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Lucifer: The Price of Sin

Chapter I

||The Infernal Conquest||

Upon hearing the bestial roar, Sirzechs spared a knowing glance with Serafall. So his guts were right – unfortunately.

"Well that looks pretty bad." Serafall summarized bluntly.

"Can you contact Ajuka and Falbium?" From all the days, they had to pick this day for their day off. Granted, the Underworld rarely ever got any threat. But no one ever expected this severe of a threat.

"I can't!" The Leviathan seethed. "They're using a jammer or the like- I can't get through this and that! Lower down the barrier first!"

"And expose ourselves?"

"Well then I can't get Ajuka here!" Serafall argued, mad that she had to spell it out when the role were usually reversed. "Let's just give them a good whacking already!"

"We need to evacuate the people first." Sirzechs said, equally angry because he was losing his composure. "Once they've broken through the shields, their spell might prevent anyone below Ultimate from using the teleportation. I'll have Grayfia and MacGregor providing their escape while the rest of my servants stay and fight. In the meantime, we'll need to hold them off."

"Gotcha." Serafall smiled brightly. "I might freeze the trees though."

"You're allowed to freeze everything as long as we keep them save."

Serafall smiled, determined, and as the Crimson Satan flew towards the frontline, she followed along.

-ЖЖЖ-

"Block their escape. Suppress their magic."

"It is already done, my Liege."

Lucifer turned towards Abaddon, the manifestation of demonic mist, surprised. Not, mind you, because of the Archdevil's action, but because he let out his whispery, sibilant voice that crept him out. Now Lucifer remembered why he'd rather not have this faceless Devil speak a word.

"W-well… Good work. I appreciate your initiative." The Devil of All Devils complimented, finally noticing the one colossal blue magic circle surrounding the entire city, fading temporarily into the ground. The famed Null Field that Abaddon had only strengthened during his days in damnation.

"Beel, how many are there?"

Beelzebub floated forward, rejoining the Original Satan and The Mist of Avernus, clad in his green rotting armor that was surrounded by billions of insects; his tiny eyes swarming the skies. "Roughly fifty thousand souls my Lord. Ten thousand soldiers; all equipped with an armor and a standard sword and shield, some spears, but nothing special. A thousand of Elite Guards I'd reckon, five thousand consisting light and heavy cav. The rest are citizens."

Lucifer smirked. "It's always nice to have both the quantity and the quality.

"There are two Satans present as well, my Lord."

The King of Hell arched his eyebrow. "Satans?"

"From what my children have heard, they're your replacement and hers."

"I see… you… your children?"

"Aye my King." The hellish insects buzzed louder as if to support their 'father's statement.

"…Well I have the bloody Beast as mine so I suppose you're free to pet whatever you fancy." Lucifer shrugged. Trihexa blew toxic fumes out of its nose; giddy at the compliment. "But I'm getting distracted here; you mentioned Satans? Mine and Leviathan's?"

"Indeed." The Lord of the Flies replied, clutching his giant battle axe clad in green poisonous haze. "Dare they stand where you stood."

"Dare they stand where we stood." Lucifer corrected as his heart burned with mild fury, a fury that translated into his infernal, coiled greatsword, blazing crimson flames. The weapon that had slain the Maker. "Not for long anyway."

"Of course."

"And these 34,000 citizens," Lucifer continued, "are they willing to fight for them?"

"Not all entirely. Some had evacuated to the keep. Mostly women and children." None of the elderlies, as they had no place in Lilith. Nope. They had their own quaint, peaceful, non-chaotic retirement territory where they could play chess until they die. "Including their armed forces, the militias range from twelve to fifteen thousand."

So around 34,000. Measly numbers compared to his 100,000 strong and elite army. These Devils had no chance.

"Although… I might be mistaken, my Lord, but there seems to be some human-turned Devil in that city."

Did he hear that right? "What?"

"They must be these Reincarnated Devils those Strays mentioned, I'd wager."

"Right, right… Humans turned Devils…" Lucifer wasn't quite sure on where he stood for this predicament. He knew enough that millions of Devils died along with him during the Great War, and only a few dozen made it out with him from Hell, Stray Devils included. God really did a number on them, utilizing their weakness to anything Holy, really.

