The Children of Zegandaria - Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (world best books to read txt) 📗

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: HANS

After a long search, they finally, found Hans in a hell of a lot of pain because they'd stuck electrodes in his skull and his testicles were going to explode from the voltage. The extremely low temperatures only intensified his suffering. His teeth were clenched to breaking. The devils were technologically advanced in this regard and had plucked this information from the depths of his mind with special telekinesis.

Ronwe turned to him without a shred of sympathy, but who knew why something made him feel respect -something he didn't know what it was either. Yes, there were orders to take him away, but why not at least ask him some things about himself - it wouldn't be superfluous.

- "Are you Hans Auslander?," Ronwe tried to make his voice too scary.

Hans tried to answer, but his scrotum seemed to have riddEn up like a lump in his throat.

Ronwe tried to be as formal as possible:

- I've been sent by Valak on special assignment. If you cooperate, we'll make your stay in Hell a little more pleasant. But if you don't, be angry with yourself.

How well the words came to his mind - you wouldn't be surprised. He was proud of his gift of gab.

Where in jest - where in truth, Hans had overdone himself in his attempts to cooperate, but now he felt they really needed him. He decided to trick the infernal forces that would this time destroy his soul for good and rob him of the chance to exist even in Hell itself.

- "Look what, Ronwe, wasn't that your name?," he addressed him rather calmly. "I don't spare your scrotum so much as your soul. And you obviously have some very bottom plan this time, don't you? But I'll help you on one simple condition."

Ronwe was stunned because he hadn't expected such a response - honestly, none of the sinners had dared to be so brazen and base, especially considering the fact that somewhere deep in his soul he felt fear. His position wasn't the greatest or most impressive. He was a most common and despicable guardsman and nothing more. But he was still above the common devils because he was the ear of the elders.

- "Well, well, I understand that you do deserve your fame," he tried to speak in a conciliatory tone. "Tell me, what exactly do you want? Might as well get it - who knows? But be careful - the deal only applies to one thing."

Hans fell silent and looked at him questioningly, then asked his question in no uncertain terms:

- Tell me, what's your biggest fear?

Ronwe was really confused. This one was cheeky, but a question like that sounded extremely up in the air.

- "Mine?," Ronwe wanted to be sure he heard correctly.

- "That's our arrangement," Hans said firmly.

Ronwe didn't want to give him the answer, but he had sworn an oath, and that meant he could easily lose his soul if he lied. Hans had calculated correctly.

- "Look, whoever you are, no one's ever asked me that question," he said calmly, but he felt he had to be honest, because the curse would fall on his own shoulders. "I've been a Hell cop all my life, and this sucks. I'll never reach the peaks and taste of that life. I'll never have the power and glory to be anything more."

Hans was slightly stunned. Then she looked at him and said:

- If you don't lie to me, I will help you, but I have a second condition.

Here the demon thought, never had a man helped a demon if he knew its true nature. Why would it be any different now?

- "I can't trust you just like that," the other man paused.

- "Listen, I don't have much to lose," Auslander answered him honestly. "Just tell me exactly why I'm being summoned."

Ronwe was even more stunned. This one was the weirdest Hell-dweller ever - so he was about to tell him anyway.

He just had to get rid of one of the oldest demons, Valak, and ultimately protect Hell from the еncroachments of mortals.

Hans listened to him. He didn't laugh or cry.

- "It's not that hard," he said calmly. "But know that your master will pay a price for my services."

"He'd bargain for it!," said Ronwe to himself, "Then you said. Well, he didn't ask that much after all. Hardly anyone will believe him for anything."

Hans read his thoughts, but pretended not to understand.

The guard pulled him out of the swamp as bare-chested as he was. Still, he gave him some clothes to wear out of decency - they couldn't disrespect superiors.

They went through all Hell. They went back through all the circles - it was tedious and horrible, but Ronwe didn't care about anything. He made sure his protégé didn't escape and tried to look menacing. Hans was barely screaming after him - he was chained tight.

At one point, Ronwe felt like Hans had thrown him again - there was no way he could prove he was capable of providing the solution to the problem that was needed. Yes, he looked impressive, but if he sucked, Valak might want his head on a pike.

Gradually, they came back to the grim lord. Hans kept walking with his head bowed.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: THE DARK

Meanwhile, the devils had gathered for a council on exactly what they should do and close the hole between the two worlds. Each of the Eldest had their say, but there had to be a more precise and specific solution - namely, how to keep mortals from knowing some of their most terrible secrets. It was a matter of certain arrangements

- No one wanted to cede the primacy to the other.

