Chapter 35: Defection
In the aftermath of the Holy War, Heaven began to place great emphasis on the records of all traffic passing through its various entry and exit points.
Beyond the routine patrols and guard duties, any angel seeking to enter or leave was now required to present authorization documents bearing the seal of a Seraph before being granted passage.
Lilith's wings whipped up a gale as she streaked past the guardian angels of the Fourth Heaven—moving with the speed and precision of a hurtling sword—before the two Powers could even react. By the time they regained their wits and shouted after the figure plummeting rapidly downward, they received not the slightest response; it was then that they realized something was terribly amiss.
One of the guards, recognizing Lilith by her dazzling golden hair, immediately reported the anomaly up the chain of command.
The report ascended through the hierarchical layers until it reached the Seventh Heaven. Lucifer set the document aside and, appearing slightly unsettled, paced a few steps across the vast expanse of the palace forecourt.
*Lilith is far too impulsive.*
Such was his thought, yet deep down, he felt little surprise.
Lilith was an angel of soft exterior but unyielding inner strength—stubborn by nature, she was never one to be easily manipulated.
However, defying the Divine Will was a grave sin; by acting in such a manner, she was bound to incur the wrath of the Crystal Heaven.
Nevertheless, there remained a slim chance for recourse. He privately summoned the other Archangels to the Seventh Heaven, intending to retrieve Lilith before God's anger could be roused.
Yet, unbeknownst to them, God had learned of the news even sooner. From the very moment Lilith's name turned gray within the Angelic Register, God had known.
God watched as Lilith plunged headlong toward the mortal realm, and observed, too, the Seraphim Archangel's attempt to conceal the incident.
Lucifer had never truly approved of the union between Adam and Lilith; entrusting him with the task of resolving this matter would, therefore, be something of a forced imposition.
So thinking, God's fingers traced downward through the Angelic Register. The Cherubim required seven days to deliberate; the Thrones and Powers were too deeply entangled in Lilith's affairs; and those of the Virtues' rank and below were simply no match for her. When it came down to the critical moment, there was not a single angel available to carry out the task. The Book of Genesis hovered before God, awaiting His command. Moments later, a surge of white light erupted, and three newly born angels materialized within the Grand Cathedral. Unlike the typically amiable and benevolent angels, these three wore expressions utterly devoid of emotion, resembling nothing so much as the mechanical automatons of Marbas.
Three new names slowly emerged upon the Angelic Register: Snvi, Snsvi, and □□nglof.
"I command you: apprehend the renegade angel Lilith—immediately."
God's voice, imbued with absolute majesty, resonated slowly throughout the Grand Cathedral. The three angels bowed their heads and withdrew in silence.
News of the three angels descending from the Grand Cathedral quickly reached the Seventh Heaven. Lucifer, who was at that moment conferring with the other Archangels, froze in astonishment as he turned to address the Cherubim Uriel, the bearer of the news.
"Who are they?"
"They have been granted the highest authorization—the rank of Holy Light. Only three names appeared within the teleportation matrix: Snvi, Snsvi, and □□nglof. None of these names have ever appeared among angels of any rank prior to this moment." Uriel was a figure of rigorous discipline; before succeeding Raphael, he had been charged with safeguarding the orderly motion of the celestial bodies—a duty he never once neglected. Now, he served as the sole custodian of the Angelic Register, keeping account of the birth and fall of every single angel.
Snvi. Snsvi. Sgrap. Lucifer silently weighed these three unfamiliar names. Each name was derived from a concept of cold, unyielding severity. These beings possessed no emotions; they held no ties to any other angels, existing solely to execute God's commands.
God knew everything. He had spoken no words of reproach, yet His silent, sudden act of creating three new angels felt like a stinging slap—a harsh rebuke delivered straight across Lucifer's face.
*Is that it? Have I truly caused You such trouble?* A bitter ache welled up in Lucifer's eyes. He summoned forth the Spear of Judgment—the very weapon God had bestowed upon him in ages past. The gleaming surface of the spear's blade reflected his own face.
He had once been the Archangel God trusted and relied upon above all others; yet, blinded by his own personal sentiments, he had allowed partiality to cloud his judgment.