"They'll have their uses. If they have to reincarnate humans, then it must be due to their low birthrate." It took forever for a Devil to conceive a child; another gift from the generous God of All. "Kill them if they fight back. Spare them otherwise."

"Understood."

"And their defenses? Any siege engines?"

"The outer walls have a few cannon towers with magic projectiles, and that's it. There's no moats, though there's only three gates; the southern one in front of us and two others on the west and east. It'd take a few shots to crumble their walls, however."

"The Necrolith can handle them, I take it." Lucifer glanced towards the six Bone Giants behind him.

"They have 20 shots each. Replenishable if I send them back and let them sit around in the Realm of Souls for… a day, at most. They are rather inaccurate, however. 1 in 5 chance their shot will hit their target. Even then, it'll need four others to fully crumble a section of the wall, my Lord. Two if it hits the same spot, but it's unlikely."

No a chance Lucifer quite liked to hear, but he had to make do with what he had. "A shame. But it is what it is. Have them fire at the barrier; that's too big to miss."

"Don't think it's wise to tempt fate like that, my Lord."

"Fate? Hah! I'll bed her and make her my bitch if she ever takes form." Lucifer spat, and Beelzebub nervously nodded along, afraid that he might had angered his Lord. "I'll handle the gates and the walls. Any other defenses?"

"None. It seems they've ditched defenses for luxuries and trees. And not poisonous either, they were simply… well, trees."

Lucifer laughed dryly. "I can understand the plants, but just cannons? It seems these fools have grown complacent from their time of peace."

"That they do." Beelzebub agreed.

The Original Satan shook his head in disappointment. "Add that to our to-do list. Once we impregnate the bitch, I want dreadquake mortars and hellcannons to be the first in productions. I want at least four; two of each in our future armies."

"Duly noted." Lucifer's Right Hand said. "Do you reckon we'd find Levia's daughter here?"

"Doubt it, but we'll see. Some should know her whereabouts."

"You sound certain my Lord."

"Some of them ought to know if we bash their face enough times. We'll ask them later should they choose wisely." Lucifer muttered. He'd expect the fiercest resistance during the first days of his reconquest, since nobody knew what his army was capable on doing. Afterwards, other cities and citadels should fall without the need to battle them.

Beelzebub chortled. Caving faces was one hobby mutually shared among the generals of this legion. "What about Lady Lilith, if you don't mind me asking."

"Same like the other." Lucifer huffed. "If she's here, good. If not, we'll find her. If she's dead, that'd... hurt, but I won't let it affect me too much."

"Not with this army you can."

"Right." The King of Hell snorted. "Enough talk. Go back to your men."

"At once." The Lord of Pestilence nodded, and returned to his position; in front of the melee foot soldier, the undead and the beastmen, ready and eager to lead the charge.

"Keep the men ready." Lucifer commanded. "I'd like to have a word with them first. Let them know we're not here to blindly kill."

"…We're not?" Asmodeus asked, the fire blazing from the eyesockets of his full-face helmet turning blue.

"I thought we've gotten through this." Sighed Lucifer, giving a look at the black knight. "Don't kill, unless they refuse to play nice."

"…As you say."

Lucifer slapped the back of the knight, ringing the black steel. "Cheer up my friend. There's at least five billion humans waiting for you."

That promise of carnage was enough to lift Asmodeus' spirits.

"But remember; save the weakest for the last. After this, we'll deal with the Angels and the pesky crows. And then, we take Hades. The Grim Reapers won't want to stay long."

"Which shall fall first? Our dear siblings or the scavengers?"

"The Angels of course." Lucifer chuckled. "Strike them while our morale is stupidly high and our forces strong." Indeed. Eventually, these 100,000 would need to defend their conquered settlements, not to mention there would be losses in the conquering process. "But for now, let's focus on what's in front of us."

"As you command." Asmodeus bowed.

Lucifer held the distant city in his gaze. Lilith. His first home with the name dedicated to his lover. The place of his old throne, before moving to Lucifaad; the impenetrable fortress and more strategically placed compared to Lilith's easily accessible terrain. A place that was in his sight after this conquest.

