Chapter 52: The Apostasy
Day Four.
The moment Adam stepped out of the teleportation circle, he grabbed Eve by the hand and headed straight for a specific destination.
He knew this place like the back of his hand.
"Eve! Our home is right here!"
He ran in a frenzy of joy, having completely forgotten the instructions Raziel had given him. With the Garden of Eden now in plain sight, Eve, too, could not contain her delight.
"We're home!"
However, just as they were about to rush through the entrance to the Garden of Eden, a Cherub—stationed there by divine command to guard the Garden—manifested its form and blocked the path of the impetuous human couple.
"You may not enter," the Cherub stated coldly.
"Why not?"
The humans persisted in their clamoring at the entrance to the Garden, but the aloof Cherub paid no heed to their noise; its word was final—if entry was denied, then denied it remained.
Adam was seething with rage; in his frustration, he felt an overwhelming urge to kick the wall—a bad habit he had picked up back on Day One.
Then, a familiar voice called out from behind the humans.
"Adam?"
"Raphael!"
Upon seeing the familiar, friendly Cherub, Adam felt as though he had found a pillar of support—someone who could finally champion his cause. Leaving Eve behind, he rushed excitedly toward Raphael, eager to pour out his grievances.
However, Raphael beat him to it, asking why he had appeared here.
Since the humans had been banished by God to Day One, it should have been impossible for them to travel all the way from Day One to Day Four without the aid of an angel.
Adam paused, momentarily stunned, before finally recalling the purpose of his journey. The trek here had been truly arduous and utterly baffling; just then, Eve walked up to join him, and together—finishing each other's sentences—the couple finally managed to explain the whole story.
Having listened to the humans' account, Raphael's clear, bright eyes twinkled. Gazing at these humans—who, with the simple luck of fools, had somehow managed to stumble all the way to the Garden of Eden—he offered a heartfelt commendation:
"You are truly blessed."
God had already issued a decree forbidding humans from ever entering the Garden of Eden again. Nevertheless, with just a few words, Raphael managed to persuade the human couple—who were still clinging wistfully to the Garden—to leave, and led them instead to his own nearby dwelling. It was a house of the utmost ordinariness—save for the fact that it was constructed from bricks forged in the very heavens. In every other respect, it was virtually indistinguishable from the humble thatched huts humans had once inhabited in the Garden of Eden.
It was cramped and spartan, yet for these weary travelers, it offered a profound sense of security and peace.
"We've noticed that, over the past few days, the Powers—the *Dynamis*—have begun acting very strangely. They've cast aside their daily duties to engage in secret military drills and maneuvers..." Raphael poured two goblets of celestial nectar for the human couple, then proceeded to analyze the current situation with them.
Before long, a Cherub arrived with an urgent report: the area outside had been encircled, and a massive host of Powers could be seen in the distance, rushing rapidly toward their location.
Raphael paused to ponder for a moment, then turned to the dumbfounded humans and said, "I fear you were detected the very instant you stepped out of the teleportation circle."
"So what are we supposed to do now? Are we really expected to flee all the way to the Fifth Heaven for refuge? I absolutely refuse to take another teleportation ride—it makes my head spin!" Adam cried out in despair, clutching his head in protest.
"Adam!" Eve cast a disapproving glance at her husband. She felt he was being utterly self-indulgent and oblivious to the gravity of the situation—why, even *she* wasn't as finicky as he was!
"Please, pay him no mind. If we must flee to the Fifth Heaven, then let us depart immediately." Eve had keenly sensed the unusual nature of the current crisis beneath the surface of Raphael's calm demeanor; she realized that the severity of the situation likely surpassed anything they had ever encountered before.
Raphael felt a growing sense of respect for the Mother of Humanity—she truly knew how to conduct herself with dignity and good sense—yet he shook his head.
"Forget about the Fourth Heaven, or even the Fifth. As things stand now, I fear you would be unable to reach even the Sixth Heaven."
"Why?"
At this, even Eve could no longer contain herself; she asked the question, her voice trembling with shock. "Lord Lucifer has always been meticulous in his actions; if you are indeed his targets, he has undoubtedly made thorough preparations." Having calculated every variable in his mind, Raphael addressed the humans in a calm, methodical manner: "The rebellion will inevitably commence in the Fifth Heaven, which he currently governs. I do not know why he has chosen to drive you out layer by layer, starting from the First Heaven; however, were you to head for the teleportation array now—intending to reach the Martian Heaven—you would merely be walking straight into a trap."
