Chapter 3

Unfortunately for both Maurice and Lilith, they were not alone. Azazel, one of the four Gods who sided with Jehovah, had chosen that moment to attack on his own. He had been trailing Lilith for a while, determined to crush the daughter of Belial. He couldn't conceive of a better opportunity to do so, since she was obviously drained from her tryst with her nephew.

Being a God, he was quite cocky in his own way, and hadn't even consulted Jehovah or the others in his camp before unleashing his divine power upon them. No one was forewarned, prior to the moment that Azazel simply torched the walls of the Koenig house and entered what remained of it. There were no angels at his back, merely his intense, Protean abilities.

Koenig was terrified at first, since he had never met a God in his life. He had no idea who had destroyed his residence. He just knew that this thing wasn't human. Azazel had taken the form of a walking flame, incinerating everything, and Maurice feared that he would be burnt to a crisp.

Lilith, however, wasn't so rapidly cowed by this sycophantic deity. She viewed him as a fool, and dealt with him as such. After all, she had learned contempt for Jehovah's minions from her father, Belial. That wasn't cast aside because of an attempt to blaze through a mortal's dwelling and kill both of them.

"Father, lend me strength to stop this evil foe and save my kinsman!" Lilith prayed to the God of Justice.

At that point, Azazel should have been quite afraid, because he was no match for Belial, the former El Shaddai several times over. He hadn't even been in action for centuries, spending his time flattering Jehovah. The God of Justice was something far more potent, and he would not let his daughter be quashed by the likes of Azazel.

Belial didn't merely give Lilith help, however. He arrived in person, his mighty hailstorm preceding him and announcing that he had chosen to enter the fray against Azazel.

"This isn't a time for mortals or angels, Lilith. I know that you can take him, but I long ago swore vengeance against the so-called Beasts of Jehovah's Court. Now, it is time to carry out my oath and annihilate this cohort of my adversary. He's made the mistake of giving me the chance, after all.

"You have one chance to switch sides, Azazel, and to make amends for backing my enemy. If you don't, then I will indeed cut you off, the only way I can. Maurice, Lilith, just get to safety. I have a God to kill!" the mighty Prince sternly commanded his descendents.

"If you're so great, Belial, how come you're not El Shaddai again? Could it be that your side is losing both Gods and angels by the dozens? I don't fear you and your confederates, O God of Justice! I will show you that cruelty is power, not equity or balance! Die, once and for all, so that I can bring your carcass to my King's throne with pride!" Azazel scoffed, though part of him indeed dreaded the legendary power of his foe.

"You weakling! You let Jehovah deprive you of human worship, just as he does to others, and thus you're not equal to my loincloth! Besides, don't you know by now that your Master hates pride, except in himself? He demands servile humility from all others, even his fellow Elohim! Which is why I can never serve him, letting myself be his dog!" the swarthy rival to the King of Heaven insisted, as their blades clashed yet again.

For several moments more, Maurice and Lilith viewed this spectacle from outside the still blazing house. Impervious to the heat or pain, both of the Elohim fought their duel, but Belial repeatedly got the upper hand. Azazel's cowardice and rustiness were apparent, and he was soon at Belial's mercy: that is, if Belial were to show any. Since he was a God of Justice, he had no use for anything but someone's deserved fate.

"You can't kill me, Belial, unless you can trap me in this form!" Azazel reminded his enemy, though he now felt the Prince's foot at his chin.

"Oh, I think that I can manage," Belial sneered menacingly, before the human firefighters arrived, all stunned to silence by this scene.

"How so? You have no traps!" Azazel croaked.

"That's where you're wrong!" Belial declared, jumping out of the fire, while Maurice angrily ordered the men to put out the fire. Acting on habit and instinct, they simply complied like sheep.

The hoses came on and the God's meaning was manifest, as the water put out the flames and caught Azazel in his fiery state. The evil Deity had forgotten that even a divinely caused fire can be put out by an elemental force such as water, given enough quantities of it. Too late, Az found himself being puffed out with the regular blaze.

"NOOOOOO! Don't let them extinguish me! I am dying! Mercy, Belial!" he pleaded at last.

"Hardly, you fool. You had your chance to yield. Now, we'll let Nature take its course and wipe you out! I knew that I had you, once you chose to become Fire. You forgot that Water is also a basic force in the Cosmos, and so can put out a simple blaze, no matter who ignited it. You're out of practice, but you won't get a chance to undo your blunder. Enjoy your short life as a demon!" Belial mocked the foolhardy Deity.

Despite his doom, Az fought to survive a bit longer, before the hoses eliminated his divine soul. His carcass, still smoldering, instantly turned demonic. He was an undead entity now, and was thus vulnerable to even most angels.

"Can I take him now, Father?" Lilith begged Belial, while the firefighters now returned to a state of shock from the events, their distraction caused by their job now removed.

"Well, I'm not one for kicking a fallen God when's he down, but I'll make an exception here. It's bad manners to interrupt anyone's romp with a beautiful lady, let alone set his house on fire just to kill said woman. Besides, I want rid of this menace at last!" Belial gave his permission.