"Don't bother with it…"

Lucifer suppressed a growl, gazing at the two females in her room who looked down at her in a scolding manner. Inwardly she cursed the fact that she hadn't taken the few extra seconds to lock that goddamn door which would have saved her the trouble.

"Your injuries aren't a matter that can't wait." Sakuya objected in a calm, but stern manner, declining her request to just let the matter just rest.

She just looked at them for a moment and then averted her gaze, hoping that they would just leave or that she had fallen asleep or lost consciousness at some point and this was just a dream.

Then her mind reminded her that she was not capable of dreaming and shot the only hope down rather brutally.

"For god's sake, stop being so stubborn and acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum while you barricade yourself in your room. You are becoming almost as bad as Soma." Alisa sighed in frustration.

Soma was less than amused by that last comment.

"You are aware that I'm still here, aren't you?"

She huffed, crossing her arms before her chest.

"Well, that is the truth and you know that."

In this very moment the devil didn't want anything more than the ability to walk out of this room.

Just leave them to their bickering which already tugged on her strained nerves and get something to drink.

After what she had experienced the last thing she needed was people around her.

If she only had the ability to stand up from this very couch she was sitting on, then it wouldn't be much of a problem. Of course she could try, but in the end she knew her feet would give in just after a few steps and literally crawling out of her own room wasn't really something what she wanted to do in front of them.

The look on their faces would have been – without a doubt – hilarious but she could do without the following panic. It wasn't the first time that happened to her as it was the simple payback for having a little bit too much 'fun' with fighting.

She clicked her tongue and sighed. Then she flinched as she felt something touching her right arm.

"Just let me take a look and we will stop bothering you."

Lucifer looked at her, then on her hand who was resting on her arm, eyes narrowing. She didn't particularly like the feeling of being touched which was hardly a secret among them. Sakuya immediately moved her hand as she saw her less than pleased expression.

Inwardly she debated with herself what she had to do to just make them leave but as long as she couldn't move there was no getting out of it. Silently she shrugged of her jacket and rolled up one of her sleeves.

"There…" She showed it to the medic, not even bothering to cover up her annoyed tone.

"Are you now happy?"

Carefully Sakuya took her hand and mustered the injury. Then she furrowed her brows.

"What happened?"

"Vajra."

"Did it try to gnaw your arms off?"

Lucifer was silent. She didn't know how it happened or how her blade got into its throat. The memory was just a mere blur.

"I can still feel my arms and can move my fingers, so even if it tried, the damage is not severe."

"I don't have to remind you that this was very dangerous."

The woman grimaced, giving her a glare.

"Spare me."

"I will do my best to keep it at a minimum." Sakuya offered her a warm smile.

"Besides that, I only need one person for that."

Lucifer's gaze wandered to the other two.

"Which means that you can leave. And before you start to complain…Just keep an eye on the person I was with but under no circumstances get too close to him. Alisa?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Please don't go on a mission with him and Death God, don't let him provoke you. Keep Kota out of it as well. I don't need a bloodbath today."

She looked like she wanted to say more but then she just held her head, stifling a growl. Despite Mammon's voice echoing through her head, an amused smirk tugged on her lips as she imagined that bastard going against a half-aragami.

"You could tell us who he is, first." Soma inquired, looking at her.

"Picking this guy's interest usually results in very bad things."

Lucifer punctuated that statement with a chuckle.

"Just stay away from him and pray that he will leave you alone."

"That doesn't answer my question. He said he was your 'partner'. You worked with him?"

Suddenly her smile vanished and her look became akin to a glare.

"What do you want to hear from me? You already mistrusted me because I don't have any files on me that prove that I was even born."

She closed her eyes and snorted, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips in a vile attempt to fight her growing migraine.

"Yeah, 'worked'… More as in doing 'damage control'. He can get…very 'unique' in his approach with people. Let's just say he will screw up your life until you die."

Soma grew more irritated by the second.

"Would it kill you to just answer a question?"

"Would it kill you to just leave my room?" She countered and then sighed. "I don't really think it would be wise to lay open my history with him. You already went behind my back for a couple of papers."

