Chapter 9: The Guardian Demon

Now Lily realised why this man looked the exact opposite of an angel – with torn black wings, black hair, cold, icy blue eyes, the ominous tone in his voice and the demonic laugh… He was not an archangel and not even a weak angel but, instead, the most powerful demon of all, the Lord of the Underworld, the archdemon – the evilest being of all realms! She got dreaded – with her stupid and reckless sign-drawings, she had summoned him, and what’s more – slapped him?! She would have no chance of survival in the afterlife now! This guy could hold grudges, for sure! She burst into tears, fell to her knees, and grasped the surprised young man’s hands:

“I beg you, mercy me! I didn’t mean to offend you! Don’t take me away! I’m not ready to rot in hell! I’m fifteen, I’ve never had a boyfriend, I don’t know the happiness of this life yet! Don’t take me away!”

She began sobbing like a child. Samael stared at her dumbfounded.

“Um…” he stepped back and pulled his hands away from her, “Stop that. You’re making me sick”.

Hearing such a remark from him, Lily sobbed even harder:

“I’m going to rot in hell!”

Samael raised an eyebrow in disgust.

“Oh man…” He grabbed her hand and made her stand up. “Stop whining! No one’s taking you to hell. I’ve had enough of you there”.

“Huh?” Lily widened her eyes and wiped her tears off. “What do you mean?”

“Ugh, you don’t remember all the disasters you’ve caused me in my palace in hell?” Samael crossed his arms, “You used the best hot tub I had designed for myself, you slept in my favourite bed, you sang in the showers with an awful voice adding even more torture to already-tormented souls (including me), you never ceased to laugh at my demon servants for their ‘funny noses’, and you always stole my black scythe to utilize it for household! Its precious tip almost broke off!”

“Eh?” Lily watched him in a daze.

He talks like a grumpy husband…

She was astonished to hear there were hot tubs and showers in hell, demons’ noses were funny, and the devil actually loved to chill on his bed… All of that sounded a little weird for the mystical realm in the underworld.

“I… imagined hell in different colours…”

“Well, there are various floors in my palace and outside there’s either heating fire or freezing cold… But never mind that! You’re not coming back, that’s for sure! I’ve had enough of you! But… to be sincere, you weren’t all that bad…”

Samael softly rubbed Lily’s cheek. Lily grew even more puzzled – what did he mean? A second ago, he had burst into rage, and now he showed affections for her?

Samael furrowed his brow once more:

“Still, I’m here to ensure you don’t come back, and if you do, you’re not to be doomed to remain in hell forever. It is for your own good…”

“Why would the devil care for a human so much..?”

“I’m still an angel – the angel of death. I was created to test humans and find out if they had faith and were worthy of the High Forces’ grace or not. I was created to cause destruction to make you humans stronger. I was a part of that power, not understood, that always wished the bad and always worked the good…”

“That’s how Mephistopheles says in Faust. Don’t copy others’ sayings”.

“Duh, it was my words and you humans copied them! I was created to never have mercy on anyone. My mercy was more destruction. However, I was one of the highest angels – an archangel. I was the elder twin of Archangel Michael”.

“What? You’re Michael’s twin brother?!” Lily gasped – did Michael actually have the devil as a brother?

“Yes, but we were completely different. I had to live with the most burdens in my life. I sacrificed my position to test Adam and Eve and prove to the other angels and the High Forces that they were not ready to live in the Garden of Eden. When my prophecy proved to be true and they got tempted by my trick, thus failed my test, they both were banished to the Earth, but the High Forces banished me too, and I ended up in the underworld. Since then, I worked from there to supervise humans and continue testing them, as well as to fight against dark demons and the Black Energy in the underworld. However, you, humans, perceived me as an evil being and considered me the lord of the underworld, so you began to fear me. You cursed me and despised me. I took on your hatred to let you purify your souls without directing your hatred towards each other but rather a third, mystical being who caused you to be bad… In fact, all the evil you find around you is dwelt in your hearts and not in me”.

Lily grew shocked at such explanations from the devil himself. She had never heard the stories of old be told in such a way before.

“I’m sorry we caused you such pain…” She put a hand on his shoulder.

“It is fine. It is my destiny and I’m glad to serve my mission,” Samael averted his gaze from her, disheartened that she had seen him in such a miserable state. “But you, Lily, are very special to me, so I decided to guard you myself when I heard none of the angels had taken you under their protective wing”.

“But, why am I so special to you?”

“That… is none of your concern. Now, if there is indeed no specific reason you called me for, I’m going to leave”.

“Huh? Wait! Don’t leave!” Lily grabbed his arm.

Samael looked at her with slight anger:

“What is it?”

“If you disappear, I might think it was all a dream. I will get sad… I will feel lonely again”.

“I said I’m your guardian angel, not your babysitter. If there’s ever a serious reason, call upon me with the last sign you used today. I am a busy spirit. If I ever get bothered for no reason again, I shall punish you”.

Samael vanished in black smoke. Lily gulped in fear once, but when the black smoke dissipated, she heaved a sigh.

“Such a grumpy guy… I don’t even know how I can work with him!”

She hung her head – this kind of an angel was even worse than no angel at all!