🪻☁️

He states in the event

He's fully aware that what he's doing is wrong, that he's taking away Michael's growth, but in his mind it's the only way to protect his brother from punishment.

I'm not saying that Lucifer is completely innocent but this servers to show why Lucifer is constantly doing this. This isn't the last time Micheal's and others memories will be messed with so he doesn't have to face the consequences or punishment. Lucifer's pride as a brother and protector of them will not allow for it

He cannot stand the idea of Michael being in serious trouble especially with the way God's bitch ass reacts when he's pissed off. Lucifer raised all the seraphs by hand what does say about him if his brothers are out doing shit like this and ruining both their and his reputation.

The fandom tends to forget Lucifer was under the same cult-like practices as the angels were. He was raised to love a god for no other reason than he willed them too. He's as traumatized as Michael is if not more so since he's at the front of all of God's tantrums. It's his responsibility to take it and no one else is allowed to.

Lucifer's love for his brothers are stunting their progress he knows this but is unable to allow them to feel and steep in uncomfortable emotions, to feel like they've done wrong. Even to this day his immediate reaction is to whip Micheal's memories.

Lucifer has changed much since fallen and becoming a king of hell but his pride over his lost brothers is still unchanged and now also goes for his new family as well

Like the event where Micheal helps some other angels with a song that makes all paradise lost demons including the nobles themselves hate Lucifer and immediately try to kill him. He never raises a hand to strike back, nor even defend himself he just lets himself get hurt.

*gasp* A child

(But do not worry, Father. Wherever you may be, I will never forget your place, nor cease to honor and worship it.) Standing before the empty throne, Michael traced the sign of the cross.

This event takes place in the before times, like forever ago Michael has just gained his adult form, as in he's probably 18-21. God appears before him and tells him to watch over this random child, nameless btw. But looking closely, Michael notices the child's three grey pupils and a smol horn on the back of his head.

Michael is racist shocked and appalled at the thought of having to take care of a devil, much less a devil child. He immediately wants to pass the responsibility off to his brothers, which I will note becomes a running theme for him. And God says something like 'no it's because I totally just happen to make him similar to you.' Michael is horrified at the idea of him being ANYTHING like a devil and he questions why. God responds:

"This child was created to protect Heaven and Hell from what lies beyond them. However, the child refuses to use his power. So keep him by your side and awaken that power."

Michael asks what the almighty and all powerful God could possibly consider a threat and God just straight up does not answer the question. He literally responds with 'Michael Im not perfect, you could never understand the burdens of an adult'. 🤨 Also apparently God is 20 billion years old ? That's how long He says it would take for the seraphim to become true adults like Him.

Anyways, Michael's about to ask wtf his age has to do with the threats outside the universe and the child looks at him and he feels his heart drop in his chest; he's mesmerized. To the point that he forgets he had legit questions and God just says "ok thanks bye!" and leaves. Then immediately after God leaves, Michael turns to the kid and says 'I want nothing to do with you, figure out your own powers because I'm a great and powerful seraph and I don't have time to deal with you'. 😬

Diligence vs Sloth

"...Yes. As You wish, Father. I shall take in this small thing and make it prove its usefulness."

Interestingly, this is the first mention to Sloth or Diligence in the story. Diligence is usually described as persistence so I've never really made the connection between Diligence and usefulness before. Though there are elements of both to the story's depiction of Diligence.

After Michael shuns the kid, he tries to go about his business but the little devil starts following him everywhere. Every time the kid shows up asking Michael for attention, he shoves him in a closet or something to keep other angels from seeing him because Michael's literally sooo embarrassed.

When Michael gets really fed up with the child, he decides to take on a dangerous bounty mission, and he deliberately takes a complicated route hoping the child doesn't follow him. And if he does follow, Michael would be okay with him getting lost or worse. The bounty he goes after is a monstrous creature described as not from Heaven or Hell. It's domain, and where Michael heads, is "the desolate wasteland between Hell and Heaven, where fierce sandstorms raged." This has to be the middle realm right? It's interesting that it used to look like that back then as we know it looks more like Heaven in the present day of the story.

He gets to this place and guess who else is here? It's the child, tugging on Michael's pant leg as if they were still just at home.

Well, Michael is annoyed now, so he figures he can just kill the beast and go back to Heaven but as it turns out, his seraph powers don't work on it... Michael gets got by the "grotesque" beast, which is "covered in dozens of limbs". It grabs Michael by the ankle and starts to drag him underground. As Michael accepts his fate, the child raises one arm to the creature, his pupils start to rotate, and he shoots a pitch-black aura from his tiny fingers. The beast is not only killed, but completely eviscerated and turned to ash. o_o

The devil child saved his life and he's not even thankful, instead Michael immediately sees the child as a tool. He goes to pick up the kid but not because he was entrusted to Michael, but because he is now useful to Michael.

Back in Heaven, everyangel is praising Michael for his kill. Even God and Lucifer commend his achievements. Michael responds to them by saying he just loves to ease God's worries to which He says that He's glad to hear it! because Michael's new task is to build a palace (ie chapel, idk why they say palace that one single time).

Michael gets really stressed over this assignment, even with the greatest builders and architects in Heaven he can't seem to draft a blueprint for this chapel. As he's crying about it in his office and having his internal monologue, the child keeps calling for him. Then he fucking snaps and lifts the kid up by the back of his shirt and it's so cute that the kid is actually having fun, he has no idea Michael wants to throw him off their cloud 😭

Michael sees the child laughing and comes back to his senses, then jokingly says "If you want to play with me that badly, then why don't you go build a chapel on that empty lot yourself?" and we know it's a joke bc Michael isn't gonna play with him either way 😔 but then without even thinking, the kid lifts his tiny hand out towards the empty lot. His two pupils start to spin again and the chapel starts building itself out of thin air. Once again, everyone praises Michael for the little one's achievements.

There's one line when Michael is first given this assignment that hit really hard. "Rather than a reward, he had just been handed an even greater responsibility." It's just like irl, when you're the only person at your work that actually does their job, instead of getting your days off respected, they just lay more work on you 😣. That's the cost of diligence fr. The more he does to gain praise the more is expected of him and the more he has to put on this facade of being extra powerful and having everything under control. He's girlbossing too close to the sun, I fear.

A few days after the chapel incident, Michael is visited by his bestest friend (and vice commander) Beleth and Beleth's friend Jophiel. The three of them are drinking tea, hanging out, praising Michael when suddenly the child pops out from under Michael's desk. uh oh.

Beleth and Jophiel go to attack but Michael stops them and explains that raising this child and awakening his power is a mission from God. The two angels accept this answer and are instantly enamored with the child.