*Had I handled the matter of Lilith with a heart of true justice and impartiality from the very start, perhaps God would not have been compelled to act with such utter ruthlessness.*
"Let us go." He turned to lead the way, only to have his arm grasped by Michael. "Your Highness!" The Archseraph's deputy looked at him with a hint of nervousness. "Where are you going?"
Surely he wasn't planning to go capture Lilith personally!
"I am going to the Crystal Heaven to beg God for forgiveness."
He summoned the Spear of Judgment; if he bore any guilt, let his God judge him personally.
That, at least, would be better than remaining here to suffer in agonizing speculation.
"What have *we* done wrong?" Samael sat upright in his chair, making no move to rise. "And what has *Lilith* done wrong? Why must we beg for forgiveness?"
He still harbored a deep resentment over the fact that Lucifer—despite being present at the time—had been powerless to prevent God from issuing the decree that bestowed Lilith upon humanity.
"Samael!" Gabriel issued a gentle rebuke, then turned her gaze toward the Archseraph, whose expression was as dark and unfathomable as the deepest abyss. Somehow, she found herself both understanding him and pitying him.
The angels were the race closest to God; in times of peace and tranquility, they needed only to follow in God's footsteps, and His glory would be inextricably bound to their own.
Virtue had always been the Archseraph's defining aura; yet, when the path of the angels diverged from God's commands, that very aura became the source of his deepest anguish.
His Highness was more loyal than anyone else; aside from God Himself, who would dare presume to place anything above His will?
He was more temperate than anyone else; thus, although the Archseraph's palace was vast and resplendent, very little within it truly belonged to Lucifer.
He cared nothing for precious treasures, nor for fame; he was steadfast and diligent, serene and composed.
But of all these qualities, how many truly stemmed from His Highness's own heart?
His true self—shrouded beneath layer upon layer of radiant aura—had long since become blurred and indistinct.
Anyone else might be permitted to harbor personal partialities, but His Highness could not.
Anyone else might be permitted to harbor selfish motives for the sake of their own race's long-term future, but His Highness could not.
The King of the Elves served as a cautionary tale; His Highness, being far wiser than they, surely looked even further into the future than she did. "Your Highness," Gabriel bowed to Lucifer. "Lilith is impetuous and naive; I, Gabriel, am willing to descend to the lower realms immediately to persuade her to return of her own accord."
"I beg Your Highness to intercede for her before the Divine Throne. Should she return, I pray that God may show her leniency."
By rights—as one of the Seraphim and the Chief of the Archangels—Gabriel ought to have proceeded directly to the Grand Cathedral to appear before God at this very moment. Yet, at the mere thought of those three Punishment Angels—whose faces and powers remained utterly unknown—she found she could not wait.
If Lilith refused to submit, she might well be annihilated on the spot.
Gabriel could not bear to see an angel as radiant as starlight simply vanish into oblivion. Thus, it was best that they act separately.
She would descend first; should events take a sudden turn, she could react in time. Meanwhile, the Chief Seraph would proceed to the Grand Cathedral to plead for Lilith's sake—given God's customary indulgence toward the Chief Seraph, there might yet be a chance for a reprieve.
She trusted that Lucifer understood her intent; sure enough, the Chief Seraph's pale-blue eyes rested upon her for a fleeting instant.
The very next second, he sheathed his Spear of Judgment, and a light—rekindled by his companion's thoughtfulness—dawned once more in his eyes.
"Go," he said. "I shall handle the rest."
In the mortal realm, Lilith soon sensed the inevitable fate of being hunted down.
She had known this day would come, though she had not expected it to arrive so swiftly.
She wondered which of her colleagues had been dispatched to carry out the order. With a bitter smile, she rested her hand upon the hilt of her sword—though she did not yet draw it—and turned to look behind her.
There, she beheld three unfamiliar angels, slowly descending toward her.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The three angels offered no reply; they simply pressed closer, step by step. The sheer weight of their oppressive aura was something she had felt only once before—when the Thrones confronted the demons of Hell—yet now, that same crushing pressure was directed squarely at her.
"So that is it," she murmured, a sudden realization dawning upon her. Her heart was seized by a bittersweet pang—anguish over her own fate, yet relief that she would not be forced to cross swords with her own companions.
"Perhaps this is for the best," she whispered to herself, as she drew the longsword from her waist; the steel rang out with a mournful, resonant chime. Burdened by their duty as Punisher Angels, and facing an opponent—Lilith—who was never a warlike angel to begin with, the attackers quickly drove her into a desperate retreat. She was driven from the land to the shoreline, and from the shoreline back into the very heart of the sea.