It wasn't like she really held it against them but it was convenient to use it as a reason to make them shut up about it. She never gave them a reason to trust her in the first place and she was aware of it.

She didn't trust them completely either and probably never will. The only thing she trusted was their abilities to a certain extend and their usefulness to her. To go beyond that would be a mistake for everybody involved.

"Soma…Alisa…Please leave." Sakuya suddenly spoke up. "I will take care of it."

Lucifer glanced at her and then back at them. They hesitated.

"Fine, we will leave it in your hands then. Get well soon, Leader." The woman grimaced at the name Alisa gave her but let it slide as long as they left the room.

After the medic gently shooed them out, Lucifer heard how the lock of her door clicked. It made her flinch for more than one reason. She didn't liked to be locked away when it wasn't her who closed the door. It made her nervous even when she knew the other person wasn't much of a threat for her and easily to beat.

The other reason was that she almost prayed that she could keep the drawbacks of the resonance at bay and it was harder to do that when she was forced to pay attention to another person.

Sakuya looked at her, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

Lucifer's back straightened and her eyes narrowed again as she looked at her. Then she clicked her tongue.

"Was it really necessary to lock the door for this?"

"I thought you would appreciate the privacy. Not that Kota suddenly bursts in and…" She made a dismissive hand wave. "You know him."

"Yeah…But he never dared to barge in my room before. As long as it is not our Death God, no one did actually. The bandages and antiseptics are in the second drawer on the right side as well as needle and threads if necessary." The devil pointed at said desk.

"Ah thank you. You mentioned that you two…had a fight?"

"It was more like that he barged into my room unannounced, caused a scene and then he turned violent. I acted in self-defense."

"…Soma would never do something like that if…"

"I have told Kota about his heritage as he decided to run off when Shio noticed their…'familiarities'."

"You did…know about that?"

"It wasn't like I wanted to know that but the doctor tried to set me up in his own scheme and left all sorts of clues and information all over the place. You must have missed my performance of being an insane asshole in front of the former director."

One of Sakuya's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh, that was a performance?"

"Psychological warfare. Almost nothing can scare more than a completely unhinged person who is out to kill you."

Lucifer bit her tongue slightly. She noticed that she was awfully talkative right now. Maybe part of the resonance and her attempt to distract herself from hearing Mammon's voice too much in her head, taunting her over various things. Tonight she won't get any sleep because of it.

Sakuya touched her arm, looking over her wound. Her cool fingertips moved over the injury. The medic frowned.

"It's quite deep. You normally just have scratches or something like that. At least…how far I could see it until now."

She sent her an almost accusing glance.

"You are correct. I got…a little too excited and danced a little bit too much."

"You should take that more seriously." Sakuya disinfected the wounds and sighed. "You are just like Lindow. He was always acting like that. He even thought he could hide his injuries from me when he just played it off as a scratch."

"Don't compare me with this man."

"You are a lot more similar than you think. Both of you have this certain…spark. It is hard to describe but…"

"Stop talking. I don't even understand why you would waste your time for someone who has used you as a tool. I don't regard you as more than that."

"I am a medic. I am under oath that I have to help the injured, disregarding their status."

"That kind of oath will get you killed one day."

Lucifer's eyes followed her hands, fascinated by their movements and clean work. Maybe she could learn something of use from watching her.

A soft chuckle interrupted her in her focused state.

"What?"

"…Lindow was right. You have this glow in your eyes sometimes."

She frowned, clicking her tongue irritated.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"When something catches your interest your eyes start to glimmer softly."

"Glimmer?" Lucifer repeated and her frown deepened.

The only times her eyes seemed to reflect anything was when she got excited or angry and that was a side effect of the Oracle Cells or the Burst factor in battle. And even then it was hardly a 'glimmer', they started to 'glow'. The doctor mentioned it sometimes could happen when a God Eater was under high emotional pressure which sent their entire body into a 'battle ready stance'.

Since she had to control herself in such cases, she could use it to threaten people or scare them out of the way but most of the time it happened unconsciously when she was deeply annoyed by something.

"Yeah. I can't describe it any other way. They get livelier. Lindow told me as I caught him in his room reading a book."