Beleth and Jophiel, I think, show Sloth very well in their own ways. Sloth's definition is usually ascribed to laziness, malaise, apathy; someone that avoids socializing, someone that has little interest in their immediate environment could be described as Slothful. And a lot of these attributes sound like what we (in the year of our Lord 2026) would consider to be depression/mental illness or neurodivergence. We know that Heaven is a very strict place, and that these two have always felt out of place in Heaven.

This line in particular really shows the prejudices that angels hold towards devils. To be Diligent here would be to continue to uphold these socially constructed values and letting the ghost of these ideas command their actions. Instead, when their new experience doesn't match the social narrative, the two angels are quick to drop these prejudices.

There's one scene that stands out the most in comparing Sloth and Diligence to me. As Beleth and Jophiel spend more time with the child, he really warms up to them. He learns their names, he goes to jump in Beleth's arms, and he starts asking Beleth to give him all these random things like the badge on his shirt and the gloves in his belt. Michael might be getting jealous of all this attention, although he doesn't realize it yet, and he says Beleth is too soft on the kid.

Beleth responds: "It's only because the things he wants just happen to be things I can give him." We've seen how neglectful Michael has been to the child but a lot of his mistreatment really stems from the pressure he feels to conform to Heaven's social constructs. He doesn't want the kid to be seen bc a devil shouldn't be in Heaven, he doesn't want the kid to be associated with him, bc he is a pure seraph and devils are inherently unpure. He doesn't want others to know that the child was the one to accomplish those great feats bc he is a seraph with tremendous power so if this child did something he could not what does that mean for his rank?

All of these worries he has stem from an internal place of judgement, and Beleth's treatment of the kid goes against what Michael has been valuing this whole time. It costs nothing for Beleth to humor the kid, and it would've cost nothing for Michael to hug the child when he runs up to him, to thank him for saving his life (multiple times), to reward him in any way; but Michael actively avoids showing any kind of affection towards the little one. He would rather diligently uphold his bigotry, the pride that comes with his rank as a seraph, and his perceived superiority over devils and the other angels.

And it would be sooooo easy for Michael to have that affection from the little one that the other two get if he could only allow himself the Sloth to drop this act. It's really sad honestly.

Now Jophiel, we know from other events and some dialogue here that he cannot stand the culture and social norms of Heaven. This whole event he just does NOT want to be here. He doesn't want to hang out with Michael at first, he wants to pretend he didn't see the devil child, and in the climax he only acts towards bringing justice because it would honor Beleth, I think if it was anyone else that (spoilers) died he wouldn't have bothered.

Beleth shows Sloth in a bit of a different way. As a devil and as an angel, Beleth is the type to overwork himself but I think what he really enjoys is taking the burden of work from others so that they can rest and be lazy. We see that here when Michael asks him why they're always in his office and don't they have anything better to do. Beleth responds with "Of course we do. We're making time out of our busy schedules to come here. To lighten Sir Michael's heavy burden".

However, even though he takes on responsibility that isn't his, I wouldn't say Beleth is diligent. When he starts gushing over how cute the child is, Michael hits him with, "Then why don't you take him and raise him yourself?" to which Beleth responds "How could I do that? This is a special mission Father entrusted only to you, Sir Michael." A more diligent angel would be honored to be given such a responsibility by Michael himself.

This is in direct contrast to how the angels of Michael's legion react when Michael orders them to do a literally impossible task. Later in the story when a tentacle monster corpse from the Outside appears near Heaven's gate, Michael is genuinely scared. He knows his seraph powers don't work on these creatures so lower ranking angels would be just as useless but he makes them try anyway because he just doesn't know what to do that wouldn't expose the fact that he did not kill the other beast from earlier. Even tho these angels have already been trying and failing, they see this command as a chance to prove themselves and to show their Diligence (in this case both usefulness and perseverance) to Michael.

Michael's Envy

It starts after the chapel incident, when we see Michael's Pride begin to break. He starts to feel this tinge of guilt over everything but he quickly pushes it down. I don't think he understands that what he's feeling is Envy. He gets so mad when the little one accomplishes tasks without even thinking while he struggles at the same task. He claims the child's accomplishments as his own, even in his inner monologue as if he's only taking what he wants from the kid. And when he sees Beleth and Jophiel fall for the child, he doesn't know how to feel but he knows he doesn't want them there.

When the corpse appears at Heaven's gate and Michael arrives at the scene, Beleth and Jophiel are right behind him carrying a wooden chest containing the sleeping child. Which lowkey felt illegal. Then completely unprompted the kid shoots out his black aura and saves Michael's ass from humiliation. Everyone cheers, Michael loves the attention, etc etc.

After this incident tho, Michael starts to see maybe why God created a weapon to defend from the Outside. So when they get back to Michael's office and the kid sleeps, he uses his big juicy seraph brain (?) to expand his consciousness beyond the universe and look Outside (??). I have questions about this that I don't think will ever be answered even tho Im probably the one that has the most faith in pb T^T.

We don't know what he saw; but we do know that whatever it was saw him BACK. He recedes his consciousness back into his body (???) to find he's still in his office. Then the warning horns blare and the sky opens up and enormous beings the size of mountain ranges try to pour into Heaven.

One of the creatures breaches the sky with its giant tentacle and it goes straight towards Michael. He's still holding the chest with the child and he's looking at this tentacle knowing he can't dodge and his powers don't work on it. He closes his eyes ready to die, and the child saves his ass yet again.

(This brat... did he just save my 'life'?)

Michael pookie... When he realizes the little one was protecting him, he turns to face his legion more arrogant than ever and yells for all of Heaven to hear, "witness my infinite power cloaked in dark light". The kid then, WITHOUT BEING TOLD TO, makes it look like Michael is shooting black lasers from his fingers and again, he's not even thankful and is just happy that he's fooled everyone.

Back in his office, he looks in the chest but there is not a child inside, instead there is a large black egg. Michael is scared for a sec, what would he say to God? What if another invasion occurs? He goes to touch the egg and he feels the little one's familiar aura and is relieved. A week passes and the egg cracks open, but a child does not emerge. He has grown into a young boy.

I'm not entirely sure of the symbolism for the egg, but there is a lot of symbolism for the child's age jumps. I debated including this bc big yikes conversation but it's important to me to normalize talking about parental abuse ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ )

[feel free to skip tho ⏭️]

So, neglect is in fact a form of abuse. The way Michael doesn't recognize the kid as a tween is so telling of how he sees the kid, not as his own being but as Michael's tool and therefore an extension of himself. Compare that to how Beleth and Jophiel reacted to seeing the tween. Beleth recognized him immediately and Jophiel tried to grill Michael about why or how the child grew so much. And later, Beleth is the one trying to get Michael to see how he's harming the kid.

