One Silver Coin For a Pound of Demon

Extra | Dear Enoch

Draft
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Dear Enoch:

Merry Christmas.

This evening, I saw the "Holy Son Enoch". He looked very young with a pair of shy brown eyes. But I remember you had blue eyes.

My memory is getting worse and worse. Sometimes I stand somewhere and don't remember when I came or what I was doing. I no longer remember what thar child looks like nor what the name the child I say goodbye to each year bears, but even more so, do some memories of the past become clearer.

I remember you, Enoch, among the many sons I've sent away, you were the youngest. I'm both delighted at your early departure, and regret at the loss of opportunities for those who older than you. I've carefully traced at your face, it's a curious face of a child, with a pair of clear blue eyes. If you had grown up in your parents' embrace, they surely would've loved you very much.

Yes, you and I also have parents.

My parents were farmers, they used to live in a small village in the southwest. Half a century ago, that village was called the "Golden Town" because gold hunters particularly liked digging holes everywhere like gophers. When the gold gradually disappeared and the gold hunters left, that big event happened. This place is also known as the "gates of hell" -I think the people of your generation have only heard of this name.

One year before I was born, it rained heavily for a month, and the abandoned mines collapsed one after another. The entire village sank by two-thirds, most of them left. My parents were either too old or too poor, so they chose to stay. In the following year, the well in their backyard dried up completely, and smoke of sulphur-flavored gunpowder even began to emerge. If my parents were as devout and vigilant as the believers of later, I definitely would've been regarded as the son of the devil and wouldn't have been able to grow up safely.

Fortunately, they only regarded the abnormality in the backyard as the sequelae caused by the collapse. Soon after, the first demon drilled through the gap in the ground. My parents ran away in a hurry, and I was born on their run.

I grew up, showing my talents, fighting against demons, and performing miracles; I was promoted to the position of pope, starting a religious revival... Enough said about those "legends".

I'll always remember those days of working together with others, and I often wonder, how did things get to this point? I can swear to God that all my decisions are without malice and selfishness, and that all my efforts are for the better of all beings in our world. But I look at myself, look at the other person who bears your name, and listen to the news that I don't know whether is true or not. I really don't know whether my efforts have made the world better.

When I first discovered that there were other "holy sons" in this world, I was ecstatic. I thought this a gift from God. You are the brothers and sisters I've never met, I should find you and help you so that you won't suffer the difficulties that I have, neither buried nor persecuted. My strength alone is only a drop in the bucket, so we created "Gabriel's Disk" to put my flesh and blood inside of, other people can use it to find you.

Then I saw the evil of man reap countless bitter fruits. Many saints became profit-making tools for greedy parents, and many saints became leaders of cults under the instigation of others. During that time, the swindlers under the name of the Son and the Son who used the grace of God to seek personal gains were popular. They acted evil and tortured their compatriots like demons, so we tried our best to accumulate the power of the Holy See. We found the saint children who were still in their infancy, taking them away and raising them in the Holy See so that the world could no longer defile them. Most parents can be persuaded by money and righteousness, even if a small part of forces us to use coercive means, it is a necessary evil.

A few years later, we found the pattern. Seven sons are born in a year, all of them in the area around the gates of hell, like in a place where there are poisonous snakes, the antidote grows. The appearance of the devil brought the Sons of God, and all kinds of signs proved the correspondence between good and evil. We believe that the salvation to end the disaster is likely to be under the ground, exploring hell or making heaven appear. So there were crusaders sent for expeditions to hell.

The terrain of hell changes rapidly, all positioning methods are bound to fail. The first few expeditions ended in the annihilation of an entire army. Later, we discovered that if a strong enough Son stays on the ground and another Son leads the expedition, both sides can become new magnetic poles and compasses. I thought I was obliged to do so, so I completed the strengthening ceremony and became a beacon on the ground.

My health began to deteriorate rapidly at that time. We tried to find someone who could replace me, but all the strengthening rituals since then ended in failure. I'm irreplaceable, but the situation is precarious. Fortunately in the misfortune- as it seemed at the time- the failed strengthening ritual have brought out an unexpected product: the sacred bones.

I died and came back to life again, and the power of God manifested in me vividly and brightly. I was so excited, I thought this as a hint from God. I saw the grace of the Lord as a recognition of what we have done. In my self-righteous ecstasy, I didn't expect the terrible consequences of it all.

Those politicians began to ask for more, in order to continue to protect the world and expedition, for the benefit of more people, we had to make sacrifices. It is too cruel to let a person with a thirst for survival make sacrifices. In order to reduce the pain and adjust the way of educating the Sons, we tried our best to convince everyone that going to the Lord is a glorious and joyful process.

I don't know when things started getting out of control.

I wanted to protect our siblings scattered everywhere. In the end, I built a cage to imprison you and me. Your life is unfortunate and short, and my life is miserably long. I don't know when, but my shouts are no longer effective, I am helpless, and I am regarded as old and confused by everyone. I have vaguely discovered that some evil was happening under my nose, but I couldn't stop it, or even see it clearly. This body should've been buried under the loess a long time ago. God's grace can bring about bones to bring someone back to life, but these miracles shouldn't be given to an old body over and over again. This stolen grace must be accompanied by punishment.

Everything finally reached this point.

Enoch, I remember you, short black hair, blue eyes, and still a child. You should've studied under the protection of adults and slowly approached the future. By this time, you must've already returned to the Lord's side. I bless you, I envy you. But I hope that before that, you can see with your own eyes what the world outside the battlefield looks like, that you can cry and laugh as you want, that you can love others, and you can be loved by others.

Enoch, I don't know how long I've been remembering.

I will write this down and I will burn it later.

Your beloved- ah, I do not remember his name. I only hope God forgives my sins, I only hope the door to heaven is open for I

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PastTimer: I love this novel, truly and dearly. Translating this has been difficult, and there had been many times where I was tempted to give it up. And yet here we are. This beauty is present to you, with all my heart.

06/16/22: Damn I was dramatic, look at this cool screenshot I got

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Rate this in novel updates y'all 🔪