"So what?"

"It was a book called 'Chess Strategies for Beginners and Advanced Class'."

Lucifer didn't answer. Lindow had taught her the game and as far as she had seen, he was far from being a beginner. To be honest she hadn't taken him for being that type either and much less that he was ready to invest money into a book for this kind of game.

"He was pretty excited about it and he told me, you learn so fast he had to always be a step ahead or else you will be bored with him sooner or later."

Sakuya's smile was gentle but pained, her eyes distant although they still rested on her hands.

"He was always like that, trying to get through and get people to talk. He annoyed Soma because of his beer rations. He annoyed you because of your name...He…"

"Stop talking." The medic blinked, surprised by the sudden interruption. Lucifer glanced at her.

"…Whatever you say, I don't consider him as completely 'innocent' person. In the end he just tried to gain my trust for helping with his 'affairs'. Talking is a useful method to do exactly that.

"That…isn't incorrect, but…"

"He knew that files were missing, he knew what would happen when Alisa was transferred into our group and he was a spy for the main branch to monitor the director's behavior. I even warned him but at that moment he had already accepted that he lost."

Lucifer looked at her straight in the eyes.

"He knew that when he requested my help for monitoring Alisa that I am going to be pulled into his mess which could have killed us. Tell me: Is that an act of a man who doesn't have something in mind? It was hardly an act of pure kindness or without second thought."

The medic stared at her, mouth already moving to disagree.

"But I can't blame him for it. He was a leader and he just assured that his team doesn't break apart when he dies. That was the deal behind it. All this…was just because of one simple question. My interactions with Alisa, my tolerance of Kota, my acceptance of the position…Everything just an act to continue his work. Now the director is dead, the project destroyed…I don't see a reason to keep it up."

"That is the reason…for quitting?"

Lucifer chuckled as her fingertips trailed over the bandages, inspecting them.

"Ah, yes, one of it. Sorry that it isn't more spectacular for you."

"But..."

"I was perfectly fine with my former position and I never asked to become one in the first place. So loathe me for quitting the job I never wanted…"

"Even if that is the case, you should be careful and watch yourself more."

Lucifer looked at her with a faint smirk as she leant back on the couch.

"You think this is serious?"

"The Oracle Cells give us the ability to heal faster, but that doesn't mean we are immortal."

Lucifer could practically hear Mammon laugh inside her head as these words started to repeat in her mind like an echo and she grimaced.

"Please take care of your body."

The woman tried to hide that her fingers started to twitch as her mind tried to desperately suffocate this voice.

"Take care? Oh please...Those humans die like flies all by themselves. We don't die so easily and even if we do, we go out in a bloody mess."

A shiver ran up her spine as she saw this crazy gaze of the man in front of her eyes.

"I haven't survived this long on the dirty streets to die from this." She muttered in response.

Lucifer looked up, meeting two wide eyes and cursed as she noticed that she said those words out loud.

The short silence that followed was almost suffocating but the worst was the look in her eyes. The glance of pity which seemed to hunt her.

"…You can run or fight. There is no real escape and you know it. You can gather all the money, people and knowledge. In the end…you still will lose everything. What a pitiful end."

The woman gritted her teeth.

"Get...out..."

"B-But..."

"Get out." Lucifer repeated, tone more fierce and threatening now.

"If I said something that..."

"Now."

This time Sakuya jumped in her seat as Lucifer's eyes started to glow.

"…Un…Understood. Please rest well and don't make any rash movements."

Her gaze followed her movements as the medic walked to the door, unlocking it and leaving. She waited until it closed, before drawing a shaking breath. This wasn't supposed to happen.

A shadow sat beside her, giving her a toothy grin.

"Everything for nothing. It's really pitiful that we still can bleed, isn't it?"

"Shut up."

It backed off as she acknowledged it was there.

"…Lucifer…"

The haughty tone vanished and it bowed before it moved further back.

"Don't forget us…Don't lock us out." It whispered, almost as if wanted to plead then it vanished again.

Lucifer sat there, staring at the empty spot in front of her before she started to snicker. Her body trembled, her finger twitched. She could feel it still burning.

