Just as he finished with Layla, the fiend turned back to Lilith, his eyes flashing red. Lilith cried in distress:
"Samael, it's me, Lilith! Please..."
The fiend roared, swung his six wings, appeared right before Lilith in an instant, grabbed her neck, and clutched it tightly, almost breaking it. The Lilin Demoness cramped and gasped for air. Out of the pure instinct of survival, she swung her giant clawed hands and cut the devil's skull face. He roared in pain and let her go. Just as she fell to the ground, Lilith sprang up and hissed at the monster:
"Do you not recognize your own wife?!"
"I am death!" the beast growled and charged at her again.
The battle of the demons began. The Lilin Demoness used her giant claws to cut and lacerate the immense enemy, but the Death's hands were a lot stronger - he easily dodged her attacks, then swung his giant scythe and slashed her in half. Lilith shrilled like a dying gorgon. She fell to the ground and returned to her basic form. Her soul body was stained with demonic blood. The Death was going to deal the finishing blow when Incubus, Kerubiel, and Amiel, who had already defeated their enemies, charged in. They widened eyes when saw the terrible monster and the injured Lilith.
"Oh, no..." Kerubiel murmured.
"Wh... What's that?!" Amiel covered her mouth with her hands as she watched the beast.
Incubus, who had changed back into his basic form since he had already vanquished his enemies, widened eyes when saw the beast threaten his mother:
"No! Mom!"
He ran forward and jumped right in between the deadly demon's scythe and his injured mother. Lilith widened eyes:
"No! Incubus!"
The scythe flew down. Lilith knew if she didn't do something her son was going to be slashed in half. So, she gathered all of her remaining strength, grabbed Incubus on foot, dragged him down, and threw him aside.
Incubus yelled as he was thrown away. A dreadful slice sounded from his behind. He shuddered - the fiend had cut Lilith!
"No! Mother!"
Lilith wheezed once, and her lifeless demon body collapsed to the ground. Incubus shrilled in anguish and fell to his knees, crying hot tears.
Amiel sobbed and trembled, to have beheld such an event up close. The deathly demon, having finished with another demon soul, turned towards her now. Amiel grew terrified – it wanted to kill them too?!
Kerubiel jumped in front of the beast and pushed the light core he had picked up from the ground right into his chest. The fiend growled in agony and glowed with the light emerging from his chest. It diminished in size, and its purple flames disappeared. It turned back into the dark angel Samael in his Basic form. He collapsed to the ground, having used up much energy while in his third, Ultimate form, for such a long time.
"Whew, he's back to his own self..." Kerubiel heaved a sigh. He cast a sorrowful glance at Lilith: "However..."
"No! She can't be dead! She can't possibly be dead!"
Incubus crawled up to his mother's soul, whose parts were already dissipating little by little. Tears poured down his cheeks and fell onto the lifeless demoness' body.
A deep groan sounded from aside - Samael had awoken. Kerubiel prepared himself for an attack, just in case. Samael coughed, shook his head, and stood up. He felt dizzy. He opened his eyes and glanced around, confused:
"The heck has just happened?"
Once he caught the sight of Lilith lying before him, his eyes widened in the utmost shock. Everything came back to his mind.
"No, can't be..."
He fell back to his knees and stared at Lilith and Incubus who wept over her.
"No... No!!! It can't be! It can't be happening!" he crawled up to Lilith and grabbed her body which was dissipating, "No, Lilith, don't leave me! Don't die! Not by my own damn hands! I beg you!"
"Mother..." Incubus wept in agony. He glared at his father: "How could you?!"
His father was shedding tears - his sobs had turned into hysteric hiccups. Incubus' anger gave place to heavy pity: his father did it without even realising what he was doing... No, his father didn't do it at all. The black energy did - the body of his father, whose heart and conscience - the light core of his - were absent. It was not Samael but a mere beast - the Death.
However, it didn't satisfy Samael. He blamed it on himself just like he blamed everything he had and had not done on himself. Incubus' heart grew even heavier, beholding his father's misery. Tears poured down his cheeks in a cascade. He placed a hand on his father's shoulder:
"Dad..."
Kerubiel grabbed his arm and pulled him aside:
"Incubus, leave him alone, for now".
Incubus heaved a sigh. He continued to sob quietly, for himself.
Samael watched the soul of the little woman spring away from his grasp forever. He did not even manage to help her get purified - she was doomed to be engulfed in the darkness of the Black Energy. He knew that whenever his scythe killed a demon off, this latter would return to their primal source - the Black Energy. Now, Lilith's, as the demon's, fate was the same, and he had doomed her to that fate with his own two hands.
He watched the vanishing soul in tears. He began to sing in a quiet, melodic voice, just like he used to sing to her, Lilith, while she was pregnant, in a cave:
"Child mine, cast your thoughts aside,
Night falls, and the dreams take sail...
Close your eyes. Let the wings take you high
To meet me up in the darkest night sky.
Up there, on the dark path of your life,
Twinkling stars will help you set trail
To find what you seek, meet the one you search...
Remember, child – whatever may come,
Your kind dark angel shall always guard your back..."
He sobbed once, and continued with the finale of the song:
"To find what you seek, meet the one you search...
Your kind dark angel shall always guard your back..."
The soul vanished. Samael put his head into his hands. Kerubiel and Amiel could hear his quiet sobs, added by Incubus' wails. Amiel sniffed and covered her face with her hands not to let anyone see her tiny tears. Kerubiel too, was in deep sorrow.
"Um, why are you all crying?"
Lily had stood up in her human body and watched them with the utmost astonishment. Incubus' jaw dropped, while Kerubiel and Amiel grew confused and wonderstruck.
"You... You're alive?!" Samael couldn't hide his surprise either.
"Well, I used this..." Lily showed him her moon staff and then made it vanish again. "Didn't you say I'm the demon of the night? I figured I had illusion powers too. Before you hit me with your scythe at the most critical moment, I used a spell and slipped into my body, and put an illusionary soul back there. You hit the fake and I made it distort, so you guys would think I was dead and Kerubiel could manage to put the light core back inside your chest".
"But why the heck did you not alert us right after that?!" Incubus sprang up and wiped his tears off. "We almost lost our minds! You deceived even me, the greatest prince of illusions!"
"Duh, you're the prince, I'm the queen, don't forget," Lily stuck out her tongue. "Besides, I wanted to see how you would cry over me. It was cute... It was a bit sad, though. I almost had pity on you guys".
The friends were astonished - so, all of this was a mere prank of hers?!
"Hmph, there you have it, the demoness of the night..." Kerubiel rolled eyes with irritation.
"That is truly nasty..." Amiel got sad.
"Ugh, I guess my mom is back." Incubus frowned - yeah, just like his playful, merciless demonic mother of old times...
Unlike the others' frustration, though, Samael only smiled.
"Sammy, so, you think it was funny too?" Lily grew happy.
Samael approached her and looked down at her:
"Lilith..."
His deadly scythe appeared in his hands while his eyes shimmered red:
"Want to die by your hubby's hands, chick?"
Sweat poured off Lily's forehead:
"I... I will kiss you if you mercy me..."
Samael chuckled and grabbed her in his arms:
"Two kisses and we're even".
Their lips pressed upon each other.