She fell back step by step, while the three angels closed in, step by step. During the chaotic struggle, her light-sword had slipped from her grasp and plunged into the abyssal depths of the sea; now disarmed and defenseless, Lilith gritted her teeth and glared at them.
"We are all angels; why must you corner me like this?"
"Our God has issued a decree: apprehend the renegade angel Lilith. Should she resist, execute her on the spot," one of the angels stated coldly.
"I would sooner be reduced to dust and ashes than return to Heaven with you—let alone be wed to a human!" Lilith lifted her chin with haughty defiance against the wind, her eyes burning with an unyielding light.
Gabriel had descended from the Seventh Heaven at full speed, yet even that proved slower than the Punisher Angels, who—acting under divine mandate—had passed through every celestial checkpoint without hindrance. By the time she finally located Lilith, she found her already surrounded.
"Halt!" Gabriel cried out in a loud, commanding voice. However, the three Punisher Angels paid no heed to her outcry; they continued their advance toward Lilith, their trident-like weapons raised high—poised to strike at any moment.
"Hold! I am the Archangel Gabriel!" Gabriel positioned herself protectively in front of Lilith, fixing her three colleagues with a cold, steely gaze. "I am aware of your objective: to bring Lilith back. Yet, God merely commanded you to *return* her; should you kill her, you would be acting in direct defiance of His divine will."
The three angels remained utterly indifferent to her threats—much like the mechanical demons she had encountered in the past—though, fortunately, they did halt their advance. Gabriel pressed on: "Why not allow me to speak with her calmly? If I can persuade her to have a change of heart, it would be to the benefit of us all."
Fortunately, despite their mechanical demeanor, they were not, in fact, true mechanical angels.
They remained silent for a long moment, then—in unison—lowered their cold, steel weapons. They stepped aside, keeping a respectful yet watchful distance, as if tacitly acquiescing to Gabriel's request. Only then did the Archangel breathe a soft sigh of relief. Although she was a Seraph—the highest order of angels—she still felt a sense of trepidation toward these mysterious companions whose true ranks remained inscrutable to her.
If she could help it, she had no desire to confront them directly; fortunately, matters had not taken a turn for the worse.
She turned around, and before she could utter a word, a pair of hands reached out and grasped hers tightly.
"Your Highness!" Lilith looked up at Gabriel, her eyes brimming with tears. "You have saved me once again."
"Why must you be so foolish?" Gabriel gazed at Lilith, her voice heavy with sorrow and reproach.
"If you truly did not wish to be with Adam, you should have spoken plainly to God. If that failed, you could have simply told Adam the truth—he might not necessarily have refused."
"It is too late for words now," Lilith shook her head. "I can never go back."
"Come back with me now! Everyone will intercede on your behalf; it is not too late to set things right," Gabriel urged anxiously, desperate to persuade her to change her mind.
"It is too late," Lilith replied, her long hair fluttering in the breeze. She gazed at Gabriel—who had personally descended to the mortal realm—her eyes filled with a tenderness beyond measure.
"It took this ordeal for me to realize that I am simply not destined to remain in Heaven forever."
"If I were to stay in Heaven, I could never truly be myself; I could never attain the things I truly desire."
"The one you desire..." Gabriel looked at the gentle, golden-haired angel and whispered softly, "...is Samael?"
So that was the reason she had so vehemently resisted God's decree of marriage—because her heart already belonged to another.
"Does it truly matter who it is?" Lilith asked in return, evading the question. "Either way, it is a transgression against the angelic laws."
"Had things remained as they were, I would have accepted it. I was willing to bury this love deep within my heart for all eternity, never allowing it to cause him any trouble."
"But God broke His own word..."
"Lilith! What are you saying?" Gabriel stared in shock at the Throne Angel, who now cast a scornful gaze toward the vast expanse of the heavens.
"Look at us," Lilith sighed sorrowfully, "how truly pathetic we are." Her bright, clear eyes seemed to merge with the shimmering waves of the sea below. "To never be allowed to act according to one's own heart..."
"To indulge every whim without restraint is the way of demons! How dare you speak so lightly of such license!"
