Let There Be Light Ch.15 (Patreon)

— Azazel —

Azazel looked at the man lying on the bed. His skin, which should be tan like his father's, was pale white, and his face was constantly perspiring.

He didn’t look good and didn’t look like he had much time left.

“Please, Lady Azazel!” Penelope bowed, dropping to her knees once more. Her golden locks fell to the floor, as did her face in pleading and reverence. “Please save my son!”

Azazel could hear the anguish and pain in Penelope’s voice. She was on the verge of sobbing, and once again, Azazel was left in a horrible situation.

She had already broken one of God’s rules, and she would no doubt be getting an earful for that later-

But now, a woman was on the ground, begging for her to continue breaking God’s rules and help her dying son.

Azazel’s fists clenched as she looked at the dying man. She didn’t understand how helping humans could be perceived as wrong in God’s eyes.

This was not sin.

It was mercy.

The black-haired angel stepped forward and touched the man’s slowly heaving chest. She could help him-

She would help him!

Her smooth, delicate hand emitted a golden glow, and that light soon covered the man’s entire body. As the glow permeated around him, his skin regained its natural tan color, and the bags under his eyes faded away.

Methuselah’s eyes fluttered open, and his mother’s body crashed into him.

“My boy!” Penelope shouted as tears flowed from her eyes. “My baby boy!”

Azazel took a step back and watched as Methuselah’s eyes regained clarity. He hugged his mother tightly, returned her embrace, and stroked her hair soothingly.

“Tis a shame. I have been nothing but trouble for you, Mother.”

“Never!” Penelope shouted, looking up at him. “You’ll never be trouble for me! You’re my son, never a bother!”

A warm smile spread across Methuselah’s scruffy-bearded-covered face. “Of course, mother.”

Again, they embraced for a long while. Azazel remained quiet, looking on with a slight smile and watery eyes.

The two of them reminded her a lot of God and her children, more so God and her. A parent should always be there for their child. It was God who had said that, and now she understood just what that meant.

Through thick and thin, hardship and loss, adversary and pain. A parent should always be there.

Eventually, Methuselah’s head turned toward Azazel. He only inspected her for a few moments before his eyes lit up. He gently pushed his mother away and got out of the bed. He immediately fell to his knees, and his forehead kissed the floor.

“Methuselah, you have just recovered. Do not strain yourself, my son!” Penelope shouted, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

“It is a miracle to be visited by one of God’s glorious angels! W-Were you the one to heal me?!” His voice was filled with reverence, thankfulness, and a tinge of fear.

For why he feared her, Azazel had no idea.

Azazel gave a curt nod. “It was I, yes.”

“How wondrous!” He pushed his head further into the ground. “Father has told me endlessly of the Lord’s angels and the mercy they show in light with him. May I ask you another question?”

Azazel didn’t really know how to feel about a man bowing to her. Was this how it was supposed to be?

“Ask, son of Enoch.”

“Do you know where my father is?!” Methuselah asked, and Azazel could hear the pain in his voice.

“Methuselah, that is enough!” Penelope chastised, dropping to the floor to help him up. He forced himself to stay down in reverence. “He has left our home decades ago, when I was but a boy, and to this day, he hasn’t returned.”

That was… troubling to hear. Azazel knew that God had plans for Enoch in an effort to increase faith among man while not forcing them, so he chose Enoch to push forth his word, but Azazel didn’t know the man had up and abandoned his family to do it.

“I know the Almighty has plans for him, and I know the one known as Enoch is carrying out those plans, but I have not the slightest clue of his location.” She said apologetically. In truth, she could find Enoch easily, but she didn’t want to interfere with whatever her father had planned.

“I… I see.” Methuselah sighed, sounding pained and disappointed. He lifted his head from the ground and let his mom help him back to bed.

His eyes closed within moments of lying down, and his chest rose and fell softly. He had fallen back asleep. The healing had taken her magic, but it wasn’t a perfect fix. It required the person’s stamina to heal them, which must have him tuckered out.

Penelope ran her hand through her sleeping child’s hair.

“Thank you.” The blonde woman whispered softly, a new line of tears leaking from her eyes. “Thank you for healing my son.”

“By the grace of God, it has been done.” Azazel smiled, but internally, she felt as if she had just lied, even though she knew what she spoke was the truth. God had created her, and thus, he had healed Methuselah, but at the same time, it was against God’s rules to interact with man.

… It wasn’t right.

“To this, his kingdom would come down to Earth! Oh, I do not wish to overstep, but if it’s possible, could you tell me… what Heaven is like?” Penelope questioned, and Azazel could tell that it took the woman a great deal of willpower to ask such a question. Penelope was treading carefully, hoping not to push Azazel away.