Figuring out whether or not Lilith had died would be next in his list.

After one last gaze before the imminent destruction of the city he loved, Lucifer peeled away his sight towards his men.

"Asmo. Come with me."

And then the two leaders became the messengers of the Legio Infernalis, marching down the wasteland, flying over the forest surrounding the city, and stopped before the massive walls and its full-erect barrier, protecting the city beneath. For the moment.

Trails of fire left in the wake of these two infernal beings.

Below the barrier, Sirzechs gritted his teeth, fully understanding this blatant power move; that they were underestimating them that they didn't care for any potential attacks. And for that, Sirzechs remained cautious, while Serafall had been eager to dish out her judgement on these two beings.

"To the too-good citizens of Lilith! It's still Lilith yes? Unless it's been renamed, I am quite certain that's the name."

Lucifer waited.

"Really? No replies? How rude. But fine, fine. I understand your fear as I admit, we do look quite hostile and er… rather enraged and uncontrollable. But I assure you, if those beasts you see over there are uncontrollable, we won't be having this conversation right now. I won't be able to have a chit-chat with mangled corpses no?"

The mood took a dark turn, as the citizens began to reek of fear.

"No one? Psh. You're too tense." The Devil scoffed.

"My lord. You're digressing."

"Right." This was why he brought Asmodeus along. And because he was quite the menacing figure. A simple example of the might of Legio Infernalis. "Back to my point; I am Lucifer. And this is Asmodeus. He doesn't talk much, but goodness he's damned good at what he does, which is leading the army when I'm not around."

Gasps. Gasps, gasps everywhere, but the reaction was rather weak. "What? You don't believe me? Well you will after this, I'd bet."

Mistaking his joke as a threat, the militants quivered in their shields and armor, though mostly were wearing noble attires; clearly not expecting this result.

Which was good. Lucifer would rather avoid the killing of his own kind as much as possible. Only be evil when necessary; that was his main motto. Ironic, considering his reputation.

"Now, now! No need to panic!" He beckoned, "Jeez I don't know what rumors you've heard about me, but if you think I will just slay you all left and right without regards then consider me unjustly offended. It's not like I'm an absolute evil overlord or something. Overlord may be, but definitely not evil. Not all the times, at least."

He shrugged. "So here is my proposal. As long as you do not raise your weapons, chant any unnecessary magic that will not help you in the slightest during our conquest, walk out the gate and move towards us, there shall be no harm brought upon you. It is not you, the people, who we wish to slaughter. No, no. It's your leader."

Lucifer took the momentous moment to differentiate which was the leader. Which ones were the person who had taken their names, and wore it like some sort of a label.

Which ones he needed to kill first, to ensure the safety of his throne.

He found them not long after. As well as the human-turned-devils Beelzebub mentioned, as they were easy to spot with all the uncertainty around them. Their eyes were ready to fight to their death, although Lucifer questioned their rather lax attire, save for the crimson one with his giant six spaulders, three on each of his shoulders.

Lucifer appreciated the fellow suit-wearing man, though brown haired compared to his black. But that wasn't what he was concerned with. There was even a man wearing cloths! That traditional uniform from that weird land he had forgotten the name of. Jippon or something. Then there was the other Reincarnated Devils, though they looked more like monsters than normal humans.

There was a beast with four legs with a head resembling a Dragon. About 2 meters tall. Too big to be a horse, but too small to be a Dragon. Standing next to this odd creature, was a man of the same height with a large build with stark orange hair. Though his size was still half of his Grand Marshal's, the strange thing about him was that his aura had a certain… Nordic accent to it.

Intriguing. These Devils had found a way to turn other species into devils as well. How? He had no idea. Yet.

Whatever. He wouldn't need to be so concerned about penetrating their armor then.

After his brief five seconds deliberation, Lucifer continued. "Now I understand that honor is a noble thing to do. Dying for your leader and all, but what good will it do to you if you have to watch your families die before your eyes. Your sons and daughters, father and mother, your great uncle and whoever it might be, before you join them eventually. Is this 'honor' really something worthy enough to surrender your life to?"