One of her hands reached over her shoulder, down her back.

It felt wet.

She still smiled as she looked at the red fingertips.

"Ah...it's bleeding again."

She could see how her hand shook.

"You can't deny the truth."

Lucifer laughed again, not missing the desperate tone of it.


Sakuya sighed as she glanced at the closed door behind her.

"...Was it...?"

The younger New Type hesitated and didn't end the sentence. Soma's eyes narrowed as the medic looked to the floor, closing her eyes and sighed yet again. Something had happened.

"They were deep but she will come around when she rest a little bit."

Relieved, Alisa exhaled the air in her lungs.

"Thank god…"

"What's wrong?" Soma asked immediately, seeing the medic still tense and deeply in thought.

"…I worry. She…was talkative the first and then suddenly she acted incredibly unnerved."

"So she kicked you out." He crossed his arms before his chest, eyes narrowing. It was the third time this guy walked to her doorstep and for the third time that woman was more aggressive than usual. She even went as far as to warn them to not get close to him.

First leaving her position without having a reason to do so, acting hostile towards them and now this old comrade came to visit her and one mission with him was enough to lose her emotional control. It wouldn't worry him so much if she wasn't a person who would calmly stare down an aragami with a smile on her face. Not to mention the lack of panic she had when the world was just seconds away from destruction.

When this one man was enough to lose her cool, he didn't really want to imagine what kind of person he was.

"This…Hiro guy…He said he was from the Western Branch?"

Considering he had a bracelet, he was – without a doubt – a God Eater.

"Yes…As he introduced himself, he said that but…I am not sure if it isn't a lie." Alisa confirmed and tried to withhold a shiver. Something was very wrong with this situation and both of them could feel it.

"But…I don't know how to explain it but this guy…is dangerous. I have a very bad feeling of this."

"We don't know what we are up against. That woman won't speak about it either."

"…She does see only the bad in people. I don't think she does trust us with such information."

"Considering that she has known that guy for years, I can hardly judge her." He didn't like her but he slowly understood where she came from. Besides that, she did help them, even when it was for her own gain. If she didn't care, she wouldn't have warned them in the first place.

The last time she completely lost emotional control was shortly before the director discovered them. After what they have been told, she bought some time by letting herself been thrown into a cell. Now she began to act like that again.

His eyes narrowed.

"Something is going to hell soon."

"Guys!"

The three turned around, seeing Kota sprinting up to them. The young man took a deep breath.

"I have searched the whole building for you! Tsubaki called us in for a meeting. Is Lucy in her room?"

"...Yes, but it is better to leave her alone right now. She is...exhausted from the last mission."

Kota frowned.

"Is she okay?"

They exchanged looks but didn't answer.

"H-Hey...what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's get going." Soma answered and walked by before his mind buried himself deep into the multiplying questions again.

The more he thought about it, the more aware he became that she was going a little bit too far in keeping them out of her game, even risking injury to just get that guy out of their line of view.

She was haughty, coldhearted and calculated person, but a steady feast and cunning leader on the field. He respected that – though he would never admit it to her – but she had her way with people to and it wasn't too farfetched in thinking that she knew what her words could cause.

The refusal to talk, her reassignment and the way she got uncontrolled and nervous were signs he could not ignore. Every time people acted off, something bad was going to happen to them. The day before Lindow died, he hadn't even asked to borrow beer or pestered him that evening as if he knew what was waiting for him.

As the door to the office opened, Soma stifled a growl as he saw this always smiling man standing next to the old man. He couldn't say that he was surprised but that just confirmed that this uncomfortable feeling in his guts didn't stem from his growing paranoia. A quick side glance to Alisa confirmed also that he wasn't the only one feeling like this.

"...Why is he here?"

"Ah, hello again, Soma and...Alisa, I believe?"

The stranger's eyes wandered to the taller woman and Kota, eyebrows slowly moving up.

"I apologize. I didn't catch your name."

"If I might, this is Tachibana Sakuya, the current leader of the first Unit and this is Fujiki Kota, our scout." The doctor introduced them, his expression unreadable as always.

