After Wrath returned to the city, Tilith was already waiting for him at the station.
Tilith seemed nervous; she likely wanted to talk about something important, yet it was also something that had to be hidden from passersby, so she asked him to step aside behind a pillar.
All of this made Wrath very curious.
— What is it about? What happened?
— Something very serious happened. It concerns Lucifer's prison. While you were away, someone attacked it.
— What? The prison? That's impossible.
— Not a single guard was left alive. Everyone is waiting for you at the scene; for now, only a few people from the Center know about it.
— Let's go there immediately.
***
Wrath and Tilith appeared in front of Lucifer's prison, before its massive stone walls.
Wrath could not believe his eyes. His brother, Sloth, lay dead in front of the prison gate.
From up close, they could examine the giant more thoroughly; his chest had been pierced by multiple stab wounds, and his head had been severed from his neck, lying several meters away.
Wrath bent down to his brother's massive head; there was no trace of life left in his eyes.
He felt sorry for him, saddened that he had to see him like this.
— This is horrible… — Tilith remarked. — But who could have been capable of such a thing?
— You know… Sloth was the fastest among us. You wouldn't have thought so, right?
Tilith merely shook her head.
— He was slow, sluggish, slow-witted, but that was nothing more than laziness. He possessed tremendous strength and was about ten times faster than the lightning metros. He never unleashed it; there was no need to. His nature was gentle, but because of his size…
— He inspired fear. — Tilith finished the sentence.
— Yes. If someone displayed such power here that they were able to injure him, then they definitely used speed. If they still managed to defeat him despite that, then that person can only be one of us.
— There's more, Wrath…
They both picked up torches and ventured among the cells.
All prisoners were in their places, the bars were intact, except for a single set that had been broken.
They walked over and could already see Pride's body, lying frozen in blood on the floor, mutilated.
Wrath sat down on the filthy ground, leaning his back against the cold stone, then lit a cigarette and exhaled the smoke.
— So you were the target, brother. Sloth and the guards were clearly just in the way. You were the objective. You knew too much.
Tilith looked at Wrath with sympathy.
— Listen, Wrath, my condolences for your siblings… You think they only wanted to get Pride?
— Yes. — he stood up from the ground, tense. — This whole thing is, you know… too clean.
— Clean?
— The cut that killed Sloth, and these cuts on Pride, and on the guards as well. These wounds are too clean; they left no trace. It was an angelic weapon, that's certain. It had to be.
— Even if it was an angelic weapon, not just anyone could take on two Deadly Sins. It's time to face it, Wrath: only one person fits, and that's Lucifer.
— What reason would Lucifer have to break into his own prison and execute his own guards?
Of course, Wrath was not so certain only because of this, but also because he had been with Lucifer when it happened. However, no one could know that; Satan's library was also a secret place, covered by an illusion that no one but Wrath could dispel.
— I don't know that yet. Perhaps Envy opened that portal, and Lucifer wanted to know its location, and most likely Pride knew where to look but didn't tell him, so Lucifer got angry.
— And then he killed him, and Sloth attacked the guards together out of revenge? That's nonsense, you know that. And besides, that wouldn't have gotten him the information from Pride either.
— Okay, I know the puzzle isn't complete yet, but angelic weapons and power beyond the Deadly Sins? Either it was Lucifer, or another Angel. There's no other explanation.
— Did you talk to the succubi? Did you find out anything?
— Nothing. The miners rarely came into the city, but Lust gave another address to a Succubus House in the north. And where were you?
— I was looking for clues in the collapsed tunnel.
Tilith raised an eyebrow and looked at Wrath's worn coat.
— Your clothes are pretty clean for someone who was hauling rocks around in filthy mines.
— Obviously I took them off. Besides, why does that matter right now?
— Nothing, but it would be good to build a bit of trust, if I'm the only one left helping you.
— Fine, I went to the boss. Happy now? — he snapped immediately. — I didn't tell him anything, but he's bound to find out, and then he'll be very angry. I wanted to avoid him showing up; he'd only interfere with the investigation.
— Maybe we can keep it hidden for a while. Have the bodies transported to the Center and keep the demons quiet. They fear you; they won't resist.
— That buys us some time, but we've made almost no progress, and the body count has tripled.
— I'll go to that Succubus House in the north.
— Good, I'll go with you.
With that, they began walking out of the prison, back into the light.
— Listen… so that's why you were so sure it wasn't Lucifer? Because you were with him at the time?
— Yes. During the attack on the prison, I was definitely with him.
— So you know where he is. I'm not surprised; he obviously tells everything to his closest confidant.
— Why does it matter to you where he is? You don't plan to kill him in his sleep, do you? I'll tell you, he never sleeps.
— Oh no, I know my place. I'm just curious, and a little jealous.
— Jealous?
— Yes. He shares things with you that he doesn't with us. I don't know, it feels unfair. We do just as much for his foolish dream of order as you do.
— It's not that he doesn't trust you; he's simply busy. He's been researching the secrets of Hell ever since he's lived among us. He's chasing knowledge, that's all. He doesn't want visitors; even I rarely go to him.
— Knowledge about Hell? Is that what he's working on now as well?
— Yes, as always.
***
After the bodies were transported to the Center and they convinced every demon near the prison not to speak to anyone about the attack for the time being, they were ready to head to the northern Succubus House.
However, as they were approaching the station, Wrath was suddenly attacked.
He recognized the flaming sword and its wielder—it was Lamia, Greed's secretary.
Lamia emerged from nowhere and approached Wrath with murderous intent.
