Adrian suddenly said he wanted to take Roy to meet someone, which caught Roy off guard.
"Who are you taking me to see?" Roy asked.
Adrian flashed a mysterious smile. "You'll find out when we get there."
Roy glanced at Mary, still cradled in his arms. She was in a daze, her faith shattered, her expression vacant.
"Can I bring Mary along?"
"Of course," Adrian replied. "The person we're meeting won't mind."
"Alright then," Roy said.
"Let's go!" Adrian led Roy and Mary through Santa Monica Beach, heading into downtown Santa Monica.
A quick note for clarity: in the U.S., counties are a level above cities. When people talk about Los Angeles, they usually mean Los Angeles County, which includes a bunch of smaller cities or districts, each called a "city" in its own right. Santa Monica, the San Fernando Valley, and the famous Beverly Hills are all examples of this.
By now, the sun had fully set, and the lively nightlife was just kicking off.
Adrian brought Roy and Mary to one of the busiest streets in Santa Monica, stopping at an upscale bar called "Timeless." Despite its prime location in the heart of the action, the bar was surprisingly quiet, with only a few patrons inside.
Adrian approached a man who was clearly the bar's owner—no one else was just sitting around, and he didn't look like a customer. The man had jet-black hair and a strikingly handsome, almost magnetic presence, the kind that made him stand out even in a place like this.
"Adrian, you actually brought other people? That's a first," the man said, his tone amused.
"Lucifer, can't I have friends?" Adrian shot back.
Their conversation made Mary's eyes widen in shock. "Mr. Adrian, did you just call him Lucifer? As in Satan Lucifer?"
Given that Adrian was the human embodiment of Raphael, there was really only one person he'd call Lucifer. Mary's already fragile faith seemed to crack even further.
Lucifer's expression didn't change. He gave Mary a brief, almost dismissive glance. "Adrian, is this chick your girlfriend? She seems a bit… clueless."
Adrian sighed, glancing at Lucifer. "Don't say stuff like that. You'll upset Roy."
Roy shrugged it off. "Nah, I'm not that petty."
His eyes, though, stayed locked on the black-haired man across from him. Roy had expected Adrian's contact to be someone important, but he hadn't anticipated meeting Lucifer, the King of Pride and one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell. The way Adrian and Lucifer talked, like old buddies, confirmed Elizabeth's theory: Lucifer still had deep ties to Heaven.
While Roy studied Lucifer, Lucifer was sizing him up too. They locked eyes for a long moment, only snapping out of it when Adrian coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem! Roy, Mary, sit down already. No need to stand there like statues."
The tension in the air had been… intense, to say the least. Roy quickly sat, pulling the still-dazed Mary onto his lap.
Rumor had it Lucifer swung both ways, and Roy figured he'd better play it safe.
Once they were seated, Lucifer snapped his fingers, and a bottle of wine Roy had never seen before appeared on the table, along with a few glasses.
"Let's have a drink before we talk," Lucifer said.
He popped the bottle open, and a rich, intoxicating aroma filled the air. Roy felt a jolt of energy, and even Mary, still lost in her haze, seemed to snap back to reality. She blushed when she realized she was sitting in Roy's lap but didn't pull away or protest.
Lucifer poured glasses for himself, Roy, and Mary, but when he went to pour for Adrian, Adrian waved him off. "You know I can't drink, Lucifer."
"Adrian, you're in the human world now. Why cling to Heaven's rules? You said you wanted to experience human life—this is a big part of it!" Lucifer's tone was smooth, persuasive, like a devil tempting an angel.
Roy couldn't help but smirk. So this was how a Demon Lord worked his charm.
But Adrian's resolve was ironclad. If he wasn't steadfast, his carefree attitude would've turned him into a fallen angel long ago. Despite his laid-back vibe, Raphael only played fast and loose with trivial things. When it came to Heaven's commandments—like abstaining from alcohol and lust—he was unwavering.
"Lucifer, you can't trick me with that. Falling starts with these tiny steps. One small slip leads to another, and before you know it, you look back and realize there's no way home."
Adrian's words seemed to carry a deeper meaning, but Lucifer pretended not to notice. "Fine, more for our new friends then."
Roy eyed the amber-colored liquid in his glass, clear and shimmering. He wasn't much of a drinker, but the scent was impossible to resist. Mary, a devout Puritan who never touched alcohol, looked equally captivated.
"Mr. Lucifer, what kind of wine is this?" she asked.
Lucifer's smile was enigmatic. "This is called 'Original Sin.' It'll give you an experience you'll never forget."
The name Original Sin sounded ominous, especially coming from a Demon Lord. Roy hesitated, glancing at Adrian for reassurance.
"It's fine, Roy. You can drink it. I only abstain because of Heaven's rules," Adrian said.
With Adrian's approval, Roy relaxed. The Angel of Healing wouldn't steer him wrong. He raised his glass and downed the wine in one gulp. Mary hesitated for a moment before following suit.
As the amber liquid hit his stomach, Roy felt a fire ignite inside him. The blaze spread, burning from his core outward. It wasn't just heat—it was a pink flame, the fire of lust, one of the original sins.
The flames left Roy parched, his body feverish, consumed by a primal, almost animalistic urge he couldn't put into words.
Mary, on the other hand, reacted differently. After drinking, a faint white aura enveloped her, making her look radiant, almost holy—like an angel descended to Earth. Compared to Adrian's slouched, irreverent posture, Mary looked more angelic than he did.
It was a sign that Mary was free of any original sin, as pure as an angel.
"What is this wine?!" Roy growled, struggling against the torment of his desires. Only by holding Mary tightly could he feel a sliver pure as an angel.