When Michael sees a young boy that can talk and think for himself, he's afraid of what the kid might say, he's afraid the kid will turn against him. So Michael decides to, not quite gaslight him, but he definitely tries to narrow the child's world view. Michael fully intends to place himself as a superior to the child, so that he will always be obedient, so that he will always help Michael and Michael can pass it off as his own achievements. Later when Michael is 'training' the kid and Lucifer asks why he has him throwing rocks at a target, he makes up some bs about how he's training the kid's concentration; still neglecting to actually help the child.

This is definitely me reading way too much into it but at some point Michael tells him it's good they can have conversations now and that he can talk more and the kid asks if Michael likes that he can have conversations and Michael fucking tells him to shut up ;~; The kid is always seeking reassurance from Michael and it's so sad that Michael doesn't even realize this. The kid learned very early on that the only way for his caretaker to show something that resembled affection, was for him to use his power in this specific way. It's really no wonder the kid doesn't know what would motivate him to bring out this power at will.

Another aspect of this is how empathic the child is to Michael's emotions, later in the story resonating with Michael's anger. And early on, understanding what Michael expects from him with there being any intentional communication.

Not to mention the Envy Michael feels towards a toddler doing whatever he wants. Lowkey lowkey, it concerns me that I can relate to this feeling. Like, I understand the jealousy towards seeing a kid that's allowed to be a kid :/

[⏭️ ⏯️] Am I gonna get cancelled if I say I think this event is legit good representation of how abuse breeds mental illness and malaise?

There's a point when Beleth and Jophiel see the tween and Beleth still gives him a button off his clothes and Michael makes a snarky comment about how he's not a kid anymore and Beleth shouldn't treat him like that still. Michael's envy getting more apparent the older the kid gets.

After the incident at Heaven's gate, God assigns Michael to guard the doorway to the Outside. I'm confused because in the first episode it says Michael didnt even know that there was an 'outside' to the Hell/Heaven dimension but there's a whole ass door that goes to the Outside ?? gonna ignore that detail. Michael stares out into the void of space where there's primordial monsters with 'weird eyes'. He's scared but he's too prideful to run away so he just stops looking and his legion interprets that as him being too good to even look at the monsters. lol okay??

A monster breaches the doorway and Michael makes a big announcement like before about 'his' eternal dark light and from the commander's tent, the kid reaches out his hand to help the spectacle. Everyone cheers, etc.

Michael retreats back to his tent and orders that no one is to come in. The kid tries to hug him but Michael just pushes him back... His hair no longer white and getting darker.

The kid says he's becoming like Michael with the black hair and again, Michael is unhappy with the comparison to a lowly devil.

Beleth, in an attempt to be Michael's friend, enters the tent and sees the kid's black hair and starts to worry. Although, he'd had his suspicions since Michael first used the kid's black light. Beleth genuinely tries to convince Michael to stop using the child's power because it clearly is affecting him but Michael is (only a little) justifiably afraid, since he knows the only thing that works against the aliens is the kid's power.

This is when Michael gets panicked and angry, the kid resonates and, because he actually doesn't know how to control his powers, he lets out a black pressure along with the high emotions. Michael orders him to kill Beleth, and the kid shoots a black ray through his heart. The kid's hair is now completely black.

On God (and Lucifer)

There's a bit of an implication in the game that Sloth also involves someone staying in a situation that is detrimental for them out of convenience or familiarity. In other stories it's played off as more of a joke, like Nilfheimers always joking about how they hate their jobs or they hate the workload or they hate Belphegor but they actually don't know what they would rather be doing instead. I don't like that interpretation of Sloth in this story because it comes off as victim blaming. As if a child has the resources or world view to know a situation is bad for them. Especially in this moment when the child's hair turns completely black; it's implied that it's a physical manifestation of his sin. His sin is killing Beleth sure, but ultimately he only did that because he was told to by the one person he would never disobey. The child's ultimate sin is the Sloth that came from his abuse. Yeah no I don't like that, but it kind of is what the story is saying.

Another thing I'm not a huge fan of is the heavier lean into white=good and black=bad. It's a bit of a theme that's been in the game since ch 1 but this event really hammers it in. Someone posted a bit ago that Michael was the most likely seraph to fall (idr who tho sorry!), and if you look at his design he does look rather devilish. The black hair, the heavy jewelry, the asymmetry with his eyes and head wing, and the stars in his halo (all being motifs that show up more in devils' designs).

So with that in mind, do we think maybe Michael's hair also used to be white and then turned black due to how he was treated? There's a lot of parallels to how the child only sees Michael and obeys him blindly with how Lucifer was towards God AND how Michael is towards Lucifer. Maybe that's what God meant when he said Michael and the child resembled one another.

Speaking of the devil >.> I find it interesting that Lucifer only decides to act when Michael starts to outwardly lose reverence towards him. There's a line that says something like 'it's not as if Lucifer didn't know what was happening' after Beleth's death when Michael intentionally bumps him as they cross path. Then Michael says "watch yourself hyung" as if he didn't do anything wrong, which isn't relevant it's just funny, wow Mikey such a diva. But it's after this moment that Lucifer starts to think Michael has gone too far. Really Luci? NOW you're bothered? Not when Michael ordered a child to kill someone in cold blood? Not when Michael started crashing out over Beleth's death and killing more angels? When he bumped your shoulder? Goddamn (literally).

He tries to go talk with Michael after this incident but he's not in his office; instead, the child greets the first seraph. Lucifer is surprised that the kid isn't affected by his holy aura, but he assumes it's because the kid was created by God. He's also surprised that the kid remembers his name and can speak now, also that he's got black hair. Michael's been keeping lots of secrets. Lucifer asks the kid how his hair turned black but he doesn't know. The story makes it a point to mention that he's a devil and he can't lie but he does know when it happened and what he was doing. So I wonder if there's a deeper meaning in this scene. There's also the implication that Lucifer knows something about color changing hair when he hears this response and furrows his brows; which is another reason I believe the same thing happened to Michael when he was young. Lucifer tells the kid he should treasure himself, because he is a being created by God and leaves.

Meanwhile, Jophiel has kept quiet this whole time but he finally decides he can't just sit still, he needs to avenge his boyfriend. He decides almost on impulse he needs to go straight to the top, but the problem is that Lucifer's aura is too strong to just go up to him. Jophiel knows he could die just by entering Lucifer's greenhouse but he tries anyway. Lucifer's immense pressure makes him fall straight to his knees and his wings start to burn. He tells Jophiel he's arrogant for coming here on his own, but Lucifer will spare his life because he may have the answers Lucifer seeks.

"Is the devil under Michael's care currently in danger?" "Yes, he is." "Is Michael himself becoming a threat?" "Yes, he is." "Is Michael guilty?" "Unquestionably guilty."

The first two questions make sense, the child is getting older and he still can't control his immense power and Michael is losing touch with reality and becoming reckless. The last question is a bit out there tho, "guilty" of what? I suppose Michael is guilty of causing the child to become sinful if we assume that his hair turning black is a sign of that. He's definitely guilty of killing a few people too. I wonder tho if the story meant "guilty" not as in a verdict but as in Michael is filled with the feelings of guilt? as its mentioned earlier that his cruelty was his twisted way of grieving.

