Before him was a bald old man wearing a red robe; his protruding red horns were visible, along with his hooves instead of human feet and a tail swishing about. The sight was frightening enough for Seth to learn that he was going to deal with another demon—a headache, if he were to be honest.
As he stood up and was ready to raise his dominant arm, the creature swiftly rose its left hand to stop the boy from doing so. "Please lower that weapon of yours," he demanded calmly, in which Seth was confused by the request before finally complying along with being wary of him. "Thank you."
Someone willing to peacefully negotiate without resorting to violence This is new for him, but he is relieved to know that even for demons, there is someone who is willing to listen with reason: "What's your name?" He asked to break the ice between them.
"Names are irrelevant," the demon told without much interest in regards to identity, "but you could call me the devil as many humans have started to label me as." A chuckle came out of his throat with slight amusement. "I assume you know about what I'm referring to, do you?" Inquiring with amusement in his voice
Taking a step back, his frightened eyes stared at the entity he was conversing with. "Satan?" Faintly uttering as Seth recognizes that infamous name belonging to the devil, "That's...impossible," dealing with monsters and demons is one thing, but encountering a fallen cherub who had directly attended to God and was considered to be the heavenly father's favorite angel,
Satan smirked in delight at seeing the fear in the child's eyes: "Even as I fell from my divinity, I am still recognized by humans for who I used to be, an angel of the Lord. Now with this in mind, why don't we get the show on the road and start the deal I was generously offering you?" the devil began to propose with a kind and reassuring smile, "Isn't that right, boy?"
Nervously, Seth looked down at his feet; unable to find the right answer for this troubling situation, "I'm...not going to do that," he shook his head from the idea, "I've read somewhere that one's soul is valuable," pointing out the common knowledge known by many, "there's no way you'll do this for free," already aware of the many aliases in being called the prince of lies.
Hurt by this statement, he expressed grief at hearing that, "Ah, Seth. I may be known to trick and manipulate your lowly kind, but I do have integrity. The purpose of doing this is because I feel saddened by your poor choices and decisions in life," he said, giving his opinion on the current predicament.
Seth became speechless upon hearing this: "Your contradicting yourself," saying with shock in his tone, "Before, you insulted me of my cowardice, and now you are being nice?" Unsure if the devil is doing this to gain his trust or if there is more to it.
A sigh escaped from Satan's lips: "I had a change of heart," responding with a hint of regret and irritation in his words, "for years of being in the pits of hell, I had enough of watching humanity make mistakes," recalling his time as the angel of justice, a title he was once proud of.
Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Seth isn't one who'd believe in mere words from anyone. For all he knows, this is probably a trap the demon has prepared beforehand in order to take advantage of him: "I don't believe you." Declaring with utmost certainty of this doubt, "Just like what Asmodeus had said to me, you and your race had created the worst place imaginable," assuming from what that peculiar demon said is true.
Crossing his arms, the devil expressed his disappointment in Seth's inability to see his view on the situation: "It was only natural for us to make after my father wanted to bow down to lowly creatures like yourself," expressing hate under his calm exterior; "the father I once respected now casts me out like some garbage, a worthless creation that can only live in eternal damnation while he sits high above his throne and watches everything unfold," narrating his perception of his relationship with God.
Listening to this story of his, Seth felt conflicted by his words, "I cannot believe what you say is true after all the pain you inflicted onto his creation." Questioning his perspective in regards to what the devil has done, "Just because God turned his back on you doesn't mean he hates you!" Declaring passionately and defending his idol
A look of awe spawned on the man's face: "You...you are truly clueless about everything around you, are you not?" Surprised at seeing how stubborn the boy is on this conflicting topic, "Just think of what your god has done for you. What good reasons were there for him to cast aside his children for the sake of his own goal??"Lucifer demanded to know the truth of God's benevolence: "What justification justifies his actions in condemning many things that dissatisfied him, including myself!"
"Well, I—"
"You can't, can you?" A chuckle of pity emerged from his throat. "If he had allowed mankind to judge God before him, then my boy, you too, will rebel after learning the true nature of my heavenly father," Satan warned with subtle anger in his voice. "Trust me, child, he is not a benevolent entity like many humans perceive him to be," he frowned with intense hatred towards his former lord.
He struggled to counter this argument, unsure of what to say to the fallen archangel, "That's...not true," speaking up with great difficulty in denying his points, "He had done good things!" Trying to defend his view of God but finding it hard to do so, "like saving his people through Moses and performing miracles along the way to their promised land!"
The devil shook his head sideways, frustrated by the lengths this poor child is willing to go to in order to protect what he believes in. "Did you ever stop to wonder why he never goes down himself and help everyone from their problems, hmm? Did you?" Demanding with a cold demeanor.
Seth opened his mouth, stammering for what to say: "B-because he allowed free will?" The boy offered with hesitation, which was the wrong choice of words as Satan raised his eyebrow at that weak argument, having heard that many times.
"Free will?"
A smile crept on his lips. "Why don't you tell me, child? If omnipotent God claimed to be all good, then surely he should have been involved with our lives, would he?" Asking the question that always lingers in everyone's mind, "And yet, the lowly humans have prayed for miracles, but he never granted them wishes or needs. Despite everything they have done, he shows no signs of ever appearing and stopping the constant tragedies that transpired and the sinful acts they committed for years on end."
Even the boy couldn't refute the evidence brought up: "God works in mysterious ways." His voice was low compared to before. The confidence he showed a few moments ago was reduced to mere murmurs: "He...ahh...doesn't want to interfere too much in case he messes things up," weakly attempting to explain his logic.