“It is… beautiful.” Azazel smiled serenely, closing her eyes to see the golden gates, the silver city, and the depths of the various numbered Heavens. “Truly, no beauty on Earth compares.”

Penelope’s eyes sparkled, and her mouth widened. A hand came to her heart, and a soft giggle escaped her lips. “I’m truly blessed to hear that, especially from an Angel. It makes me feel the light of the Lord to know that when all is done, through him, myself, and my family, and all of man can be saved.”

“To walk side by side with God is all it takes. Give your life to him, and let him change you for the better.” Azazel smiled, but it quickly turned into a sad one. She wanted to help Humanity more, but she knew it was directly against God’s orders. If she did so, in his eyes, wouldn’t she be as bad as Lucifer?

But… it felt right.

She needed time to think, to ponder on what would be the right decision.

“Penelope.”

The blonde-haired woman’s head snapped from her sleeping son to the glowing form of Azazel.

“It is time for me to take my leave.”

Penelope’s eyes widened before she relaxed. She gave Azazel a thankful nod and a teary-eyed smile.

“Thank you for everything you have done, Lady Azazel.”

Azazel’s form flashed out of Earth; moments later, she appeared in Heaven. Immediately, she was greeted by her siblings, who were always curious about her trips to Earth.

The angels below 8 wings were not allowed out of Heaven because God didn’t trust all of them to turn a blind eye to the sin that was going on. Some of her siblings were much more… strict in their worship of God. Even the slightest sign of unwarranted sin would be enough to set some of them off to cleanse the world of such sin.

Most of the Angels who subscribed to this ideology were the ones who had been hurt by their eldest brother, Helel. The same Angel who had turned away from all of them and embraced sin as a conceptual sign attached to his being.

Sin was bad, and nobody in existence believed that more than the Angels who were hurt both physically and mentally by Lucifer.

Azazel shifted her way through the crowd of angels and made her way up to Fifth Heaven, where the other Archangels were likely hanging around, carrying out their Father’s will in various ways.

Ways that didn’t see the humans getting the help they needed.

A dark look passed over Azazel’s face before she shook it off.

She needed to talk with her siblings; only then would she find out if her thought process was justified or not.

— God —

I let out a tired sigh as I walked out of my office in Seventh Heaven.

Work had been tiring recently. Specifically, planning for the Trihexa.

It was growing stronger every day, and it seemed like more and more humans were turning away from me and embracing sin.

A great deal of them weren’t even tempted away by devils. Some of them had just decided to live for themselves.

Which was why it was such a relief to see Enoch moving about, spreading my word, and stabilizing the number of believers in the world. Without believers, there was more suffering, and when there was more suffering, the Trihexa grew stronger.

It all led back to the Trihexa.

There were people down on Earth who begged for my mercy. Believers who were suffering, whether it be through sickness or other means. But I couldn’t provide them with the help they needed. At least not a permanent medical solution for it.

The advancement of Humanity would have horrible implications. The more advanced Humanity grew, the more weapons of destruction they would create. Even if I actively tried to slow their weapon advancement, it would just breed more wars because if there is one thing I know, it’s that a truly advanced technological war slows wars down.

After all, no point in having a war if everyone involved ends up dead in a nuclear wasteland by the end of it.

Because of these kinds of situations, I need to be careful with my planning. I couldn’t force Humanity to grow faster because that would likely speed up the amount of suffering on Earth. Humans would play the role of God. And they’d fail miserably.

I needed to take things slow, and it wasn’t until recently that I started to feel for the canon DxD God. Sure, he could have forced Humanity to get along, but that would have been against their free will.

And humans with free will are some of the most dangerous creatures in existence. Laws and rules are made by humans to keep themselves in check.

I let out another sigh as I opened the door to Fifth Heaven and walked into the common room where my children tended to hang around.

All of them stared at me like they had been caught doing something bad, and it didn’t take for me to look into their minds to know what they were thinking.

Hell, Michael was praying for forgiveness for even listening to Azazel’s idea!

My eyes locked onto the form of Azazel, who looked the most worried out of everyone gathered.

I knew something like this would happen sooner. Azazel has always been the curious Angel of Heaven. Always wanting to learn more and see more. Is it really any surprise that she suddenly wants others to learn and see more as well?

Specifically Humanity.

“Is there something we must talk about, Azazel?”

— Chapter End —

Author’s Note: I won’t lie; this entire fic deadass is so hard to write, at least for me. I know this was a rather weird chapter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s the build-up for the world, so it is what it is.