Lucifer escorts Jophiel back to his post so he won't get in trouble for leaving but first he has to punish the angel. Jophiel of course knew he was breaking the rules of Heaven and expected punishment, but Lucifer feels bad about having to do this.

And it really sucks that the rules are so strict that even doing the right thing gets punished in Heaven, but I think Lucifer might actually be granting him a mercy in a way. He specifically says "as an angel". We know from Jophiel's event that he kind of does want to fall and join Beleth in Hell/Nilfheim but he's doing this secret agent stuff and that's sort of his excuse to not leave Heaven. In his event when he meets the other devils he's shocked that they accept him and treat him so kindly despite being an angel. "As an angel" Jophiel will not belong anywhere but maybe as a devil he could find a home? Of course at this point (and even in the present day) in the timeline he's definitely not ready to hear that.

After this meeting, Lucifer has everything he needs and brings this to God. So, from what we know of God, I really don't think he cares lmao?? Lucifer seems so righteous about the whole situation and then God just responds with "do whatever you wish." Then it says His response was so calm that it seemed as though He had expected this outcome.

Lucifer confronts Michael and upon hearing his punishment, Michael is outraged. 'Who gave you the right to tear off my wings?' 'and destroying him too is unbelievably self-righteous.' 'You were planning to use the kid anyway, what's wrong with me borrowing his power?' Truly, the child did nothing wrong, and it may be true that God created the child specifically to be a weapon first and alive second. (This isn't said/implied anywhere just imo.)

Then Lucifer says something that I think shines a light on this ending a bit, because I was confused, a lot of posts I read were confused, it's a very vague and convenient ending. Lucifer says, "Even now you refuse to repent for your sins! The blood of Beleth lies pooled at your feet!" The child calls for Michael, again empathizing with Michael's negative emotions and he orders the kid to attack Lucifer. Lucifer suddenly realizes the immense power the kid has and decides to try to kill both of them right then and there. But when he shoots his holy light at them, the kid says to Michael the same thing Lucifer said to him. "You have to treasure yourself, Michael."

The kid hugs Michael, pulling him in and enveloping them both in an egg made of his black smoke. Lucifer fires at the egg but his holy power has no effect on it. Again, I don't really know what the egg is supposed to symbolize, I guess other than rebirth which is somewhat relevant. When they emerge, the child is not a tween anymore and now looks to be about 16-19 and Michael suddenly seems to be thinking clearly again for the first time since Beleth's execution. He doesn't know why, but he suddenly feels a tightness in his chest and the need to protect the kid.

I do want to note that the kid doesn't attack Lucifer like Michael ordered him to, his age jump here I think being symbolic of him being old enough to make his own choices and to have a better grasp of the generational trauma his family has inflicted on themselves. Because I really can't help but compare this scene to a grandparent (Lucifer) attempting to uhhh for lack of a better word, discipline their grandchild (the kid).

Lucifer again tries to shoot to kill but Michael yells to wait, and before he can think he shields the devil with his own body. The light beam burning his wings and tearing at his form. Lucifer responds to Michael's plea by saying it's too late, 'he had already decided' on the outcome. This is an interesting choice of words because it implies that Lucifer is the one making the choice to continue the punishment, rather than the punishment coming from some unwavering law of the universe or even God himself.

I hadn't really put it together before reading @/julytheghost's post about this ending that the angels see physical abuse as punishment and the resulting pain as their penance. Michael standing in the way of the light beam and letting it burn his wings might be his way of trying to punish himself for the guilt he feels about everything he did. The kid doesn't accept this tho and pushes Michael out of the way. It's very striking how differently they both react to the light too. Michael screaming in agony and purposely letting it hit his wings, the wings often being referred to as an angel's pride; and him losing his wings being the punishment Lucifer was intent to give him anyway. Meanwhile, the kid doesn't even seem to be in pain and instead of the light tearing him apart, it causes him to age regress back into a toddler. Michael can't stand seeing this and when the kid seems like he's about to disappear Michael yells out:

"A sinner seeks confession for the sake of repentance!! I did it all! I used the little one, and out of fear that my disgrace would be exposed, I killed Beleth! I used this devil as nothing more than a tool for my own glory! Everything was a sin born from my arrogance and inferiority!!"

At this, God finally shows up. He says He heard Michael's repentance but that judgement has already been passed. Like, okay dude it's not like you're literally God 🙄. At some point, Michael holds the child in his arms and Lucifer is shocked at this brotherly affection from him.

But Michael pleads again, saying he doesn't care what happens to him so long as the devil's life can be spared. And this is actually what does it, God speaks to him saying his 'sacrifice is noble'. Remember how Michael is the seraph of Kindness? I think the way the game is interpreting Kindness is as sacrifice. Apparently the opposite of feeling envious towards what others have is to give them something you can never regain, ie sacrifice. And apparently Michael's virtue is so strong that God just cancels out his sin, leaving him at zero basically, and He allows Michael to choose the devil's fate. Michael declares:

"This being is one of the Seven Devil Kings ordained by God! The devil destined to govern 'Sloth', whom Father seeks - 'Belphegor'! He is a devil who will one day lead the devils, a devil who will protect the world created by God! And if this devil fails to become what I have declared him to be, then even at the cost of my own life, shape him into that being."

There's a lot to unpack here. First is the bit, "Sloth, whom Father seeks". Why is He looking for Sloth? Did he lose it? Wouldn't He know which of His devils become kings since He is all knowing and He literally created them? Unless He doesn't know what sin even is at this point and that's why He created the devils in the first place? There's also the last bit, the command "shape him into that being". We have seen prophesies be told before, but who would be doing the shaping? God?? The laws of the universe?? With this and the way the kings had very little control over their personas in the school au event, I'm starting to think angels and devils don't have free will O.o

I skipped over it earlier but when the kid pulls Michael into his egg, Lucifer says his powers are alien and they need to be eradicated. This ties back to how Sloth is partially defined as not putting in the effort to fit in to society. It's really beautiful that this kid, who is literally a devil in Heaven, that is seen as an other, that Lucifer literally tried to kill two seconds ago is now being prophesied to become a king, to lead others of his kind and protect the entire world. Okay I have sooo many feelings about this event but this is really why I genuinely love this stupid game. The interpretation of the sins and virtues goes beyond them being just entirely bad or entirely good.

Like the way they represent Humility (the opposite Virtue to Pride) as confessing that you're not infallible and understanding your mistakes. As opposed to how I used to interpreted Humility as being humble. 'Oh no, i dont think it was that impressive' is a slippery slope to imposter syndrome and self deprecation. *cough*lucifer*cough*

Anyways, how does Michael know this is what the child will become? When Michael was being hit with Lucifer's holy light, he glimpsed the future. He says that "this world will not be able to survive without this child," and "these words come after I have cast everything aside and truly repented."

