"...I brought the souls of some Soviet soldiers to Hell." Lucifer slightly tilted his head and said in a low voice, "I swear I didn't torture them. I just... I just wanted Anatoli to..."
Greed stared at him blankly, then shoved him against the wall without looking back, saying, "No hope, just get lost."
"Wait!" Lucifer quickly grabbed him, "You know me, back then he always said the Soviet Union had fallen, so I just..."
Greed looked back at him and asked, "Do you know how those soldiers died? Leningrad? Kursk, or Stalingrad?"
"Of course, it's just that I didn't understand at the time. You have to know, I'm the son of God, but I don't even believe in God. Do you expect me to understand human faith?"
Greed was momentarily speechless because he realized it was true. The reason Lucifer's pride was the heaviest of the original sins was because this pride referred to not believing in God.
He was God's own son, and the first light created by Him. Apart from wanting to control his fate, God really had nothing to say against him. Even still, he didn't believe in God, so indeed, you couldn't expect him to grasp why people believe in anything.
"Did you later understand?"
"I originally had no intention to understand." Lucifer touched his face, "But those Soviets were such good fighters."
Greed couldn't help but laugh out loud because he suddenly thought, Lucifer could never just capture the souls of one or two soldiers, he would certainly catch an entire regiment. Then, Anatoli happened to be an officer, originally angry about the dissolution of the Soviet Union, probably annoyed to no end by Lucifer. What happened later, one could almost imagine.
This isn't impossible. Because in a place like Hell, faith can grant people power. Everyone embodies the mystical, naturally, the more steadfast one is, the stronger they become. Back then, Bruce managed to cause such a commotion in Hell for this very reason.
In other words, during the Tower Defense battle in Hell, that was actually already Hell's World War II. Anatoli had long led Soviet soldiers in a previous battle. No wonder it was so easy to mobilize the masses.
But later the situation got out of hand, and Lucifer could only resort to 'Deus ex machina' to clear out Hell. It was through this battle that he deeply realized what Anatoli kept chanting about wasn't merely human's weak delusions, as he imagined. There was a group of people who genuinely put it into practice and changed the world in such a way.
"Moreover, I also apologized to him later." Lucifer emphasized, "Not only did I return those people to the human world, but I also created bodies for them. Otherwise, where do you think the 11th Bureau came from?"
Greed, somewhat surprised, said, "So those soldiers are..."
Lucifer nodded and said, "Not just anyone can deal with mysticism. These people have been to Hell, and their bodies are my creations, so naturally, they are gifted in mysticism. Moreover, as long as I exist, they are immortal."
Greed understood. He thought, practicing mysticism in the Soviet Union couldn't be that easy. It's a place valuing empirical evidence and data, with the KGB being fierce as wolves; without some skills, how could one establish a foothold?
"But you are still at a disadvantage." Greed said, "Because it was him who defeated you then, not you realizing your mistake and apologizing by yourself. By logic, he shouldn't have interceded for you anymore."
"Indeed, during that period we were in a Cold War." Lucifer sighed and said, "But later he discovered that my fate was actually arranged by God. He was very dissatisfied with it. He encouraged me to resist bravely."
Greed couldn't say anything further. In some cases, Anatoli was a bit like Batman. Even if he didn't like you as a person, if you encountered an unjust situation, he would still help you, stand by your side, and strive to resist injustice.
So even at that time though he might have also disliked Lucifer, upon learning of God's predetermined arrangement for Lucifer's fate, he chose to stand with Lucifer.
"Then you are even more at a disadvantage." Greed glared at Lucifer, "You two were still in a Cold War, yet he helped you..."
"So, when he went to bomb Gotham, I didn't stop him." Lucifer said a bit languidly, "Do you think I couldn't stop him?"
Greed sighed, he knew. It seemed Lucifer couldn't ultimately prevent it, but in fact, he didn't want to stop it, otherwise, shaking God up, Anatoli wouldn't stand a chance.
"So, he cheated you once, and you two are barely even." Greed said, "Don't keep it against him."
"I'm not holding it against him!" Lucifer raised his voice, "He's the one who brought up Constantine, yet he himself went to Reed to drown his sorrows in alcohol, didn't he?"
"Though I don't know why, it seems he deliberately tried to irritate you."
"Of course, I noticed, I just don't understand why." Lucifer was so angry he paced in circles, "Clearly, he's the one who didn't tell me he returned, yet I have to appease him. If he's angry because of old grudges, he should just say so. Why bring up Constantine to be sarcastic?"
Greed thought for a moment, anyways, the issue between these two cannot be untangled. He said plainly, "Anatoli must have his reasons for doing this, definitely not just to hurt your feelings. I want to find out what he is up to."
Lucifer also stopped. He took a few deep breaths to calm down, then said, "Actually, I also find it strange. You've spent a long time with him, and you know he's not a petty person. A wine glass shard and a bullet casing, come on, would he really make a fuss over such things?"
