Chapter 42: Humanity's Darkness, Scarier Than Any Ghost
After Ren's persuasion, Lucifer and Cerberus, who were initially very scared, were no longer so afraid. To be precise, Cerberus was no longer so afraid.
The energetic hound-girl had a short memory for trauma. Once the credits rolled and the eerie music stopped, her natural optimism—and perhaps the digestive processing of the chicken feet she had eaten earlier—took over. She was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking at the black screen with a tilt of her head, seemingly trying to understand the mechanics of how a ghost traveled through power lines.
Lucifer, however, was a different story. The Queen of Hell was still panicking the whole time, her composure shattered into a thousand fragments.
She had initially kept some distance from Ren, sitting on the far side of the bed with a posture that screamed "I am fine, do not touch me." But as the movie progressed, at some point during the climax involving the attic and the grudge, she had migrated across the mattress. Now, she was pressed right up against Ren's side, her hand clutching his sleeve so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. The expensive fabric of his shirt was definitely going to need ironing later.
In this state, Lucifer finally finished watching the rest of Kayako's story. She let out a long, shaky breath, her red eyes darting around the shadows of the bedroom. She now felt that when she closed her eyes, she saw Sadako crawling out of her eyelids and Kayako croaking in her ears. Although she knew rationally that she could beat them—she could incinerate a spectral entity with a snap of her fingers—she was still a little flustered. It was the aesthetic of the horror that disturbed her, the sheer dampness and wrongness of it all.
Ren glanced at her, noting the way she quickly released his sleeve and smoothed her skirt as if nothing had happened. He said with a teasing smile, "Lucifer is very brave. You managed to keep your eyes open for at least half of the final scene."
"Of... of course! I'm the Queen!" Lucifer huffed, tossing her silver hair back. "I was merely analyzing the cinematography. It was... acceptable."
Cerberus sniffed the air and twitched her ears twice, looking back at them. "I think I know why Master likes watching these kinds of movies. Because they're exciting, right? It's like chasing a cat that fights back! The heart goes badump badump!"
Ren was startled by the comparison, then shook his head. "No. It's not just about the adrenaline. And honestly, these movies aren't very scary. They rely on jump scares and visual shock. You haven't seen truly scary movies yet."
Hearing this, Lucifer was stunned. Her jaw dropped slightly, ruining her attempt at regaining dignity. "What?! Even at this level, you're telling me there's something even scarier?!"
Now, just Sadako and Kayako made Lucifer feel like she was going to experience the feeling of insomnia for the first time in centuries. She was already planning to sleep with the lights on, or perhaps order Cerberus to sleep at the foot of her bed in dog form. If there was something even more powerful, this was going to drive her to despair! Humans were indeed a terrifying race to conjure up such nightmares.
Ren thought for a moment, tapping his chin. "There's one kind of plot that makes me feel a chill from the inside out after watching it. It doesn't make you scream; it makes you silent."
Lucifer was startled and asked suspiciously, narrowing her crimson eyes. "There must be ghosts more powerful than Sadako and them in such movies, right? A Demon Lord level entity? A cosmic horror?"
Ren shook his head. His expression grew serious, losing the playful edge he had maintained throughout the ghost film. "No. It's only humans throughout. There are no ghosts, no monsters, and no terrifying things like vengeful spirits appearing. But it's still terrifying to watch."
Lucifer didn't quite understand. How could a movie with just weak, mortal humans be scary? Humans were squishy. They died if you poked them too hard.
Cerberus also scratched her head, her three distinct personalities seemingly converging on a single confused thought. She said with a puzzled expression, "Master, Master, Master! If it's all humans, what's so scary? Can't you just bite them?"
Ren looked at the computer screen, scrolling through a list of films. Some heavy plot lines came to his mind—stories of corruption, abuse, and the darkness of the human heart. He narrowed his eyes and said with a hint of reluctance, "To be precise, it's not just the plot that's terrifying, but that one sentence that appears at the beginning and end of the film..."
"What sentence?" Lucifer leaned in, intrigued despite herself.
"This film is based on a true story…."
Lucifer and Cerberus clearly didn't understand the weight of those words. They blinked in unison.
Ren looked at their bewildered faces and suddenly realized that their perspective was fundamentally different. They were administrators of the afterlife, not participants in mortal society. He thought of something and turned to Lucifer.
