Chapter Text
Azrael bypassed the pearly gates, appearing in a swirl of shadows inside the main council building of heaven. Even inside the house of justice, he could feel the heavenly aura of this realm, the radiant purity that only existed in heaven alone.
Disguised as the Radio Demon, he'd grown accustomed to the air in Hell, tainted as it was by brimstone and sulfur. The heat and decay spiked with a determined and cruel undercurrent of spite. In comparison, his own domain of purgatory was stale, barely a breeze blowing through it. The eerie silence of a graveyard in the witching hour. It was stagnant, like a snapshot in time between the living and dead. In comparison, Heaven did nothing for him, too sterile and devoid of anything of interest to him.
Despite being unbound, able to freely travel between all the realms at his leisure, he found Heaven to be the least appealing of them all. It was too structured. Too well organized and controlled. There was little entertainment for him in watching the chosen souls go about their merry little lives, with barely any resistance or obstacles to overcome.
On this occasion, however, he was sure that he could find some amusement among his fellow Angels.
He was able to speak on matters of the angelic council, naturally, the same as any other Seraphim could . But apart from Emily, most of them didn't attend regularly. Sera was the only one who was actually required to precede over it. Azrael himself had never been asked to attend, his role didn't often make him an asset to making an informed decision about heavenly matters. The very, very rare occasions when he had attended, had been for his own amusement. And even then he just showed up to say his piece, then immediately left before the verdict was decided. He found most politics extremely tedious and boring.
Given he was heavily involved in the controversial topic of the Exorcists, he had thought that maybe he'd actually be asked to attend this time. But nobody had summoned him to talk, or even questioned him about it. And now that Hell had claimed a victory over heaven, he very much wanted to see what was happening on the other side of the conflict.
What he had expected by now, was to hear about a meeting of the Senate of Seraphim being arranged, given how Sera had been exposed as keeping secrets. Keeping things from the council was one thing, but secrets from other Seraphim? That was truly something that needed to be addressed among their number.
He was always made aware when a meeting or tribunal of his equals was being set up. Meaning that either he had been deliberately excluded, something that had never been done to any of their number before, or more likely, they hadn't even started making arrangements yet. Heaven didn't move the quickest when it came to legislation amongst the higher ranks, there were far too many factors at play.
Taking a deep breath of pure ozone, Azrael could feel the burn across his chest from the healing injury inflicted upon him by Adam. He may have greatly exaggerated the harm done to ‘Alastor’ to keep up appearances, especially for those pesky drones of his silly deluded ‘rival’, Vox, but that didn't mean he was completely unharmed in the process.
Like it or not, Adam had been a very powerful being. One of the most powerful to possess a human soul for sure. Having been given life from the Lord directly, that shouldn't have been so surprising. But all of that raw power had been focused at him with such righteous fury, it had taken the Angel of death by surprise. It would leave him with a deep, visible scar to remember the battle for the rest of his existence, a feat that not many had ever been able to achieve.
The Angelic council was not in session right now, he wasn't too surprised at that. He could , however, sense that Sera was nearby, and also that she was not alone.
It didn't take him long to find the small group in one of the large meeting rooms. Sera, Emily, and Adams second in command seemed to be deep in a heated discussion, so he slipped into the room, silent as a shadow, to listen in on the conversation before making himself known.
“The fact you kept our holy mission a secret isn't my concern. We need more exorcists.” Adams lieutenant was demanding, and judging by her sneer, she was getting desperate to give such an attitude to the high Seraphim. “We need to get back down there, twice as many as before, and strike them while they're at their weakest , no mercy for Demon scum like-. ”
“-As I've already stated. The exterminations are postponed until the council has had time to discuss if they are going to continue.” Sera spoke in a very firm matter of fact tone, making it clear that this was not up for debate. “Our minds are made up.”
“They killed hundreds of our number. They killed Ada- .”
“-They were defending themselves against a whole army!” Emily snapped, interrupting Lute mid rant while slamming her hands on the table. “By your own admission, you've personally killed so many more than they have . Over literal years of your so-called ‘Exterminations.’”
“The exterminations were put in place to control the population of Hell and prevent an uprising.” Sera countered, her calm authority cutting through Emily's emotional reaction. “Adam took upon that role, and turned it into a sadistic game.” Sera's eyes narrowed down at the exorcist. “I never would have agreed to this if I thought he would bring this much trouble to heaven's door. He paid the price for his reckless actions.”