"Then... what exactly should we do?" Hearing just how dire the situation was, Adam cast aside his pride and affectation; he was utterly terrified.
"Break through the encirclement," Raphael stated with absolute certainty. Seeing the humans' bewildered expressions, he elaborated: "It means we must first charge our way out. Only by shaking off the Power Angels' siege can I escort the two of you to the Seventh Heaven for sanctuary."
Raphael exuded an air of confidence; moreover, his steady demeanor and meticulous words and actions instilled in the humans a sense of security unlike anything they had ever experienced. Eve finally understood why the commander of the Authority Angels had instructed them to seek out Raphael for assistance the moment they arrived.
He was, quite simply, incredibly reliable!
Only Adam persisted in asking Raphael why he was helping them; he had grown truly fearful of the angels' capricious nature.
"We are not helping *you*," Raphael replied, a faint trace of sorrow clouding his brow as he cast a glance toward the Highest Heaven.
"We are helping *ourselves*."
Adam froze for a moment; this answer had taken him completely by surprise. Just as he was attempting to decipher its meaning, however, Raphael had already begun organizing the Cherubim stationed nearby.
Fortunately, the Garden of Eden had been peaceful of late; furthermore—due to his unease regarding the Power Angels' recent unusual movements—Raphael had not allowed the Cherubim to venture too far afield. Consequently, the number of Cherubim available for him to command was roughly in line with his expectations—a fact he quietly tallied in his mind.
Nominally, the Fourth Heaven was home to a force of fifty thousand Power Angels. However, after discounting those currently away on duty—as well as those rendered immobile by various other factors—the actual operational strength likely amounted to just over forty thousand.
Yet, even that reduced figure was utterly daunting. The Cherubim stationed in the Fourth Heaven numbered a mere 1,988 souls—or rather, 1,989, if one included Raphael himself. Even with the overwhelming disparity between friend and foe weighed to such an extreme degree, Raphael's face remained a picture of perfect serenity; he allowed no trace of the situation's peril to be discerned by human eyes.
He simply waited with quiet patience for the humans to finish drinking their celestial nectar, then asked them with thoughtful solicitude if they had rested sufficiently. Only when the humans—blissfully unaware—cheerfully affirmed that they were ready did he lead them out of the cottage.
The humans' lighthearted and cheerful mood vanished the instant they stepped outside. They gazed upon the Powers—the angels of might—who had besieged the area so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through; then, they turned their eyes back to the utterly tranquil Raphael.
The progenitors of humanity could not help but suspect that the angel had merely wanted them to eat and drink their fill so they might face their demise with a sense of peace.
"Anxiety serves no purpose in such a situation; that is why I did not inform you earlier," Raphael explained.
"I am truly *so* grateful for your thoughtfulness!" Adam cried out in a wail of despair. He stared at the host of Powers, yet he could not fathom the bone-deep hatred burning in their eyes.
He honestly believed he had never done anything to harm the angels; why, then, did they hate him so intensely?
Hearing the humans' bewildered inquiry, one of the Powers stepped forward and replied:
"Humans—you have done *far* too much! Because of you, Lilith fell from grace!"
Another Power shouted out in a booming voice:
"Because of you, Lord Beelzebub was cast into the prison!"
"Because of you, Lord Samael was exiled!"
"Because of you, the Arch-Seraph was demoted!"
"Because of you, God no longer favors the angels!"
"Because of you, we were forced to turn against our own brethren!"
"Because of you, our entire world—everything we once knew—has been thrown into chaos!"
Voices of condemnation rang out from every direction as the Powers enumerated seven distinct crimes committed by humanity. Adam had been utterly oblivious to the depth of the angels' animosity toward him; he strained to comprehend the hatred they spewed, yet the more he listened, the more baffled he became. "But of all the deeds you have enumerated—every single one—which of them did *I* commit? And which of them truly, genuinely aligned with *my* own desires?"
"I *did* once harbor a fondness for Lilith," Adam admitted; no sooner had the words left his lips than he felt Eve give him a sharp, painful pinch. He hastily added, "But once I had Eve, I never gave Lilith another thought. Why, then, do you insist on linking her downfall to me?"
"I had no idea that Beelzebub had been imprisoned. He once shared delicious fruit with me; even later, when he beguiled me into venturing toward the Celestial River—a place utterly beyond the reach of mortal strength—I bore him no grudge."
