{" Excuse me, Sir ( ´◡‿ゝ◡`) "}
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Amenadiel gave Lucifer a firm nod, and the King of Hell turned his attention toward Park once more.
"Well then, it seems our job here is done. Though, I would have preferred it to be
less messy," Lucifer added, glancing down at his feet where blood was already soaking into his designer shoes. He quickly stepped away, attempting to shake the gore off with a flick of his foot, though without success.
"But to each their own, I suppose..." Lucifer added with mild disgust, still eyeing his ruined footwear.
As he and the others turned to depart, Ethan's voice interrupted them.
"Leaving so soon?" Ethan spoke from behind, causing the group to stop dead in their tracks and turn back.
"It's an honor to meet you, Angel of War, God's favorite child," Ethan said, acknowledging Amenadiel. "The First Woman," he added, shifting his gaze to Eve.
"The Banished One," he noted, looking at Lucifer. Finally, he turned toward Mazikeen. "And at last, It's the child of Lilith. Hmm... you don't seem enraged that I've slaughtered your brothers and sisters. Don't you resent me?"
Maze remained unfazed by the carnage surrounding them. "I would have done it myself if you hadn't gotten to them first," she replied, surveying the bloody sight with indifference.
"Is that so?" Ethan noted, thinking to himself, She is different from the others. He then looked back at Lucifer. "I'm afraid I cannot allow her to leave."
"Then... we have a problem. You are not going anywhere near Maze," Amenadiel said, stepping forward and clenching his fists.
"You couldn't have stopped me on your best day, Celestial. And your best days are long behind you," Ethan replied, coolly noting Amenadiel's aggressive stance.
Amenadiel had lost his powers and wings some time ago, primarily due to self-actualization stemming from guilt, self-doubt, and his growing connection to humanity. While he had recently regained them, he was far from his prime state. Ethan didn't know the intricacies of why Amenadiel's power had waned, but he realized instinctively that he was facing a warrior past his peak.
"Besides," Ethan continued as Maze and Lucifer also took battle stances, "I am not talking about the friendly demon."
He turned his gaze toward Eve. "You are the one responsible for summoning these demons, right?"
" I am sorry, I didn't mean to," Eve gave a shaky, terrified nod.
"You are coming with me to Kamar-Taj," Ethan declared with a sigh, beginning to walk toward the opposite exit.
"She isn't going anywhere with you," Mazikeen snapped, charging toward Park, from the scene around them, it was clear talking will not resolve this situation.
Seeing her move, Amenadiel followed immediately. He didn't wish to defend Eve, but he also wouldn't let Maze fight alone.
The two of them flanked Ethan from the left and right. Meanwhile, Ethan could be seen casually smoothing his hair back with both hands.
Mazikeen, utilizing the full speed of her Lilith-born body, reached him first and launched a powerful side-kick aimed at the back of his head.
Ethan purposefully flinched back, causing Maze to hit nothing but empty air. He calmly tucked both of his hands back into his pockets.
Taking advantage of her momentum, Maze lowered her center of gravity and lunged forward, throwing a punch aimed directly at Ethan's spine. Ethan simply took a single step forward, and her attack missed its mark once again. She unhooked both of her daggers and lunged once more, taking two back-to-back swings at Ethan's face—where a confident smile remained plastered.
Naturally, both swings missed their target.
Mazikeen bent down and, using both hands, flicked forward, almost grazing the side of Ethan's hand.
"Interesting," Ethan muttered, just as Amenadiel appeared behind him.
The Angel lunged forward with both hands raised as if to tackle him. With his hands still in his pockets, Ethan spun around and kicked Amenadiel's jaw with reinforced Cursed Energy, sending the celestial flying toward the altar where Baby Charlie had lain earlier.
Simultaneously, Mazikeen refused to relent from behind. She kicked again, but even with his back turned toward her, Ethan blocked the strike to his side with a single palm. Ethan turned around just as Maze squared a punch at his face.
"Okay, that's enough fun," Ethan spoke, catching the incoming punch in a vice-like grip.
"Ahhh... Fuck!" Maze shouted, feeling the bones in her fist begin to creak and break under Ethan's strength.
Ethan didn't loosen his hold; instead, he jerked her forward and backhanded her across the face. The force launched her across the church toward Lucifer and Eve.
With a sharp flick of his hand, Lucifer parried the incoming Maze to the side, where she skidded to a halt against the back wall, leaving the stone covered in spiderweb impressions.
Just then, from the front entrance, Detective Chloe walked in with her gun raised. Lucifer had told her stay outside, but she couldn't, not when an infant's life was at stake.
She paused when she saw the carnage inside, gulped heavily, and stepped forward into the fray. She came into view just as the standoff between Lucifer and Ethan reached its breaking point.
Eve could be seen standing behind Lucifer, visibly shaking.
"Actions have consequences, Mr. Morningstar."
Chloe recognized that voice immediately—it was Ethan Park.
"You understand that better than most," Ethan continued. Lucifer looked hesitant, clearly torn on his next move.
"Your friend there is responsible for the death of everyone here," Ethan said, pointing across the room at the piles of dead bodies.
"Hundreds, Mr. Morningstar. Hundreds," Ethan reiterated, his voice strained with controlled fury. "She has caused a great deal of pain today. It doesn't matter what her reasons were for doing what she did; she will answer for her crimes."
From that alone, Chloe deduced what was happening as she stepped fully into view.
"And who decides what the punishment will be?" Chloe asked, her eyes narrowing. "You?" she questioned, training her service weapon directly on Park.
"Detective! I told you to wait outside!" Lucifer spoke urgently. He was no longer invulnerable in her presence, and the tension in the room was palpable.
