Page 122 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE ENEmy

signal that promised liberty. Others speak of quiet falls, of lackey doesn’t really like her office anyway, so the demon says it’s
learning to appreciate the world not as an expression of the part of a plot, a process the demiurge uses to imprison all humans.
demiurge’s purpose, but a place of things and people beautiful What’s a little gas leak among friends?
for their own sake. That they love humanity even in its iniq- Of course, when demons don’t need mortals, their actions
uity, and that the only true sin is the treason they have already are pretty strange. They tear down institutions only to build their
proudly committed. own. They assume positions of power, and then enjoy the fruits
This is their proclamation: to serve God, and to betray all of their co-opted labors. Maybe they don’t really want to change
that is good. the world at all. Maybe there is no insurgency. Maybe humanity
The War in Heaven already lives in Hell, and hunters are just fooling themselves.

Demons laugh when asked about exile in Hell. To them, Pacts
Hell’s a place to reign, a place just like Earth …and may even be Demons make deals. They offer wealth, power, a fix…all in
Earth. Catholic theology describes Hell as the complete alien- exchange for a piece of a mortal’s soul. The great cosmic joke is
ation from God. Demons, who believe in the demiurge, can that they don’t give a shit about the soul itself. The soul is sim-
think of nothing better. ply the key to a human’s identity. Not just the soft, fuzzy iden-
If a hunter can get them talking (or if they think a hunter tity humanity talks about when finding a place in the world,
can offer them something), they’ll say they’re not at war with but the connections, quirks, and dry facts that makes one mor-
Heaven. Oh, demons have their legends about a mass insurrec- tal different from another. Lacking a true purchase on Earth,
tion prompted by a voice only they can hear, one that speaks of greater demons covet these things…and are willing to obscenely
liberty, hope, and the freedom to smash the material prison the exploit humans to get them.
demiurge built. But that’s in the dim past, if it ever happened… At the easiest, most harmless level, the bargain might almost
Rather than a true war in Heaven, some demons fight an in- be mundane, transactional. An intern needs a big promotion at
surrection. They’re reality terrorists, deciphering and tearing apart work. The demon takes his college friend in return, someone
the demiurge’s works to bring about a better tomorrow. They want he haven’t spoken to in years, someone he’s only aware of be-
humanity’s help and they’ll do anything to get it. A corporate cause she posts Tea Party propaganda to Facebook. But that’s

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