[Lucifer] Ch: 41 [The Lightbringer Awakens] (Patreon)

Amenadiel's wings exploded from his back in a blur of dark feathers, kicking sand into the air as he launched forward. His fist came straight for Lucifer's face with enough force to crack concrete.

Lucifer tilted his head aside. 

Amenadiel's knuckles missed him by inches.

Lucifer smiled as he caught his brother's wrist. "Still leading with the right? You've been telegraphing that exact punch since the Silver City. It's getting embarrassing."

Amenadiel twisted free and drove his knee toward Lucifer's stomach. Lucifer blocked it with his palm, then casually shoved him backward.

Amenadiel slid several feet through the sand before stopping himself. "You think this is amusing?"

"Immensely so," Lucifer admitted while brushing sand from one sleeve. "You've spent millennia dining out on your reputation as Heaven's greatest warrior, brother. Frankly, I'm starting to think it was merely an honorary title."

Amenadiel rushed him again.

This time, Lucifer allowed the first punch to land.

The impact cracked through the beach like a gunshot.

Lucifer's head turned slightly. Then he slowly looked back at Amenadiel. "There's the spirit."

Amenadiel's eyes widened.

Lucifer blinked and punched him in the stomach.

Amenadiel folded around the punch before flying backward through the air. He crashed into the sand hard enough to carve a shallow trench several yards long. "Arg!" He pushed himself upright with a furious growl, blood beginning to run from one nostril. 

Lucifer walked toward him with both hands in his pockets. "I must admit, I finally understand why the demons used to sell tickets to our family squabbles."

Amenadiel suddenly vanished.

Lucifer's eyes narrowed as the sand beneath his brother's feet exploded outward. He believed that he was faster than his brother in every way and much stronger. In that brief moment, by consciously manipulating their own self-worth, ego, and identity, he got another power boost.

BOOM!

A violent shockwave ripped across the beach as Amenadiel accelerated past the speed of sound, crossing the distance between them almost instantly. His wings folded tightly behind him while his fist came straight toward Lucifer's face at hypersonic speed.

Lucifer leaned his head aside.

Amenadiel's fist tore past his cheek, the pressure alone sending Lucifer's hair whipping backward as a thunderous crack rolled across the shoreline.

'Hahahaha! This is fun,' Lucifer smiled. "Much better, brother. I was beginning to worry Heaven's greatest warrior had gotten rusty."

Amenadiel twisted in midair and attacked again.

Another sonic boom erupted across the beach.

Then another.

To any human watching, the brothers would've disappeared completely. Only violent bursts of displaced air, exploding sand, and overlapping thunder would've revealed that anything was happening.

Amenadiel circled Lucifer at several times the speed of sound, changing direction constantly before attacking from different angles. A fist came from the left, followed immediately by a knee from behind and another punch aimed directly at Lucifer's temple.

Lucifer blocked every attack.

His arms moved in short, precise bursts as he caught Amenadiel's wrist, redirected the knee, then tilted beneath the final punch.

Amenadiel's eyes widened slightly.

"How?"

"I have had an upgrade," Lucifer said smoothly. "And honestly, I am getting rather bored of you underestimating me."

Amenadiel ripped his arm free and accelerated again.

The beach erupted beneath him.

This time, he climbed several hundred feet into the air within seconds before diving toward Lucifer like a missile. The force gathering around him screamed through the night as he broke the sound barrier again.

Lucifer looked upward.

"Now that's more like it."

Amenadiel crashed downward.

Lucifer vanished.

Amenadiel's fist slammed into empty sand, creating a violent explosion that blasted a crater into the beach and launched sand dozens of feet into the air.

Before Amenadiel could turn around, a hand closed around the back of his neck.

His eyes widened.

Lucifer stood behind him.

"You've gotten faster," Lucifer whispered near his ear. "So have I."

Lucifer slammed him face-first into the sand.

The impact shook the surrounding beach as another burst of sand exploded outward, while Amenadiel's wings spread instinctively behind him.

"ENOUGH!" Amenadiel flew upward, dragging Lucifer several feet into the air before spinning and throwing him toward the beach.

Lucifer stopped himself in midair.

Amenadiel stared in disbelief. 'What is going on with Lucifer? How is this possible? Did the human world make him stronger?'

Lucifer hovered above the sand without wings, coat moving gently in the ocean wind. 'Holy shit! I feel like Mob Psycho.'

"Look at that. No feathers required. I do love discovering a new party trick."

He lifted one hand.

Amenadiel's entire body stopped in midair. His muscles strained as an invisible force wrapped around him. He tried beating his wings, but they barely moved.

Lucifer flicked two fingers downward.

Amenadiel crashed into the beach. 

Before he could recover, Lucifer appeared beside him and drove a fist across his face. The impact sent Amenadiel rolling through the sand until he finally stopped near the remains of the burning wings.

He tried rising.