“A fair price to pay for breaking the contract that he made.” Azrael cut in, very much entertained at seeing all three women get caught off guard by his sudden presence. Sera stiffened, revealing she wasn't very comfortable with him being here. Emily jumped, but looked more confused than anything else.
Even though she didn't say a word to him, Lute immediately straightened to attention, a soldier silently acknowledging a superior had entered the room. Rather ironic really, considering she was unaware that he had been the one to fight Adam for the majority of her recent battle.
Despite having next to no involvement with the exorcists after he created them, they had briefly met at the beginning. She was one of the first he had created, a demonstration to both Adam and Sera of what they would be capable of. And it seemed she hadn't forgotten after all this time.
“Azrael. What an… unexpected surprise.” Sera greeted, looking between him and Lute hesitantly.
“Is it? After all, eight of the nine realms are left reeling in the aftermath of Adams' foolish assault against Hell's Royal family.” He grinned, striding up to them with his hands neatly folded behind his back.
He missed the familiar feel of his scythe in his hand, but it would take time to get it back to a standard where he felt confident no one would notice the repair. He wouldn't risk anyone putting two and two together on how the ethereal angelic steel had been snapped clean in two. If any of them noticed its absence, then none of them showed it outwardly.
“Did you really think that I wouldn't follow up on this development in the ongoing war between heaven and hell? Especially when the carefully crafted army I made for you had their numbers significantly reduced overnight.”
“ You made the exorcists?” Emily's face fell into a look of utter betrayal, realising how much she had been kept in the dark. Sera and Adam weren't the only ones involved, it reached much further than a secret between two people, and she'd been denied knowledge of any of it.
Well that answered why he hadn't been contacted in regards to the exorcists. It seems not everything had been fully revealed when Adam had exposed his murderous hobby to the council.
“Oh dear, have I said too much?” Azrael chuckled, knowing full well he was digging Sera into an even deeper hole. “When we agreed to keep it a secret from all of heaven , I hadn't assumed that extended to our fellow seraphim .” Azrael loved to cause a bit of drama with the older angels and authority in heaven, stir the pot as it were, since they were all so strict and manipulative with their brand of ensuring control over the masses. What was it that Husker had referred to it as? Toxic perfectionism?
“I apologise for my part in the deception that has been played upon you, my dear.” He said to the smaller Seraph. “I assure you, for the most part my involvement in this affair has been rather minimal.”
Emily was one of the few members of the heavenly host younger than him, the majority having been in existence long before the first man was ever created, and sometimes her naivety was glaringly obvious. It seemed almost unfair for her to be the target of these kinds of games, unlike Sera herself, who really gave him nothing but ammo to use against her carefully created image of control and perfection.
“Sir. We need to replenish our numbers, and get back at Hell for the loss they dealt us.” Lute spoke up, turning her attention to Azrael despite Sera having already turned her down, likely multiple times already. Her left arm was bandaged up and strapped to her side, missing from above the elbow. Her clothes still showed signs of red and golden blood alike, the stains a clear show of the carnage she had been a part of. “Lucifer's brat needs to pay for what they did to us. For what they did against heaven.” Her voice dropped into a low wounded growl, resentment and vengeance practically dripping from every word.
“No! Too much blood has been spilt on both sides. The exterminations need to stop, now ! No more blood needs to be shed!” Emily's voice, usually so soft spoken and kind, was hard and edged with a righteous fury that Azrael had never heard from her. She was stepping up to put an end to this, and he had to admit, he admired her determination. She reminded him of Charlie in some ways; Gentle and kind to a fault, but a powerhouse of untapped potential if they found a cause they believed in enough to fight wholeheartedly for.
“That is not something for either of you to decide. For now, you are dismissed Lieutenant.” Sera said, giving a hard glare that brooked no arguments. Lute stormed out in frustration when Azrael only gestured towards the door, signaling that he agreed with the dismissal when she'd turned to him, most likely hoping for backup that wouldn't come from her superior.
Sera sat in one of the nearby seats, massaging her temples in an obvious sign of the toll that the stress all of this was starting to take on her. A myriad of cracks in her usually untouchable facade. The three of them were Seraphim, there was little point in pretending when the truth was so blatantly obvious.