So, does confession and virtue really cancel out sin? I mean no, but also kind of, yes? Michael had been wracked with guilt over what he did to Beleth and he really forces himself to further suffer by becoming increasingly more cruel. His confession and penance allows him to overcome his guilt and this balances out his soul or whatever... but that doesn't erase the consequences of his sin. The kids hair is still black and those angels are still dead. Michael has a bit of a moment where he has this very mature aura about him. Really understanding that his actions have consequences that go beyond him, I think this is the moment where he genuinely steps into his role as the seraph of Kindness.

Then pretty much everything that happened gets undone 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Michael spends a few days recovering with baby Belphie then tells him he doesn't have to train his powers, he's enough as he is, and to continue to only do what he wants. Michael takes him to a desolate area of Hell where Nilfheim will one day in the far future exist, he tells Belphie that he's going to sleep; A very long sleep, some might say.

Then right before wrapping him in his black egg cocoon and burying him underground... Michael erases Belphie's memories of their time together. He's incredibly ashamed of how he treated Belphie and he really believes that this kid will be better off not remembering him. It's so...... frustrating to see how Michael genuinely grew from this experience and then immediately revert back to his Prideful ways, thinking he knows what's best for others and letting himself believe he'd be this awful presence in Belphie's memory. Even in their last few moments together, Michael thinks to himself he should get this over with so Belphie won't get too attached to him.

Likewise, Lucifer sees how distraught Michael is over this situation and ALSO ERASES HIS MEMORIES 😫. Immediately, Michael loses this maturity and Lucifer knows he's stolen Michael's opportunity to really grow and understand virtue. He prays that Michael not be punished for his sins and pride, since his soul is balanced as previously established.

This post by @/lowekey-art really puts in to words how I'd been feeling about Lucifer lately. He believes he's the only one allowed to suffer, the only one to have true understanding of anything, the only one that can do the right thing. It's brought up in a few of his cards how even tho he's in Hell and he's a devil king, he refuses to sin. And honestly??? him choosing to be a healer, choosing to save devils wounded by the war is STILL a manifestation of him trying to undo his brother's mistakes.

I literally always believed that Lucifer was just self-deprecating when he would say the angels are like that bc of him, but (at least in Mikey's case) no it's literally his fault. Also his student card is relevant here. He says in it that he wanted to build a school because he felt Heaven never grew or changed, and that angels are born knowing devotion to God (? i'd have to double check tho) but that they still had a lot to learn. Geez I wonder why they never grow as people Luci 🤨. It really makes me wonder how much he's omitted from MC and the other kings just because he doesn't see a correlation between the information others ask him and the full story.

Conclusions

(i still love him *kisses his forehead* he's capable of growth too)

I'm really happy to see the lore events they actually scripted earlier in production and not just the filler events they finished writing two hours before the deadline (ᵕ • ᴗ •)

So fun fact, Belphegor in demonology is a fallen angel. I always wondered if/how they would incorporate that and I do like what they did, having him look like an angel with the hair (whether my hair theory is real or not) and being raised by angels.

About the ending. I understand the criticism of it feels incomplete, because it does! What happens to Jophiel?? Does he remember or not because he can't not know why he's lowk exiled??? In The end of a long sleep, Beelzebub knows where Belphegor is and when he's gonna wake up, how!? If Lucifer made Michael forget, does that cancel out the forgetting that Michael gave to Belphie?? Bc why do Belphegor and Beleth seem like they know each other when they meet again, like genuinely if you read the dialogue it's heavily implied but they don't say it out loud?? Does Beleth just have a big fucking gap in his memory after he's revived?? Does he remember dying, does he only not remember Michael? Actually the only satisfying bit of information in this story is that by the end of it, Belphie never actually learned how to control his powers AND in that other story, mans still doesnt know what he's doing lol.

Lots of unanswered questions, but, and this is just my opinion in my 5k word essay, no one has to agree with me, I think that's part of the fun of an anthology-type storytelling format. I know most of the fandom rn has been playing since release or longer than me at least, and by now I realize how frustrating the release schedule is but I still find it rather charming tbh.

Another thing, I agree, the memory wipe is such a cop out lol. It really does lose it's effect after even being used just once. If Im being generous tho, that is something an all powerful and prideful deity would do. My main issue with it is that it's been used as the big climactic ending multiple times now. Imo it might've worked here if there was a second part that picked up immediately after Lucifer erases Michael's memory and the aftermath of that in them two. It could've more directly tied the student card and/or the idol event too. Imagine all that but from Beleth and Jophiel's perspective, that'd be so cute and angst ahhh

My biggest criticism is that we don't know what happened in the second egg. Yes, that is my biggest criticism bc we get soooo much of Michael's inner monologue up to this point and then suddenly he shuts the fuck up 😭 there's even a line during the first egg when he touches it and is all 'i wonder what's going on in there'. Im actually mad about this guys lmao.

I wanted to add, I also think this showcases a different approach to how Pride/Arrogance can present itself. Sure, he doesn’t want his brothers to feel guilt but one line in this current event stood out to me; HE couldn’t deal with watching Michael deal with grief/guilt, so he erased it.

As sad as Michael was, he was managing (and learning). Lucifer completely disregards this because LUCIFER couldn’t take it anymore. His feelings take precedence over everyone else’s. AND GOD IS ENABLING IT!!!

Also, his need to ‘bleed on everything’ with his broken wings and gaping wound is another representation of this thought process. He carries the weight of fault because HE thinks he’s the only one worthy of it (He definitely holds some fault but not all of it). It’s a subtle but very self centered way of thinking.

To be fair, I haven’t read all his cards so you could say I’m shooting from the hip here, but it’s an interesting thought.

The Sweetest Test seems to mostly serve the purpose of introducing Angra Mainyu (one of the love interests in PB's next game, Ark Academy) and the whole multiverse/extended universe concept they seem to want to accomplish with their games. Again, I really liked this event so it's not a criticism just an observation; but this felt more like a collection of scenes rather than a cohesive story. So I'm just gonna focus a bit more on the world that is (literally) created because they do show a lot of the world building and the kings innate personality traits by plucking them out of their story and putting them in a different genre.

It starts off with Satan thinking MC is depressed based on a series of encounters they have with him where they seem to be out of it and he jumps to conclusions. It's genuinely very cute how worried he is about them despite MC consistently verbalizing that they're totally fine. One day while in Satan's office with him and a few others, he accuses MC of being depressed again, they deny it, and Asmodeus shows up out of nowhere and says MC must be homesick if not depressed. Then everyone in the office freaks out and they start opening windows to vent out Asmo's pheromones, which isn't plot relevant it was just really funny.