"What the hell is this wine?!" Roy demanded, his voice rough with the agony of his burning desires. Clinging to Mary was the only thing keeping him grounded, her presence like a cool breeze against the fire raging inside him.
Lucifer and Adrian exchanged a look, both clearly caught off guard by what was happening.
"Lucifer, what's going on? Why's the wine doing this to him?" Adrian asked, his tone sharp. Roy had only drunk the wine because Adrian said it was safe, and if something went wrong, he'd feel responsible.
Lucifer shrugged, looking almost sheepish. "How was I supposed to know your buddy's carrying such a heavy load of original sin? Look at him—it's like he's got the authority of lust itself. Don't you find that a little weird?"
Adrian blinked, thrown by the revelation. He'd heard from Michael that Roy was just an upstanding human guy—half-demon, sure, but a good one. The idea that Roy was packing the authority of lust was a shock.
"How's he got the authority of lust?" Adrian asked, disbelief clear in his voice.
Lucifer leaned back, studying Roy like he was some rare, fascinating creature. Adrian, meanwhile, was starting to lose his cool. He reached out, and a guitar appeared in his hands. He strummed a few chords, and the music flowed out, soft and soothing. Slowly, Roy's body began to calm, the pink flames fading.
"You set me up!" Roy snapped, glaring at Lucifer. Demon Lord or not, nobody played him like that. He wasn't some pushover.
Lucifer gave an awkward chuckle. "I didn't know you were carrying the authority of lust, man. How could I predict this? And wait, there's more! You've got Beelzebub's mark on you, plus an unactivated seal from Asmodeus. You're a walking mystery, aren't you?"
Adrian's jaw dropped. He hadn't expected Roy's story to be this complicated. He trusted Lucifer's word—Pride's king didn't bother with lies—so Roy really did have the authority of lust, plus marks from two Demon Lords. That was like a guy being married to two women at once.
"Roy, what's the deal here?" Adrian asked, his tone wary, his earlier friendliness gone.
Roy's mind raced, scrambling for a believable story. "A while back, I ran into the Queen of Lust. Took everything I had to send her back to Hell. That's when I got saddled with this lust authority. She left her mark on me before she bailed. As for Beelzebub's mark, that was a trick—she screwed me over!"
It was all true, technically, and it passed Adrian's lie detector. "Got it. Roy, you want me to help you get rid of that lust authority and those marks?"
"No way," Roy said quickly. Let Adrian strip him of something he'd nearly died to get? Not a chance. "I'll handle it myself."
Lucifer, sharp as ever, caught the hint that Roy wasn't telling the full story. He also noticed something else—traces of a unique bloodline in Roy's veins. In Heaven or Hell, Lucifer was top dog. In Heaven, it took Michael and Gabriel to take him down. In Hell, neither Beelzebub nor Leviathan could touch him, and the lesser four Demon Lords would need to team up just to stand a chance. If Lucifer wanted to be Satan, he'd have claimed the title ages ago. Elizabeth had called him a terrifying man, and she wasn't wrong.
Lucifer's piercing gaze made Roy uneasy. He was already regretting letting Adrian drag him here.
Luckily, Adrian stepped in to shift the conversation. "Lucifer, how long you planning to stick around in the human world this time?"
"Who knows? Maybe I'll stay for good," Lucifer said with a grin.
Adrian frowned. "You're just gonna ditch Hell? God's not gonna be happy about that."
Lucifer's smile turned bitter. "I never ran Hell to begin with. And didn't the old man go AWOL? He bailed on Heaven first, so why should I care about Hell?"
"Lucifer, I'm sure God's got his reasons. We're all out here looking for him," Adrian said, his face unusually serious.
Lucifer smirked. "What, you gonna rat me out to Gabriel?"
The wine of Original Sin was taking effect on Lucifer now, too. A yellow mist rose from him, the color of pride. His authority over sin was far stronger than Roy's, but he didn't even flinch, like it was nothing.
Adrian hesitated, then sighed. "I'll keep my mouth shut, Lucifer. But Gabriel's gonna find out eventually. Just… have your fun and head back, alright?"
Back in Heaven, Lucifer and Raphael had been tight. Both had that same free-spirited vibe. Raphael respected Michael the most, but Lucifer was his best friend. Gabriel, on the other hand, couldn't stand Lucifer. She was all about rules and order, and Lucifer's chaos drove her up the wall. They'd bickered constantly in Heaven, and when Lucifer first got banished to Hell, they'd fought like cats and dogs—though Gabriel always lost.
If Gabriel found out Lucifer was topside, she'd come down swinging, and things would get messy fast.
"Enough, Adrian," Lucifer cut in, his tone firm. "If I wanna go back, I'll go. But if I don't, nobody's dragging me—not even the old man."
Adrian opened his mouth to argue, but Lucifer shut him down. "If you're just here to preach about Hell, you can go. But if you wanna kick back and have a drink, I'm all ears."
Lucifer's stance was clear, and Adrian knew he wasn't budging. "Fine. I'm out for today," he said, standing up. Drinking was off the table for him.
Roy quickly pulled Mary to her feet, ready to bolt. She was still in a fog—tonight had been a surreal whirlwind for her. Pink flames, yellow mist, and not a single person around them reacting, thanks to the barrier Lucifer had set up.
As Adrian stepped out of the barrier, Lucifer called after them. "Roy, I'm intrigued. Come back anytime."
Roy froze. Is this guy for real?
He made a mental note to steer clear of this place from now on.
One more for Mary.
There's no shortage of Lucifer-inspired stories out there, and this one borrows a bit from the vibe of the TV show Lucifer.