(A stormy day. Shion looks out from his apartment.)

Shion
—What horrible weather...

I wonder if Mahumi got back to Raphael’s place safely?
Or...

...!

—I am such a fool.
I sent him away, and now I’m worried about him.
I’ve already decided to distance myself from him.
At this late hour—...

A voice
You hate the thunder, don’t you?

(There is a woman sitting in his kitchen.)

Woman
The thunder that is God’s sword—
You’re afraid of it, aren’t you?
It’s said to strike sinners, you know.
You’re more of a coward than I thought, Shion.

Shion
—Who the hell are you?

Woman
Aaah, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I?
I am Mikael.
I’m happy to finally meet you, Shion.
Heheh...

(Mikael in this incarnation is a beautiful woman with short black hair and an ample chest.)

Shion
The Sword of Flame!
Then she...

—So you’re one of Raphael’s companions...!

Mikael
—Correct.
You hate this sword too, don’t you?

(She caresses it against her cheek.)

Though it’s a beautiful sword.

Shion
It doesn’t really bring back any pleasant memories.
That’s what your companion used to make Mahumi believe I was going to kill him so that we would fight each other.
—But what hurts are not just the wounds of the body.

Mikael
!

Shion
—That’s true.
Mahumi—he betrayed me first.
I didn’t abandon him.
The one abandoned was me, wasn’t it...?!
—Cold eyes—...
Eyes I’ve seen before.
Somewhere, before.
Of course. It was the first time we met.
The eyes of one who hunts demons...!
—I...
I’m surprised that I was surprised.
I misunderstood, didn’t I?
I am a demon. Someone to be hunted.
Being with him, I would sooner or later have been—...
I thought that it didn’t matter if I died.
Without attachments, I could live as I wish.
But even more than that, I wanted to take his hand.
And I was resigned.
But—...
Those eyes...
Seeing that despised color once more

—This wound

...that alone was enough to stop my heart...!

I probably won’t be able to forget for the rest of my life...!

Mikael
!

Shion
You came to take Mahumi back, didn’t you? Don’t worry, he’s probably at your companion Raphael’s place about now.
I’m...going back to the demon world, so you can do whatever you want.

Mikael
Hum.
And you’re okay with that?
You astonish me; I never expected those words from you.

Shion
“Is that okay” you said?

Yes, I am afraid...

Then what do you want me to do?

...of meeting Mahumi again...

Should I indulge in dirty behavior? Don’t make me laugh.
You should take him along with you.
You should hurry up and snatch him away from me...!

Of seeing those eyes—...
I’m afraid, so I’m running away—...!

Mikael
You said that we should snatch him away?
You really don’t know anything, do you?
About yourself. Or about Mahumi.

(Lightning crackles in Mikael’s hands, and Shion is slammed back against a wall.)

Shion
!
Uaaaagh!

Mikael
I don’t want to hear that from you!
First of all—...
The one who snatched him away from us was you...! ¹

Shion
...?

Mikael
Oops, dear me. I shouldn’t speak like a man in this form, should I? Old habits die hard, I guess.
—...I won’t let you go back to the demon world.
Because, you see, you need to be killed by Mahumi.

Shion
Wh...!

Mikael
...Hey...
Haven’t you ever thought about how strange you are?
You are, aren’t you?
That form which bears an angel’s wings even though you are one of the demon clan.
How and why were you born that in shape?

Shion
I...!
I...

Ah...?
It’s strange. My memories...
What...?
If I think about it—I’ve always been alone. My kind hated me because of this shape.
But before that?
When was I born?
And what was I before?
Then aren’t I the same as Mahumi?! I have no memories of the past...!
—Why—...?!

I...am...?!
What...am I...?
What—...

Mikael
Do you want to know?

Shion
...!

Mikael
I’ll tell you.
Of that sorrow. Of when I lost my friend Lucifer.
But before that, which should I use, I wonder? The Sword of Flame or lightning?
I think I’ll play with you a bit before Mahumi gets here.
—Both are appropriate for a sinner like you, aren’t they...?!

