Chapter Text
Angels (from the Latin angelus and the Greek ángelos (ἄγγελος), messenger), according to the Judeo-Christian tradition, are celestial and spiritual beings.
Beautiful and radiant, they are normally seen as personifications of innocence, kindness, purity and virtue. They inhabit the well-known and desired paradise, better known as heaven.
They follow a single being, known by the name of God, and each of them has a specific hierarchy. In the first hierarchy are the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. They are followed by Dominions, Virtues and Powers.
In the third hierarchy are the Principalities, Archangels and Angels, the latter being the closest to the needs of human beings.
Before the existence of human beings, there was an angel in Heaven called Lucifer, whom God placed in the position of guardian cherub, a prominent position in relation to the other celestial creatures.
He was perfect, wise, beautiful and handsome, of vivid splendor and shining. This cherub was considered God's favorite. All the angels respected him, for he was the closest to God.
One day, one of his sisters, Lilith, fell in love with a human man. She saw him every day from heaven. She loved him deeply, and one day she decided to come down to the human world to visit him personally, breaking one of the rules of heaven, which is not to get involved in the lives of humans.
She had to be punished, and since Lucifer and his other brothers did not like the idea at all, Lucifer gathered those who would help him, and fought a battle with the faithful angelic hosts.
They were defeated after a hard battle, in which Lilith ended up losing her life, and they their right to remain angels. Lucifer was so angry at the end of the war that one of his three pairs of wings fell off, giving life to Satan, already born a demon, sin of wrath.
Along with Lucifer and Satan, six other angels who were on his side in the war fell from heaven with him. These same are his six brothers, now known as the seven deadly sins, and the seven leaders of hell:
Lucifer, the sin of pride; Mammon, the sin of greed; Leviathan, the sin of envy; Satan, the sin of wrath; Asmodeus, the sin of lust; Beelzebub, the sin of gluttony; and lastly, Belphegor, the sin of sloth.
†
As soon as he and his brothers fell from the sky, they gained a different form. A pair of horns appeared on their heads in place of their halos. Some remained with wings, but not those of angels, and others gained tails in place of their wings.
One had his wings darkened, his Twelve wings became four, and his beautiful white wings became black. Another gained a pair of demon wings in place of his angel wings. Another lost his wings and gained a reptilian tail.
Two others also had their wings changed, one also with a pair of demon wings, and another with insect wings. And another had his wings changed with a tail that was thin but furry until it reached the tip, where there was a large amount of dark hair there.
The other one that was just born was already born a demon, as mentioned before. He has horns on his head, and a tail whose length had things similar to spikes.
†
He limped through the dark forest at night. His tail was sore from tripping over it so much because of exhaustion. He felt cold and his body was shaking, but he kept walking. He wanted to rest, he needed to rest.
His limbs ached and the wound in his abdomen slowed his movements more and more. His body, almost completely covered in his own blood, made him stagger, leaving trails of blood wherever he went.
He had been walking for a long time, almost without any rest. Sometimes, he would lean against a thick tree to rest for a few moments and then start walking again. He didn't want to stop, he couldn't stop. He needed to find them, to be with his brothers.
Soon he reached a denser part of the forest, and with each step he took, he tripped over the roots of the trees that came out of the ground.
He tried to hold on to the vines, but he was too weak to support the weight of his body, which made him fall. He felt like crying, screaming, taking out his anger. But he wouldn't do it until he found him.
He stood up again and began to walk, until his vision went dark, his body became weak and trembling, and, in a few seconds, he found himself on the ground.
"... Lucifer..." He whispered before fainting on the dirty and damp earth of the forest.
†
He felt warm and comfortable, unlike what he had felt when he was in his old home. But, somehow, it was still as cozy as there.
He felt as if he had been picked up by a kind God, who had gifted him with a moment of rest in his warm and dry hand, unlike the dirty and damp ground of the forest where he was.
Soon, he opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in the forest, but in a human house. He looked around and realized that there was a blanket over his body and pictures with works of art on the walls, along with some scribbled drawings, probably made by some child.
He then looked back, where his tail should be, which is no longer there, but it does not seem like it was torn from his body.