"It is Samael alone! He brought harm upon my wife; he rendered me homeless. Even if God Himself chose not to banish him, I would never let him go unpunished. Yet why do you hold *me* accountable for this? Do angels possess no capacity for reason?" he retorted.
"Shameless mortal! Cease your twisting of the truth and your baseless slander this instant!" the Powers roared in fury. Brandishing the weapons in their hands, they addressed the two thousand Cherubim standing as a barrier before them: "Lords Cherubim, step aside! Surrender this human—replete with sin as he is—into our custody."
Just as they had previously blocked the humans' entry into the Garden of Eden, the Cherubim coolly and haughtily rejected the Powers' demand.
The Powers then issued a threat: they would sweep up both the Cherubim and the humans together, taking them all in a single fell swoop.
Raphael gazed upon this host of Powers—angels who had utterly lost their capacity to distinguish right from wrong—and for the first time, his legendary good temper failed him. He rebuked them with scathing indignation.
"To what depths of unrepentance will you sink?"
"Lord Raphael, we hold you in high esteem as Lord Beelzebub's second-in-command. Yet, if you choose to conspire with that human, do not blame us for ceasing to show you any courtesy."
"Then there is nothing left to say!" Raphael bade the human couple stand behind him, instructing them to follow him closely without fail.
The Cherubim were not low-ranking angels of the First, Second, or Third Heavens; occupying the Second Order, they possessed exceptional power and wisdom. Dealing with the mid-ranking Virtues would have been child's play for them under normal circumstances; alas, this was the Fourth Heaven, where the Virtues held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Why were things going from bad to worse?
Amidst the flashing blades and clashing steel, Adam and Eve huddled within the protective circle formed by Raphael and the Cherubim. They fought as they retreated, yet the Virtues pressed so relentlessly that Raphael found himself utterly unable to carve out an opening to lead the humans to safety.
"Adam... we're finished. We're truly finished," Eve wept.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Eve," Adam said. Though he himself was utterly distraught, he still managed to summon the presence of mind to comfort his wife. "Trust the angels; they will protect us."
No sooner had he spoken these words than his eyes went wide, as if he had suddenly been seized by the throat. The rage and hatred flaring in his gaze—growing visibly by the second—made it difficult for him even to breathe.
"Adam..." The Fallen Angel, with his black hair and crimson eyes, called out his name.
"Adam! It's him! That's the voice!" Eve cried out. "He was the one who posed as the talking silver serpent—the one who beguiled me into eating the Forbidden Fruit!"
Adam had to restrain his wife, who was trembling with agitation—though, in truth, he himself longed to rush forward and beat the Fallen Angel to a bloody pulp.
"Samael!" he roared, shouting the Fallen Angel's name aloud. Though that name had once evoked awe and reverence in him—belonging to a being of dazzling brilliance who dwelt in the highest heavens—he now ground it out between clenched teeth, savoring the bitterness of his hatred.
"Why?" he demanded, his voice laced with a ferocity that suggested he wished to devour the Fallen Angel whole.
"Why have you done this to us?" "Unable to comprehend the situation—and in great anguish—he asked him, 'If we had never left the Garden of Eden, none of this would have happened. I would still be living a carefree existence, and you angels wouldn't have to be slaughtering one another like this.'"
"'There is no 'why,''" Samael stated coldly. "'Humans and angels are entirely different races; we were never meant to coexist in harmony.'"
"'You should never have been born in the first place. Allow me, then, to return you to the dust from whence you came.'"
"'You have no right to say that!'" Raphael broke free from the Power Angels who had been engaging him in combat, stepped in front of the human couple, and stood firmly to shield them.
"'Pull yourself together, Adam! He is no longer an angel; you need not heed a single word he says!'"
"'Raphael, why do you side with the humans?!'" Samael glared coldly at the Cherubim. "'Hasn't His Highness treated you well? Yet you choose to betray him?!'"
"'Because I am an angel!'"
Raphael remained unshaken, his voice resonating with solemn gravity.
"'I am a Cherub—a Cherub endowed with wisdom and a consciousness for creation! God bestowed this mission upon me, and my duty is to safeguard all of Creation!'"
Raphael repeated the words a stranger—a Seraph—had spoken to him years ago; words that had enriched his spirit and felt like a spiritual rebirth.
"'No birth is ever a mistake!'"
"'Humans are beings created by God. If they have erred, God Himself will mete out their punishment; but if they are innocent—I will not allow any of you to lay a hand on them! Cherubim!'"