Asmodeus, ever the schemer, of course says he has a solution for MC's "depression homesickness" and that is to make a deal with the god of another world, Angra Mainyu, to create a perfect world for MC with no stress or war. (Also the game uses he and they for Mainyu so imma hc them as he/they nonbinary even tho its probably just a translation error :) The other kings hear word of this and insist on meeting Mainyu with Asmodeus, so they borrow rent a little drone from Mammon and Asmo takes it with him to meet Azathoth, who can connect them with Mainyu.

Now, Azathoth's domain is described as the origin of all dimensions. We've seen him before in the kitty event, he rewinded time for MC to prevent the kings from dying but this created a branch (?) in the timeline and an alternate universe where the kings are turned into giant cats. Also MC is not present for this meeting with Azathoth/Mainyu.

In Azathoth's void, we get a glimpse of Mainyu's realm and it is blinding and brilliant, filled with giant golden mechanisms; and Mainyu themself is described as an expert in the creation of spacetime.

Mainyu seems evil lol, but he is very entertained by the idea of holding a bet with the kings. He'll create a perfect world for their human, but if MC decides they want to stay in that perfect world then the kings have to give up their entire Hell to Mainyu. The kings scoff at this proposal, saying ofc MC will want to return and they even increase the stakes, each asking for something from Mainyu if they win the bet and MC decides to come back. The only wager we see tho is Mammon saying he'll place his entire fortune on MC returning.

In the dream

MC, again, has no idea this is happening and wakes up from their nap on Satan's office couch in an unfamiliar room, no it's Minhyeok's room. Honestly it's really interesting that they find the room to be unfamiliar, and that it 'doesn't even smell like him'. In the main story, I think around ch 5 or so, MC isn't able to conjure the room anymore so I do wonder if their feelings for Minhyeok are changing because they've been able to form relationships in Hell. Although, this is just speculation on my part. Later in this story too, MC opens their lunch box and it's the same lunch Min used to cook for them. They feel lonely for a bit, but rather quickly get over it.

Since waking in this strange environment, MC feels more energetic and capable than usual from the effects of the wager with Mainyu. They basically have godly powers, but they don't realize it since no one told them this was another world created just for them. And since they believe this is a dream and they're wearing their school uniform they figure it's time to go to school.

We see the roles picked out for the kings at the school assembly. Beelzebub is shown first, he's the student council president. And he's really more of a figurehead than an actual leader. This is very similar to his role in Abyssos, where he... doesnt really do any kingly responsibilities but all his subjects still love and follow him.

Satan is introduced next. He's the leader of the biker gang, and the students seem to flock to him for being very cool. This is similar to his role in Gehenna, where even the devils of other countries look up to him. Mammon is Satan's rival, and a leader to the rich kids. He's also very cool and competent, and his faction seems to follow him for being a powerful and capable leader.

Leviathan is the head of the disciplinary committee. It's a bit abstract, but this is a really good role for Leviathan since Hades devils tend to know a lot of secrets. (Them knowing about the reverse tower in the main story, and Orias being the only one to know how to get into heaven in the previous event.) Later on in this story, Leviathan also mentions that he has students watching the campus exits, similar to how they do keep an eye on who or what is coming and going from Hell.

Belphegor at first is introduced as just a student, no special role like class president or biker gang leader; but~ later on it is revealed that he's the top student AND the head of the academic club. I read his origin story event recently and his power seems to be what keeps Nilfheim in existence (?) He's not one to brag or be a real leader, his strength is enough for others to want to follow him. Not to mention Belphegor is actually quite smart, I think he genuinely enjoyed being in school lol.

Asmodeus is another abstract one to place in the school life. Let's be real for a sec, the meta reason he's a teacher is bc they wanted to reuse his teacher sprite, BUT it does make sense for him. Asmodeus is often, especially lately, the one to have a sort of higher dimension of power than the other kings. He knows how to travel between dimensions and between timelines to get items or deals with higher powered beings, similar to how the teacher in a slice of life school series will often be the plot device that allows characters to do things for plot reasons that students otherwise wouldn't be able to do. Not to mention his narcissism probably loves having him in a position of power.

Last to be introduced is Lucifer, he doesn't attend the assembly and later in the story it's said he doesn't usually go to class or to his other student responsibilities. His introduction is very interesting, after the assembly MC is running down the hall and they bump into him. He's described as having a sort of command over everything around him. Students move out of his way instinctively, "as if the space had always belonged to him from the very beginning." This is sort of explained towards the end of the story, he says since he was there when God created the world, the "forcing power" of other worlds doesn't affect him. He is carrying a guitar case here and later it is said he is the head of the music club, similar to his role leading the angelic choir when he was still in Heaven.

The rules of this world

As MC settles into school life, they find themselves being extremely capable in everything they do. From school work to sports, they even find themselves sprinting down the hall and they never seem to get tired. This world was created for them, so their every whim seems to come to fruition.

Lucifer, similarly, seems to have extraordinary skill without even putting in any effort. From the start, the story really draws a parallel between these two. As mentioned, Lucifer is basically unaffected by the world because of his higher power. And MC likely also isn't affected by the world in the same way as the kings because of the contract with Mainyu. Idk if this points to their dynamic in the future in the main story or in other events. It was just really cool to see them being mirrored like that since Lucifer is the end game romance in this event.

At some point as MC is walking down the hall, they start to think to themselves that this is really a perfect dream and maybe the things they want to happen really will happen. Then they immediately get pulled into a storage closet to have a steamy little meet up with Satan.

I'm not gonna go into too much detail with the H scenes, but I will link this post by @/wihellib that compiled them all :3c

In the closet, Satan confirms to MC that the kings are all actually here themselves and Satan explains that he feels his "will" is the same, and he has his memories, but the world's "forcing power" is pushing a role on to him. He says he can't really help himself when he feels the urge to fight his rival Mammon; and I am also going to assume he couldn't help himself from kidnapping MC. It's also sort of implied that MC has a certain control over the forcing power of the world; because they were thinking about having a sex scene and then it happens. It sort of seems that they altered the world and turned it into an otome, and Satan is amused that their wishes are so "simple".

I did re-read chapter 1 recently, and this is actually very similar to their early interactions too. Satan asks MC for help and they agree "because they want to help", not for the promise of power or anything else a contract can bring. Which Satan also found charming back then. It's very interesting how this story mirrors the main story, even in the order the h scenes are in and how the kings treat MC. Let's look at the H scenes and MC's school life first and then we'll talk about Luci in a later section :3

After Satan's H scene, we get Leviathan's H scene. This one takes place after he sends MC to look for Lucifer and they come back empty handed. When MC reports their failure to him he sort of expected it, Leviathan doesn't have a conversation with MC about this world the way Satan and a few others do, he seems really into his role but he does know what's happening and that it's basically a roleplay. Then Levi noticed the mark Satan left on MC's neck and gets jealous~.

