“Are you certain, Highness?”

The grim question came from a pair of she-devils known as the Eyes of Truth. Among the Royalty of Hell, they were whispered about as relics of an older generation—soldiers sworn to serve the twelve members of Lucifer’s Echelons. Their secret activities remained hidden even from their masters, who were blissfully unaware of their true purpose: to guide those who required it. Ravendy and Lenora were a perfect reflection of each other. Both wore their dark hair with a single braid on either side of their heads and their midnight-blue armor streaked with gold, glinted ominously. Yet, they were far from identical in their abilities. Ravendy possessed the power to foresee the future, while Lenora could peer deep into the past. These gifts, however, did not come with unlimited freedom.

Belphegor, the North Prince, glared at the pair, his expression a tempest of barely controlled rage and resignation. His ruggedly handsome features were marred by the weight of the moment. “You’ve revealed this secret to me for reasons I can’t yet comprehend,” he growled, his voice like the rumble of distant thunder. “And I understand you won’t explain further until the time comes.”

“That is correct,” Lenora said.

“You’ve given me two choices, and I’ve made my decision. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Ravendy shook her head; her voice was soft but firm. “We wish for nothing, Highness. Our role is to present knowledge, not to influence your will. You chose according to your instincts. However, we never said you couldn’t reject both options. That, too, is a choice—albeit one fraught with even greater risks. We omitted it only because of the stakes.”

Belphegor’s scowl deepened. “Which of the two options you presented carries the least risk?”

“You are wise enough to know the answer,” Ravendy said. “But understand this: the path with greater risks does not always lead to worse outcomes.”

The prince exhaled sharply, his frustration palpable. “Dealing with you two is either enlightening or maddening—I can’t decide which.”

Lenora offered a sad smile. “We understand, Highness. But as you suspect, we are merely guides. Nothing more.”

Belphegor opened his mouth to concede the point, but a thought that had been nagging at the back of his mind forced its way forward. He redirected the conversation abruptly. “Why do I feel like you two were more involved in your tale about my father than you’ve let on? And don’t tell me this doesn’t involve Behemoth or Leviathan either.”

The question caught the she-devils off-guard—a rarity for them. For a fraction of a second, their composed facades cracked before they quickly masked their reactions.

Belphegor’s sharp eyes missed nothing. “Ah, so I struck a nerve, didn’t I?”

“Highness...” Ravendy began cautiously.

He raised a hand to silence her, his gaze dark and unyielding. “I’ve made my choice, as you required. Don’t you think I deserve to know the source of the information you’ve burdened me with, especially since this intimately concerns me? This isn’t just some vision you’ve had, is it? So, start talking.”

The pair traded a resigned look. Finally, Lenora spoke, “We may have to call His Majesty King Behemoth for this.”

Belphegor blinked, his surprise evident. “Why?”

“He was there. We only arrived after the fact,” Lenora said.

“Her Majesty the Great Queen was also present,” Ravendy added quietly.

The mention of his mother caught Belphegor off-guard. “My mother?” he whispered.

Ravendy nodded. “She was there to grant her permission to someone, Highness.”

“Someone you and His Majesty King Behemoth know very well.”

The weight of those words sent Belphegor’s mind reeling. He debated inwardly whether he must agree to summon his Earthly older brother. However, that internal war didn’t last long as curiosity and the need for answers outweighed his reluctance to deal with the Primordial King. “Fine, I will call him.”

He turned away from the she-devils and expanded his aura, merging it with the sacred energy from the sacred body of his Earthly Mother, the Great Queen. His voice rang out, rich and commanding. “Behemoth.”

A tall, powerfully built young man materialized within moments, clad in earthen-hued battle regalia. His long, brown hair flowed like a river of molten soil, and his dark eyes, sharp and penetrating, found the trio. He arched a brow. “I thought you two would’ve wrapped up this nonsense without dragging me into it.”

That sentence was like a hard slap across Belphegor’s face. “Nice to know you’re in cahoots with people who’ve got ‘don’t tell anyone anything important’ as their life principle.”

Behemoth rolled his eyes. “Mind your tone, youngling. "This matter doesn’t directly involve me, so why should I care?”

“Don’t you fucking dare ‘youngling’ me when this fucking matter I have to deal with could potentially turn everything upside down, and I do mean with a bloodbath!”