"Lucifer, are all the people in Hell those who committed sins? If so, there must be a lot of them, right?"
Lucifer nodded, regaining her professional demeanor. "Yes. There are still many people in Hell, and the punishments for the guilty are very severe. We have layers for gluttony, greed, wrath... the bureaucracy is endless. Why do you ask?"
Ren shook his head, his gaze distant. He whispered, "I suddenly thought of a phrase, a phrase that always comes to mind every time I watch a movie like this: Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
"Eh?!" Lucifer looked offended. "Why such a comment?! That is factually incorrect! And once you enter Hell, you can't get out! The security protocols are top-tier! The only devils who have come out are just Cerberus and me, and we have valid visas!"
Ren said nothing to correct her literal interpretation. He just found two more movies for them—films that dealt with the harsh realities of crime and the failure of justice. He selected them, queued them up, and then stood up and stretched.
"You two watch these first. I'll go tidy up the Restaurant. I believe you'll feel the same way after watching them. Call me if you need snacks."
With that, Ren left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Lucifer and Cerberus stared at the movies in front of them, both startled by his sudden departure. They said nothing, just quietly moved closer to each other on the bed. The room felt colder without Ren there.
When the opening showed a black screen with white text saying, "This film is based on a true story," Lucifer instinctively felt a sense of unease. It was a different kind of dread than the supernatural fear from before. It was heavy and suffocating. But she still watched patiently, her curiosity as the Judge of Souls piqued.
Ren was currently downstairs tidying up the Restaurant.
The first floor was quiet, bathed in the warm, ambient light of the streetlamps outside filtering through the windows. Although the Restaurant had a system-assisted automatic cleaning function that kept dust at bay, Ren still preferred to tidy up himself regularly.
He wiped down the wooden counters, arranged the chairs with precision, and checked the inventory of spices. The rhythmic motion of the cloth against the wood was meditative. It grounded him. It made life feel a bit more fulfilling and gave him more of the feeling of running a real Restaurant rather than just existing in a magical space.
He washed a few glasses, the sound of running water filling the silence. He thought about the movie playing upstairs. It was a heavy film, one involving the abuse of the vulnerable and the systemic failure to protect them. It was a necessary contrast, he felt. Lucifer and Cerberus often viewed humanity through the lens of "souls to be managed" or "providers of food." They needed to understand the complexity of the human capacity for malice.
Forty minutes later, Ren stretched, hearing his spine crack satisfyingly. He looked at the Restaurant, as clean as ever, the floor gleaming under the lights, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Time for comfort food," he muttered to himself.
He turned and walked back to the kitchen, planning to prepare some snacks and drinks for Lucifer and Cerberus. They would need the sugar. He brewed a pot of high-quality Earl Grey tea and arranged a plate of freshly baked butter cookies and a jar of homemade strawberry jam.
Carrying the tray, he walked up the stairs. The house was silent, lacking the usual chaotic noise of Cerberus playing or Lucifer complaining.
"Lucifer, Cerberus… Eh? What are those expressions?"
When Ren pushed open the door and walked in, the atmosphere in the room was heavy enough to crush stone. The movie was paused near the end.
He saw the two important figures from Hell looking absolutely furious. It wasn't the fear of ghosts; it was the righteous indignation of judgment.
Cerberus, usually happy-go-lucky, had her ears pinned back flat against her head. Her teeth were bared in a snarl. After seeing Ren enter, she shouted, "Master, Master, Master! Such humans are truly too evil! That small child committed no wrong… yet… how could they?! It's too cruel! I want to bite them! I want to bite them to pieces!"
Lucifer also sat there, her body trembling not from fear, but from rage. She gritted her teeth, her eyes glowing with a terrifying, infernal light. The air around her seemed to warp with heat.
"Indeed," she hissed, her voice dripping with venom. "Even devils wouldn't lay a hand on ordinary people who haven't done evil, let alone an innocent child! We punish the guilty! We do not torment the pure! This... this is filth! It's too much! How can your species allow this filth to exist?!"
Ren chuckled humorlessly. He walked over and sat beside them, placing the baked cookies, prepared jam, and brewed black tea in front of them. The sweet scent of the tea clashed with the palpable killing intent in the room.
He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes, and said, "Now you know what true horror films are like, right?"