"Don't listen to him!" A man shouted. A normal foot soldier cladded in standard steel armor, attempting to rouse his fellow soldiers that was posted on the walls.

Asmodeus slammed his burning cudgel in a swift downward motion, creating a giant crack on the protective barrier.

Serafall quickly replaced the barrier with another in under a split second, but the venomous effect of dread had begun to spread.

She had been eagerly smiling earlier. She couldn't smile this time. This was worse than she had expected.

"Please refrain from balking until your Lord has finished talking." Asmodeus said, calmly.

"Now, now, no need to get violent." Lucifer ushered, patting the black knight's shoulder. "The battle hasn't started yet- although I would appreciate it if you can just hold your noises. It's rather impolite to interrupt others, you know."

"…Where was I…" Lucifer scrambled, "Ah yes. So! My first decree as your new leader before this hostile takeover ensues, is that for you good folks to gather your loved ones, your families, people you care enough that would make you sad should they die, and bring them over there." He pointed towards his legion, who had been impatiently waiting for the negotiation to finish and start their carnage.

"Either you walk or fly, but be respectful, and don't shove around. Try not to get scared although you may not able to help it, and my attendants will gladly guide you to a safe place while we do the killing. Do just so, and I promise you, the worst thing you'll need to endure today is seeing your home burns – which can and will be rebuilt. Unlike your life, the losses are replaceable, as are your leaders."

He eyed the crimson-haired Devil and the black-haired ones; the ones emanating the sharpest amount of unholy power, as they glared at him.

Lucifer simply smiled.

"Accept those terms, and you won't permanently lose your home. Once we've taken the city and have the damage has been repaired, you will retain your jobs. You will continue on living, do your thing, and give or take a few weeks, you'll feel like nothing has changed! Well. Save for your leaders, but really, aside from minor differences in policies, it's hardly noticeable.

"Refuse, however. Then…" Lucifer paused, granting the effect of suspense incidentally as he pondered his words. "well too bad, I suppose. We'll assume you're prepared to die. Maybe you can hold hands while those 100,000 very hungry beasts eat your children. Not really a pretty sight, but, you do you."

He purposely set his eyes on these new Satans. The Fakes who dared to claim his name.

"You cannot run. You cannot hide. But you can join us, live under our new order, and prosper. Or you and your entire lineage will die, for this city is only the beginning, and I assure you, we intend to reconquer our lands. Only this time, we aim to reign over the entire Hell."

With a grim tone, Lucifer ended his proposal, smirking as he turned around. Asmodeus stayed on guard, waiting for any potential attack.

"We don't fear you."

Lucifer rolled his eyes.

Once again, his eyes met his. Purest black against the resolute blue and greens. This Satan sure knew how to push his buttons.

"'We'? Are you sure about that?" Lucifer snorted, "Look around you. Look at their eyes. Look at their hands. Look at their children. Look at them and tell me those 100,000 creatures that has come back from Hell do not, for a fact, strike fear in them."

When the crimson-haired fake had no reply to his fact, Lucifer added, "I think it's time to realize not everyone is born a hero."

"Fine. Then I don't fear you." The girl said this time, managing to lift the defender's spirit. The twin-tailed black-haired girl that was an absolute mockery of Leviathan's fine figure. Strong she might be, but choosing a little girl to lead? These new Devils were something else.

"I'll give you ten minutes before we start our assault. Until then, I hope to see you on the right side." This wasn't worth his time, so Lucifer simply flew away, flaring his twelve burning wings behind his wake, causing Serafall to curse at his Grand Marshal instead.

"Hey you!"

Asmodeus barely tilted his helmet downwards to return her glare. Red flames blazed from the holes of his helmet, scaring some of the defenders. Morale was important in battle, and every general from the Infernal Legion knew this, and would utilize any opportunity to pummel down their spirit before the battle began.

"I'm not scared of you either! And neither should we!"

The Grand Marshal remained silent, and let his club speak for him by shattering their barrier. This time completely shattering it like glasses as its shrapnel dissipated, instigating a new barrier to form by Serafall's magic.

"Then you will die braver than most."