Lucifer kicked his legs out from beneath him.

Amenadiel fell again.

By the time he managed to roll onto his back, blood covered his mouth and his nose looked badly busted. His breathing had become heavy, while one wing lay awkwardly across the sand beside him.

Lucifer stood above him, red eyes glowing faintly.

The amusement had disappeared completely.

"Pay attention, Amenadiel. You are free to annoy me, preach at me, and skulk around in the shadows pretending Father's utter silence makes you His proxy."

Amenadiel glared up at him.

Lucifer crouched slightly, his expression becoming dangerously calm. "But cross the line again- threaten Maze, manipulate my circle, or use my past as a bargaining chip, and I promise you, I will forget we are family. Next time, you won't walk away."

Amenadiel wiped blood from his mouth and forced himself upright onto one elbow. "I'll do whatever is necessary to send you back to Hell."

Lucifer stared at him for several seconds before that familiar smile slowly returned.

"I look forward to the disappointment on your face."

He turned away and walked toward the distant lights of Los Angeles while Amenadiel remained sprawled across the beach beside the smoking ashes of Lucifer's wings.

...

[LUX] [Midnight]

The elevator doors opened into the penthouse just after midnight, and Lucifer stepped out with far less energy than he'd had when leaving earlier.

His coat was covered in sand, one sleeve had been torn near the shoulder, and several dark stains marked the white shirt beneath it. He crossed the room toward the bar before finally looking down at his hands.

Both fists were a mess.

His knuckles were split open, blood coated his fingers, and the skin across his right hand looked badly bruised from repeatedly hitting Amenadiel.

Lucifer slowly flexed his fingers while staring at the damage.

'Well, that's mildly concerning.'

He'd been considerably stronger than Amenadiel during the fight. Faster too, especially once his self-actualization began responding to the confidence running through him. Still, his brother's durability had been far greater than Lucifer expected.

Apparently punching an archangel in the face repeatedly wasn't particularly kind to the knuckles.

Lucifer reached toward the whiskey bottle on the counter when the elevator sounded behind him.

The doors opened, and Maze stepped inside. 

Lucifer turned around.

She was halfway through removing her jacket when her eyes landed on Lucifer's hands.

Her expression changed instantly.

"Lucifer! What happened?"

Maze rushed over, grabbing his wrist before he could hide the injury. Blood was still dripping from his knuckles and onto the floor, and the concern on her face was impossible to miss.

Lucifer stared at her for a second.

Maze rarely looked worried.

Angry, amused, irritated, excited, murderous, and occasionally affectionate were all familiar expressions. Seeing genuine fear appear because he was hurt struck him harder than Amenadiel's punches had managed.

Lucifer lifted his hand and gently touched her chin.

Before Maze could ask anything else, he leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss was brief and soft, carrying none of their usual teasing aggression. When Lucifer pulled away, he kept his forehead near hers for another moment.

"Sorry for making you worry again," he murmured. "It was only a little disagreement with my brother. Nothing terribly serious. I simply kicked his feathered butt across half the beach."

Maze's eyes narrowed. "Amenadiel did this?"

Lucifer glanced down at his ruined knuckles and sighed. "Technically, his face did most of the damage."

Maze didn't laugh.

That alone told him how worried she still was.

Lucifer smiled gently before looking at his hands.

'All right. Self-actualization apparently gave me telekinesis, flight, greater strength, fire, and whatever else I've accidentally unlocked. Healing shouldn't be difficult.'

He closed his eyes and pictured the injuries disappearing.

Warmth spread through his fingers almost immediately.

Maze watched in silence as the torn skin pulled together, bruising faded, and blood stopped flowing. Within seconds, Lucifer's hands looked completely untouched.

He flexed his fingers and smiled proudly.

"See? All better now."

Maze stared at his hands before slowly looking up. "Since when can you do that?"

Lucifer opened his mouth.

Pain exploded through his back.

"ARGHH!"

His knees hit the floor as something tore beneath his shoulder blades with enough force to erase every thought from his mind.

Maze jumped backward before immediately reaching for him. "Lucifer!"

"Stay back!"

Lucifer shoved her away with one arm while collapsing forward, his fingers digging into the floor. His coat split down the back as his shirt began ripping beneath it.

The pain became unbearable.

It felt as though molten metal was being driven through his spine while bones stretched and reshaped beneath his skin.

Lucifer screamed again.

Maze froze.

Blood spread across his torn shirt.

Then something white pushed through.

Her eyes widened as two growing shapes slowly unfolded from Lucifer's back.

Fresh feathers emerged beneath the blood.

New wings were forming.

"ARGGGGGGG!!!!!" 

Lucifer stopped screaming after a final burst of pain. Those few seconds felt like an eternity of pain. He huffed and stayed on the floor for a moment before slowly standing up, feeling a sudden burst of energy and power. Then he noticed his new wings...