? How many times did they look the other way when people who happened to have a different faith or skin color were dragged from their homes and countries as slaves? How many children over the centuries have they not abused as sex toys?"
Saliva began to form at the corners of the boy's mouth, his breath became increasingly hurried, and he began to have difficulty speaking clearly.
"How the hell do you dare speak to me about your rotten human justice when this Earth is as fucked up as it is now? There have never been so many slaves on this planet as there are right now. The number of young women, young men, and children who have to spend their miserable existence as sex slaves cannot be counted. Children who should be in school and be able to have fun instead work in illegal, life-threatening mines in Africa and Asia to satisfy your people's hunger for colorful pebbles, gold, and minerals. How many children live in Azia in shabby, deadly factories instead of going to school? Rotten places where they are forced to work at least twelve to sixteen hours to make your latest cell phones, handbags, and sneakers until their fingers bleed, and if they are too slow or do not meet the quota, they are beaten savagely? And if the world is too big for you to contemplate, what about just this one city, detective? For every criminal you and your colleagues catch, how many get away with their misdeeds? You mean that human justice?"
And then it happened. Alexander didn't notice it himself, but everyone else was startled. Well, not everyone was startled. Trixie didn't seem to be afraid of what was happening or impressed. The young Antichrist was at the end of his strength and began to stagger on his feet. Suddenly an aura seemed to appear around him, and his blood-red wings manifested. It started out very weak but became brighter and brighter. It appeared as though a wall of fire encircled him entirely. Red flames of Hellfire seemed to cooperate and dance together with the blue fire of Heaven to protect the boy.
"If that is your image of justice, then you can have it. Then you can all have it because I don't want a damn thing to do with it. Justice in Heaven is an equally big mess when I look at figures like Amenadiel and Muriel. And you, Dad, how did you rule Hell? How did you treat your subjects who depended on you for their welfare and protection? Your image of a society and justice in Hell is revolting! A society should evolve, and you stood in the way, keeping this as rotten as it was."
Alex suddenly became very unsteady on his feet and had the greatest difficulty keeping himself upright, but there was no stopping him. His eyes began to turn away. At the very moment Casiel came running out because she had woken up to the fierce emotions she was receiving from Alexander, he was just able to say with tears running down his face:
"If this is your image of justice, then you can all go to hell together with God in the lead! I'm done with it, damn it. Because I just became dead for nothing..."
With those words, he fell forward right through the glass coffee table, which shattered into hundreds of pieces. At the same time, both Casiel and Trixie flew at him. Ignoring the flames, they dropped to their knees beside him. They both grabbed one of his hands. The adults were too shocked to stop them and keep them away from the fire before they reached him and looked at the situation dumbfounded. The Hellfire and Heavenfire should irrevocably attack and destroy both girls, but absolutely nothing happened; the flames left the two untouched, and the girls reacted as if the flames were not there. With his very last vestige of energy, Alexander spoke barely audibly:
"I am...sorry...I failed... Cas...please...ask Aisha and Franklin...to protect Bee and Anna... They are special; they belong..."
With these last words, the young Antichrist lost consciousness. Almost immediately his breathing began to stall, and he began to convulse. Linda ran to the boy, and Ella pressed baby Lucas in Lucifer's hands and joined her. They sat next to the convulsing boy. Ella was all of a sudden in her medical mindset. She felt his heartbeat and got big eyes. She almost yelled:
"His heartbeat is way off the chart. He is going to flatline; we need help NOW!"
Michael folded his hands:
"On it..."
Barely two seconds later, they heard the sound of wings, and Rafael appeared. Took a second to take in the situation. Stepped toward Alexander, picked him up, and laid him on a couch. He simply ripped his T-shirt open and put his hands on the boy's bare chest. The convulsions appeared to cease, yet he was still in danger. The healer snarled at Gabriel:
"I need help! Call the other universe; I need help from their Rafael now!"