"No, not me..." Ethan answered Chloe's question slowly, his keen eyes noticing the subtle change in Lucifer's posture and physical presence.
Is this self-actualization in real-time? Ethan wondered. Angels are weird, he concluded, before turning his focus back toward Chloe.
"I don't think I am being unjust toward her; I am simply not being favorable," Ethan spoke as Amenadiel and Maze stepped back into view, Maze was limping from the previous exchange, though The War Angle seemed unharmed.
Maze looked prepared for round two, but Eve stepped out from behind Lucifer.
"Maze, don't..." Eve spoke softly. "He is right. I have unknowingly caused so much pain in pursuit of my love." She paused, offering a final, pained look toward Lucifer. "I have taken loved ones from so many. I'll go with you... to Kamar-Taj."
"Step back, Eve. You are not going anywhere," Detective Chloe declared, maintaining her steady aim at Ethan.
"I have my gun trained on you, and I won't miss. You want consequences, right, Park? Well, what about the people you have harmed? Once or twice, I could understand, but you have been in the vicinity of mass casualty events over a dozen times. You are no better than—" As she was about to finish, her hands began to lose their strength, and her eyelids suddenly grew heavy.
"Detective?" Seeing her dazed state, Lucifer worriedly moved toward her. A second later, she lost consciousness in his arms.
"What did you do to her?" Amenadiel asked from the side.
The majestic tail of the Kitsune emerged from Ethan's shadow; she swiveled for a moment, huffing visibly as she looked at Chloe's unconscious form.
All that talk just to fall for the simplest of tricks, the Kitsune likely thought, before sinking back into Ethan's shadow.
"She is just sleeping. She'll wake up in a few hours," Ethan reassured them. He turned back toward Eve. "You ready?" he asked, and Eve gave a shaky nod.
"You don't have to do this," Mazikeen spoke from the side, her voice uncharacteristically soft.
"No, but I must," Eve replied. As she spoke, Tora emerged from Ethan's shadow and stepped toward her.
"What is that? A Shikigami?" Maze asked, eyeing the giant, bipedal tiger form.
"Don't worry, he doesn't bite," Ethan replied, earning a twitch of the forehead from Tora.
Before anyone else could question him, Tora and Eve vanished from the church using Shadow Manipulation.
"Before I leave, Mr. Morningstar—since you have allowed Mazikeen to travel with you to Earth willingly, your contract with Kamar-Taj, Which ensures your unresistricted stay on Earth, is null and void." Ethan produced a seemingly ancient scroll and burned it using the flames of Suzaku.
Lucifer watched the ashes of the millennia-old contract flutter to the floor before looking back at Ethan's departing form. "How about another deal?" Lucifer spoke immediately. Ethan turned around, and the two locked eyes.
"Not with Kamar-Taj," Lucifer said, pointing at the burned remains of the contract. "But with you."
"Hmm..." Ethan seem to think for a moment,
"Ethan Park making a deal with the Devil... that sounds like the start of a bad joke," Ethan remarked with a smile. "Lucky for you, I've been told that bad jokes are kind of my thing..."
UNKNOWN LOCATION:
From a bird's-eye view, it appears to be an ordinary town. Along the main street stand several homes, a Diner where the community gathers for breakfast, and a Barn used to house livestock like goats and chickens.
Across from the diner, a weathered sign advertises a motel that either no longer exists or was never finished, overlooking an empty swimming pool containing an overturned car.
Several other structures have been repurposed from their original functions: the post office now serves as the Sheriff's Office, the old gas station has been converted into the town's only Bar, and a small stone building acts as a Church, bordered by a modest graveyard. The local school, tucked away off the main road, has been transformed into a makeshift Clinic.
This seemingly quiet rural town is not a town at all; it is a prison. Some residents might even argue against that label, however.
A prison implies the existence of an exit, and if there is a way out of this place, no one has found it yet. Attempting to drive straight out on the main road simply loops the driver back into the center of town.
This is the mystery of a nightmarish purgatory that traps all who enter. To top it all off, terrifying creatures emerge the moment the sun goes down—monsters that slaughter anything not shielded by the protection of Talismans and locked doors. But even these creatures are only the tip of the iceberg.
And then there is Colony House, a large Victorian mansion located up the hill from the town. New arrivals to the township are given tours of both the town and Colony House and are formally required to choose between the two. This decision is considered permanent and irrevocable.
The people of Colony House are led by Donna Raines, while the people of the town are led by Sheriff Boyd. While the residents of Colony House cooperate with those in the town, they live and are governed separately; those from the town must request permission to visit, and vice versa. Colony House has its own rules and methods of punishment, entirely separate from the town, and Boyd has no jurisdiction on the mansion's hill.
But even in this nightmare of a reality, the human mind eventually finds a way to normalize it.
As evidence of this, today is a celebration—a party. In Colony House, the residents can be seen hanging decorations in preparation for the festivities. As for what they are celebrating, they are marking the day Fatima—the woman who makes even a nightmare look like paradise if seen from the right angle—got stuck in the town.
Upstairs in Colony House, Julie—the girl Max had been speaking with before she disappeared—finds it odd that the residents are celebrating the anniversary of the day Fatima became trapped.
Fatima, who can be seen searching for something under her bed, tells her that she is looking at the party the wrong way.
"We are actually celebrating survival," she explains to Julie, cheekily adding, "it's simply nice to have a party once in a while."
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A/N: So how was the chapter?
The next chapters will be based on the TV series From. As promised, this arc will include Tony Stark.
I am currently writing the conclusion of this arc on my Patreon, and I have to say, this arc is one of the better ones I have written ;-)