He put his hands on his head, he couldn't feel his horns either... had they disappeared? He couldn't say for sure, but he didn't care, since he was now free of the reminder that he was no longer an angel.
He then saw a mirror and tried to look at himself in it while he was in bed. He couldn't move enough to see himself in the mirror, so he gave up and started looking at the spot he was in.
After a few moments, he tried to get up and the sharp pain in his abdomen made him grunt in pain, reminding him that he was still injured.
He lifted the blanket to look at his wound and saw that he was wearing different clothes than the ones he had been wearing before coming to this place.
As soon as he lifted the shirt they had put on him, he saw that there were compresses on his wound, bandaged with a bandage. He looked around again and saw no one.
He wanted to get up and continue looking for his brothers, but he didn't know where or where to go. He sighed and lay down again, waiting for the person to help him.
Minutes passed and he heard people talking and the door creaking, indicating that someone was opening it. Then he saw a tall man, with dark skin, dark brown eyes and black hair approaching him.
Right behind him, a child shorter than the man, with hair and eyes of the same color and fair skin, was also approaching.
"Hello, it seems that you're awake." The older man said as he sat down in a chair next to the bed.
“...” He didn’t say anything.
“Are you better? You were pale and bruised when I found you in the woods.” The younger boy said.
“... Yes. I’m fine.” He answered the boy.
“That’s good.” The boy smiled.
“Are you hungry? We made vegetable soup for lunch today.” The man said.
“... I think I’ll accept... I’m not in a position to say no to food.”
“Great. My name is Lincoln, and this little boy here is Casey.” The man said, ruffling the young man’s hair.
“Dad!” The boy complained, trying to fix his hair again.
“He’s the one who found you in the woods.” Lincoln said. “He carried you from the thick part of the woods to near our house. Then, he asked for my help to finish bringing you here.”
He looked at Casey. “Thanks...”
“You’re welcome.” Casey smiled. “Since we’re introducing ourselves, what’s your name?”
“My… name?”
“Yes, what’s your name?”
“My name...” He then remembered when he was falling, with an arrow stuck in his abdomen. He also remembered his brothers screaming as they fell... Him, Mammon and Asmodeus screaming for Lucifer, the twins Beelzebub and Belphegor screaming each other’s names as they tried to reach each other, and Satan falling without even knowing why he existed, or why he was there, falling.
He then looked at both of them, and only now realized that they both were humans. He decided to shorten his name, because he had heard from Lilith, when she was still alive, that humans usually had “similar” names, so seeing a different name would be strange and a bit too extravagant and flashy to them. “... Levi. My name is Levi.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure, Levi.” Lincoln got up from his chair. “You’re not in any condition to move, so you’ll have to stay in this house for a while. There aren’t many hospitals around here, and the closest one is many miles away. The trip would make your wound open, so we can’t risk a trip to the hospital. At least not for now.” He crossed his arms.
“Levi, since you’re going to be here, could you tell us more about yourself?” Casey asked, clearly curious.
“Oh...”
“Casey, it’s not very polite to ask strangers about their lives when you’ve just met them.” Lincoln said, looking at Casey.
“Sorry, Dad...” Casey pouted.
Leviathan watched the scene and couldn’t help but remember what it was like with Lucifer when they were both still angels. He missed Lucifer, and his brothers…
But, the scene in front of him made him smile, at least for now. Lincoln and Casey looked at him when they saw his smile and smiled too.
“Since the table is set, do you want us to bring you a bowl of soup here in the room?” Lincoln asked.
“Oh, sure.”
“Casey, can you get it for him, please?”
“Sure, Dad.” Casey nodded and left the room. In a few minutes, he returned with a bowl of soup in his hands. Lincoln helped Leviathan sit on the bed.
They grabbed another pillow and placed it on his legs, making it a table so Leviathan could rest the plate and eat the soup.
“Thanks.” Leviathan said to the two as soon as Casey finished placing the plate on the pillow.
“You’re welcome!” Casey said enthusiastically.
“You’re welcome, Levi.” Lincoln said calmly. “We’re going to the kitchen, make yourself comfortable.” Lincoln and Casey left the room, leaving Leviathan alone again.
