"Michael?" Lhori asked cautiously. "What are you doing here?"
"I think you know already," the archangel responded with his charming smile, his eyes sparkling with glee. "You are a smart girl, after all." He walked lazily towards them and stopped next to Robert. They shook hands. Lhori felt as if her heart sank to her belly. She knew already, indeed.
"So Lhori, are you ready?" asked Michael with a grin.
"Ready for what?"
"To work for your sister freedom, of course," he said, not missing a bit. "You don't have to worry though; it should be easy and painless for you."
"So what is it exactly, that you want from me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Michael smiled and came closer to her, stopping mere inches away. "I need you to summon Lucifer for me."
"What? Are you crazy? If he learns your role in all this, he will smash you to the ground!"
The archangel laughed as if he heard a good joke. "Oh, you are so cute. Do you really think I would let that happen? Would you imagine I will duel him over you like some knight?" he laughed again. "No, my sweet little thing, I don't even have to lift my finger, since I have you." He traced his finger over her jawline. "You two bare bound by the pact. So, you will summon him, order him not to fight, and let us bound him. And then you can walk free with your precious little sister."
"You can't do it!" she protested, feeling her throat tightens, and her heart racing.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can, and I will. You see, Lhori, as much as my fellow conspirator," he gestured to Robert, who got back to the table in the meantime, "think that our little demon army will be enough to overthrown Diavolo, I am not that certain. And I do not like taking risks in such a meticulously planned coup."
"So you did plan this whole rebellion," Lhori interrupted him bitterly.
"I wouldn't go that far as planned, but I did make sure those poor fools had enough resources to arrange a hell breakout," he replied with a smirk. "They probably wouldn't stand a chance against Diavolo while he has his lap dog Lucifer around. So we only need to take him out of the picture to even the odds. Oh, isn't it exciting?"
"You are mad," she hissed. "What will you do when the rest of the Celestial realm finds out about your involvement in all this chaos?"
"Worry not, little human; they will never find out. You see, the victors write history. When the frenzied demons break out of the underworld, I will lead the celestial army to wipe them out. So I will be the hero once again, and no one will care how exactly this whole mess happened."
"I won't help you. You can't force me!"
"But of course I can. You wouldn't like your little sister to get hurt, would you?" he purred.
"You are the archangel! How can you resort to such lowly measures!" she shouted, her eyes full of tears. She was helpless. There was no way out of this. She walked right into their trap, and now there was nothing she could do.
"Now, let's not get dramatic, my dear. It won't help. Some things are more important than the lives of mare human beings. So you'd better not test my patience."
He turned around and walked to the table. "Is the summoning chamber prepared?" he asked.
Robert looked at two demon hunters standing at the far door behind the table. They nodded without uttering a word. The leader of the order put down his pen and stood up. "It seems all is ready. Shall we begin right away?"
"Yes, there's no time to waste. I hope you have your demon snares ready?"
"Indeed, we do. We have five of them ready to fire the moment Lucifer appears, my Lord."
"Excellent. Let's go then."
They moved towards the door. Noah took Lhori's elbow and pulled her towards them.
"No, please, Noah! Don't let them do that!" she begged. She couldn't stop tears pouring from her eyes now. She was never so terrified in her life. "You can't let them do that! They will kill him!"
"There's nothing I can do," he said quietly not looking at her. "If it's any consolation, they won't kill him right away. It's not easy to destroy a demon as powerful as Lucifer."
"Noah, I beg you. I do anything, just do something!"
"I'm sorry, Lhori. This is out of our hands now."