Here were Moloch, Mephistopheles and Melichim, Naberius, Nergal, and many, many others. A devilish howl went up to Heaven - it was not a very pleasant sight.

Ronwe had to disperse the assembled multitude in a most brutal and rustic menner. Here and there a demon hand appeared to bite him on the head, but he masterfully and did not let himself be hurt. At last they came to the throne of Valak. He was even more bruised than before and his wound had not healed. Everything was the same as before. And Agares was just scratching behind his ear.

It must be said, however, that time in Hell did not flow at all the same as time in the human world - hardly more than a few nanoseconds of subjective time had passed before the guard returned.

The devil's clamor was ugly, but every last one of them was absolutely aware of what was actually coming - they had to act.

- "There he is," the guard pushed forward. "That's him."

Valak eyed him incredulously - he had higher expectations for him. Setne snorted contemptuously:

- Let's hear what he has to tell us!

The devils fell silent as if on command. They fixed their spiteful eyes on Hans.

They had to listen to this genius's opinion. If it weren’t for the infernal laws of hierarchy, they would have ripped out his heart and eaten it - and quite harshly at that. That's what they usually did to traitors - and he was a proven one!

- "Look here," he began. "You have opened the hole yourself!"

The demons were about to pounce on him, but Valak waved a hand at them to let him speak.

- The human world is different from yours, but that's not where the problem lies. You think the hole was opened by Emborian Zontul, but he's not the main culprit.

It would be hard to describe what it was like to stand against all those demonic creatures and explain yourself to them, but Hans was brave.

- "When I entered that black hole, that spatial distortion, it led me to you," he began his story.

Agares stroked his beard without even thinking to argue a word.

- "But how can black holes be a gateway directly to Hell?," puzzled Valak.

- Very easily, Your Excellency, the space around such a black hole begins to rotate at the speed of light, and if something ends up inside it, leaving the so-called ergosphere, or the region already mentioned, the object could not go back into the same universe.

The demons listened to words that few of them understood. Valak understood that Hans was not yesterday's man.

- "How could such an object be closed?," the lord grunted his question.

- As I have already explained once an object enters the so-called event zone returning is impossible, but gravity and high temperature will destroy you...'

Valak was starting to get nervous - he could use magic, he was incredibly strong physically, but the whole huge tirade of incomprehensible terms was getting to him.

- In short you'd have to wait until this black hole evaporated via Hawking radiation, but that would take forever.

- "Well, we in Hell have all the time in the world," one of the demon's smiles stretched.

A strange demon approached - it was Bottis. It looked like a giant snake and was adept at knowing the past and the future.

- "My dear Hans," the demon turned to him, "you have given a very good and scientifically plausible explanation, which even I do not presume to dispute, for it is exactly right. But how did you survive?"

- "Well, actually, I died when I passed through the black hole and ended up directly in Hell," Hans answered confidently.

- "I didn't ask you that," the demon turned to him, slightly surprised. "My question is how you survived so long in this hell here. We are full of sinners who stay for hundreds and even thousands of years. And you earned this fame so quickly."

Hans felt the full subtlety of the question and kept his mouth shut - maybe this demon had a point.

- "High demons have gathered here to hear your advice," the demon growled again.

- "You see," Hans began too cautiously, "I know this is a great honour, but I also stand before you with two arrangements made - one with Ronwe and the other with Lord Valak."

- "He lies," cried Ronwe in a rage, "there is no such thing! There is no such thing! I have negotiated absolutely nothing with this impostor! Don't believe him! He's devilish clever!"

Valak looked into Hans' eyes and was frightened - they were glassy. Apparently he was capable of anything.

- "Hell is a sad place, my dear," he turned to him. "But we're not asking you to help us here, you're commanding us. Your continued existence in this dimension will depEnd on the answers you give us, and the way you do it."

The demons gnashed their teeth again. They knew the man would fail this test - yes, he was good with physics, but how well he knew Hell.

- "Well, well how about we close the hell hole," the hairy demon Bael confronted him. "That was the interesting question.Let me use the Holy Scriptures to answer your question, And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into the life of a cripple, than to have two hands, and go into hell, into the unquEnchable fire, where "their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.[38]"

The demons shrieked when they heard