The medic could feel how his grey eyes mustered her carefully before he began to chuckle.

"I see. You are her successor. The former leader of yours sure is a stubborn piece of work. Some things never change, it seems."

Soma and Alisa threw him a downright deadly look which he countered with his constant friendly smile.

"I hope her injuries weren't that severe. But well, that is what you get when you don't pay attention. It was her fault, so please, stop trying to hold me responsible for it."

"You convinced her to go with you even though she wasn't fully recovered. So you at least carry part of the responsibility."

Hiro titled his head to the right seeming to be downright amused by this little female human's accusation.

"Did I? She can think for herself. Oh my, I really have to admire the human ability to turn me into a villain on every occasion." He sighed and then clasped his hand together.

"It was her choice and hers alone. I didn't force her to do anything at all."

Kota just watched the scene, completely at loss what was going on but reading the atmosphere, he decided it was not a good decision to bring this topic up right now. It felt like he would set off a bomb with such a simple question.

"S-So...what's the deal with calling for us, Doc? Who is that guy?"

The man looked at him and he almost flinched. There was something peculiar about him.

"I deeply apologize." He straightened his posture, his right hand balled to a fist, placed on the upper left of his chest and bowed slightly forward.

That wasn't an ordinary military salute.

Soma's eyes narrowed. Their former leader used to do the exactly same gesture when she was with his father.

"My name is Hiro, Codename Mammon, Scout of the Search and Vanguard Unit in the Western Branch. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I was sent here...because of a request. I am...was hunting down a few aragami with a special core. Unfortunately two escaped into your territory."

He looked over the map on the desk, his index finger trailing over it.

"What does it have to do with us?"

Dr. Paylor cleared his throat, taking the word.

"The Western Branch asked us to take over this mission."

"And he is coming with us?" Hiro smiled at Alisa's words, not missing the hidden disgusted tone but this time his smile was almost apologetic.

"No. Unfortunately I'm not able to go on this mission. My superior outright banned me from it and promised me..." He rubbed his chin, frowning as if he were deep in thought.

"...Something about a year of pure mental torture, with the pleasure of being chained onto a sick bed for a week or two…I think that were her words. I didn't listen too well."

"...Why would he doing something like that?" Kota dared to ask, earning another chuckle out of this strange man. As response he lifted his shirt right over his stomach, covered by layers of bandages which already were tainted red.

"Well, got almost disemboweled. Took on a few aragami alone and got injured because I dared to save one of my team members. Then that spoilsport of a woman barred me from finishing my job...Such a nuisance."

"But...you took on a Vajra earlier!" Alisa exclaimed bewildered. This man should be in sick bed and under heavy medication right now, but he was standing, smiling and not even showing a hint of pain in his face.

"I only took on the Chi You. Lucifer did the other one in alone."

"You let her fight against it alone? Are you insane?!" He laughed.

"I don't see the need to hold her back like you would do. Sometimes you have to let the devil get loose and have some fun, instead of restraining her. We both didn't break any rules, so could we please go back to business."

He leant against the desk, ignoring their stares which he was receiving.

"There is a new type of Quadriga in this area, as well as a Prithvi Mata. Of course, as of now, there could be other aragami swarming this place as well. Mostly little things but you never know."

"We know that but that doesn't explain what you are doing here." Soma spat.

"Oh, there is a reason. I know the territory and trust me, not the best thing to be in. The thing is, that we noticed that something in there fucks around with the communication system which means, once you are in, you won't be able to contact anybody, not even your own team. Additionally the weather tends to be highly unstable, acid rain is possible. So I would advise bringing some extra supplies since it could be a long stay in this hell."

He paused, rubbing his eyes, looking tired for a moment.

"For you it might sound like a suicide mission but we desperately need the cores at our base to update the bias factor in our walls. We had a breakthrough in the outer section a week ago and we don't know how long we hold them off before a disaster happens."

He spoke these words with such a casual tone as if he was gossiping about the weather instead of a serious threat.

"It is your decision as it is your life that will be at stake."

The director redirected the glasses on his nose.

"As you can guess, I don't feel very content sending them on such a dangerous mission but the situation is indeed dire."