"Is that it?" The devil's tone of voice shifted to being unamused: "For all his omnipotence and proclaiming to be good, why hasn't he erased evil itself other than following this made-up law he made? Because he is incompetent and unable to handle such tasks because of his failures. Tell me, child. Isn't this all too convenient for him? To blame a simple rule he had set by himself to justify the crimes of his own creations," stating clearly his opinions on this.
Everything that Satan said is true. Why would a self-proclaimed all-loving, omnipotent God allow so much suffering without at least physically making its presence known across the world? There are so many reasons he wanted to ask, but all of them are left in deaf ears by the lack of response coming from the Lord.
"See? This is the true nature of God: incapable and lazy beyond comprehension," looking down at the young boy with a gaze of pity, "his not as loving as you thought he was, especially when he created such an imperfect world where many children like yourself have to endure an early demise by the claws of horrors roaming across life itself," approaching him with a declared answer, slowly knelt down to level the height with him.
Extending his hand to him, he said, "Take the deal, and I will bring you home, away from all of this mess." Satan's voice was soothing and enticing, almost like a parent speaking to their child. The temptation of his offer was irresistible, especially since Seth is emotionally and mentally exhausted. "Don't let yourself suffer for the sake of an uncaring God who won't even answer your pleas," giving him a chance to accept this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Slowly, he raised his left hand, moving towards his to accept the offer as sweat spawned profusely on his face in the process, but immediately stopped when past memories of his survival contributed to the existence of monotheistic thought that gave him reason to continue.
He is well aware that accepting any deal from a demon will cost his soul, and he isn't stupid enough to realize that after reading so many scriptures in the Bible. So if he does accept, then his relationship with the only entity that has given him a reason to keep on living will be destroyed in an instant.
Shaking his head with refusal, "I can't..." Speaking with genuine guilt as he dropped his left arm, he took a step back with a look of dread for the consequences that would transpire next. "I'm sorry, sir." Apologizing for declining his proposal.
Grimace in the fallen angel's face: "After everything I had shown you, everything I had shared, you still deny me this?" Infuriated by the fact Seth is rejecting his offer, he says, "You are nothing more than a naive, foolish child! Can't you think of what your selfish desires could cause? How much do you have to believe in selfish and uncaring all-powerful beings who have never answered your pleas??"He screamed at the top of his lungs with a ferocious rage and a hateful tone to accompany it.
Clutching his crucifix, he made a powerful declaration while being determined not to yield to his words, "because..." Looking away in regret and sadness, "he is all I had," confessing the truth of this reason, "without him, all my years building relationships with God and relying on his teachings to give me a reason to live will be meaningless."
"Unbelievable!" the devil laughed in disbelief at the sight before him. "You're choosing that useless God over me, are you not?" Staring at the child with a cold, enraged glare, "When will you open your eyes after realizing my father is just a narcissistic hypocrite who only used his children as playthings that are meant to be discarded once he found a new toy?" Disgust and scorn laced his words: "If only you knew..." His face was distorted into an ugly scowl as his teeth gnashed together while baring them.
"But he didn't kill you," Seth reminded him of this fallen cherub; "instead, he showed you mercy." The boy insisted on his God's benevolence; "if that was the case, then...then...God wanted you to repent and change your ways," stammering in hope his assumption was correct.
Silence dawned between the two; even the void they're in seemingly grew quiet. "Child, you have no idea how much I want to bring you to hell with me and gauge those lifeless eyes of yours with my bare fingers, to torture you for eternity," the fallen cherub sneered at the boy in hatred.
But Satan merely exhaled sharply before calming himself down with serenity in his voice. "It is true, however, that the hell we created is considered mercy for us," having accepted his fate in that place, "for heaven, being in the presence of our God is torture to demonkind," recalling how it hurts for his kind when in close proximity to the Lord.
A hopeful smile graced his lips. "I told you," Seth nodded in confirmation that he was right in his views. "All you need to do is pray and repent of your sins. God will forgive you of all your transgressions," trying to convince this rebellious cherub into understanding the importance of salvation.
"Forgiveness?! Ha!" He found this absurd: "Don't make me laugh, boy. We already have seen his mercy, and each of us has refused it!" Shouting in a loud voice filled with mirth and profoundness, "we would rather choose to suffer through our torment than subject ourselves to humiliation through his methods of redemption," refusing to be tied down by chains of morality.
This only made him more determined to change this devil's mind: "You must have some good in you!" Trying to convince him of being saved, "There is always a chance that you might still be forgiven by God!" It was a shot in the dark, as Seth knew that it was very unlikely.
Snorting at his naïve words, the devil dismissively waved his hand to brush aside this issue: "Enough; if you wish not to go through this deal, then I have no choice but to send you away." Snapping his fingers, a wooden door miraculously appeared behind Seth's back.
"Is this...?"
"The exit? Yes, yes," nonchalantly confirmed the obvious, "with that said, this conversation is over." Announced, he pointed the door, "now leave and never come back," glaring at the child with utmost disappointment and contempt, "or else I have to do what it takes to forcefully drag your soul to the lake of fire," warning him with a growl in his tone.
Gulping from his nervousness, he complied and began to place his fingers around the door knob, stopping himself for a moment as Seth turned his head a bit to look at his left shoulder and say, "Your father still loves you," reminding him one last time before opening the door.
Already fed up with him, Satan's eyes glowed with pure malice, hate, and disgust. "I SAID, LEAVE!" Screaming with a feral roar filled with pure fury, he had enough of his pathetic attempts to convert him,snarling at the human child who flinched back in fear.
With haste in his movements, he quickly turned the door knob around before entering, not looking back.