Asmodeus reigned his horse, Armageddon, and the Grand Marshal of the Infernal Legion rode back to rejoin the ranks of the Chaos Knights and their fanged horses, succeeding in instilling terror on these insipid militants, all thanks to the mouthy Satan.

Today, under the dark sun, the black knight swore to raze Lilith to the ground, crushing any skulls and trample them to dust, anything that was necessary, as long as his King reclaimed his rightful throne.

-ЖЖЖ-

While waiting for the ten minutes countdown, Trihexa shot streams of black flames and demonic energy at the clouds, creating black fogs to hide the artificial sun, and bathe the Underworld in darkness.

And so, the Legio Infernalis waited, and waited, and waited, looking at each other in confusion as the barrier of the city fell down. Lucifer mistook it as a sign of their surrender, until Abaddon felt a peculiar movement from his containment. The shifting of a magical force; often felt during the activation of a teleporting spell.

"They're using teleportation magic." He reported, his voice travelling the air like his mist; thin and eerie. "They mistook our generosity as a chance to escape, my Liege."

"So. They have chosen death." Asmodeus muttered, grinning ear to ear as Armageddon grew anxious from excitement.

"Unfortunatel so. A pity. But I suppose, the first step can sometimes be the steepest." Lucifer sighed, as black and red flames gathered around him. "Change of plans then. Trihexa will fire first, and the Giants can bombard them as they like."

The fires swallowed him whole, granting him a knight's like armor clad in hellish flames. Charred and burnt, the symbol of the countless battles he had fought and won, as well as the one battle where he lost.

A misshaped helmet with thorns resembling a crown glowed dim like an ember, as Lucifer, once again, donned himself in his battle armor, his greatsword blazing in one hand while the other was clad in demonic aura, ready to fire bolts of destruction as he wished, or crush the skull of his enemies.

Lucifer didn't need to fight in a battle as his commands alone were enough, but he supposed, he should fight his first battle for the sake of it. Who could tell? He might have gotten rusty from trying to beat his Father.

Next to him, Trihexa opened his giant maw, emitting a snarl of complaint from having to wait this long.

As a giant malevolent sphere suddenly traveled the air, no doubt the Power of Destruction, Lucifer decided, that there would be no salvation for these poor souls after all.

"Go ahead boy."

Inhaling a great amount of air, The Beast unleashed deluges of evil, taking the form of a sinister jet black flames, completely obliterating Sirzechs' Power of Destruction, as well as the protective barrier of Lilith in one shot, as the black beam pulverized a mountain in the distance.

The Bone Giants loosened their arrows. Dark red projectiles lobbed through the air, singing a terrible wail as each arrow contained the souls they had killed. Exploding upon contact, the cries of Lilith finally reached the legion.

As the defenders returned the fire, firing blue demonic projectiles, whistling as its blue glow enlightened the dry lands. The Chaos Dragons flew forward and let loose of their flames. Their chaotic fire consumed the pathetic projectiles and melted them entirely.

"Send half your forces on their flanks. If they try to escape your containment, pursue them."

Abaddon swiftly led the Grim Reapers as they marched the desolate land, splitting to the east under his command, and the rest continuing their silent stampede to the west under one designated Reaper; Thanatos. 5,000 Scythes ready to reap those who tried to escape.

"Take out their cannons." Lucifer said, patting Trihexa's scale with his greatsword. "Careful on the city, try not to hit it."

Trihexa roared in acknowledgement, then firing a black blaze, incinerating the cannon towers one by one in unextinguishable flames, melting down the cannons, while burning the Devils without melting their flesh, letting them burn until they collapsed from pain or death.

Lucifer knew cavalries were close to useless in a siege battle, which was why he tried to bait them to commit their forces outside instead of getting bombarded, stubbornly clinging onto their pathetic defenses that was steadily losing their cannons. Walls crumbled, and he watched the Devils positioned at the walls leaping up to the skies, avoiding their death.

But a smile formed as he saw the crimson-haired Satan leapt to the air, twelve bat-wings behind his back as he led the charge. Ten thousand devils filled the air, swarming towards them.

The Infernal Legion roared and snarled, eager to meet them in battle, be it on land or the skies.