"I will share as much information as I can, but even when prepared, it is not going to be easy. This place..." He stopped for a moment, inhaling deeply. "Let's say, a lot of unexpected things can happen there. It's the best to leave the wounded at home at this point."

"Speaking of injured... Where is Lucifer?" Paylor asked carefully.

"I hope she is trying to rest." The fact that Hiro answered and offered a knowing smile, made Soma's hands clench into fists, in order to compose himself. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the director.

He cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him again.

"I would like to discuss this matter with the First Unit personally. There are some issues which have to be cleared before we can continue."

"Of course. If you need me for more details...You will find me in the main hall." He left with a hand wave.

"...Did something happen between you and him? I sense some...tense atmosphere, for the lack of a better description."

"He is something like an old friend of Lucifer." Alisa tried to explain, although she didn't know herself why she found this man so unsettling.

Paylor took of his glasses, rubbing the eyes beneath and sighing deeply.

"I know. He had the courtesy to tell me that they are acquainted, but not to what extent. Are you worried about leaving her behind?"

He didn't need to add 'alone with this man' as he could already see how some looks darkened. His gaze fell to a very confused looking Kota between them.

"B-But what should we do? If they have a hole in the wall…"

"Our Leader warned us. This man should not be trusted." Alisa crossed her arms before her chest.

"In other words, this smells like a trap."

"It does, Soma but…Either way we can't avoid this. The other units have enough work to do to keep our walls updated and ready." Sakuya sighed. "In other words, we have to go."

"Should we tell, Lucy about it?"

"Her injuries aren't that bad but I can only say what I could see. They could be more severe."

"If it's really that dangerous we might risk her life and when we tell her she would insist to come with us." Alisa added. "I don't like this."

"None of us does. Let's see that we don't die." Soma looked at the doctor with a grim look on his face.


It had been a couple of hours since they decided to leave.

Mammon looked at his wristwatch before watching the empty hall again, calmly sipping his soda.

"Humans are so incredible stupid." He paused and chuckled. "Don't you think so too, Lucifer?"

The shadow moved and his smile widened to a grin.

"I'm glad that you recovered and look at you...You can walk again."

Two green glowing orbs just looked at him in silence. She was waiting for an answer as she had noticed that her team was suddenly gone.

"Look, Lucifer. This has nothing to do with me, even if it looks like it. Orders are orders. A deal is a deal. You know the rules."

Her eyes narrowed, her distrust and suspicion grew even more now. She knew him enough to feel that his wording was wrong and out of place as if he was trying to cover something up.

"What did you do?"

"I did nothing but just deliver a message. Nothing more."

His voice was calm, the smile stayed like always

"Where are they?" The man sighed deeply and his shoulders sunk, already guessed that she would asked this particular question.

"Lucifer, don't make it sound as if I have just send a couple of humans to their deaths. They are fine... For now... I guess."

"Mammon..." His smile vanished for a split second, sensing her growing impatience. He muttered something under his breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"It is nothing...Look, we had this topic already a long time ago. Don't care about humans. They live or die, not our problem. Our kin doesn't care, shouldn't care and you know why...If they aren't..."

"What have you done, Mammon?" Her voice cut him off. "I delivered a message and this doesn't concern you in the slightest."

"You have sent my whole unit somewhere. Of course, it concerns me."

He just stared at her, wordless for a moment, mouth fallen slightly agape.

"Lucifer...Do I have to remind you that you aren't their leader anymore? Besides that human life doesn't concern us, groups and their morals doesn't concern us. By hell, I should have you tortured you a little more with the resonance. This stubbornness of you highly annoying. "

"So, it was really your plan?"

Mammon ignored her comment, cursing under his breath.

"...You are more gone than I thought. Which side of you is talking right now? The shadows or your mind?"

"For the last time, I'm not suffering from this...sickness, the insanity of the end or whatever you might call it." She almost hissed.

"Where have you sent them?"

"I didn't sent them. My superior and your superior did. Lucifer, please, pretty please don't tell me you came to care for their lives. Okay, what do humans say? Just have...a little bit faith in their abilities. They will make it if they are as good as your director said. And if not, they just...deserve to die, I guess."

