“Any last words?” Abel asked.

“Fuck you.”

Abel smiled and swung his scythe.

“Stop.” Mammon appeared behind Abel and threw a punch.

Abel stopped the attack on Lucifer and dodged.

Mammon rushed Abel, but it was useless; Abel cut off Mammon’s arms before he could launch an attack.

The Prince began to scream as his arms started to necrose. “Get away from him!”

Lucifer thrust his sword at Abel’s heart, the blade shattered on impact, leaving him defenseless.

Abel let out a smile and shattered Lucifer’s leg with a kick.

“How is this possible? You were no match for us in the Realm of the Dead,” shouted Lucifer.

“My objective wasn’t to kill you, but that has changed.”

Lucifer began to realize how badly he underestimated Abel.

Alastor was still busy fighting the others, but he decided to end the fight before Abel killed Lucifer.

Alastor activated his dragon eyes and landed powerful blows on the Princes' vital organs. Before they had a chance to react to the pain, Alastor bound them all in chains.

Alastor dropped down and appeared beside Abel. “I know how badly you want to kill him. I do too, but Kimber wouldn’t want this; she would want us to give them a chance.”

“For what? You know they’re going to be after us again if we let them live.”

“If they come after us again, then we’ll let Kimber deal with them.”

“What are you talking about? Mother would never come after us.”

Alastor squatted down to make eye contact with Lucifer. “Then you really never knew your own mother.”

“You’re lying.” Lucifer threw a punch, but Alastor was too quick; he caught and broke his arm.

Lucifer fell back, screaming in pain.

Alastor looked up at the other princes who were bound with the fire chains, preventing them from moving or casting magic. “This is over. Next time you come after us or any of our friends, you will be paying a steep price.”

The Princes recoiled in fear.

Alastor unfurled his wings and ascended. “Oh, and one more thing, I never destroyed your home or people. You guys entered hell through the caves without knowing. Go back there if you want to return home.”

The Princes looked at each other without saying a word, unable to discern Alastor’s words as truth or lies.

Abel dispelled the necroses and started surfing on his scythe and joined the others with Alastor.

“It’s time to go home. We’ll answer all your questions there,” said Alastor.

“Alastor!” Lucifer shouted. “We will be back, and you’ll regret not killing us. I won’t stop until you beg for mercy.”

“Ignore him.” Alastor began walking towards the gate.

Everyone quietly followed Abel and Alastor outside the gates of hell; nobody knew what to say, but the looks that they gave each other made one thing clear—they were terrified.

Once they all reached the realm of the dead, they released a collective sigh.

“I want answers, now!” Laura didn’t give Alastor a second before she started questioning him.

“About?”

“Who is our other sister?”

“Kimber. Next question.”

“Who is she?”

“Your sister.”

“Stop dodging the question, you know what I mean.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Kimber was my first child. She was born a little before the great war of mortals. Before the war, Abel, Kimber, and I would have fun. I raised her, taught her how to fight, and taught her the importance of strength and intelligence.”

“You actually raised her? You didn’t even raise Rose and me!”

“I’ll talk to you about that later.”

Lilith was the next to ask her question. “Why didn’t you tell me you had kids or previous lovers? I was hoping I knew you well, but now it seems like I know nothing about you.”

Laura went from furious to silent.

“Father, we’ll talk about this another time. It seems you have more important things to deal with.” Laura teleported herself back home.

“I didn’t tell you about my kids because they’re grown already; I didn’t realize that you wanted to know about my past.”

“Of course I want to know. Unless you don’t want me to.”

“I’ll tell you tonight after dinner.”

“Fine.” Lilith seemed a bit happier.

Lillia spoke next. “Is it true that you killed Malik’s lover and set hell on fire?”

“Yes. A couple thousand years ago, I was in hell on an expedition, figuring out some disturbances that were messing with the stability of the realm. Malik’s lover attacked me, and since she was a sinner, I didn’t give it a second thought. I set the first circle of Hell on fire while I was fighting Malik.”

Benjamin was next. “Abel, is it true that you collect the souls that Alastor kills?”

“Yes, it’s my job to either send them to Hell, Heaven, or here.”

Leon was last. “Alastor, is it true you killed Lilith’s kind?”

There was a moment of silence before he answered. “Yes.”

“Why?” Leon asked.