He proceeds to cover the marks Satan left on MC's skin with his own and then they have a good time together :) Afterwards, Leviathan tells MC that fetching Lucifer was actually a pointless quest. It's just part of the roleplay and he probably knew Lucifer wouldn't be as willing to play along.

Anyways, student council meeting time! MC is the class rep and they get appointed by Beelzebub to be the head of the festival committee. Again, this is very much like Beelzebub in Hell. He does have a way of appointing others into responsibility they didn't ask for but that they are capable of conquering. After the meeting is over, MC heads to the storage closet to look for old records and stuff they need for planning the festival. Oh no, a gust of wind locks them in the closet with none other than Lucifer! And then we learn one of my favorite things ever.

Lucifer and Belphegor apparently hang out while Belphie rambles about manga to Luci 😭 oh my god this was hilarious. I love that Belphegor isn't afraid of any of the other kings, most of the others are afraid of Lucifer and Asmo, but not Belphie. "Lucifer never chased him away," I feel like he genuinely enjoyed hanging out with Belphegor. Because Belphie is the type to pick up on non-verbal queues from others, he totally comes back because he knows Lucifer enjoys listening to him. Eeeeee! >.<

So anyways, because he remembered Belphegor's lectures, Lucifer realizes he's meant to play as a love interest to MC and he haates the idea. Then Mammon comes to save us yay!

Another iconic moment, Greed mixed with Jealousy towards an angel that refuses to sin. Mammon takes us away from Lucifer and we thank him by paying him with our body 😭. A dream come true for MC and me tbh.

The next day, MC is doing festival tasks when some unexpected visitors stop by. It's the boys from Seraphim Academy.

The Angels

Honestly,,, I was so sus of them but,,, they don't really do anything LOL. They all looked so good tho in their uniform <3 esp rafita

They go to MC's school and recruit MC to transfer to their school. MC refuses, saying they're busy with the festival, but the angels insist MC can transfer after the festival is over. Then they trick MC into going on a tour of Seraphim Academy. When they all get to the campus, a crowd of students has gathered to watch. Michael and Raphael are holding MC tightly, as if "escorting" them in. It makes MC really uncomfortable and they want to hide from the embarrassment. The atmosphere is described as perfect but sterile and eerie. This is really what Heaven is like, from the few glimpses we've seen.

It's unclear if these Seraphs are actually the real ones. The kings are the real kings but they also were the ones that made the deal with Mainyu, would the angels have just been yoinked from Heaven to be put in the other world? I don't know. It would've been cool if yes. Imagine Mainyu approaches the Seraphs with a proposal, if they can convince MC to stay in the other world they could get something in return??

But no, I really am 50/50 on if that was the real Seraphs or not. Either way, Raphael and Michael are very eager for MC to accept their offer. Gabriel on the other hand, says no. Now is not the time for you to transfer. This felt soooo nefarious to me. If everything in this world is a parallel to the original world, us "transferring" after the festival must mean something, but I don't think it just means living in Heaven instead of Hell.

MC second arc

The next day, amidst all the planning MC decides to go take a nap in the student council room. But it seems like someone else had that idea first.

Belphegor is sleeping on the other edge of the long table, MC sits down and uses their bag as a pillow and closes their eyes. When they open their eyes again, Belphegor is right in front of their face. He's very cuddly, he gets real close and personal and then licks MC. Queue H scene.

Afterwards, and before MC can leave, Belphegor asks if they're really planning on transferring. Again, I don't know what "transferring" represents. But MC responds with "I haven't decided yet." And Belphegor responds with "That so? Ya gettin too soft on folks-that's your trouble." but of course he doesn't explain himself.

My interpretation is that he thinks MC doesn't want to say no to the angels. From what we've seen in their cards, MC clearly thinks they could be redeemed. Honestly I think all the kings do pick up on the fact MC is trying to help the angels to some extent. Beelzebub also mentions this in his episode later in this event. Clearly, the king of never doing anything unless it's actually important thinks MC is wasting their time.

The next day, another student council meeting. The kings are all here and they are arguing over what they should do for events at the festival. No one can agree on anything and eventually MC is fed up and takes charge. They propose much better alternatives to the Kings' bad ideas and everyone thinks their a genius and extremely capable. After the meeting, everyone is so proud of MC. But then someone says, "That's the wisdom of Solomon." MC flinches, but ultimately ignores this comment.

After they let out, MC realizes that Lucifer didn't attend the meeting. They ask another student and the student says he's never really around and that he's always avoiding recruitment offers from other clubs. I think this might represent how Lucifer isn't/wasn't entirely on Hell's side of the war until he made a contract with Gaap, which I think happens after this story takes place.

Eventually MC finds him in an old storage room playing the piano. I will circle back to this in a later section.

The next day, after a successful inspection of the festival grounds, MC finds themself alone with Beelzebub. He compliments MC for the hard work they've done organizing, but they don't want to accept the praise, saying it's all because they're overpowered in this world. Beelzebub doesn't let that slide. Similar to when they meet in the main story, Beelzebub gives them much needed reassuring words. He says they may be buffed here but it was still them that was able to accomplish all of this. H scene.

It's a little funny, Leviathan and his faction are doing like a security sweep and Beel is just down here playing with MC, they both can see him almost going down the stairs but then leaving. I wonder if that'll happen in Beel's main story H scene lol.

After they both clean themselves up, Beelzebub says to them he wanted to reassure them, he knows they have a tendency to take on more than they can handle. Like how MC is always trying to redeem those damned angels, he says. And how they're always trying to fill Solomon's shoes. Then he gets a bit serious, as if he knows something. He says MC should spend more time with him after "this" is over, to which MC interprets as when the festival is over. The festival might represent the war or like a final battle, and Beel wants MC to stay with him when it's over ;-;

The next day is Asmodeus' H scene! He has his power fantasy and they do it in the teacher's lounge. Honestly not much stands out to me about this one. It was really cute tho.

The H scenes theory

So, interestingly enough, the order in which the kings have had H scenes in the main story is actually Satan-Mammon-Leviathan-Belphegor. But the order of the H scenes in this event is Satan-Leviathan-Mammon-Belphegor-Beelzebub-Asmodeus then Lucifer in the L card. But you know what does match this story's order of H scenes so far? Their contracts. Satan makes a contract with MC first, Mammon does not, then Leviathan makes a contract with MC. I continue to believe Mammon's contract is next.

Festival Day

The Kings are really enjoying themselves in their roles, and MC is glad they could share this fun experience with the boys. MC soon decides they've done enough and go to watch Lucifer's performance. He's shredding on the guitar and everyone is mesmerized, and in that moment MC sees a more real version of Lucifer. This whole month in this world he's been pretty much avoiding everything and not playing along with his role. Except for this performance. And when its over he escapes again. But I guess he sees MC being swallowed by the crowd and comes up behind them to guide them to safety. Then disappears again.