In a flash she was standing in front of him and got a hold of his scarf which she tug down violently.

This wasn't their little game anymore. This was business and he had overstepped boundaries.

"Where are they?"

She smiled gently, her voice so light and sweet that it made his blood freeze for a split second. His smile just grew in delight before he sighed yet again.

"Alright, if you are asking me so politely...Truth is, I could have just planned and hoped to kick you out of this game for some time. Maybe a little bit longer."

"...So you planned our little talk just like that..."

Her voice was calm, not betraying the anger that started to swell up in the pit of her stomach. He had tricked her.

Maybe he even watched calmly as the Vajra pushed her against the wall, fangs burying themselves into her skin. Just to top it off, he used the resonance on her although he knew what effect it had on them.

"Lucifer, it is your life, but with that action you might cause a disaster for everybody involved. Let them die if it gets serious for all that's worth. They are just a few of many, many people on this forsaken earth. You will find a new unit, better pawns like always. Don't get too invested into this whole comrade shit."

"They won't die, since they aren't that weak, but mercy upon you, if they do. Hunting humans in my territory is forbidden and you know that. Trust me, I will make you pay for every single thing that will happen."

He chuckled. "Scary, scary...That sounds more like you. But honestly, the only thing I care about is that you don't go there. So do me a favor and don't. For the sake of our kin."

The way he spoke and the word 'sake' rolled over his tongue made her sick.

"As if you ever cared about that."

His face closed in, just inches apart from her own. The grey in his eyes glowed.

"Lucifer, you and I aren't humans anymore and we have other needs than those petty thing of morals. We are made to kill and destroy people. Don't forget that."

"Surely. But we serve humanity first and furthermost. Don't forget that." She added.

He gave an unamused snort at her retort.

"Don't remind me of that rule, Lucifer...If it wouldn't be for my own survival I would just kill them off if they got too annoying. Maybe torture them a little bit before I do the deed."

"And you talk to me about being reckless. Do you really think we could run from them with these bracelets?"

He laughed.

"Oh Lucifer, I would just get rid of it. The life of an aragami might suit our kin better. I have already training in killing humans, so why don't make it my lifelong profession? Wouldn't be much different, just switching sides."

This wasn't him. He was the last one to be this suicidal.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I might. I don't know how Asmo is at the moment, but with you having less than a year and him not in the best shape. The others might be already dead...So..."

"I'm not going down so easily. I'm going to kill you first, even when it is the last thing I will do."

"Naturally. After all that time you didn't forget, it seems..." She chuckled and her hand shoot up to his throat.

"How could I? After all, you were the one who burned this mark into my skin."

She felt something sharp digging slowly into the back of her neck. She didn't need to question him as she knew already that it was a knife. He was never weaponless.

"I would be incredibly disappointed in myself if I didn't left some kind of a good memory."

Lucifer chuckled.

"A very good memory indeed." She spat, her grip tightening. "Tell me...where did you superior send them? Tell me of this place where even a devil wouldn't even don't dare to set his foot on."

She needed answers and she needed them now. This conversation made her uneasy.

"I'm wounded, by that question and I am quite literally as well."

"Wouldn't have stopped you from hunting and let your prey escape."

"Not everybody stands for the sin of pride like you."

"But you have the sin of greed and you holding back is not your nature."

"You would be surprised... I can be quite reserved." Mammon smiled sweetly as his face drew even closer, grey meeting green.

"But I'm surprised that you have not the slightest idea which place I am talking about right now."

In this moment she wanted to curse him for being so cryptic, instead of giving her a straight answer.

"…Answer or I will make you."

"Now, now…Why so impatient? You should remember this place quite well."

She felt how her heart stopped and she felt her blood draining from her face.

"...Don't tell me..."

"Unfortunately yes." He cut her off, his smile reducing to a hollow smirk.

"Some grounds are not meant for us to be walked on again. Or at least not for those of us who still want to remain some kind of remotely sane."

"You sent them there? Of all god forsaken places on this earth without a scout?"

"You have a scout."

"But he doesn't know this territory and he isn't experienced."

