CHAPTER 190: HEARTWARMING

The next few days were spent filming and showing Ari around.

It was relaxing in its own right, and Averie found it heartwarming to see his cousin’s joy.

’This isn’t so bad.’

While passing by a mirrored wall in a shopping mall, he stopped.

’It’s surreal.’

He observed his reflection.

The flaming pupils and auburn hair embellished a face that was unfamiliar to him only a year ago.

’Yet here I am, Averie Quinn Auclair.’

The previous Averie’s best friend was now his friend. His cousin was now his cousin.

’A false life, a false identity... yet I assume it so freely as if it were my own. To be so free in another’s flesh, am I a good actor or a bad one? Shouldn’t I be more devoted to the previous Averie’s ways?’

He had beaten a man half to death. The previous Averie wouldn’t have done that.

’How complicated.’

Such thoughts seemed to gnaw at his being.

’Am I The Quinn? Or am I Gene Conti?’

The reflection of his eyes seemed to lack life.

’Am I alive? Or am I imitating life?’

He had avoided these questions since the beginning of his career in this foreign world.

’Who am I?’

The uncertainty that the question carried was overwhelmed by a deep sense of thrill.

It felt like he was playing with his life.

The wager was his identity, and the actor from Hell felt excited at the thought of losing it.

His amber eyes came alive in that moment, bleeding color into his surroundings.

’Such high cannot be expressed through any drug.’

"What are you doing?"

It was Hyerin’s voice.

"Let’s go. Min-Ha wants to find new clothes for you."

And so, the madman pretended to be sane, smiling as he mingled with his family and friends.

***

The sky was bluish-pink, overseeing the sea of gray underneath.

He was back there again.

Averie pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Right, it’s a full moon tonight."

He got up and prepared to face the fake Asmodeus and the fake Allaryx.

But neither jumped out of the liquid as he had expected.

"Expecting someone?"

He turned around to see Lucifer sitting there, grinning ear to ear.

"What are you doing here?" the actor asked, frowning. "Have you made this your home or something?"

"What if I have?"

"Why? Is Hell too disgusting for you?"

He sounded offended.

The devil gestured for him to take a seat, even though there were no seats around. "Do you ever look at yourself and think you are messed up?"

"Not often. Why?"

"I’ve never met a human who feels so dearly towards Hell. It’s almost poetic."

"I haven’t forgotten my roots."

Lucifer whistled. "How charming."

He pointed in the distance.

"That one has been waiting for you."

Averie followed his finger.

’Already?’

A woman in eastern attire, with an umbrella in her hand, seemed to be prancing around at the edge of the world, where the pink and gray colors mixed together.

"Another one lusting after my life?"

"You caused it. Do you regret it?"

"Not really. I knew the risks. And I accept the consequences."

The devil looked at his friend. He was always so assured, always so confident.

Even when he first entered Hell, he wasn’t afraid or devastated.

’Very few receive the welcome he did, and yet...’

Lucifer himself had come to greet the actor along with a score of sinners, yet he didn’t seem one bit intimidated.

’He looked inconvenienced.’

Looking back on it, it was funny.

The devil’s gaze lingered on Averie before turning towards The Lady. "You don’t have to worry about her... for now, at least."

"Uh-huh. She seems more complete, more formed, unlike those mindless two. It’s just like her to be so distinct from everyone around her."

So, they spent some time chatting and observing The Lady, who didn’t seem interested in them.

"You haven’t found anyone to protect you yet, have you?" Lucifer began. "I can help you with that."

Averie scoffed. "Why would I accept help from the devil?"

The Warden of Hell looked at him strangely. "There are three sins carved on your chest. You have already accepted all the help I can provide."

"Hey, hey. I paid for them."

"One of them is still unpaid."

"Have some patience. It’s only a matter of time."

"What’s the problem here?"

"Forget that!" Averie recalled the incident on the cruise. "Was that you—"

"No."

Averie didn’t pursue the matter any further. He knew Lucifer well; if it had been him who killed Julia’s husband, he wouldn’t have held back from boasting about it.

He didn’t believe in Lucifer; he believed in his shamelessness.

"I can’t tell you more about it, but you know that someone was trying to frame you, right?"

