Lucifer and the group of Angels shot up into the sky of Hell and sped towards the Gates of Hell, the portal between Hell and Earth. However, by this time Heaven had heard the prayer of the fallen Guardian Angel, and Marahel, the Angel of Presence had opened up a portal between Heaven and Hell, and an army of Minor Angels streamed out, clad in full battle attire, and as one they landed in front of the Gate, blocking the group from escaping. Lucifer, Ariel and her group landed a short distance in front of the army, and readied their weapons
Lucifer eyed them enquiringly
“What about me? Don’t I get a weapon? ”
Ariel glanced at him and shrugged
“Well, I suppose we can’t spend our time trying to guard you. Here Lucifer, catch. Its your old blade. I took it out of the armoury of Heaven for you”
Ariel pulled out a sword from a sheathe on her back and tossed it to him, its blade flashing in the fires of Hell as it spun end over end.
Lucifer deftly caught the blade by its handle and looked at it. It was half Crucixian silver; the Demon metal, and half Aurum steel, the perfect weapon for the first Angel of Heaven to have sided with the hordes of Hell. It was Lucifer’s own sword Potentia, that he forged on the day that he had decided to try to release Apollyon and dethrone God. As he stared at his sword for the first time in eons, he was bombarded by a string of memories, of his first acts of defiance, of his gathering of followers, and of raising his sword in front of his first ragtag army and yelling “To arms against Heaven my brethren, to arms!” Lucifer pulled out of the daze and smiled a wide smile, his first in many years.
“Thank you Ariel. But, why are we still going towards the army? Wouldn’t it be smarter if we went through that portal that Marahel so kindly opened for us?”
Ariel shook her head and pointed at the rapidly shrinking portal
“Sorry Lucifer they probably already thought of that, the portal is already closing. Also, we need to gather some forces before we assail Heaven directly. In particular the Twenty”
Lucifer remembered the Twenty. He would have to free them, he thought. As a gesture of thanks, for what they did for him, all those years ago. But now, he readied his blade, ready for the battle ahead. But despite himself, he was a little nervous, and Potentia didn’t feel as comfortable in his grasp as it used to.. He hadn’t fought in too long…
Ariel noticed and laughed and pointed at the small Angel army that was hurriedly forming ranks, determined to stop Lucifer, and the group that had let him escape.
“What’s wrong scared that you can’t destroy just those two-hundred odd Angels?” She teased
Lucifer raised his blade, fought back his nervousness, and laughed, and raised his blade, which gleamed fiercely
“Scared of those weaklings? Of course not! Let’s hurry up and kill these fools so we can wage war on Heaven itself!”
He raised his blade and charged straight into the enemy, roaring as the old fury rose within him for the first time in eons, ridding him of the nervous feeling altogether, and Potentia felt comfortable in his grasp once more. With Ariel and her group right behind him, swords and halberd ready to strike, the group crashed right into the enemy ranks.

If the Angel army had hoped that Lucifer’s powers would have weakened over the eons of imprisonment, they were sorely disappointed. If anything, the thrill of being free filled him with new strength. The Angel army never stood a chance, as time and time again, Angel’s found themselves cut in half, or missing their heads, or with their own swords stuck through them, without any time to react. Lucifer slashed, hacked and decapitated, slicing Potentia through armour and shields as if they were made out of paper. Once in a while, he would let loose a crazy laugh that chilled his allies as much as his enemies. He was only vaguely aware of Ariel and her group by his side, all he really saw was the face of his opponent right before he killed him or her.
After eons of imprisonment, It felt good to feel the exhilaration of a battle, the thrill of besting his opponent, briefly rejoicing, then steeling yourself to fight the next. There were a myriad of different faces ranging from hatred, bloodlust to terror. He liked the expressions of bloodlust the best, he imagined they mirrored his own. The ground around him was always littered with the bodies of slain Angels, shattered swords and broken shields, and more often than not, his next foe would trip over the body or armour of his fallen brother or sister, and Lucifer would make short work of them.
Soon, there were only ten Angels left from the two hundred or so they had when they started. They slowly backed towards the Gate, nervously eyeing the bodies of their fallen brethren, looking like they wanted nothing more to fly out the Gate themselves. However, one of the Angels, who wielded a huge broadsword, either braver or stupider than the other nine still stood in front of Lucifer and his group without fear. He raised his blade and pointed it at Ariel, and bellowed
“How could you Ariel! You, the Lioness of God, who stood so firmly beside God in the first war of Heaven, has now joined Lucifer’s side? You have betrayed us all!”
Ariel glanced at him coldly
“Well, well, well if it isn’t Benziel the ‘Mighty’ ” Ariel sneered “One of the Leaders of the Minor Angels, if I recall correctly. I never expected someone like you too understand my motives”
“I don’t need to understand your motives. All I need to know is that you betrayed Heaven and must be stopped!” Benziel bellowed as he charged at Ariel
Ariel lightly sidestepped his first blow and savagely kicked his stomach twice, causing Benziel too crumple into the ground in pain. Another kick and Benziel lay flat on the floor. He tried to get up, but Ariel put her foot on his neck
“Did you really think you could kill an Archangel like me by yelling and charging? I was trained in the arts of war long before you had first picked up a sword. Such tactics do not work on me. If you thought they would, you are more of a fool than I thought!
Ariel pressed her sandaled foot harder on his neck “Well, did you? Answer me!”
Benziel coughed out some blood and spit on Ariel’s sandals
“That is my answer” He croaked “You bitc…”
That’s all he had time to say before Ariel brutally smashed the butt of her Halberd onto his head, crushing it.
“Well that takes care of that pompous brat… he reminds me of Michael…” Lucifer grimaced as he remembered that particular Angel.
He then turned his head to the nine remaining Angels and shouted
“I should kill you fools right here and now, but I have no need. Now spread your weak wings and scurry away like the cowards you are, and then go to your master and tell him that Lucifer has returned and defies him once more!”
Lucifer threw back his head and laughed and the nine remaining Angels turned as one and flew out the Gates of Hell, terrified. Lucifer then turned to Ariel and her group to see what shape they were in after that battle. Zuriel had received a small cut on his cheek and Hayyel had a nasty gash across his shoulder, and since he himself had fought like a berserker, he had numerous shallow cuts across his midsection and arms, but otherwise they had made it out unscathed. Lucifer then turned to Ariel
“Ariel, I appreciate the help in escaping, but could you tell me why you, the Lioness of God, and your friends here” He waved his hand at her group “Have decided to free me. Last time I saw you, you were riding amongst the armies of Heaven, ready to destroy me!”
Ariel laughed
“It is a long story Lucifer, but it all began one night, where I had called a meeting with these Angels and a few others on the outskirts of Heaven’s City.”