"I told them about the dangers they will face. Additionally, the situation isn't as peachy as it. But I left them the choice."

"...And now you are telling me to not go there, the only person of the team who knows from experience. I don't have to remind you that this is a strategic disaster."

The man chuckled and then sighed.

"This has nothing to do with strategy, per se, dear Lucifer. The aragami won't be much of the problem for them."

Irritated she frowned. "What?"

"Lucifer, this is no place where you should be and just because I kill my own kin, I doesn't mean I do it with pleasure. At least not that much." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you really think I would get rid of things I can still use? I'm very careful with my toys. Especially with the puppets I have carved out myself."

Her grip intensified for a split second. The thought to crush his throat right here, right now was so tempting, but then she chuckled and laughed. She let him go, sick of this thought and game in general. She hadn't managed to do it in the past and she wasn't any stronger now.

"Now... you have to be more creative than that." This whole thing was just a game for him and she was overreacting, just like he wanted.

She wouldn't give him the pleasure.

It was all in the end a test. How much she cared, how close this would get to her, if someone died. Although she smiled, her muscles stiffened.

Normally she wouldn't be worried but in this moment she didn't even know herself how much it would impact her. It wasn't the first time that people around just died her like flies. She had sent humans to their deaths with just a wink with her hand, a command, an order, sometimes with a few words.

"Fine. I will wait for their return."

Her hands balled into fists.

"I don't need more than that." He looked satisfied and bowed before he left without another word.

Lucifer bit her lips so hard that she tasted blood.

There was a reason why he was the kin-hunter. He played the game in a way he couldn't lose. Whatever she did, she would play right into the outcome he wanted.

The question was just 'What does he want?'.

"Greed bastard…always greedy. Doesn't like shackles…"

A shadow whispered.

"He was always rebellious and always searches for a way to get out."

A second one to her right appeared.

"For what did he come?" Lucifer muttered under her breath.

"He always searches for a key."

"Yes, a key to bring himself out of the cage. Blackmail, maybe?"

"No, not a key. What's the word?"

"A bargain chip?" She rose an eyebrow at the talking beings only she could see and – at the same time – at herself. In this moment she was just talking to her insanity which had taken shape. This was weird on multiple levels. They often talked to her when she was off guard or wasn't focused on something else and whispered and tempted.

She didn't know where they came from but she was insane. It didn't matter at this point anymore. As long as they were being helpful, she would try not to scare them away.

In the end it wasn't the first time that she conversed with them. They helped sorting out her mind in some moments when they weren't busy with trying to annoy her with cryptic messages. If she died, they died so her survival was their goal, or that she recognized them as being there. It was hard to decipher what they wanted.

Insanity was not always a form that was readable or bound to logic after all and she would take all the help she needed right now.

"Yes, a bargain chip. To get out. But why distracting Lucifer?"

"Don't know. Should we wait and see?"

"Agreed. Wait and see. If they don't return, we should look."

"Why do you care?"

They turned to her or at least she believed that they did.

"Lucifer doesn't remember but you did this often. Then you started to ignore us."

"We are you, your past memory and present experience in form, so you can't. Not all well-meaning. Mind you."

"Ah, and now you are going help me after trying to convince me that I should let humanity die."

"We are you. Or thoughts made real in your eyes. We can't do anything about your confusing desires and personality."

"Besides that, we don't like the greedy guy. Always meddling with us. It's annoying."

Lucifer just looked at them, not sure if she should laugh that the shadows had developed as much personality that they could say that they hated him too or that she should lay off the painkillers she had taken to calm the raging pain in her arms even though she didn't like it to be numb. To be honest it wasn't the weirdest thing she had experienced.

"I don't have to point out that this is weird."

"You often talked to us…you just have forgotten that after one of his training sessions. Discouraged you to talk…It got lonely."

"…Why am I talking to you again?"

"We don't know. You are insane one."

She sighed.

"Point…taken."

There was no ill intent despite the other shadows she had seen until now.

"Be careful. If you want to tap into the void, we will have to hurt you."

"Let's hope it won't go so far."

The very next morning the director didn't really need to tell her what had happened.

The first unit hasn't reported back.