Wrath could have dealt with her easily, but Tilith wanted to prove herself and attacked Lamia.
Lamia did not want to fight Tilith; she tried to ignore her, but she simply couldn't get past her, so she was forced to strike back.
With Asmodeus's sword, Lamia wounded Tilith's arm, the cut reaching almost to the bone.
Wrath did not intervene; for the moment he saw no need to, and he didn't want to insult Tilith by making her fight seem insignificant.
Tilith lunged forward and drove her claws into Lamia's stomach; Lamia's blood splattered across the windshield of a passing car beneath them.
More and more onlookers gathered, increasingly curious as to why a law enforcer and a demon dressed as a secretary were fighting.
Tilith knocked Asmodeus's sword from Lamia's hand; it landed straight beside Wrath and embedded itself into the ground.
A nearby demon glanced at the sword, tempted to steal it, but Wrath shot him a piercing look, his courage quickly failing as he ran off.
Lamia and Tilith began tearing into each other with their claws.
A great deal of blood fell; neither spared the other.
In the end, Tilith emerged victorious; she clawed out one of Lamia's eyes, then kicked her in the back, leaving her at Wrath's feet with broken wings.
Tilith landed beside Lamia, spat some blood onto her head, then grabbed her by the hair.
— Now tell me nicely why you attacked Wrath, before I claw out your other eye too, you filthy bitch!
Lamia looked at Tilith, then at Wrath, who wore an indifferent expression.
— Listen, I think you'd better talk before you really go blind.
— You cursed bastard! You think just because you're some damn Angel's lapdog you can do anything?!
Tilith kicked Lamia hard in the stomach, so hard that she vomited in front of herself.
— Don't anger my partner. Let me hear it—why did you attack him?
— Because you killed Greed, you piece of shit! — she shouted.
This was very bad, because many passersby heard it, and they could easily believe she was telling the truth—no one truly trusted Wrath.
— What the hell are you talking about?
— Greed… he's lying in his office… You cut off his head, you bastard! You killed your own brother!
This came at the worst possible time.
Most of the demons standing around watched in fear, but quite a few grew angry and demanded answers from Wrath and Tilith.
Wrath knew well that the rumor claiming he had murdered his brother would soon sweep through the city, and then the others would not remain silent either; the other two deaths would come to light as well, perhaps even Envy's death.
He did not like to admit it, but there was little choice left—slowly, he would have to involve Lucifer in the investigation.
***
The two-thousandth floor was sealed off.
More and more people suspected Wrath, since the arrested Lamia was convinced that only he could have committed the murder, even though she had not witnessed it.
Greed's office was what truly surprised Wrath, and at this point he began to feel completely lost.
The office was not in ruins; everything was in its place.
Greed's body lay behind the desk, his head a short distance away.
Every sign suggested there had been no struggle; the killer had simply walked in, slit his throat, then left—without anyone seeing them.
There was, however, a way to leave; after all, this had taken place on the two-thousandth floor. The killer could have climbed out the window, closed it behind them, then disappeared among the clouds.
It was a dangerous maneuver; they could have died among the red lightning.
Wrath looked at his brother's covered body, then began to study the dark clouds while blowing cigarette smoke onto the windowpane.
Tilith stepped beside him and placed her arm over Wrath's shoulder; she saw how tense he was and wanted to calm him.
— Listen, Wrath…
— I'm fine. I'm fine. We've just been buried under a fucking avalanche of shit, that's all.
— I know. Things are really bad now; everyone will suspect you and Lucifer.
— Let them suspect me. Did you hear that?! — he shouted into the corridor where their colleagues stood. — Suspect me! You half-witted morons!
— Wrath…
— I would never kill my siblings, never! Maybe family relations weren't perfect, but damn it, they were my siblings. We fought a lot back then, but that was different—nothing serious.
— I believe you, Wrath, but I'm not the one you need to convince.
A red haze descended over Wrath's mind, but he tried to drive it away so he could think.
Then something occurred to him—something very important.
He grabbed the window, shattered it, and simply jumped out, leaving Tilith and the others behind.
***
After Wrath landed and left behind a small crater, he headed straight for the western Succubus House, driven by a very bad feeling.
After arriving at the rundown building, he rushed inside immediately and didn't search for secret doors or anything like that; he simply smashed through the walls with his fists.
Numerous rag-wrapped, filthy demonic creatures ran out of the building, fearing Wrath's rage.
Wrath then found the entrance, but he already knew he was too late, as he found the guards dead as well, slaughtered with clean cuts, just like the others.
Moving deeper inside, countless succubus bodies lay everywhere, frozen in blood, torn apart, but only one person truly mattered to him.
After stepping over the bodies, he found Lust's office, and he didn't need to kick in the door, as it stood wide open before him.
Inside the office, he found his sister, but he was too late; she had been murdered as well, just like the others.
Lust did not go down without a fight; she had not been attacked from behind like Greed, and this was evident in the office itself, which was filled with signs of battle.
Claw marks covered the walls, the desk was shattered along with the chairs, and countless shards of glass and similar debris were scattered across the floor.
Wrath bent down to Lust's severed head and gently ran his hand through her long, black hair, then kissed her forehead.
He cursed himself for not stopping the killer in time, cursed himself for still not figuring out the solution.
Wrath let out a roar; his hands transformed into claws and burst into flames, and long, bat-like wings grew from his back.
In the end, his entire body ignited, his coat and the rest of his clothes burning away as he assumed his true form—the form he had last used many years ago, when he fought against Lucifer.