The Destroyer Of Men

     The wind tore his soul away from his body as the lifeless sack tumbled down the rotten hole. Broken roots and rocks grabbed at his clothing, a hint of what was to come. If he had a heart, it would be thundering. His lingering anger a testament he was on the right path. The tunnel plunged down, heat engulfing every molecule of air. For a moment he smiled, until the realization sunk in. He grasped at the dirt walls in an unsuccessful attempt to alter his fate. His body collapsed into a heap, greeted by a dragon laugh.

      "You! I like you!" The slender man in a pinstripe suit smiled down at the pathetic specimen on the dusty ground. From behind the podium, he seemed intimidatingly tall, but as he made his way to the pile of flesh it was clear the lack of podium in no way dulled the illusion. "Herithoy, get up. You're embarrassing my admiration for you." Herithoy began to stand, struggling to steady himself, taking in everything around him. His eyes froze on a distant rushing river filled with bodies, some whole but others far from. "There ya go! Yes, you're dead. Get over it." The man in the suit roared with laughter and Herithoy recognized it as the dragon laugh he heard on entry.

     "I'm... dead?" he stammered. Not nearly as cocky as he had been above ground. "Is this? Are you?"

     "Please," the man bellowed, "I prefer Destroyer. The Destroyer of Men. Has a nice ring does it not?" Again, his hearty laughter echoed. "Now you Herithoy, you have been busy up there. I mean, really!" The Destroyer unrolled a scroll of sins, which fell onto the ground and continued to roll. His eyes scanned down the list, chuckling to himself. "I especially enjoyed your work with the hookers. Did they scream?" He laughed again before Herithoy could answer, "No need to respond, I watched the whole thing." The Destroyer continued his laughter as he wiped a tear from his eye.

     Herithoy fell to the red dusted ground onto his knees, "I, I can explain." he whispered. In an instant the booming laughter halted, and silence filled the void. The Destroyer peered down from his height; disgust oozed from his face. Herithoy bowed his head and clasped his hands, only to disappear the following moment.

     The distant fire flashed and grew, as if just fed a new soul. "I DON'T FUCKING THINK SO!" the Destroyer roared. The ground shook with his anger. "Forneus!" he barked. At his words, a mangled cherub like being, emitting a red hue, appeared at his side. "I will be back. Take care of things until I return." the Destroyer hissed to his minion and, like Herithoy, disappeared.

     The Destroyer of Men's head popped around the corner of a tree. He scanned the bright fields and forest he was concealed within, but at the edge of the gates is where he found Herithoy. He could see Herithoy begging for forgiveness and that he had already sacrificed his blood to obtain it. The Destroyer exhaled death and converted into a transparent fog, crept to the holy entrance, and encircled Herithoy's head. The devilish fog danced into Herithoy's mind and muddled his thoughts of forgiveness back to his previous sins. Next, the fog blindfolded him.

     "Saviour! I cannot see you! I fear foul play!" Herithoy whimpered. He tried to grasp at the darkness, but his Saviour stopped him.

     "Show yourself Old Serpent." the Saviour sung. The Destroyer materialized beside Herithoy, a scowl ingrained on his face when the fog fadded.

     "Bravo. Well done." The tension between the two was too much for Herithoy to watch. Appropriately, he stared at his feet.

     "Why are you here Old Serpent?" The Saviour asked.

     "Destroyer, please. To save you from embarrassment, Saviour of fools."

     "You cannot save me from embarrassment, you yourself are an embarrassment Fallen Angel."

     "HA!" the Destroyer bellowed, "I am far from fallen, I'm at the top of my game. Here you are, about to accept a man filled with what you despise, based on hollow words."

     The Saviour's face fell. He looked to Herithoy and inquired the truth, "Herithoy, is that true? Are the words you speak hollow?" Herithoy glanced up, unable to look either man in the eye.

     "No. Of, of course not." he stammered.

     The Destroyer of Men roared with laughter, "You are the Lord of liars, a fool yourself to believe this trickster." The Saviour was uneasy. "I will prove it," the Destroyer boasted. "We are in your realm; will you allow it?" A smirk plastered his face, knowing fully well the Saviour could not resist the truth. With a solemn nod, he agreed. The Destroyer exhaled and a scantily dressed woman appeared. As hard as Herithoy tried, he couldn't resist and laid his eyes upon her. "See how he can't look away from this whore. Filled with lust." The Destroyer laughed. He slowly approached Herithoy and blew into his ear gently.

     "What are you doing?" the Saviour curiously asked.

     The Destroyer of Men chuckled, "He can no longer see us, only her. He has forgotten why he is here. He is revealing his true nature." The Saviour was nervous, the Destroyer however was delighted.

     Herithoy approached the woman in a suave manner. Charming her expertly before taking out a knife and carving her up with just as much skill. The Saviour was mortified at the poor woman's screams, while the Destroyer boasted gleefully, "HA! YES! You are the Lord of folly and nothing more!" Like the roar of the ocean his laughter echoed through the air.

     The woman disappeared with a wave of the Saviour's hand, "We all make mistakes Slanderer."

     "Actually, we don't." He sauntered over to Herithoy and took him by the arm. He dragged him to a nearby tunnel while his laughter grew and grew, "No hard feelings Master of morons, but I'll be taking this one."

     "Prince of demons, your words do not hurt me." the Saviour scoffed as he walked away.

     "Lord of jealousy, I am no Prince. I am my own God!" The Destroyer jumped down the tunnel to his home with Herithoy in tow.

     Upon entry, the Destroyer dismissed Forneus and was quick to cut Herithoy's hand and smear it on his scroll of sins, binding him to his hell. "No fast balls this time. No squirming out." He led Herithoy down a path of fire, stepping on every ember as if it were stone, toward the nearby rushing river. The Destroyer pushed him down to his knees, Herithoy begged.

     "I'll do anything! I could help you. Work around here. I beg you! You said you admired me once!" Herithoy cried, screaming for his life.

     The Destroyer did not respond, Herithoy had proved unworthy of his words. Instead, he laughed a dragon laugh and retrieved his scythe. He dragged the handle against the dirt, making the slightest of sounds to further Herithoy's fear. He ran the blade against Herithoy's arm, causing screams and cries of forgiveness. "Your Saviour cannot hear you; he is now deaf to your lies." The Destroyer leaned in beside Herithoy's ear, "You are nothing but a log for my river." With that, the Destroyer of Men raised his scythe and ended his workday, unbothered by the overtime.