Behemoth aimed a piercing stare into his younger brother by-vow—or more like by his mother, the Great Queen’s will—unyielding as stone. Whether that decision was wise, not even he could tell. A part of him wished to tell Belphegor to go fuck himself—at least until a soft, warm wind trailed down his cheek like a calming, gentle touch of a mother

This wasn’t lost to Belphegor as he, too, felt that touch and immediately fell to a knee. He reverently placed a palm on the ground, heartfelt gratitude pouring out of his lips like a prayer.

That sealed the whole deal, and Behemoth sighed dejectedly. “Fine.” He turned his attention to the female pair. “What have you been telling him?”

“The tale of his father’s descent and all behind him, especially the other Two of the First Three,” Lenora said.

Ravendy nodded her confirmation. “After all, that event was the precursor of many incoming calamities.” She shifted her attention to Belphegor. “We told him that he had to make a choice, for the outcome of one of these calamities will be decided by it.”

“And I have made said choice,” Belphegor interjected.

Behemoth frowned in evident confusion. “So, everything’s done. What do you need me for?”

“His Highness, uh, realized that we involved more directly than we let on,” Ravendy said with an embarrassed tone. “He is not a youngling, after all.”

Belphegor winced. Did she just turn Behemoth’s word against himself? Did she wish to be killed or something?

To the shock of no one but Belphegor, Behemoth merely raised a brow without a trace of hostility toward Ravendy. “The right of calling him that is reserved only for me.”

“As you wish,” the addressed she-devil said solemnly, but Belphegor could see a hint of mischief was exchanged between the pair, and he doubted Behemoth missed that.

Just who were these two?

“Now,” Behemoth said abruptly, breaking Belphegor’s line of thoughts. “I’m here to tell you whether they were directly involved in their tale about your father’s descent, am I? Sure, they were there. They followed your father as you can see by their appearances. So, what about it?”

Belphegor made a face. "I thought she just told you I’m not a fucking youngling, so stop treating me like one. They wouldn’t have made me call you here if there wasn’t more to it! Something happened then, what was it?”

Behemoth didn’t exactly intend to keep his silence. He was wary as to how much he could reveal to his unholy younger brother regarding his damned father.

“Do we need to bring Mother into this?” Belphegor asked quietly. “They said Mother gave her permission to someone, whatever that meant.”

That was all the prince needed because Behemoth blinked and shook his head. Well, the pair had revealed that much, anyway. “Alright.” He then let out another heavy sigh. “What they said about Mother giving permission was to Leviathan so that he could join my ranks.”

Belphegor looked back and forth between the three. “I heard he had something to do with whatever had happened around the time of the Fall, though in what capacity, they have yet to disclose that to me.”

“Well, he’s not involved in this current matter we brought to you, Highness,” Lenora said. “But someday, he will do something in which you will be directly involved.”

“Not just you,” Ravendy added. “But those around you.”

“But why would a—wait,” Belphegor said slowly. “Back up, why would Mother give her permission to a fallen angel? One of the First Three no less?”

Behemoth shook his head. “Not exactly. Leviathan was given that permission after he conferred with another higher being. Obviously, he was still one of the Archangels at the time. Mother gave him a condition that he could only join my ranks after he had left Heaven.”

“So, he followed my father because of that? Not because he wished to wreak havoc alongside him?” Belphegor caught something else. “Who was this higher being you mentioned?”

“I know not. I came there only after I heard Mother was giving him her permission. I tried to object, of course, but she indicated that it is the will of the universe, and beings overseeing the order of the universe. I couldn’t contradict her infinite wisdom and never could, so I agreed.” He had to keep that ‘higher being’ part concealed because he didn’t think even his Mother would allow that sacred name to be mentioned.

“So, Leviathan came and asked permission from Mother. Why didn’t Beelzebub? From what I’ve learned so far about that part of their history, they were closer with each other than with my father.”

The three shared a peculiar look. “Beelzebub did come to see Mother as well,” Behemoth said. “But it wasn’t to join my ranks.”

“He asked the Great Queen to permit him to use one of her elements,” Lenora said quietly.

Belphegor blinked. “So that’s how he could master flies. Here I thought he would’ve asked to use butterfly or something.”

Ravendy’s eyes darkened by something Belphegor could only construe as deep sadness. “He was too ashamed to ask for more,” she said.

If anything, I’d say she’s quite ashamed herself, the prince thought, but something told him not to call her out on that. Instead, he replayed everything Behemoth said and caught another thing. “This being was, at least, on par with the perished Celestials or higher, wasn’t it? There’s no way Archangels followed those who are underneath them.”

