Urushihara slipped down into the trees, not entirely unscathed. The branches seemed to reach for him, to tear into his skin as his feet touched the forest floor. In his current form, however, these were nothing more than a momentary discomfort. They vanished quickly, healing as quickly as he'd gotten them.

Pain sank into his heart, not anger but a despair he hadn't felt in what felt like centuries. And centuries it had been. The memory of falling caused a pain that was almost physical, wracking his body to the point of him stumbling back against the gnarled branches of a tree. Like him, it grew more twisted with the passing years, seeking a light it could not find, yet aging despite all reason. Urushihara's body convulsed as the human left him and he became Lucifer, all anger and regret and selfishness and hate. He looked up at Maou, and the pupils of his eyes burned.

He barely noticed Maou's state, all torn up in his own memories. As was his personality, all he could think of to hold back his own pain was a snarky comment, not hurtful but playful, perhaps darkly so.

"Maybe we should've brought Emi along. Better Half could cut a path through this damn forest."