Archanghel: Tale of the Universe

Chapter 15

“Cheryl! My daughter!” No words can describe the suffering that Joselyn Bagasbas was feeling as she watched her only child get carried inside the ambulance.

Cheryl Bagasbas, her daughter, was a good-natured and quiet type of child. She was just an eighteen-year-old girl who was still grieving her father’s death. She detached herself from the world. Joselyn, as a single mother, worked her body off. That left Cheryl alone at their house.

Despite that, Joselyn still couldn’t understand her daughter's decision. How can she do that? How can she leave her like that? She’s still refusing to believe that her daughter just took her own life.

“Ma’am, you can now get on.”

Joselyn quickly did as she was told and hopped into the vehicle. The whole neighborhood who were watching the scene followed the ambulance as it made its way in front of them. The police are now on high alert too, because of the growing numbers of teenagers who are killing themselves.

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“I told you he’s mine!” A girl shouted in the middle of the dance floor.

“No, he’s mine!” The other answered her.

My ears almost pop from their screams. Miniel and I were still at the place Lucifer and Belial left us. I was really itching to leave this place, but I didn’t know where to go. And it looked like it was the case for Miniel too.

I had finally calmed myself down and processed everything on my mind slowly. I am now coming into terms with some things. I need to be strong. I need to get out of this place and I will be. I just need to compose myself. My eyes scanned the place again and then I turned to Miniel.

“What is it about this place?”

I waited for a moment. After a short silence, Miniel answered me.

“This is where the sinners and the demons gather,” He pointed to something from afar, “You see those guys?”

My eyes followed his fingers. My eyes landed on a group of eight men. They were sitting comfortably, chatting and laughing with each other. Among them are Lucifer, Asmodeus and Belial.

“They are the Suma de Peccatis, seven deadly sins. The demons were divided into seven categories. The first one was Lucifer, because he was once an angel, he became the leader and he had the gravest sin of all, greed,” Miniel explained, “The next one is Mammon, a demon of greed. He wanted a lot of things, material things, and he always gets what he wants in every way possible.”

Miniel pointed to the guy beside Asmodeus. Just like the latter, he also had a good physical figure and there was some glint in his eyes. His gaze was always on the humans and the demons, or rather, on their possessions and their lack of. I listened once again to Miniel when he continued.

“Third is Asmodeus, the lustful one. His desire was for anyone and anything. He was good at it. He was the most active among them and he also made a great contribution to the people that did some s****l crimes.”

I shuddered when I heard who Asmodeus was. I was with him in a space with no one, and if I remembered it right, Belial warned him to stay away from me. I quickly hugged myself at that thought.

“Fourth, Amon or most commonly known as Satan. The one who possessed a lot of anger. It was also because of that, that no other demons and humans approached him beside the seven demons.” I looked at the guy sitting beside Lucifer.

Out of the seven of them, he was the only one who was silent. He was just observing and watching everything that was happening in front of him. When his eyes landed on the police and the thief, his lips would quirk up as he shook his head. He was clearly amused and maybe happy. It sends another shiver down my spine.

“Satan? As in Satan the famous demon? Isn’t Lucifer and Satan the same person?” I suddenly asked and turned my eyes away from him.

“Many confused the two because they were almost the same. But Lucifer was greed and Satan was wrath.” Miniel answered me. He continued when I didn’t answer.

“Fifth is Beelzebub. You can clearly see on his body how glutton he is. All he could think about was being food and nothing else.”

I braved myself and looked at Beelzebub. He was a fat guy, almost falling off the couch he was on. I grimaced when I took a clear look at him. He was continuously eating as if it was the end of the world. He would join the conversation of the others with his mouth full of food, sending a bit of food everywhere. This is the first time that I have seen this kind of person. No, Xandy, he is a demon. Not human, but a demon.

“The sixth one will be the demon who started the envy of the world. Most of the time, humans are the ones who approach him and fall into him. That alone is what he considers his great feat. Leviathan.”

Leviathan was a demon that had a beautiful face and a beautiful smile. He looked so kind and well-mannered that you will never imagine that he was instigating jealousy in people.

“Lastly, Belphegor. The sloth. As much as possible, he wanted nothing, not doing anything and just enjoyed slumping and watching everything.”

As I stared at Belphegor, I couldn’t help but think of a childhood story that was titled *Juan Tamad. There was yet again a bunch of information that I needed to process. And I need to bear those in mind as I witnessed these things in front of me. The humans who have sinned, the demons and the princes of hell. There was also something I needed to ask.

“What about Belial? What is he? His position?”

I surmised that he was in a position since he was sitting and mingling with the princes, plus what Elaine had said earlier. He looked to me like he was some sort of secretary or even one of the princes. I also remember Tronus saying that he was Lucifer’s envoy, but it looked more than that.

“Belial was the head of the demon soldier. He was the middle man among the lower-ranked demons and the seven princes of hell. He was also the one managing the angels and humans that were being thrown into this place.”

Miniel probably saw that my expression soured with his answer. I can’t help it. The hate that I felt towards the guy keeps growing every minute I learned something about him.

“Don’t worry too much, Xandriel. You will be able to leave this place.” I looked at him in confusion.

“It will be hard for me to leave this place. Once an angel gets past their gate, it will be impossible to get out again," he said.

It was as if, on cue, his eyes were now showing the emotions that I was expecting earlier and the one Miniel was hiding. Ever since I met him, all I had seen in his face was a poker expression. His smile was rare, but this, it was even rarer. He was sad, more than that.

“Are you being thrown here?” Miniel shook his head.

“No, I broke one rule of the angels. I became an outcast and roamed the earth for quite a while. When I heard from some demons that you are here, I immediately followed them to save you.” Miniel smiled at me like what he did was just normal.

“What rule did you break?” I curiously asked.

I was curious as to what rule it is that he broke to be punished as an outcast. It might be a big one as he refused to answer me. I decided to just drop the topic since I was not going to let anything from him.

“Miniel, thank you for being here,” Instead, I showed my gratitude, “Thank you for all the sacrifices you’ve made. Even though you are fired off from your job, you still thought of saving me. You didn’t forget about me. I am really grateful and lucky to have you as my guardian.”

Miniel was dumbfounded when he heard me. He was looking at me like I was growing two heads and was sprouting another one.

“So, don’t be sad. I know we will be able to leave this place. I know that He was forgiving and he will be able to give you another chance and save both of us.”

Miniel was still staring at me and it didn’t get past me that there were tears forming at the side of his eyes. I extended my arms and hugged him.

“Wherever you are. Even without my wings or my strength, I will do everything to save you when you’re in danger. I will make sure that you are always safe, Xandriel. Just trust me.” His voice almost broke down as he said those words. I smiled.