The three traded an alarmed look. “Where did you hear about that?” Behemoth whispered dangerously.

Belphegor almost buckled by the sudden burst of intimidating aura flared from Behemoth, but somehow, he stood his ground. “Not a youngling, remember?”

Behemoth turned to the pair, who raised both hands. “We didn’t tell him.”

“His knowledge regarding the Celestials seems to be limited, Majesty, at least he doesn’t know the truth about Leviathan, Beelzebub, and our shared history with them both,” Ravendy placated through a blocked mental channel that kept them from Belphegor’s reach.

“He at least knows enough to say that they had perished. We must know the extent of his knowledge. How long must you two guide him?”

“We’re with him for a long run. And before you ask, to see a particular past that’s outside of what I’m given the insight to, I must make physical contact, and I don’t think I can do that without him being suspicious about it,” Lenora explained.

“Just stay on him then.”

Belphegor knew the three were conferring without him, but their alarmed reaction was something he intended to investigate later. Something about Celestials hit the wrong nerve with Behemoth, and he’d very much like to know the reason. “People, just get on with it. Scratch my comment if you like.”

“Fine,” Behemoth said flatly. “The Great War ignited by your father’s cohorts during their descent was only a disguise so he could obtain the Book of Lost Knowledge and run with it.”

Understanding dawned on Belphegor’s face and he nodded. “I see. So, that’s how he could get his hands on it.”

Behemoth’s brows twitched. “Do you recall what he did with it?”

“Yeah. He made thirteen copies of it and passed them around to his cohorts who then gave the pact makers access to them so they could use the information to fool the humans into giving up their souls. These two just got done telling me about it too, though that’s not necessary since the old bat wasn’t shy about it.”

Behemoth rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I heard about that one. Let me ask you something, does anyone among your father’s old comrades bother to stop and think why would he pass around the one thing he fought for so easily like it was some cheap drink? Especially if it was so powerful, it had to be locked up in the deepest part of Heaven?”

Belphegor opened his mouth but quickly closed it, realizing he didn’t have a good enough answer.

“Realize it now, huh?” Behemoth commented. “Like you, no one among your father’s cohorts bothers to think a little because a sense of false victory blinded them that they couldn’t see the truth, and this is a secret your father would destroy to keep.”

Cold crept up Belphegor’s spine, and his hands trembled as a terrible suspicion took hold. “Tell me, Behemoth,” he whispered, his voice shaking with rage. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Behemoth sighed. “Well, no, and yes.” The answers that followed left him reeling. The revelations about his father, the Book of Lost Knowledge, and the shadowy beings pulling strings behind the scenes only deepened the mystery. Behemoth, as always, revealed just enough to spark more questions while keeping the full truth concealed.

Not long after, Behemoth vanished without even a goodbye, but the pair remained. “You’d better begin your preparations, Highness,” Ravendy said.

The North Prince sighed. He secretly wished for this, but he had never voiced this to another soul. He had thought that his core would tremble with anticipation, but now that the moment had arrived, he never considered that cold fingers of fear would creep through. “Very well, I shall make preparations.”

“Inform His Highness Prince Vassago, Highness, before everyone else,” Lenora suggested.

Belphegor cocked his head. “Why? And who’s ‘everyone else’?”

“It will help you down the road, and you know full well who ‘everyone else’ is, Highness,” Ravendy answered meaningfully with a small smile.

Belphegor rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it. Meanwhile, what will you do once I do what I will do?”

“We shall retreat, and we’ll find you should we must,” Lenora replied.

“I see,” Belphegor nodded. “But, before you go, I must ask you something else.”

“What is it?”

“Will... the repercussions of my actions be bad for those you suggested I should welcome instead of kill for their audacity?”

Ravendy blinked before a slightly wider smile lined her lips. “No, and I suggest you continue associating with them because it will help you and them. Open both your mansion and counsel to them further, Highness, and you will find more proof that they are not like the others.”

“Who knows, you might find yourself liking them more than you already do,” Lenora added.

Belphegor rubbed his temple, loathing the scrutiny. Yet, he tolerated it, convinced their supposed practicality justified it.

It wasn’t like he could do anything that would change what they did.

“Whatever you say, Lenora. But know this—your cryptic advice is wearing thin.” Belphegor retorted, and Lenora nodded. Both raised their fists upon their chests. “Until next time we meet, Highness.” The pair smiled faintly and vanished, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the storm brewing in his heart. Shaking his head, he turned from his mansion. “Vassago’s not going to like this.”