—–
“Of course… It all ended when things took a turn for the worse. The Humans played dirty. In the end, when we were finally managing to pull through, one of their heroes, named the Dark Hero, came with the strategy of attacking our homelands, capturing our families, and blackmailing all of us,” Said Lucifer.
“…I heard you mention it,” I said.
“Yes. They captured the Demon King’s daughter and his wife and forced us to surrender in the end. Despite all the power we had, despite how far we managed to defend our territories… we ended up being played dirty like that. I suppose… we were foolish to even think humans would fight us head-on….” Sighed Lucifer.
“And what… happened after that?” I asked.
Lucifer looked at the sk. II could tell his mind was going through many emotions and thoughts, despite his calm and composed expression.
“It should be easy to guess…” He said, looking down.
They got killed? Ah… I don’t really want to remind him of all of that. It doesn’t seem fair. I don’t want to ask him… I would feel bad if I did.
“If the Kingdom of the Demon King no longer exists, it should be pretty clear… what they did to all of them, to him too… In the end, they all got slain—everyone… every child… everything. Maybe… we were acting too pridefully? Too selfish? We never attacked humans’ settlements. We merely defended our fortress and destroyed their armies, but humans never play well. They’re dirty little rats. I can’t see the point in attacking civilians… Weren’t soldiers supposed to fight other soldiers? Isn’t that how war is supposed to go? Why would soldiers raise their spears against innocent and weak people, impale their bodies with countless spears, and slice their heads off mercilessly?” Asked Lucifer.
“…”
“Hah… Hahaha… We lost because we were too stupid. We were all a bunch of imbeciles. We shouldn’t have gotten involved; I should have stayed with my wife… with my… kids…”
Lucifer suddenly couldn’t contain his sorrow anymore, as he covered his face and began to cry desperately. Such a strong and cold man, who always acts as if he is emotionless, as if he is only filled with wrath… to cry so desperately, so sorrowfully… it broke my heart.
“Lucifer…”
I slowly walked towards him as I hugged him. He looked at me with his eyes filled with tears.
“Hahh… They took everything from me… Everything… Ngh… It hurts… It hurts so much…!”
Lucifer suddenly rested his head over my shoulders as he hugged me tightly. His hands grasped behind my back as if he was trying to look for comfort. I felt like I was hugging a child that lost his way, that lost everything, and that had nowhere to go.
“Lucifer… Calm down. You’re here now… We can do something for them… We can-”
“Even what we can do now… I-it won’t change the past….” He sighed.
“That’s… true,”
“It won’t change the desperate agonizing cries of all my people. It won’t change the sea of bloodshed… it won’t change… all the things I saw… My children…! D-Do you know what they did to my children?!” Roared Lucifer.
He suddenly became all shaken. Recalling the past was painful.
“Calm down, Lucifer! Stop recalling that past! You can’t… simply live in the past!” I shouted.
“Hahh… I-It must be easy for you because you don’t remember when you were alive… right?” Asked Lucifer.
“Eh?”
“You don’t remember anything, so it’s obviously not painful. You don’t feel any connection to all that’s happened before… So it’s all the same for you, right?” He asked.
“…”
“How can you even understand this pain-”
SMACK!
“Ngh?!”
I moved my hands swiftly as I gave him a slap in the face.
“Even though I don’t recall my past, that doesn’t mean I don’t feel pain for what happened to the past Miranda. Even though I cannot remember her memories doesn’t mean I don’t feel pain or sorrow after all the things I learned that happened to her family… Lucifer, we are not competing for who has a more tragic past here, don’t be ridiculous… You idiot!” I shouted.
“…”
Lucifer looked down to the ground.
“…Sorry. I… I ended up doing things I shouldn’t have… S-Sometimes I get… these memories. My soul is unstable… my mind sometimes feels like it’s shattering into pieces. It’s hard… it’s painful… to be an Undead,” He muttered.
“I know. I am an Undead too… I know it feels painful… I know our souls are constantly being fueled by this… anger… by this sorrow… It’s… as if it were part of our very beings. I know it hurts a lot. I am sorry for… not being there for you if you really needed someone… You should simply call for me,” I said.
“M-Maria…”
“Come… Hug me,” I said.
“Ah…”
I hugged Lucifer again. I hugged him tightly. I rubbed my face on his shoulders. I couldn’t cry as I lacked eyes. But I still felt as sorrowful as if I could cry for him. He must have gone through horrendous things… I can tell.
“You’re not alone… You’ve got me right here, okay?” I asked.
I looked at him as I mustered a smile. My lips were trembling a bit.
“I… O-Okay…” He muttered, as his pale face suddenly grew as red as a tomato.
He looked quite cute.
“How do you feel now? Better? I can still keep hugging you until you feel better. There’s no rush,” I said.
“Thank you… I never thought I would find comfort in… someone like you,” He said.
“Huh? Are you belittling me or something?” I asked while raising an eyebrow.
“N-No! I didn’t mean it in that way! I am… sorry….” He quickly apologized.
“*Sigh*… I know it’s hard for you to get these emotions out of you, but… If you need a shoulder to rest your head on… and if you need someone to hold you up, I am here,” I said.
“T-Thank you… It means… a lot to me,” Said Lucifer, as he suddenly held my hand.
Our faces were suddenly oddly close to one another.
W-What’s going on?!
—–