"That's why I said, his abnormal behavior just proves he's brewing some big plan again." Greed came closer to Lucifer and said, "You don't know, I probably inherited it from him. If you don't keep a close eye on him, one day he might blow something up and run away again, and it would be messy."
Lucifer deeply agreed, he said, "Rest assured, he can't fool me with such tricks. I promise to keep a close watch on him."
Greed let out a breath of relief. The most important thing now is to get Lucifer to turn this corner. The more Anatoli intends to drive him away, the more he cannot leave. Otherwise, Anatoli will surely concoct a big mess.
However, Greed considers himself relatively fair. He said, "I'm not saying you should always put up with him. If he brings up the past, you can do the same. You go drinking with Constantine, wasn't it because you were heartbroken?"
"Why am I upset? I..."
Gazing at him greedily. Lucifer blinked as if he realized something and nodded, saying, "That's right. It's all his fault for self-destructing; otherwise, why would I be upset enough to drown my sorrows in alcohol?"
"Exactly. If you keep saying it, Anatoli might not be able to bear it himself. You know he never likes to see friends upset."
Lucifer nodded, seemingly mustering his courage. He walked over and called out, catching Anatoli's attention as he was passionately discussing with Bruce.
But the moment he saw those blue eyes, Lucifer lost his nerve completely and started explaining, "The Constantine I drank with wasn't those scoundrels..."
Greed and Bruce simultaneously slapped their foreheads. Lucifer Morningstar was truly hopeless.
Not wanting to get involved in their drama, they left the room to find another empty office, planning to study Papetua thoroughly. But just then, Reed came in.
"How was it? Was my comfort effective?" Reed said with a grin, "They should have reconciled by now, right?"
Greed resisted the urge to punch him and said, "How could you tell Lucifer you were with Anatoli at that time..."
Reed froze for a moment, then said, "What about me and him? When he asked me to drink with him, he mentioned Lucifer, didn't he? Doesn't that prove he's upset? I was just reasoning it out according to the method you taught me. It's impossible to misunderstand."
"He seems to have understood correctly," Bruce said quietly, looking at Greed.
Greed of course understood. If that's how it's phrased, there's no real issue, but the problem is that the speaker is Reed; his way of expressing it probably resembles boasting more than comforting.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this." Greed couldn't stand these family dramas anymore, so he said, "We still have to research Papetua."
"Creator Goddess?" Reed raised his eyebrows and said, "You've already encountered her?"
"No, how do you know about the Creator Goddess?" Bruce couldn't help but ask.
"Look at this," Reed suddenly pulled something from his pocket. It was a small polyhedral pendant, with a black framework and semi-transparent blue glass. Bruce looked at it but couldn't recognize it. Greed was completely frozen in place.
"Ten Thousand Celestial Instruments?!!!" Greed almost roared, "Where did you get this?!!!"
"I know you're anxious, but calm down first," Reed said very calmly, "There's no Multiverse inside; it's empty."
"But...but..."
"I remember I told you. Long before you came here, I was already observing the whole process and naturally researching where you're coming from. My research into neighboring universes is far deeper than you can imagine. Otherwise, how could I conduct research on Battleworld?"
Greed immediately thought of the large hole in the office wall that had just been patched up. "So your research method is to make a hole?"
"Of course not, it was an experimental accident," Reed shook his head and said, "I can't tell you the details of the experiment's content, but it won't happen again. Let's talk about the Creator Goddess; what are your plans for dealing with her?"
Greed and Bruce looked at each other, the plans swirling in their minds just now seemed somewhat conservative. After all, Reed asked about it, they couldn't fall short.
"Actually, I have an idea," Reed said, "But we need a deeper understanding of the Creator Goddess. Where she comes from, what kind of entity she is, what kind of person she truly is."
Greed squinted slightly: "That's unlike you. I thought you'd be more inclined to view these mysterious entities as neutral cosmic resources."
"I can tell you very clearly that the Creator Goddess is different," Reed said, "I don't care what you know about her outside of the facts; that might not be the complete truth. You'd better treat her with caution."
Bruce fell into thought and said, "Actually, I originally just wanted to swindle some power and then see how it goes. The way you put it, I might need to communicate with her more. Luckily, I left her a good impression."
"How did you manage that?" Reed asked.
"I just love my mom," Bruce said, "That way, she does seem different from those mysterious entities. She seems able to understand motherly love."
"Alright, I think the problem we urgently need to solve now isn't this." Greed sighed, glanced at the office next door, and said, "We need to give them a chance to communicate—not physical communication."
"That's too difficult, you know Lucifer..."
"What's difficult about it?" Reed said, "From my research, Battleworld is very sturdy. As long as they're in Battleworld, they can't fight. If we can set up a level that limits their abilities, that's all they'll be able to do, communicate."
"Genius!" Greed praised, "I'll go trick them now."