“She will cause trouble, regardless of the verdict.” Azrael stated bluntly, tilting his head to the side, curious what Seras plan would be going forward. “Adam effectively turned our army into a cult. He was a petty individual, but his lieutenant is vindictive and vengeful. Blinded by loyalty to a man who twisted her into nothing but a singularly focused weapon. She has the potential to be worse than most of the Cruelest Overlords in Hell.”
“The fate of the exorcists is one of the biggest topics the Angelic council will be discussing at the upcoming meeting.” Sera explained, already tired of repeating herself, and anxious about what was going to come out of said meeting. “Your presence would be appreciated, considering the part you played in their creation.”
“ But of course . I would be glad of a platform to explain my part.” Azrael grinned. “Maybe I'll even tell them about the role I played before their creation?” It was going to be utter chaos , and he wouldn't miss it for the world. He was a completely impartial party in all of this, having no strong allegiances to either heaven or Hell, meaning he was free to speak his mind openly.
Sera cringed in realisation of just how badly this could all go if all the secrets were revealed at once. There was so much that the majority of the council was unaware of in the grand scheme of things involving Hell.
“I have nothing to hide, after all. But then again, my operation was in complete collaboration with the Queen of Hell, so that matter is not really any concern to the council.” He waved off, enjoying watching the plethora of emotions warring over the high Seraphims face.
“Honestly, Adams death itself is a moot point as far as I'm concerned.” Azrael continued. “He made an agreement with the Royal family, broke that agreement, and then somehow didn't expect any consequences for attacking Lucifer's daughter directly.” Azrael shrugged. “You are aware that all Hellborn were made exempt I assume?
“Yes, Azrael. I am well aware.” Sera snipped, composing herself back into her controlled mask with a flick of her hair from her face. “For the record, I do not condone Adam's actions in targeting the Morningstars Hotel. I agreed to let the exterminations happen only to prevent an uprising. His final battle was not part of the arrangement, it was an act of revenge and senseless violence.”
“Something I think we can all agree on.” Azrael nodded. Exterminations as a whole were a senseless waste of life for the sake of Adam's own amusement, but the battle against the hotel was petty at best. Adam felt slighted that Charlie had stood up to him, using the death of one of his girls to justify his attempt to slaughter everyone at the hotel, despite them having nothing to do with the exorcist's death. He held no value for any souls who weren't like him, chosen for some unknown reason to be above all others, those who made it into heaven. “Were you aware that Charlotte Morningstar's partner was left for dead by Adams' lieutenant for hesitating to kill a child ?”
“What?” Emily looked horrified, whipping around to see the sad look on Seras face at the reveal, her anger tempered a little at seeing that the other Seraphim seemed to also be unaware. Adam did horrific things on his own, not just with permission or orders from Sera. It was a bittersweet thing, to see Sera just as upset with the news as she was.
“I was unaware of the specifics.” Sera admitted uncomfortably. “Had I known about her, I would have taken it into account during Charlotte Morningstar's tribunal.”
Azrael leaned against the back of a chair as Emily took a seat across from Sera, both women looking drained from this new horrific information. “I am of course happy to fill in any blanks to both the council and the senate, should they need a clearer picture.”
“Your cooperation is much appreciated, Azrael.” Sera acknowledged. “You will not be the only other Seraphim in attendance, others have also expressed interest in being involved with the proceedings.”
Ah, so that is why nothing was currently being arranged, many of them would be attending the Angelic council, and then they would probably decide on what to do about more personal matters based on the results.
A soft sound graced the air. A light melodic sequence of chimes that they all recognised. Sera responded to the summons with an irritated exhale of breath. “Excuse me. It appears I am needed elsewhere.”
She stood from her seat, but stopped in front of Azrael instead of heading straight for the door, placing a hand on his shoulder with a very pointed look. “I hope that I can trust you to stay out of trouble?” The look in her eye was both a warning and a desperate plea. With everything else going on, the last thing anyone needed was his usual brand of mischief causing unrest.
“I will do my best, my dear.” Azrael laughed, not about to promise anything outright. He had no intentions to make issues at the moment, this trip to heaven was purely reconnaissance, to find out what was happening in the grand scheme of things. ‘Alastor’ had fled from the battle due to his injury, so no one would expect him to reappear for a while after all, he had time to spare for his curiosity.
Sera knew that it was probably the best she could expect from the other Angel, and gave a quick nod, patting his shoulder before turning to walk out of the meeting room, leaving him and Emily to talk amongst themselves.