"'Yes, sir!'"
"'We swear to protect humanity to the death! Even if it costs us our very spiritual forms, we shall uphold the inherent dignity of the Cherubim!'"
"'As you command!'" Shaking off the exhaustion of a prolonged battle, the Cherubim rallied their spirits and responded to Raphael with a resounding roar.
This they did, even though their pitifully small numbers appeared utterly defenseless against the vast army of their adversaries.
"'Raphael!'" Adam stared blankly at the angels shielding him, watching their fierce, desperate struggle. He had once believed they were fighting for him—for him, the future Messiah.
How utterly ignorant he had been, to presumptuously imagine that a mere mortal body could rule over such celestial beings.
They were not fighting for him. Sariel... Hadrian... He thought of that host of Principalities—those who had betrayed him, yet ultimately bought him precious time to ascend to the Third Heaven—and he thought of Raziel.
It was not just those angels, either: Lucifer, Beelzebub, even Samael.
They were all fighting with every ounce of their strength for their own convictions and goals. And what was *he* doing?
Was this truly all he could do—to flee in such a wretched, undignified manner?
"Adam! Eve! Don't stray too far from me!"
Up ahead, Raphael roared out the warning, but Adam seemed not to hear it.
"Eve..."
"What?"
"I want to..."
"What?" Amidst the clash of steel and the din of battle, Eve could not make out her husband's words; she could only cling to Adam, drifting along in his wake like a rootless water-plant.
*I want to join the fight...*
Reading the words on Adam's trembling lips, Eve understood what he intended to say; her eyes widened in sheer astonishment.
"Adam..."
For my sake, for yours, for the child growing within you, and for the future of humanity.
What, exactly, could he *do*? No—the question wasn't what he *could* do, but rather what he *must* do.
"You heartless, faithless angel!" Seeing that Raphael remained obstinately unyielding, Samael hurled an insult at him. "Are you truly content to bow down to mortals? Content to be ruled by this spineless coward?"
"Samael." A voice—not loud by any means, yet one that pierced through the entire battlefield—rang out, softly calling Samael's name.
The host of angels fell silent; involuntarily, they stayed their weapons and parted to clear a path.
At the end of that path stood Lucifer, golden-haired and azure-eyed; the Archseraph's majesty penetrated deep into the very core of every angel's being.
With light steps of his silver boots—the jade pendants at his waist chiming softly—he walked into the very heart of the battle, watched by the gaze of every angel present.
"I have said it before: angels possess their own convictions. The power of choice lies with them; it is not to be forced," Lucifer said, looking at Raphael, who appeared visibly drained of strength. "I am truly sorry, Raphael."
The Archseraph lowered his gaze, and upon a countenance capable of moving the hearts of all angels, a look of deep regret settled.
"I truly wish that we could have walked the same path as friends."
"As do I, Your Highness Lucifer," Raphael replied. "Though perhaps this will be the last time I address you as 'Your Highness.'"
He raised his sword, poised to launch a preemptive strike, when suddenly Eve let out a piercing scream; involuntarily, he whipped his head around.
It turned out that while they had been speaking, Samael had circled around behind them, intent on taking Adam's life.
"Adam! Get out of the way!" Raphael roared, his voice cracking with the strain. He flew toward them with reckless abandon, but it was too far!
He wouldn't make it in time! He realized this with a crushing sense of despair.
Just as he saw his long-awaited vengeance within reach—a look of triumphant elation flashing in Samael's eyes, while Adam stared on in bewildered confusion—at that very critical instant, a six-winged Archangel descended from the heavens.
Gabriel spread her wings wide, effortlessly scooping up Adam and Eve, then tossed the two humans toward Raphael, who was still flying frantically in their direction.
"Go! Now!" she commanded in a low, urgent tone. With a single hand, she conjured a divine sword of pure light, then spun around to strike mercilessly at the stunned Samael. The blade of light plunged straight into his chest; black-and-crimson blood welled up, only to instantly dissipate into wisps of black mist.
"Gabriel! How could you do this to me?!" Samael stared in disbelief; as if struck by a devastating blow, he plummeted helplessly through the air. Yet, at that very moment, a slender, dark silhouette swept past. Lilith caught the disconsolate Samael, her eyes brimming with allure as she spoke—her tone at once flirtatious and laden with subtle meaning:
"Prince Samael, in your current state, you hardly look fit to catch the Archangel's eye."
She and Ga...