Chapter Text
"I'm not asking, I am ordering you to tell me." Your voice rose in anger. "Is he in there or not?"
"I cannot let you go in!" The ancient librarian attempted to shield the door. "Please, think about this! That cursed man is dangerous! He killed Lucifer; harming you would be nothing-"
"Enough!" You bellowed. "I'll go and see for myself, then!"
"Please, Miss, don't go in!" The librarian cried, eyes alarmed behind his spectacles. "I'm begging you!"
But it was too late. You forced the door open with a harsh kick, letting it thud back against the wooden wall. "Beelzebub!"
There was nothing but silence. The vaulted main room of the library was strewn about with papers and books everywhere, with only a handful of shrunken candles lighting the tall shelves. The only signs of life were a few iron plates with partially-eaten crusts of bread and apple cores.
"Miss, please..."
You ignored the librarian's beseeching and strode in, lips pursed in silent rage. "I know you're in here, Beelzebub." Your steps slowed as you peered into each doorway, searching for the demon. "Come out now and spare me the trouble of dragging you out."
There was no answer in the still, dusty darkness. It didn't take long for you to check every room in the building except for the basement; the most ancient and forbidden tomes were kept down there. Of course he would be locked away in the underground, studying dark magic. It was so fitting for a depraved monster like him.
Without ceremony, you kicked the basement door open as well. This one was lined with iron and didn't swing open quite as fast, allowing you a moment of bitter anticipation as it drew back to reveal the demon you were hunting sitting at a far table.
Your prey did not look up to acknowledge your presence at all. His eyes continued to scan the page he was engrossed in without pause.
His lack of reaction - his passiveness compared to your overwhelming sorrow - made you snap. "Beelzebub!"
"Leave," he said quietly. "I have no business with you... and, surely, you can have no business with me."
Of course, he would dismiss you. You knew you looked unhinged, and far less dangerous than any of the other creatures of the realm - hair unkempt from your journey, red-rimmed eyes wild with grief, and battered cloak pulled loosely about your thin frame.
Well, he was about to learn a lesson in what grief could drive even a small woman like you to do.
"I beg to differ," you snarled. From underneath your cloak you drew one of a dozen poisoned blades. "I'm here on behalf of Lilith."
That got his attention, just in time for the blade to soar past his head and lodge into one of the many volumes stacked behind him. His eyes met yours, and for the first time, you got a look at the face of your friend's killer. He looked far too young and slight to be any sort of threat, and the delicate skin beneath his eyes was dark and sunken from lack of sleep. He would've evoked pity in you, if you hadn't known he had murdered your beloved Lilith and her friends in cold blood. Perhaps that pitiful appearance was what had helped him to take advantage of their kindness.
"Yes, Lilith. Don't tell me I'm the only one that's showed up to avenge her?" You stalked closer until only the table was preventing you from strangling him. "That's just as well. I knew her best."
Lilith. Her murderer continued to stare at you with that pathetic look on his face; the face of a broken man barely holding up a facade of stoicism.
"You're much more pathetic looking than I thought you'd be, cursed Beelzebub." You laughed coldly. "But that's fine. It'll make it that much easier for me to put you down, like the rabid demon you are." Your hand slipped under your cloak once more. "...I owe Lilith that much." You were close enough to the room's solitary candle for its light to catch a glimmer of welling-up tears in your eyes.
"...And I would grant you your respite..." He said slowly, his words almost measured. Your eyes widened in surprise. "...But the death you offer me is far too clean and painless. Begone." His gaze lowered, and a sharp tremor throughout the chamber threw you off your feet. You fell hard on the ground, struggling to prop yourself upright.
"I don't care if it suits you or not!" You raged, grabbing blindly for one of the many daggers pinned inside your cloak. "You think you deserve to name your punishment?! Lilith herself will decide your eternal torment once you've died and-"
A large, pale hand quickly seized your wrist. "Don't."
Your heart nearly stopped in your chest. His dark-rimmed eyes were level with your own. "Those knives are poisoned. Aren't they?" There was no change in his voice as he admonished you. "You would grab at one so carelessly, and cause Lilith more grief?"
You stared vacantly at him. Cause Lilith more grief...?
Oh... Because I probably would've cut myself on one of those blades. Lilith always did say I acted too blindly and clumsily when I was upset.
You recalled her smile with pain. Lilith, if you knew what I was doing... would this make you sad? Would you have called me foolish, barging in to face your murderer so blindly?
Who am I kidding? Of course you would've. Oh, Lilith, I'm sorry. I've completely lost my way.
"Lilith..." You crumpled with sorrow at the memory, clutching your free hand tight to your chest. "I wasn't even thinking... I hate it... But you're right. This would have only made her sad..."
Beelzebub didn't respond.
"She looked out for me a lot," you found yourself confessing suddenly. "The day we first met, it was like she knew I needed a friend. Someone to watch over me. I didn't have any family, and she became like a big sister to me. She was a sister to me." You drew a deep, rattling breath. "And now you took her away, and I have no one. The light she shared is gone. No one can replace her. It's all your fault!"
Your accusation hung heavy in the air until an unexpected whisper pierced it.
"Lucifer," Beelzebub whispered hoarsely.
"What?" You thought you'd misheard him. "Lucifer?"
"She reminded me of him... They were so alike."
The anger in your veins reignited. "Lucifer? Lilith's friend? You mean, the other angel you killed?"
He fell silent again.
Your hands were shaking again with blind rage. You had to leave, or else risk doing something Lilith wouldn't have wanted. You hated him for having known her well enough to throw that bit of truth in your face. "...You know, in the last letters she wrote me, she mentioned you all the time. She would have followed you anywhere... And yet, you killed her. And now you have the audacity to act remorseful..." Your trembling fingers fiddled with the handle of a knife beneath your cloak. "Remorseful, like you wish you hadn't done it. Like you didn't make the decision to kill her."
He remained still in the candlelight, blood-shot eyes staring at you too close. Like the unreadable gaze of an insect. "...You want me dead, rightfully, like countless others," he whispered. "I know it's what I deserve. And what I deserve is a death far more painful and bleak than you can give me. So wait for a little longer. And then, I promise... Death will come to avenge Lilith."
You stared at him in shock. The black void of his eyes held secrets and regrets you weren’t privy to. The weight of his words lingered heavily in the air between the two of you. "...I don't understand what happened that night. I... I hope I never understand the mind of a monster like you. But..." You stared down at your tear-stained skirt. "All right. I won't cause her more grief. I'll let fate deal with you instead - as long as you can keep that promise."
He finally released your wrist, and you slowly got to your feet, legs aching from your fall, before pulling a handful of crumpled papers from your bag. There was a moment of hesitation before you threw them half-heartedly in his direction, letting them flutter to the ground. "These are the letters she wrote me. The parts that she mentioned you in, at least. I thought I'd read them to you before I killed you, but maybe it'd be better for you to ruminate over them yourself." Your lower lip quivered.
Beelzebub's gaze shifted only momentarily to the ink-smeared papers; fast enough that you might've missed it if you hadn't been staring at him so intently. "I'll be waiting for that painful, messy death to come your way, then, Beelzebub."
You rushed out of the room before the tears overwhelmed you once more.
Beelzebub walked slowly to the scattered letters. He knelt down and traced one finger over Lilith's handwriting with a delicate, guilty touch. Love, Lilith.
"We'll wait together," he whispered.