The second day of the festival went well too. The Seraphs were guest performers but MC missed their show because Satan had started a fire ._. But we do see the angels' thoughts about MC! Gabriel wants MC to make Heaven a better place, Raphael wants MC because he has a crush, and Michael also has a crush but it's on both MC and Lucifer. Very true and accurate, I loved that they were invited to the isekai.

On the last day of the festival was the fireworks show. MC decides to do one last security run before the show, and as they go to check if the roof top door is locked, they see Lucifer on the roof. Here, he explains that he is not influenced by the forcing power to the same extent as the others. He says he cannot be forced to do anything against his will. MC responds with joy at this confession, saying it makes them so happy that Lucifer chose to do such a good and genuine performance at the festival because it meant he was actually enjoying himself too. Lucifer seems to have realized something in that moment at MC's response, as his eyes quivered. But then he leaves saying he wanted to be alone, and he is not alone with MC here so he must leave now... Wow, tsundere ass >.>

Soon after, to MC's surprise, "Minhyeok" appears with an offer to stay in this perfect world. To avoid death and war, to live a happy life here. Lucifer is in the stairwell having not left and is listening in.

A man named Job

As he is eavesdropping, Lucifer remembers a story from a long time ago about the man named Job. Job had everything he wanted and he was loyal to God. But God and the devils decided to test his faith and stripped Job of everything he built for himself. Job remained loyal to God despite it all. Now, Lucifer listens in as MC has a trial similar (?) opposite (?) to Job's. Let's talk about Lucifer for a bit tho before getting into MC's final decision :3c

Back on the rooftop, when Leviathan asked MC to go find him, Lucifer asks how they're feeling now they're in a perfect world. MC says they're having a lot of fun. Lucifer doesn't really say anything else to them, they try to tell him he needs to play along and go get demerit points but he doesn't budge. So MC says they'll just tell Levi they couldn't find him and leave. Lucifer watches them leave.

The next time they end up together is in the storage closet. Lucifer was taking a little nap in there before MC came in. Another romance manga cliche. He asked them again how they're feeling and MC says they're having a lot of fun! He, again, doesnt really respond. They want to ask him what he's thinking but then Mammon knocks on the door and rescues them. He gives Lucifer the side eye and Im pretty sure Luci sees this, but he doesn't react and just lets MC be taken by Mammon.

Then, after MC's tour of Seraphim Academy, they're dropped off and it starts to rain. MC gets very sad that they don't have an umbrella, because Minhyeok was the one that would always pack it for them. This is speculation on my part, but I think the old MC would've stood in the rain crying. That's not what they do now tho, they accept those sad feelings and then move towards a solution. They run under a building and of course Lucifer is there, also hiding from the rain. They awkwardly try to make small talk but he doesn't engage, instead he asks them again how theyre doing. Even tho they were just about to cry, they say they're doing great and they were even recruited to join another school. And this is the first time he verbally responds to them, he says "I see". Without much more thought, he gives them his jacket and starts walking off into the rain. Im not saying he read their mind, but he did give them what they were missing by not having Minhyeok there to pack their umbrella.

In the piano room, MC is mesmerized by Lucifer's music. He allows them to stay and listen to a song and when it's over he asks if the know the story of Job. They say no, and Luci's like oh okay nevermind. He asks how theyre feeling again and they do straight up lie this time. They had just been compared to Solomon which did not feel good. Lucifer does accept this answer tho. MC gives him the paper he needed to sign for the student council meeting from and starts to leave, but Lucifer grabs their arm and is about to say something... but nvm it's nothing. They leave and he watches.

Ok I feel like the Job comparison is a little bit of a stretch when it's applied to MC's situation. HOWEVER, it makes PERFECT sense when applied to Lucifer! He was the most devoted to God when he was still in Heaven, he lost everything when he fell, and imo his suicidal ideations really read as him questioning his faith in God's design and when he fights to continue living that's him proving that he is faithful, that he does believe he deserves to exist like God intended. AND, they don't explain it in the story but in the real story of Job, the one who is taking everything from him is Satan. Just like how almost every time that Lucifer is alone with MC, they get whisked away by another one of the kings!

So every time that MC and Lucifer are together, MC is the one to leave first and Lucifer always watches them walk away. This feels very somber every time, very much like he's yearning. And in the prologue for his student card, we get a bit of a glimpse into what he's thinking but Im not gonna go into that, this is already SO long. Maybe another day.

The Answer

Lucifer waits for their response to "Minhyeok" and MC immediately refuses. They know this Minhyeok is a fake, and they value the real world even with its pain and imperfections. They say they want to live in a world where even the "traces" of us remain. I think this is a reference to an early main story chat that says when humans die their souls become something like traces somewhere is Hell or Heaven. The fake Minhyeok is never revealed to MC to be Mainyu. His costume just starts to crack open and he disappears without another word... creepy.

Lucifer heard everything. He found himself really admiring MC's choice. And in that moment, he almost felt like he could understand God's love for Solomon. He comes back out onto the rooftop and actually admits this to MC. That thanks to them he is able to understand God's choices a little better. And that he wants to fulfill his role and give them a truly perfect ending. Queue L card H scene.

The other kings rejoice in their victory over Mainyu. After MC says no, Mainyu had given them 1 hour before the world ended. When the clock hits zero, this entire world shattered into particles of light.

MC wakes in their bed back in Gehenna, and on their couch is the contract Angra Mainyu had made with the kings. They see all the wagers the kings had placed and are shocked that the kings would bet all of Hell for them. Again, we hear about Mammon's entire fortune; but we do see one more wager. Lucifer demanded 30 days of peace on this world if MC returned. This fills them with warmth, to know Lucifer trusted them. And they go back to their everyday life in Hell.

Conclusion

Yes I enjoyed this story, yes I can still criticize it. There were no stakes to this whole experience. We literally just got isekai'd to win an easy bet, MC wasn't even actually depressed so why would they choose to stay in the perfect happy world if they weren't upset about their reality?? It honestly would've made more sense if MC was depressed bc then there would be actual tension in the final scene with Mainyu. OF COURSE they're not gonna stay in a dream, not when they promised to help the devils and aren't regretful about that decision.

Not to mention the random Solomon mention in their supposed perfect world. Genuinely, it's not that I'm ever actually expecting good writing from this game but sometimes they hit the mark so well that when they miss Im just confused. I knowww it's more supposed to be symbolic bc in the real world they're constantly compared to Solomon, but if this is a truly perfect world MC's inferiority complex wouldn't be targeted like that for no reason. Ehh plot holes like this are a minor nuisance at this point, Immm gonna ignore it LOL.