Lucifer nodded slowly. She looked at the movie paused on the screen with deep resentment, as if she wanted to reach through the monitor and drag the antagonists down to the Ninth Circle herself.
"Indeed…" she murmured, picking up the teacup but not drinking. "Now, those so-called ghosts seem to be nothing compared to these evil humans. Sadako was tragic; she was a victim. But these men... they are monsters by choice. That phrase 'based on a true story' truly makes one shiver with dread upon deeper thought… to think this happened in your reality."
Ren nodded and took a sip of his own tea. "Exactly! And I can tell you another terrifying piece of news."
Lucifer was startled. She looked at him, her eyes wide. "This isn't the most terrifying?! What could be worse than this injustice?"
Ren looked at the freeze-frame of the children in the movie, their faces filled with pain and fear, and whispered, "Such films are made quite frequently. Because such events happen quite frequently. The supply of 'true stories' is endless."
Lucifer was stunned at first. She froze, the teacup rattling slightly against the saucer. Then, she suddenly realized the implication.
Didn't that mean such things were not uncommon? That the Hell she managed was constantly receiving these types of scum, but thousands more were walking free on Earth at any given moment?
After pouring Lucifer a refill of black tea to calm her nerves, Ren said, "Do you want to finish watching, or switch to another movie? We can watch a comedy. Or maybe Tom and Jerry."
"Finish it, finish it, finish it!" Cerberus barked, slamming her hand on the mattress.
"Finish it!" Lucifer commanded, her voice steely. "I want to see the judgment! I want to see what kind of punishment these devils in human skin will receive! I need to see them suffer!"
Ren was startled. He hesitated, looking at their expectant faces. He knew this specific movie. He knew the legal system depicted in it.
He said softly that the ending might not be what she wanted to see, implying that catharsis might not be on the menu. Then he quietly lowered his head and started playing on his phone. He had no desire to rewatch the final scenes; one viewing of its darkness and fear was enough to deeply embed itself in one's heart, impossible to forget. He didn't need to see the gavel fall on a light sentence again.
An hour later.
The credits rolled in silence. There was no music this time, just a somber fade to black.
Ren suddenly saw Lucifer clench her fist so hard that the air popped. Cerberus also looked incredulous, her mouth hanging open.
Lucifer exclaimed, standing up abruptly: "Such a person gets away with everything?! Probation?! Lack of evidence?! Instead, the good person was forced to die in despair?! Where is the justice?!"
Cerberus also said in disbelief, scratching the floorboards anxiously: "This isn't right… This is broken! Such people would be directly erased in Hell! Cerberus would eat them! Why did nothing happen to them…? Why did the human law protect them?"
Ren sighed and shook his head, putting his phone away. "This is reality. The law requires evidence, and sometimes the law protects the wrong people. It's imperfect."
He stood up and patted both of their heads. "Alright, your mood must be terrible now. You've seen the worst of us. You've eaten a lot of snacks, so you shouldn't be hungry. It's already afternoon, the sun is still out. So… let's go out for a walk to clear your heads. We can't let the darkness win."
"Mm…" x2
They responded in unison, their voices lacking their usual energy.
Their emotions were clearly a bit low, weighed down by the heavy narrative they had just witnessed. But as Lucifer stood up and straightened her suit, a glimmer of sharp, cold light flashed in her eyes.
She was the Queen of Hell. She was the administrator of punishment. She punished sin for a living. And she now had a very righteous idea… If the human world's laws had loopholes, perhaps it was time for an external consultant to review the files.
[Akarin Note:
Your Support Keeps This Story Alive!
If you're enjoying this novel, your support means the world to me. Simple actions like leaving a review, power stone, comment, or sharing the story let me know you're out there. It's the greatest motivation for me to keep updating until the very end and ensures this project continues.
For those who wish to support me more directly, you can join my Patreon at [patreon.com/AkarinTL]. As a thank-you, you'll receive access to 50 advanced chapters.
As a special offer, I've opened a few limited-time tiers at a discounted price! You will get all the benefits of "The Founding Pillars" (normally $20), but at a much cheaper rate.
These slots are extremely limited:
"The Plot Uncoverer": $4.99 (Save 75% / $15.01) - Only 3 slots
"The Dedicated Fan": $9.99 (Save 50% / $10.01) - Only 7 slots
"The Lore Diver": $14.99 (Save 25% / $5.01) - Only 15 slots
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]