Shion
...!

Mahumi...
What in the world happened to the both of us...?
What—are we...?

Mahumi
Wa...wait!

(Mahumi is standing with Uriel in a sheltered spot near the park.)

You said that I’m your brother?
Are you trying to deceive me again?

Uriel
No!
Look at this.

(He holds out a pendant.)

Mahumi
It’s the same as my pendant.

Uriel
Yes.
I gave you that when you were exiled from Heaven.
Whatever shape you took, I would still recognize you immediately.
Your memories are sealed—...
Within this pendant.
—Open it and see.

Mahumi
My...past...
The past that I had wanted to know so much is right here.

Uriel
Go ahead...

Mahumi
Then why am I hesitating?
I didn’t want to meet him.
Was it because I had remembered something?

Uriel
If you do, you’ll remember everything.

Mahumi
Why—
Perhaps because I am afraid of my own past—...?

(Mahumi opens the pendant, and a bright light engulfs him. He opens his eyes to see—)

—oh...!
Flower...petals?

(He looks upon a breath-taking scene—a wide meadow framed by mountains and filled with flowers. A pair of unicorns stands in front of him.)

Woooow...!
What a beautiful place!
I wonder where this is?
It really really seems like Heaven!

(Rabbits graze quietly, and a bird chirps on the branch above him. Mahumi reaches out a hand towards it.)

I want to touch it.

(His hand hits a barrier. Mahumi looks around—a fish swims in the water behind him.)

Oh, I see. I’m looking at this world from a pool of water. I’m within the water.

(He looks up through the surface of the water, and sees Lucifer.)

Oh...
How...how incredible!
Such a beautiful person...!
It seems like a golden light is radiating from his entire body.

(Lucifer is kneeling on the ground, peering into a pool of water.)

Oh...?
He smiled.
At me...?

Mahumi
Ah...um...hello.
I—...

Uriel
Brother!
Are you looking at the Fourth Heaven again?

Mahumi
Hu...h?
Could that be Uriel?
His face is somewhat—...

(Uriel pouts and violently stamps at the water above Mahumi.)

Mahumi
Uaaagh!

It really is Uriel!
That little brat!
Kicking the water surface all of a sudden like that—

Uriel
Humph.

Mahumi
Huh..?

(Lucifer tousles Uriel’s hair, and he laughs.)

That expression on his face...
He must really like this person...

(Lucifer is sitting with his friends, talking and smiling.)

...this golden person
He always seems to be enjoying himself.
He has so many friends
He’s always laughing, surrounded by everyone.
A beautiful, kind person
I would certainly come to like him, too.
But I know.
I know.
Sometimes now he would look like that.
As if he were a little sad.
—What could he be sad about?—

(Mahumi sits at the bottom of the pool with his arms around his knees. Something splashes onto his cheek and falls glowing into the palm of his hand.)

A tear...?

(He looks up, and his eyes widen.)

He’s crying—that person is...
Why?
Why is he crying?
What is it that’s making him so sad?
My heart is aching too...!
...even I am sad.

(Lucifer weeps over the water basin in God’s hall.)

Aaah...!
The one who is crying there is—
That’s—...
...!?

(Tears flow down Mahumi’s face.)

Me...
—That’s...me...!

—Oh...

Uriel
...
Do you remember now?

Mahumi
That golden...person
That was me...!
That’s why I want to return to Heaven.
I want to go back to that time.
That’s why...

Uriel
...you will return.
But for that to happen, you needed the blood of 999 demons.
You were banished from Heaven for the terrible sin of rebelling against God.
In order to atone, you were given this form and the task of exterminating the demons.
But there is one left.
One more, because 1000 demons are necessary.
—Yes.
You need—the blood of that demon called Shion...!

Mahumi
...!
Wh...!

Uriel
Everything had been decided—
—from the beginning...!