“They tried inciting a war against Angel’s province. Evidently, I got blamed for killing them without a cause, and they started a fight with me. Abel was actually helping them in the fight.”

Lilith remembered Mr. Graves's story from all those days ago. “You and Abel were the two titans that fought for weeks?”

“Enough questions for now. I haven’t exerted myself like that in quite some time, and I’m starving.”

The group began walking inside the castle except for Lillia, who held Abel back. “What was that in Hell? You were all scary, and I felt like you were going to go berserk.”

Abel placed his hand on Lillia’s cheek. “I would never lay a hand on you. Also, after we eat, I want to talk to you about something important, and if you ever have any questions about me and my past, or anything in general, please do not hesitate to ask. I will always tell you the truth.”

Satisfied with his answer, the two went inside to enjoy the meal Jerry made.

“Damn you, Alastor. Causing us more suffering.” Lucifer was beyond mad.

“Mother wasn’t lying when she said the two people to never fight were Abel and Grandpa. For now, let’s heal and come up with a different plan,” said Belphegor.

“I have a plan.” The Princes turned around to see a dark-haired girl wearing a robe with a pin of a pentagram on it.

“Who are you?” Lucifer demanded.

“You’re not the only one that bastard Alastor defeated. He beat me once, and I want revenge as much as you.”

“What’s your name, girl?”

“Erin.”

Back at the castle, Lilith looked over the south balcony at the flowing grass; she was thinking about the day’s events and wondered if things would stay the same.

Alastor knocked on the open door and asked, “Is this a good time?”

Lilith got up and replied, “Yeah.”

Alastor walked next to Lilith and leaned over the balcony. “What do you want to know?”

“What are you? How do you know all these powerful people?”

Without hesitation, Alastor answered, “I met Abel when we were kids. We were the only kids our age, so naturally, we bonded. My appearance back then was similar to my dragon form, and since I was the only ‘unique’ looking one, no one wanted to be with me—not even my parents. Abel was similar to me in a way, the only one in our village without powers, which caused him to be ostracized as well. We bonded and grew stronger together.”

“That must have been tough.”

“It was, but Abel and Kimber got me through it.”

“Wait, you said Abel had no powers. So how does he have powers now?”

“That’s Abel’s story, but what I can tell you is he unlocked it with his death.”

“Oh, well, how did you have Kimber?”

“It happened when we were five. At that point, Abel had already unlocked his powers, and we were both fully developed, when a giant fireball came down from the heavens. In the fire, I could see a girl, and not knowing what happened, I caught her. Her background is not my story to tell, so I won’t share it, but we eventually fell in love and had Kimber around a couple of months later.”

“You had Kimber when you were five?”

“Like I said, we were fully matured.”

“What happened to the girl?”

“She ended up dying in the great war.”

“How did she die?”

In a somber tone, Alastor said, “To Kimber’s hands.”

“Do you hate Kimber for that?”

“No, in fact, I’m glad she did it. I don’t think I would have had the stomach to do what was necessary back then.”

“What happened in the great war?” Lilith asked in a confused tone.

Alastor sighed. “We killed everyone. Friends, family, and everyone in between.”

Lilith finally realized why Alastor never told her about his past; she didn’t know how to react or what to say in that situation. All she knew how to do was listen.

Not knowing what to say, but knowing she had to say something, she said the only thing she could think of. “Thank you for telling me that.”

Abel sat patiently in his room, only getting up when he heard Lillia’s voice at the door. “Can I come in?”

Abel opened the door, and they both sat on opposite sides of the king bed at the back of the room.

Lillia moved her hair aside and asked, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Do you remember how we met?”

“Yeah, you saved me in the woods from those slave traders.”

“It’s funny how things turn out. If you had never gone into the forest, those girls would have been taken advantage of, and I would have never met you.”

“I guess life is full of coincidences. We just never notice until we see the connections.”

Abel placed his hand on top of hers and asked, “I’ve been thinking about asking this for a while. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I want to act on it just like Alastor did all those years ago. Do you want to make it official?”

Lillia’s heart rate started increasing rapidly, and in a nervous tone, she asked, “Would you be fine with me?”

“Of course.”

Lillia could sense that Abel was being genuine. “Then, yes, I would like to make it official.”

Abel could feel his heartbeat faster than it ever had; his body began leaning toward Lillia on its own, and Lillia met him halfway as they shared a kiss.