A Weapon’s Serenade

A choked scream followed by a loud thud echoed through the otherwise quiet library. Rushing to the source of the noise, the four girls found the librarian Apollyon pinning a middle-aged woman to a table. There was a silent agreement not to intervene.

Apollyon shot the girls a glance, acknowledging their presence but only spoke to the woman on the table.

“Vandalism on library grounds or of library property is punishable by forced labour repairing the damages or death depending on severity. You have defaced eighteen books and tore out pages from another twelve and you lack the skills to repair the damage you have caused. There is only one fate that awaits you in accordance with the rules. But I feel merciful today. Make your case, explain to me why you did what you did and what you can do to repay us for your destruction.”

The woman stammered out a few sounds before finally managing some real words, which she wasted on the girls. “C-call the police.”

Kuria very slowly tilted her head to the side. “This is the library, the police cannot help you.”

“Fuck you. And you too.” She turned her head to face Apollyon again. “I will sue you back into the hell you came from, bitch.”

Apollyon grinned. “Sue me? From your grave? I will ask you one more time to give me a reason to leave you alive, a way for you to repay us for your crimes.”

“Let me go! You will regret this-“ The woman vanished from the table and Apollyon straightened herself.

“The second this month alone. We might need to increase security.”

Serena couldn’t help but ask. “The second what? Vandal?”

“Specifically religiously motivated vandalism. There were cases of dog feces on the front door and on the reception desk when we managed to convince the city council to ban dogs from this half of the city. Religious attacks were rare until recently, I am not sure why they increased in number. We have not changed our policies or tried to influence local politics this year.”

“Uhm… if I may ask… what did you do to that woman?”

“I did not kill her, if you are concerned for her life. She will remain in the holding cell far beneath nearby ruins for the time being. Until I have the time and motivation to deal with her.”

“Remind me to never cross you…”

“If you do not act with malicious intent against us, it is nearly impossible to earn our ire. There is no need for you to worry, Serena.”

“How does everyone know my name these days?”

“We know everyone who comes through our doors.”

“Demon magic, got it.”

Apollyon flashed a brief smile. “Indeed. If you would excuse me, I need to replace the damaged books and notify the head librarian. Kuria?”

“Yes?”

“I will not be available on Saturday for our sparring session, I am participating in the local Heroes tournament. I would like to reschedule to Monday at the same time.”

“Of course, no problem.”

“Good. Now, please excuse me.” Apollyon walked away at a brisk pace.

“This used to be a safe place.” Melody sighed. The girls had returned to the table they had been at earlier.

“It still is even if some people try to ruin it.” Anne frowned.

“What happened to humans? People weren’t this bad just a few years ago, right?”

“My love… I don’t know how to break it to you but, well, people were always like this. What has changed is the will to act.”

“I am not sure I follow.”

“Mortal flaws, they always existed and were always simmering. Before we met, I was observing people around me during lunch and all the things people actually do now were things they talked about wanting to do. Wanting to harm their neighbours, destroy things almost at random. So many people have a desire to live out their worst urges. I wish I could tell you what happened to make them actually act on it all. Is it the fact that several countries elected deeply disgusting people as their leaders? Is it the increased sense of dread as companies chew up more and more of the world and the people? I don’t know. Might be all of it at once. I just know that the basis for all of this has always been there, just under the surface.”

Serena looked slightly confused. “Mortal flaws? Are you saying that this hatred is something unique to mortals?”

Anne shook her head. “When you live for a long time, you have the time to care. Empathy comes natural to the immortal. Hatred is form of caring, you cannot hate what you are apathetic about. While kindness is the reflex for all the immortals I know, hatred is the natural extension. But just as demons love differently than we do, they hate differently too.”

“Love differently…?”

“Demonic love is sharing. When humans love, they tend to be clingy, possessive, wanting their target of affection to be just for them. Demons have a drive to share their beloved with others. They feel a need to make others appreciate their beloved just as they do. Human hatred, contrary to their love, often spreads, humans start by hating one thing and slowly grow to hate entire concepts. Demons’ hate is far more directed, hating one thing in particular. While humans often can’t do anything about their very diffuse hatred, demons can do something about their target. As you can imagine, that ends up far more destructive. But hatred is not the mortal flaw I mentioned.”

“If immortality make you care, mortality makes you not…care? Apathy is the mortal flaw, isn’t it?”

“Apathy, ignorance, whatever you want to call it, and its malignant cousin: Rejection. Rejection of the different, apathy in the face of suffering, ignorance of the uncomfortable. Just a few of the horrid cancerous effects of mortality, of not having the time to care.”

“I don’t know if I like being mortal now…”

Kuria put a hand on Serena’s shoulder. “Hatred, and thus caring, can come from rejection.”

“That is really not reassuring.”

“That’s fair. But think of it this way. Apathy towards something can mean love for its opposite. Rejection can be the mirror of appreciation. The flaws of your existence don’t have to be harmful. It takes more work but you can make the best of them. Turn them into something good.”

“I guess that’s the price you pay for making uniquely interesting friends. Your life becomes far more philosophically complicated.” Serena forced a laugh.

“You’re not wrong.”

“So, about those idiots doing their vandalism, that’s the destructive outcome of their rejection towards… books?”

“Knowledge, freedom, anything that could put a crack in their doctrine.” Anne shrugged. “They are religious people, most of those are so deep into their little hole that you cannot save them. They must save themselves.”

“Just going with what you explained earlier that hole isn’t necessarily something they dug but something made from walls. Made from rejection of what’s outside not of love for what’s inside.”

“That’s just how religions work, they lure you in with the promise of loving what’s inside, that what's inside is caring for you, then lock you in with the rejection of everything else. So many predatory groups work like that.”

“I was about to say that I don’t care much for religions, but that is the human response, isn’t it? Maybe I should care, not in a supportive way but in a way that helps the victims if they want help. Care in the way that I know what’s going on and all that.”

“You are learning, good. You will make a fine addition to our collection.”

“Is that a fucking movie quote?”

“Yes.”

“I kind of like the implication that you are collecting girls to show magic to. What are the criteria to join your collection?”

“You need to be cute in some way, preferably a, quote, ‘fucking nerd’ and you need to be agreeable. It helps to be a bit of a loner and to already nudge the edges of human existence and knowledge a little. You have seen something beyond human knowledge, that got Famine’s curiosity. Anne lived in her own world, observing humanity, and that got Melody’s attention. Melody’s parents found me, a magical weapon, that got the demon’s attention.”

Melody nodded. “That’s the thing, just get the attention of the demons and accept the path they open for you. The fact that you are here with us means you are in. You have been collected.”

“And that tends to mean that you are close to leaving humanity behind. I will let you imagine what that entails. It’s so much more entertaining when you come to your own conclusions before you get to know the truth.”

Serena sighed in amusement. “I will be a happy addition to your collection then.”

“Good. And don’t worry, we will make sure that no one even tries to vandalize our girls.”

“How reassuring.”

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