The only movement was the swaying of the train, all frozen in anticipation of her reaction.

  Back in their cabin for more privacy, Lucifer first had to explain the presence of his trident in the wall to Abigail before recounting their adventure to his Infernal General. While she managed to gauge her reactions throughout the story, she was nonetheless left speechless and dumbfounded. After a long minute of silence, Leonard's only reaction was a deep sigh and a lament directed at Lucifer, who was not making things easy for her in the slightest.

  "Excuse me, my friend, but what are you talking about?" The question brought answers to the Devil that he had not suspected: Leonard revealed that the former Infernal General Beelzebub had taken advantage of the repercussions of Lucifer's departure to seize power in Hell, overthrowing the weakened Council of Hell.

  It took the Devil a few seconds to absorb the news. Beelzebub had never hidden his ambitions, but he had always dismissed them as the whims of a naturally greedy being. When he was finally able to speak, he questioned the witch.

  "Certainly my departure created favorable conditions, but what motivated his action? What were his demands?"

  “Beelzebub’s main motivation was the rule of the demons,” Leonard explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “The supremacy of his people over the other races of Hell. For the first five years after you left, he lifted the laws against them one by one, and then, when he realized his impunity, he simply seized power. Since then, the fallen have been hiding, far from the hordes of demons hunting them.”

  "But what are the Infernal Generals doing?" Lucifer exclaimed, as surprised as he was panicked. "I may no longer be here, but they remain members of the Infernal Council! A council whose primary goal is to ensure the peace of Hell."

  “I told you: your departure weakened it. Adramelech retreated to his volcanoes, preferring the company of his beasts to that of the fallen; Belphegor emigrated to Humanity, where he is building upon his achievements. I doubt I've seen Amon leave Irkalla since Beelzebub ascended the throne, and I won't insult you by claiming to know Pan's whereabouts. If the unpredictable must have a herald, who better?” Leonard lamented, accustomed to the Infernal General's antics. “As for Samael and Lilith, things are a bit more complicated. After Belial's disappearance, the First Woman of Humanity searched tirelessly for him throughout the Kingdom. She, too, eventually left the capital; last I heard, she had settled deep within the labyrinth of mountains.”

  "What do you mean by Belial's disappearance?" repeated Lucifer, his anxiety rising. "And why hasn't anyone joined Lilith's search?"

  “If my memory serves me correctly, he hasn’t been heard from in a week after you left. And all the Generals participated, except for Beelzebub; but try as we might, we found nothing,” Leonard revealed somberly. “We had to face the facts: Samael was gone. Alas, Lilith couldn’t accept it. With the Council far from Pandemonium, Beelzebub only had to enter Pandora to seize control.”

  "And the fallen ones living there? Has no one tried to resist?" the Devil tried.

  "Lucifer…" the witch sighed, bowing her head. "You were no longer there to guide us, to lead the fallen into battle. Without you, the people bent the knee, and we would have been nothing more than six Infernal Generals against the entire demonic horde."

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  “I understand. After all, it was my duty to maintain order in Hell,” he admitted, guilt gnawing at him. “As for Beelzebub’s true motives, I will ask him myself when I reclaim my throne. His actions will, alas, only make the laws against demons even stricter.”

  “I don’t understand,” Abigail interrupted. “Why specifically target demons with the law? Lucifer, did you come up with that idea?”

  “Yes: during the implementation of the soul system-“

  "Lucifer!" Leonard interrupted abruptly. "You can't talk to her about it. Hell is already in far too bad a position to go to war against Heaven!"

  “Be at peace, Leonard. Abigail resolved this issue several days ago: her reasoning demonstrated that, with an angelic heart and a human body, she now belongs to a category of her own,” he explained before turning to Abigail. “When the system of souls was established, we did not foresee how many souls would leave unpurified. During the 8,000 years preceding the birth of Christ, the demon population grew until it equaled that of the fallen. This was one of the causes of the First Heavenly War: true to his threats, Michael and the army of Heaven came to reduce our ranks. Nevertheless, we did not give in and thus triggered the first armed conflict between Heaven and Hell. This lasted for hundreds of years and even took us to Mount Calvary at the time of Christ’s birth. Alas, the time came when we had to accept our defeat: through war, Heaven had achieved its goal. We surrendered, thus concluding the Heavenly War. The demons, now numerically superior, did not understand our actions and demanded the resumption of hostilities, united under the leadership of their most powerful: Beelzebub. Following a battle against him, we established laws restricting the demonic population outside of Purgatory, confining the vast majority of them there.

  "But that's horrible!" exclaimed Abigail. "How could you do that?"

  “Understand this, Abigail: Hell was already on the brink of extinction with the war, and this revolt would have finished it off,” he explained, almost as if he were defending himself. “The decision was ratified by the Infernal Council, eight votes to one. If the situation is this dire, then we have no other choice. My apologies, Abigail, but we will have to shorten our journey. We will reach Hell by air; it may not be very pleasant, but it is necessary.”

  Although she nodded, Abigail couldn't help but wonder what it would be like as Leonard and Lucifer began gathering their belongings. A knowing glance at the three bags and two suitcases, and the two began a drastic reduction of their possessions, keeping only the bare essentials. All the equipment intended for their tundra crossing was left under their seats, and the trio left for the back of the train.

  As she entered third class, Abigail suddenly heard the loudspeakers announce a longer-than-expected stop at the next station, at the government's request. Without slowing down, Lucifer pulled her along amidst the rising groans, following Leonard to the rear of the train. In the surrounding hubbub, the Devil snapped the newly-put lock unnoticed, and the trio vanished on the other side of the door.

  A sudden gust of wind swept through Abigail's hair and crept insidiously into her clothes, making her shiver; though bundled up against the cold, she couldn't help but shiver. Carrying some of their belongings, Leonard approached the railing and snapped her fingers, conjuring, under Abigail's fascinated gaze, a broomstick typical of what she imagined sorceresses carried. The Infernal General climbed aboard and, sitting sidesaddle, suddenly soared high into the clouds. Abigail then cast a questioning glance at the Devil and, not without relief, learned that he had no intention of imitating the witch.

  With some embarrassment, she then climbed into Lucifer's arms and clung to his neck as he unfurled his wings. With his foot on the railing, he gained leverage and propelled himself across the tundra; the speed whipping icy droplets across Abigail's face, she huddled against her friend's chest and could only hope their journey wouldn't be too long.