With his hands folded behind his back, Samael, cloaked, observed a large wooden structure. The ark cast a shadow over the clearing, its wooden structure covered the pale blue sky. The air filled with the scent of resin and freshly cut wood. From the outside, the ark appeared complete, but when he peeked inside, it was still an empty shell.

"What do you think? A week? A month?" Samael asked Beelzebub, who stood beside him.

"My lord?" Beelzebub blinked at him.

"How much time do you think it will take before it's finished?" Samael asked him, even though he didn't expect the answer.

"I'm not certain, my lord. But I'll ask around."

"No need to bother." Samael waved his hand while his gaze was still on the ark looming before him. The divinity hadn't imposed a time limit, and if those arrogant snobs of the Consul thought they could, they were sorely mistaken. "Keep somebody to keep an eye on it and inform me as soon as it's finished."

"Yes, my lord."

They wanted a calamity, and he's going to give them one. At that moment, he decided precisely what the calamity would be. He turned to Beelzebub. "Come on, let's return."

They went to their mountain-dwelling, where Samael learned from Gaap, that the Shadows captured Satan and his supporters, and requested Samael's presence.

Already? Samael thought, but aloud, he complained to Beelzebub. "I can't even have one minute of rest."

He did leave with Gaap, anyway. Beelzebub accompanied him.

The Shadows waited for him, lined up before the bridge, now lying in jagged pieces with stones scattered around it. The sight pained Samael's soul—if he had one. He glanced at the palace carved into the rocky wall and the broken, toppled columns. A tear slipped down his cheek as he took in the destruction. He knew it would be bad, but... "So much destruction."

"We will rebuild, my lord. It would be even more beautiful than before," Beelzebub assured him.

"I hope so," Samael said before he faced the Shadows. Their bodies were streaked with soot, their movements restless.

A sequence of gasps could be heard.

A snake-woman in the middle of the front row slid forward over the rough, ashen terrain. "My lord."

Samael nodded to him.

"She was chosen as a representative," Beelzebub whispered to Samael.

Oh, so the snake was a female, not a male, Samael thought.

"You told us you would only return after we deal with Satan," the snake said. She gestured to the Shadows behind her.

The rows parted, and a Shadow brought forwards tied Shadows. Satan was among them.

"Here he is."

"You did well." Samael glanced over the rows of Shadows. "Really well."

"You will return now, right?" a Shadow yelled from the rows.

"Yes, please, return."

"We've missed you."

"Return, my lord."

"Continue to lead us, my lord."

Samael lifted his hand.

The shouts stopped.

"I will only return if you all agree for me to be your leader again."

"We agree," the Shadows shouted.

"Unanimously?" Samael arched his eyebrows.

"Unanimously," the Shadows shouted in union.

"Are you certain?"

The voices of confirmation were so loud that they made the air shake..

Samael's gaze lowered to Satan. He pointed at him and his group. "I don't see them agreeing."

"They don't count, my lord," the snake said.

"What do you plan to do with them?" Samael stepped closer, so that he could look at Satan down his nose. He enjoyed asserting his superiority over inept opportunists who sought to profit from others' work.

"We hope my lord would decide," the snake said.

"No, no, no." Samael waved his hand. "I'll leave this to you. I'm certain you would find something suitable."

The snake nodded, then looked over her shoulder at the Shadows. Then her yellow eyes were back on Samael. "You're our leader again, correct, my lord?"

"Well, since you all insisted so loudly." Samael gave them all a wide smile.

"What now, my lord?" a Shadow from the first row asked.

Samael tilted his head. "I think you know what is next?" He glanced at the Shadows and raised his voice. "Don't you?"

"To rebuild the bridge?"

"To fix the Pandemonium?"

"To restart the classes?"

And there were some more suggestions, with every one of them naming the things that need to be rebuilt or restarted.

"All of those." Samael nodded. He clapped. "So you better get to work."

The Shadows nodded enthusiastically.

"Is that all?" a whisper reached Samael's ears, and he saw the Shadow next to the whisperer shrug.

"Yes, my lord, we'll start right away," the snake said, and the Shadows started to disperse.

"But before you go," Samael said loudly.

The Shadow stopped.

"You did well, and we, of course, need to reward that. Think about how you'd like to celebrate your achievement and let me know." Samael gave them a big smile. "I mean, tell Beel."

The Shadows' faces lit up, and a few clapped their hands, paws, or wings, while excited whispers filled the air.

"Now, since I have some heavenly business that I need to take care of..." Samael flashed another big smile at them before he gestured to Beelzebub to follow him, and they left.

He would have enjoyed spending more time in Inferno, basking in the Shadows' victory over their tyrant and their newly earned independence. But more pressing matters demanded his attention.

With the help of the cut he made into the fabric of creation, they returned to the mountain in the Fifth Heaven. Beelzebub called the Shadows in the main hall while Samael occupied the throne at the head of the long table that dominated the space. His long hair fanned over his shoulder and the side of the throne.

The main hall, with its golden ornaments embedded into some parts of the roughly cut walls, showed the builders' progress and determination to replicate the Throne Hall in Inferno. In the flickering light of the torches, there were some Shadows even working on the walls now.

After all the Shadows gathered, Beelzebub notified them about development in the Inferno.

"Does that mean we will return there?" a Shadow asked.

"Yes," Samael nodded before he addressed the main builder, the lion-head, "I assume that all the mountain's main entrances had been sealed off?"

"Yes, my lord, except the upper one, as per your request."

"Good." Samael tapped his fingers against the armrest of the stone armchair.

Ramus pushed his way through the Shadows and stopped at the front of the long table. "When'll we return?"

"You can return now if you wish to." Samael looked at Ramus. "Actually, I'd prefer you to return now. Since all the entrances but one are sealed off, excursions and outings are currently suspended."

Minox positioned himself beside Ramus. "What if we would prefer to stay?"

"You can stay, but I want you to be aware that a great calamity is coming and this dwelling might end up flooded." Of course, before executing the calamity, he would send all the Shadows still in the dwelling to Inferno—whether they were willing or not. Until then, if they chose to remain imprisoned in the enclosed space of the dwelling, it was their choice.

Shadows exchanged gazes. Soft murmurs spread among them and worry appeared on their faces.

"After our return to the Inferno, if Home Above isn't flooded, what will happen to it?" the lion-head asked.

"Home Above?" Samael repeated.

"That's how we named this place," the builder explained.

Samael stifled his chuckle. Shadows were even worse at naming things than he was, but on the other hand, it was simple and easy to remember. "I see. Well, if divinity doesn't prohibit it, we will keep it as our Fifth Heaven's residence, but how and when we'll be able to use it... that depends on what life will be in the Fifth Heaven after the flood."

"We'll be able to go the tree trunk riding again?" Minox asked.

"And on excursions?" Ramus added.

"I'm not certain," Samael told them.

The Shadows' faces fell.

"Listen, listen, if we can't do that, I'll figure something else for us to do. I promise." Samael tried to cheer them up. Or maybe he was trying to cheer himself up. The task he had was unpleasant and something he dreaded to do, but he was tasked with it by divinity, and as much as he wanted to avoid it, it was something that had to be done. He signed and his shoulders slumped, Then in the next moment, he straightened them. But what has to be done, it would be done on his terms. He looked at Beelzebub, who was standing by the throne. "Beel, contact the Mountain Watchers. Tell them I'd like to speak with them."