"Restraint, docility—how humbly I once served the Divine! Yet what did it matter? With a single word, God sealed my fate." Lilith's white robes, now dampened by the sea, made her form appear frail; yet her bearing was more defiant now than it had ever been in Heaven.
"Did He ever once ask for my will?"
"No. He looked only to Adam—for Adam was His beloved son."
"Father! *Pah!* The very word makes me retch!"
"Had I known it would come to this, I would have been better off born a demon from the start—free to live a life of unbridled joy."
High in the Ninth Heaven, the Seraphim knelt en masse, imploring God to show mercy and pardon the renegade Lilith.
Yet God's golden eyes remained fixed upon Lilith with cold indifference; from beginning to end, His gaze never wavered—not even at the very last.
Stripped of her mask of meekness, the angel's true intent stood laid bare.
Her heart had long harbored the seeds of corruption—a heart turned against the Divine Will, never to return.
And so, there was no longer any need for further expectation.
In response to God's summons, the *Book of Creation* slowly opened. Beneath His watchful gaze, the name 'Lilith'—once a pale gray entry in the Angelic Register—gradually deepened and darkened, until at last, it began to emanate a palpable aura of blackness.
"Stop! Lilith!" Gabriel stared in horror at the angel who had dared to speak such blasphemy against God—watching as the blackness crept inch by inch from the tips of her pinions, swiftly engulfing both wings, and then her very hair.
Yet the angel herself remained utterly oblivious to the transformation overtaking her.
"My Lord... come away with me," the dark-haired angel pleaded, her crimson lips—vivid as burning fire—uttering her desperate yearning, while the clear azure of her eyes began to cloud over with threads of crimson blood.
'Whosoever turns against Me shall fall eternally into Hell, condemned to utter ruin.'
From the Highest Heaven, the voice of the Supreme Ruler rang out, echoing in Gabriel's ears. God's divine pronouncements were a privilege reserved for angels alone; and now, Lilith could hear God's judgment no more. She was loathed by God; and those loathed by God are destined to take on the very form of His loathing.
Catching a glimpse of alarm in Gabriel's shocked eyes, she lowered her gaze; the azure sea below reflected back her own hideous visage.
Her exquisite beauty was gone. Her black hair, stirring without a breeze as if possessed of a mind of its own, revealed upon closer inspection that it had transformed into a writhing mass of a thousand serpent heads, hissing and flicking their forked tongues.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Screaming in terror, she clutched at her face and stumbled backward.
"Your Highness, do not look at me!"
"Lilith, calm yourself!" Seeing Lilith's face utterly disfigured, Gabriel, too, was seized by panic; yet Lilith could not be calmed. She continued to shriek:
"So ugly! So hideous! This isn't me! I don't want this—ah! Ah!"
Watching the angel who had always been so close to her—who had worshipped her so devotedly—suffer such agony, Gabriel felt a pang of deep sorrow.
*Oh, my God, I beg You—forgive Lilith's sins.*
She embraced Lilith, restraining her lest she use her sharpened fingernails to claw at her own tender flesh.
"Calm down, Lilith. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid..."
...
Soothed by Gabriel's gentle ministrations, Lilith gradually grew quiet. She ceased her struggling, becoming still as a marionette, her eyes staring blankly at her own reflection in the sea.
Ugly. Hideous. Stripped of the beauty she had once prized above all else—and stripped, too, of God's divine favor—she had become a creature even more repulsive than the demons of Hell.
Tears of blood began to fall, tracing crimson rivulets down her pale face before plunging into the sea, instantly staining the waves a vivid scarlet.
A sea of blood—a manifestation of the primal instinct of life's inception. For humanity is born from the very bone and blood of a mother; and Lilith, chosen by God to be the Mother of Mankind, had for the first time unleashed her extraordinary power. Her weeping transformed vast stretches of the azure ocean into a crimson tide, stirring up gusts of a腥风.
"Your Highness... please let me go," she murmured softly. As she felt Gabriel cautiously release her embrace, a fragile, broken light flickered within her eyes. The fallen angel, regaining her sanity, was as gentle as before, but she could never be the same again.
She glanced at Gabriel, smiled, mustered her last bit of beauty, and then plunged into the sea of blood.
Like a bubble, she vanished forever.
(You provide the author Danmu's [Hebrew Mythology] with the arduous story of a world's creation.)