Leviathan ate his food and tried to put the plate on the desk that was next to the same chair that was leaning against the bed.
His wound was still open, but he forced himself to stretch his arm and managed to put the plate on the table. Lincoln was the one who came to get the plate and take it back to the kitchen to be washed.
†
Leviathan managed to lie down on the bed alone after a few minutes. He was still worried. He couldn't stay in that house, he had to go back to the forest. He had been looking for Lucifer and the others for a long time, and he could never find them.
Leviathan tried to get out of bed, but his wound was still very painful and hadn't healed. He managed to turn his body to the side and sit up in bed.
He tried to get up and grunted in pain, ending up sitting down again. He sighed and tried again, this time leaning on the chair next to the bed.
“What are you doing?”
Leviathan heard someone and turned to the door. It was Casey. He ran to Leviathan and put a hand on his back while holding his hand with the other.
“You should rest, Levi! You can't keep trying to get up!” Casey helped him sit up slowly and carefully. “Why were you trying to get up? Your wound could open up again...” Casey looked worried.
Leviathan sighed. “... I was trying to get back to the forest.”
“Why?”
“I need to look for some people.”
“Who?” Casey tilted his head to the side, not unlike a confused baby animal.
“People who are very important to me.”
“And do you know where they are, Mr. Levi?”
“... No. I don’t.” Leviathan looked down.
“And why were you thinking of going looking for them if you don’t know where they are?”
“... I don’t know.”
“I don’t think that’s very smart.” Casey said sincerely.
Leviathan sighed once more. “I think so too… but I have no other choice.”
“Why don’t you try looking for clues, like the detectives in those cartoons?” Casey asked excitedly.
Leviathan thought for a moment. “... Cartoon detectives?” He didn’t know exactly what that was. He was a fallen angel who had been wandering aimlessly for a long time. It was no wonder he didn’t know a lot of common human things.
“You don’t know? They’re those people who use a hat and a magnifying glass to look for things or people!”
Leviathan was even more confused.
“For example, when a neighbor’s cat gets lost, the owner asks a detective to look for it!”
“I don’t think a detective would look for lost cats, son.” Lincoln appeared in the doorway.
Casey turned and looked at his father. “Of course they do, Dad! I saw that on the cartoon I watch!”
“If you say so…” Lincoln sat down in the chair next to the bed. “Leviathan, can I see your wound? I think it’s time to change the bandages.”
“... Of course.” Leviathan whispered and moved the blanket aside, lifting his shirt enough so that his wound was visible.
Lincoln approached Leviathan and changed both the bandage and the bandage, wiping the excess blood from the wound with a clean, damp cloth he asked Casey to get from the kitchen.
After treating the wound, Lincoln and Casey helped Leviathan to the bathroom to take a shower and change his clothes.
They carefully placed him back on the bed and covered his body. They turned off the light in the room and said goodnight before leaving.
Leviathan stared at the ceiling for a while. He could see that the ceiling was made of wood, probably oak. It seemed to be very well made, and it still looked new.
He also decided to notice the walls, which were painted white. The floor was also made of wood, and there were scratches in some parts.
There was a window on the other side of the room, and from there he could have a good view of the forest.
There was also a wardrobe leaning against the wall, and there were well-drawn drawings, and some half-scribbled ones pinned to it.
The well-drawn ones must be of Lincoln, and the more scribbled ones would be of Casey, that's what Leviathan thought. He stared at the place for a long time, and soon after decided to go to sleep.
†
In the next morning…
As soon as Leviathan woke up, he noticed noises coming from another room in the house. He didn't know if he should wait for Lincoln and Casey to come, or if he should go there himself.
He then lifted the blankets to check his wound, which now didn't hurt as much as before. Leviathan decided to sit down, and with great difficulty he got up, walking slowly towards the place where the noises were coming from.
He supported himself on the furniture as he walked towards the source of these sounds, and soon arrived in a room that he could tell was a kitchen by the aroma that the room had.
He saw Casey and Lincoln cooking some food on the stove while singing.
