Мракобесие: начало

“What’s so urgent?” Devil asked calmly, shuffling a deck of cards and sitting cross-legged on someone's gravestone.

“You know. Why ask questions?” The interlocutor answered him just as calmly.

“Of course I know, but you could well forget... A round?” He suggested, pointing at the cards with his glance and continuing to shuffle them.

“No, I’m not in the mood today.”

“As always... Better tell me when was the last time when you had it, your mood?”

“Let’s get down to business rather than personal.”

“Go ahead!”

“What are we going to do with them?” The opposite man asked quite clearly, waiting for advice.

“Indeed, I could have said nothing to you at all, and you would never know anything. The trick is that I still need my friend for too many things. Though, I don’t know if you really need her, but I need him. But you see, there is a nuance. If you and I clean this mess up for them and they go unpunished, it will turn out that everyone can walk all over us later. Do we need this? No. And if you punish them as an example to others, they can get seriously hurt. Any suggestions?”

“Suggestions?”

“No, I'm asking you if you have any suggestions. Or will I figure something out and save your ass alone as usual?”

The man frowned.

“Come on! Stop making eyes like that! I'm not a young lady! Or do you want to send your punishment on me? In this case, here’s the tricky bit! This punishment is me. I won’t punish myself! Ha ha ha... Though, I’m the punishment you send, I’m the challenge, I’m everything! To a large extent... I’ve always been curious: what are you doing while I’m saving your ass, oh the Holiest? And others at this time are taking the other part of responsibilities. Besides, other people, not ours. No, I, of course, agree: I definitely couldn’t listen to prayers as patiently as you! But you’re only listening to these same prayers and never fulfill them! Fact? Fact…”

“Again we are moving from personal to business,” The interlocutor said dryly and sat on the gravestone next to Devil.

“What a lovely place…”

“Yeah, not bad.”

“Come here,” Devil called to someone and from the morning mist a tall person in the hood with burning yellow eyes and hooked long fingers appeared. “Look,” Devil said, turning to the one who was sitting opposite, “she’s sort of punished, but nothing seems to have changed radically...”

“What do you mean?”

“Basically, I would mean everything, except for one thing! You’re free!” He said to Death and she retired obediently. “This issue didn’t concern you directly. Therefore, I haven’t informed you about this. Back then, she came to the wrong address, but in her “bureau” this was considered quite normal. Now her subordinates know that they were wrong. She was beautiful, if you remember... And she always valued her work and duties very much. And then she made a mistake like this... Theoretically, I could pretend that nothing happened. Nevertheless, I decided that at least something must be done. In the end, am I the chief or not!?” He waited until the interlocutor nodded to make sure that he was listening carefully listened to him and continued drawing parallels between these two cases. “This, of course, is not the first time an angel has fallen in love with a demon...”

“Wait a minute! It's mutual!” The interlocutor resented.

“I haven’t reached the point of mutuality yet. So, I gave her the right to choose. Rather, the illusion of the right to choose actually. You see, not only people need this illusion as it turned out! They like, you know, to feel like they are the masters of their own lives in general and the situation in particular... The choice was simple: I take away her appearance – and she becomes invisible, that is, deprived of the pleasure of seducing the dying. Or I leave her beauty to her, but I lower her a few ranks below: so everyone who has previously obeyed her can snap at her for all her orders to the fullest.”

“And?..”

“In my opinion, her choice is obvious. Since then, I had to change some of the rules because of this incident.”

“Wasn't it easier to completely perish her?”

“You have a shit-ton of angels! And I value each and every employee! Are there fallen angels? There are. Have you heard anything about the fallen imps?”

And both of them laughed.

“What are the rules?”

“She has no right to talk with her victim. And in order to avoid the temptation to break the rule, she turns mute automatically when meeting with the future dead…” He said and tapped the gravestone. “And since now she also has the right to make mistakes…”