𝑷𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎

Other Versions:

Satan | Mammon | Leviathan

So the main topic I want to talk about is heaven's inconsistent and unfair divine rules. We have a God who is supposedly omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent... yet, for some reason, refuses to dirty His own hands, ever.

Let's start with Jophiel's exile.

After the murder of the soldiers and his friend Beleth, Jophiel goes to Lucifer to tell him about the atrocities Michael has been committing using Belphy's power. By entering his territory and speaking to him directly, Jophiel broke heaven's laws. He knew the punishment should have been death, yet he still chose to sacrifice himself. Instead, he was given a lighter sentence than the one he deserved because of his courage in stepping forward.

In reality Lucifer had already begun to suspect something was wrong, so Jophiel's confirmation was simply the final piece he needed to take action against his brother.

Lucifer then goes directly to God to tell him everything that has happened, fully intending to severely punish Michael and get rid of the poor child who had been turned into a neglected living weapon.

Irreversible bloodshed, Luci ?

I'd like to mention something I've noticed about Lucifer and heaven's concept of common punishment: Physical violence.

There have already been several instances where it's been mentioned that Lucifer (by his own decision or under God's direct orders) has physically punished Michael.

The first time we read about this was during Gamigin's event. When Lucifer realized his younger brother was about to kill the last two remaining dragons, he permanently injured Michael's right eye without a second thought. Michael lost it completely, I think his golden prosthetic has cried endlessly ever since...

Then during the Idols event, we learned why Lucifer's eyes became inverted. He pierced Michael's heart while asleep as a form of punishment and control. Because of the pain, Michael even lost the ability to rest properly, and Lucifer spent countless nights helping him sleep by singing to him.

The story doesn't portray this as something positive tho. Lucifer gets a permanent physical change that reflects the harm he inflicted by obeying God.

Even so by the end of that same event Lucifer shoots his brother through the chest again, knocking him unconscious while flying. The exact same physical punishment. A second time.

I feel that among the angels, physical pain and penitence are deeply conected. We've seen Michael repeatedly self flagellate. Lucifer has torn off his own wings more than once. There was the time he allowed all of Paradise Lost to attack him until he was nearly killed. Jophiel himself willingly endured agonizing burns caused by Lucifer's mere presence.

For heaven's inhabitants, pain is penance. To a certain extent, they've even romanticized it. It's horrifying.

But who taught them that, God?

Back to the event.

God barely reacts to Lucifer's violent intentions. If anything he washes his holy hands of the situation leaving the responsibility of punishing Michael entirely up to Lucifer "if that's what he wishes." Fucked up.

God acts so passive when it comes to his own children. To Lucifer it's obvious that he kneeeeew all of this would happen from the very beginning and yet he allowed it anyway.

For what purpose? To punish Michael yet again? To continue nurturing Lucifer's arrogance...?

With God's approval, Lucifer carries out the punishment.

Michael in an utterly broken mental state, fights back by ordering Belphy to kill his brother just as he had previously made him to kill Beleth, proving him once again the threat they are. Belphy tries to protect Michael and Lucifer harm the child with the intention of killing him once and for all.

It is only then that Michael realizes he has developed some attachment toward the poor child he had used all this time and for the first time... He experiences the true horror of guilt.

But here is where my first problem begin.

The moment Michael accepts his death at Lucifer's hands and asks him to spare the child... By divine law everything is fine?

WHAAAT DO YOU MEAAAAN.

It's not that I want to diminish the importance of Michael's repentance like at all, but this is such an absurdly abrupt way to resolve the situation!!

It doesn't actually solve anything!! the lies, the deaths of countless angels, Beleth, my poor man Jophiel???? cero consecuenses!?

God didn't seem to care in the slightest about Jophiel's selfless sacrifice (ʘ言ʘ╬) He was never forgiven and he would remain in exile for all eternity!!! HOW IS THAT FAIR Yeah im kinda buthurt about that lol

After Michael is forgiven and declared that Belphy will become the Demon King of Sloth, he asks for one final week with him.

Ah, delicious angst. Once the week is over, he's forced to neutralize the child in Hell, erase his memories, and leave him asleep beneath the earth until he "matures" and is ready to fulfill his true purpose.

...So all that about Michael helping the child develop him was actually unnecessary from day one? God... what are YOU even doing?

After all that mess, Michael reflects on the sins he's been absolved... But Lucifer can't bear to watch his brother suffer.

He decides to erase Michael's memories, taking him and everyone else back to a point before he had ever even met the child. With his immense power, rebuilds heaven, destroys monuments, REVIVES PEOPLE, and restores everything to the status quo required for the game's main story to make sense. I mean, of course it was obvious

I find it fascinating that Lucifer was willing to kill his own brother himself, but he couldn't bear to see him suffer emotionally, even after god himself had already declared the matter settled.

Did Lucifer go against what God intended? Or did he do exactly what God expected him to? I have mixed feelings about this

I actually love seeing Lucifer do morally questionable things. I don't see him as a martyr but as an arrogant man who genuinely believes he's doing the right thing in order to preserve the peace his brother mind. It's an incredibly toxic, overprotective mindset that eventually consumes him, directly contributing to his own fall into hell and his evolution into the Demon King of Pride. I love it.

It was a super creepy way to end this story. I liked it a lot.

Now, my second issue is more of a meta complaint with PB that I saw coming from a miiiiiile away

We've already seen memory erasure before. Now we know it's basically a standard ability of higher-ranking angels, but... I'm really not a fan of the fact that they've used it three separate times now to solve major problems in their events.

From a storytelling perspective, it's an interesting tool... but it's such a cheeeeaaaaap oneeeeee (｡ >艸<)

Could they rly not come up with a more creative way to resolve these situations? Like I don't want Lucifer to stop committing crimes or suddenly be portrayed as morally righteous lol, but considering he's literally the most powerful angel in heaven couldn't they have thought of some miracle other than wiping everyone's memories AGAIN?

What happens to the gate leading to the other world? what about the interdimensional cosmic horrors that were supposedly a big threat to Heaven??? I guess they just… stopped being a threat.

Dude poor Jophiel is going to wake up in exile and not even remember why!!! GOD, HAVE MERCY ON JOPHIEL. DAMN.

Okay, this ended up being way longer than I expected, so apologies for the wall of text (⚆ _ ⚆)

I just want to emphasize one last time that this was honestly one of my favorite events so far. I loved finally learning Belphegor's origin story, and I'm absolutely fascinated by just how collectively dysfunctional and toxic heaven really is ♡♡♡

Thank you, PB, for the incredible meal except for that last, not so creative writing decision!

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