Averie had that feeling, but he wasn’t sure about trusting his infernal friend.

"Don’t you trust me?"

The devil said it with a disgusting grin on his face. It betrayed his true feelings.

"I trust you to seek entertainment at the cost of human life."

"Hey, you are an actor. You love providing great performances. I don’t see an issue here."

Averie raised a finger in protest before putting it to his lip. ’He isn’t wrong.’

Sensing Averie’s change in emotions, the devil—like an astute businessman—threw in some bait.

"I’ll even grant you the fourth tattoo. Aren’t you curious about it—about how it could put your life in danger? Won’t it be fun to gamble?"

Averie took the creature’s hand and shook it.

"You are a good man, Lucifer. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I’m not good, and I certainly am not a man."

***

Sophie Moon sat slumped against the brick wall of a dirty alleyway.

The torn page in her hand, which she had desperately put together, was hard to read. Yet she didn’t give up.

She was possessed by desperation.

She even tells them about Asmodeus’s recent attachment to Sarah.

Mammon instructs her to send the servants away early while Asmodeus is away, allow them secret entry into the mansion, and help them lure Asmodeus to his room by lying to him that Sarah has returned from her mother’s house early.

Meanwhile, a coked-up Beelzebub is staring at the paintings in his restaurant with a dazed expression.

After the sun has set, as rainclouds are gathering, Asmodeus returns to his mansion. He leaves his men to safeguard the mansion.

When his housekeeper tells him about Sarah’s return, he ignores all the questions of importance—why does she seem nervous, why has Sarah suddenly returned without even calling him, and where are all the servants?

She looked at the homeless men huddled some distance away from her. She had found these pieces lying around their bonfire.

"They burnt everything but not this?"

It was bizarre.

He climbs up to his room while taking off his suit and tie, unbuttoning his shirt completely.

As he enters the unlit room, squinting to find Sarah, he is hit in the back of his head by Leviathan. He is ambushed by the three. They lock the door and shoot the housekeeper in the face as she is asking them about her child.

The men outside hear the commotion, but as they tried to rush to him, they were ambushed by the men lying in wait on the first floor of the mansion. They shoot his men dead, riddle them with holes.

They brutally beat the half-naked man, soaking his shirt in blood—Leviathan is the most zealous in his beating.

After a while, Asmodeus looks up at them and warns them of the consequences of their actions, which Satan scoffs at.

At this point, the fury in Satan’s eyes burns brighter than ever. All sound stops at this point as Satan starts brutally beating Asmodeus.

The silence is taken over by a slow-tempo, melancholic classical music as the three continue in their endeavor.

Blood splatters over their clothes and faces, marred by expressions representing their sins—Wrath, Envy, and Greed.

The music is tragic as the camera captures the rain clouds in the sky outside, as a gentle drizzle washes away the grime of the cold stone.

"See, there it is." Sophie Moon shook the paper in her hand at the heavens. "Why is there musical direction here?"

In the lavish room, Asmodeus has been beaten to death. His head isn’t shown, as there isn’t much left to see.

But the sheets are bloody, and even his bare torso is splashed with blood as his body lies on its back while the shadows of the three disperse out of the frame.

The tempo of the tragic music is raised as it turns thrilling, vindictive, and grand.

"Tempo?" She squinted. "I have never written something like this before."

The sound of the organ is mixed with the strings of the violin, as a choir and church bells are added.

"Again, why would I dictate musical direction?"

The more she read, the more assured she became that someone or something had influenced her thoughts while she was scribbling this incomplete idea.

The grandeur of the scene announces the end of a sinner, the end of a family, and the end of a lover.

In the dark, as the melody loses its intensity and turns melancholic, a phone rings. On the lit screen, the name ’Sarah’ appears

The call goes unanswered, and the screen fades. The sorrowful music continues throughout the credits.

"This isn’t my work."

Her voice shook, and tears filled her eyes.

"Is it my work?"

She tried to deny it, but she couldn’t.

"How much of it was written by me?"

She looked up at the raven staring down at her.

"You’ve ruined me."

Tears raced down her cheeks.

"Completely and utterly, you’ve ruined me."