"You are the dancing queen!" Casey sang as she put bread on the plates.
"Young and sweet, only seventeen." Lincoln continued the part that his son sang as he finished frying the eggs in the pan.
"Dancing queen!" Casey sang the next part again while throwing his arms up.
"Feel the beat from the tambourine." Lincoln continued as he laughed at the poses his son made while singing and setting the table.
“Oh, yeah!” The two sang together, and then took turns singing again.
“You can dance, you can jive!” Casey pointed a spoon at his father as he sang and laughed.
“Having the time of your life.” Lincoln did a simple jig as he walked away from the stove with the frying pan in his hand, pouring eggs on the bread.
“Ooh, see that girl, watch that scene!” Casey laughed at his father’s dance and tried to imitate.
“Digging the dancing queen!” The two sang together again, and soon burst out laughing.
Leviathan watched the scene with a smile on his face as he leaned against the kitchen door. It didn’t take long for him to be seen.
“Mister Levi!” Casey said in a loud voice as he ran towards Leviathan and stopped in front of him. “What are you doing here? You need to rest!”
“I’m already a little better...” He laughed in a low voice, a little tired even. “You don’t need to worry so much.” He ruffled his hair.
Casey pouted when Levi ruffled his hair. “Mr. Levi!” He complained.
Lincoln laughed at the scene. “Come on, stop it. Let’s all sit down and eat breakfast, while we’re all here.”
Casey didn’t take long to grab Leviathan’s hand and lead him to the table, helping him sit down, and then going to the other chair, sitting down.
Lincoln and Casey joined their hands and began to pray for the food. Leviathan didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he did the same. He joined his hands and closed his eyes, although he opened them from time to time to look at them.
They both then opened their eyes and began to eat breakfast. Leviathan got out of that position and began to do the same. He took the bread, stared at it for a while, and then began to eat it. At the first bite, his eyes almost lit up as the flavor flooded his palate.
Lincoln and Casey noticed and laughed.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Levi?” Casey asked as he chuckled silently.
“Did you like our spice?” Lincoln asked.
Leviathan had his mouth full, so he simply nodded his head as if to say “yes,” and as soon as he swallowed the food that was in his mouth, he replied, “Very! It’s very good.”
“Thank you very much.” Lincoln replied.
“You’re welcome.” Leviathan replied as he chewed.
Lincoln and Casey laughed again, and then continued eating breakfast.
†
While Lincoln and Casey washed the dishes, Leviathan tried to set the table. Leviathan helped them with that, and then went back to the room he was in alone. Before he decided to sit on the bed, he stopped.
He was a Demon now, but why wasn't he in his demon form, but in his human form? He looked at his body one last time before transforming.
In a second, he was in his demon form. A large reptilian tail, and a pair of horns appeared on his head. This was the first time he really looked at himself after the fall…
He didn't know what to feel about himself other than repulsion, hatred, anger, and disgust.
Before he could transform into his human form again, Casey entered the room.
"Mr. Levi-" He stopped when he saw him. His eyes widened, and he let out a scream.
Leviathan was more startled by the scream than the fact that Casey had seen him in his new form.
“C-Casey-! I-I-”
Before he could say anything, Lincoln appeared right behind Casey.
“What happened-?!” When he looked at Leviathan, he grabbed Casey and pulled him behind him. “Go to your room!” Lincoln told Casey.
“But dad-”
“Go!” Lincoln yelled.
Casey trembled when he heard his father yell at him, and at the same time ran to his room. Meanwhile, Lincoln grabbed the pistol he had grabbed as soon as he heard his son’s scream, and pointed it at Leviathan. “Get out of my house.”
“L-Lincoln-! L-listen to me-”
“Get out!” He yelled again, silencing Leviathan as well. “Or I won’t hesitate to shoot!”
Leviathan stared at him in silence for a few moments, his body sweating cold and his hands shaking. It wasn't long before he ran to the bedroom window, jumped out, and ran out of the house.
Lincoln ran to the window as he watched Leviathan run into the forest. Casey remained in his room for a while, and then returned to that room to see his father at the window looking out at the forest. Leviathan managed to escape without having to kill anyone.