Lucifer shook his head, chuckling to himself. This was a last resort distraction maneuver so they could save as many civilians as possible. Some spread to stall the Grim Reapers, but Abaddon knew better than to wast his time with these minor interruptions, casting his mist to shroud them and weaken them, as he and his army of reapers began to drop several heads.

He noticed the Japanese man-turned-Devil was there as well, drawing his katana and slicing down several Grim Reapers with ease. Abaddon should be able to deal with him without his help. In the other front, that weird creature from earlier had met Thanatos and his Reapers, causing minor troubles but nothing the Elder Reaper could not handle.

But still, the gall to charge at his army head on was admirable as it was idiotic.

Calmly, he raised his sword as the black clouds in the skies parted ways to reveal the sun, light beaming down on these ten thousand brave Devils, as Lucifer introduced them the brightest light they had ever seen by intensifying the false sun's power.

Unable to fly straight, the Devils settled down to ground, forming up a nice battle line where his forces could wipe them out.

"Stay here boy, protect these giant bones. This one's ours." Lucifer said, much to Trihexa's complaint as the being could've easily wiped them all out. But Lucifer wanted to make a statement for all his future adversaries; bend the knee, or he'll break them for you.

"The False Satan is mine. The other one? You can split them if you want." He gave the nod at his two generals, and blitzed forward, spearing the attack himself.

"TRAMPLE THEIR BONES TO DUST." Asmodeus booming voice echoed, and soon followed by the earth-shattering stampede of ten thousand Chaos Knights raging behind the Grand Marshal. He had his eyes dead centered at the female False Satan, but he knew well to do his duties first. That was to meet the opposing sides' cavalry, crush them, destroy the foot soldier, and provide support to the Grim Reapers as the Chaos Knights were far sturdier combatants in melee.

"BLOOD FOR THE ONE TRUE KING!" Beelzebub howled, and the inhumane number of skeletons, centaurs and minotaurs rushed behind the cover of the mounted troops, eager to clean up what the shock cavalry had missed, ready to storm Lilith from its crumbled walls and bring forth unjust judgement to the residents within.

And far in front of them, Lucifer's twelve wings flared as he cleaved a gunk of Destruction in two with his scorching greatsword, fervent to clash his sword against the Hero of the Civil War, and regain control of his throne, and perhaps decorate it with the False Satans skull as a memento.

Giant magic missiles whistled as the Bone Giants rained hell upon the defenseless Lilith, stopping to a full halt as the Chaos Dragons soared above the battlefield, blazing past the soldiers to raze the city and devour its defender, ignoring Serafall and the rest of Sirzechs' peerage pursue, dodging shards of ice and disregarding their chase as dictated, simply releasing torment from the skies and incinerating the helpless militants. The bodies burnt should become a grim reminder as those who chose to oppose him.

Thus, the capital of the Devils seared and burned, black flames licked the dark skies as the wails of the residents of Lilith bellowed. Merely the first of many more to come. A mere spark to his ambition.

With his Infernal Legion's tireless rampage behind him, The True King of Hell's reconquest had only just begun, as the battle soon known as the Massacre of Lilith raged on.

To be continued...

Could this battle be handled differently? Yes it can. As an avid Total War player and comments in youtube videos by armchair generals, there are ways for Sirzechs to better dedicate his defenses at. Hint hint, it's not the walls, because it means jackshit like the walls in Warhammer 2. I didn't let him do it because he's not Falbium, and he's more of a frontliner instead of a tactician, I'd say. Otherwise, what's the point of having Falbium/Ajuka if he can do it all?

But it'll be too boring if he does it my way anyway, so I decided to write otherwise.

And also, wait, wait, wait. Thanatos? Whotehfuck

He's another 'i am strong but very gentle' character from DxD, the Grim Reaper version. I think we've had enough of those unambitious characters, so instead he'll be looking for revenge against Hades.

Next stop, the actual Battle of Lilith. Lucifer vs Lucifer. Abaddon vs Souji Seta. Asmodeus vs Serafall. Beelzebub vs Sutr Second. Wut about Grayfia? Oh she'll be there alright, you'll just have to guess who she's gonna face - obvious as it is

Follow and favorite, gib review plox cuz writing is 'tuff without motivation