The Lord of the Golden Eyes' face held a profound expression.
"Because you, like me, are His rebel."
"Only you would do this."
Only Yahweh, who thousands of years ago had boldly spoken against the Creator God before him, who had shown no reverence for the Creator God, could have acted this way. This meant he cared nothing for the present or future of humanity.
The more Lucifer had once worried, the more he rejoiced now.
"Don't you dare talk nonsense!" Haniya's emerald eyes glared fiercely at the arrogant Demon King.
How could Yahweh... how could he be a rebel!
"Yahweh isn't an angel who doesn't care about humans!"
He taught me to follow human laws, to cherish nature, to uphold the principle of equivalent exchange. All along our journey, we never took a single thing from humanity without proper compensation, nor did we ever use magic to toy with any human...
The angel stammered as he spoke of Yahweh. Lucifer was astonished by the Yahweh Haniya described—a Yahweh he didn't recognize. Yet he didn't let this foolish angel, who dared to interrupt him, off the hook.
This unguarded angel, with just a few words, revealed the entire journey in detail. Lucifer instantly reconstructed their complete itinerary.
"So, what are you afraid of now?" Lucifer asked, gazing at Haniya with dark eyes brimming with malice.
They had indeed acted without divine authorization or Heaven's approval. Haniya's mind still vividly recalled the scene beneath the Tower of Babel—a breathtaking sight, but as the demon had said, Yahweh at that moment...
At that moment, Yahweh was indeed as cold as a demon, his eyes devoid of any trace of humanity.
All his words were useless against Haniya's guilt. He clutched Yahweh's sleeve with trembling hands, as if to prevent him from slipping away.
Sensing Haniya's terror, God turned to glance at the angel.
"There's no need to fear. The human race won't collapse just because their languages are jumbled," God said gently, knowing Haniya's deepest worry. He added, as if to reassure him, "So you..." God paused, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, "and I... neither of us will be punished."
The angel's eyes gradually lit up at his words, and God turned his gaze to Lucifer. Unlike what Lucifer had suggested, He saw nothing wrong with His actions.
"The mountains crumbled from excessive pride, the hills collapsed under the weight of greed. Why should I not close Heaven's Gate to punish such folly?"
"From human folly arises wisdom, granting life renewal. The obedient shall find joy, and the repentant shall have their eyes opened."
Lucifer narrowed his eyes at the sound, suddenly sensing something was amiss.
Yahweh wasn't acting like a rebel at all; rather, he seemed like a staunch supporter of Jehovah.
"All things have their destiny. Humans, born in sin, are meant to live on earth. Nimrod's disrespect for heaven and his arrogant defiance of natural law mean neither he nor his city will endure." God gazed at the demonic creatures spread across the land as He proclaimed judgment upon the City of Nimrod. "Yet humans are not the only ones who harbor such ambition."
Hell had defied divine authority many times before. His golden eyes fell upon the group of demons behind Lucifer, among whom were the two who had arrogantly named themselves after the sun and moon in the land of Shinar.
Lucifer had sought to ruin Yahweh's reputation, but he had never considered usurping his position. This restraint earned him Yahweh's tolerance, yet not all the demonic creatures under his command shared his restraint.
His previous indifference had emboldened them, and under the flattery of humans, they had grown truly reckless.
"The world must have order. Demons thrive on chaos, and I will not interfere with that. But if you insist on destroying the world's natural law with your own chaos, you shall face judgment immediately!"
As the words fell, not only did the two demons who had impersonated the sun and moon to deceive Nimrod scream and writhe on the ground, but all the other demons present who had previously impersonated false gods to deceive humanity also cried out in agony.
"Yahweh!" Lucifer was stunned by Yahweh's decisive display of power. He was forced to acknowledge two facts:
First, Yahweh's strength far exceeded his imagination.
Second, he was indeed a supporter of the Creator God.
"Are you truly going to become His blade and oppose me?"
A pang of sorrow struck him. After millennia, had Yahweh truly changed?
"I am who I am," Yahweh responded to the name Lucifer had called. "I have never changed."
This was neither the rebellion Lucifer had once imagined, nor the support Lucifer claimed. Yahweh *is* him, and he *is* Yahweh. Could the difference truly be so vast, simply because one was cloaked in holy light?
Lucifer could maintain such a gentle, understanding attitude towards his Yahweh avatar, yet his true form in the Ninth Heaven remained locked in an endless, stubborn war against the Creator, clinging to its venomous slander.
This stark dichotomy baffled the gods.
Lucifer, however, interpreted this as a claim that he had always been Jehovah's supporter.
He smiled bitterly, the sudden realization shattering the soft memories of days past in his heart.
If Yahweh wasn't a rebel, but one who still held firm to his beliefs after confronting the Creator God's injustice... As he gazed at Yahweh, he remembered the very virtues he had once clung to and now scorned:
Loyalty, generosity, justice, fortitude, temperance, humility, and never falling.
These Seven Virtues, which he had once viewed as the Creator God's means of imprisonment, had led him through bitter trials and humiliating defeats, ultimately reducing him to utter ruin. After leaving Heaven, he had refused to believe that such perfect beings could truly exist in the world.
Yet Yahweh's existence stirred doubt and fear within him.
Not out of hatred, but out of love.
Even after the bitter realization that they were not on the same side...