The Devil's Game (Part 1)

Birds chirp along with the warm sunlight. This morning, this small village is filled with various activities of its residents. A remote village with a population that can be counted on the fingers. Not many people know about this village, but all the residents help each other with their respective abilities and roles.

Approaching noon, the streets are already busy with various activities. Starting from the Poet who is busy reading the poems that he composed himself. His melodious voice reads the verses softly. So that many people stop to listen to his melodious voice.

Don't forget the Florist who is watering some of the flowers that she sells. There are various types and colors, all of these flowers are very beautiful to look at. No wonder many people come to buy them. Even so, the Florist has a loyal customer, a young girl who always comes every day.

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Then there is the Dancer who is already moving on stage. Her feet and hands move according to the rhythm, her body also sways. Don't forget her fingers that move flexibly. She dances very beautifully. Plus her beautiful face makes anyone who sees her immediately fall in love with the dance she performs.

Not only the streets, there are still many people who are busy at home too. Like this Painter, it can be said that he is someone who is antisocial and apathetic. Therefore, he prefers to spend his time at home. His hand holding a brush is busy moving here and there, scratching the canvas with paint in order to produce a beautiful work of art. It does take a long time to make it, but when this painting is finished, it will definitely have a high selling value.

In the market area, there is a Knight who is fighting several thieves. The Knight is indeed known as a brave person and likes to help local residents. His talent in fighting is also not to be underestimated, the proof is that he can even overcome the thieves easily and quickly.

In the cemetery area, of course there is the Grave Guard who guards the graves. His job is not too busy, but he always dedicates himself to guarding the graves for no apparent reason. And finally, there is the Pastor. He raised both hands in a sitting position. His eyes were closed and his lips were reciting prayers devoutly in church with the other congregation.

When night covered the sky. A young girl, a loyal customer of the Florist who was on her way home found something surprising. There were three bodies lying horribly on the side of the road in a pool of blood. One of the bodies had hands and feet separated from his body. Some had dozens of cuts so that their flesh and internal organs were visible. Each of them had a worrying body condition. Some even had their heads cut off.

Seeing the condition, the frightened girl immediately reported it to the other villagers. The villagers of course became very alert. Starting from the Knight who was determined to protect the villagers, and the Priest who often prayed for protection. They wondered "Oh, who dares to do this heinous act?"

But unfortunately, the Knight's efforts did not produce results, God also seemed to ignore the Priest's prayers. Because in fact, the murder incident continued, claiming the lives of the villagers. Each of them died in a very terrible state. And people began to accuse each other of being the perpetrators.

One dawn, a villager found the next victim. She was the girl who had found three bodies a few days ago. The girl also died in a terrible state, but beside her there was a scribble of blood that formed a writing. It seemed that this writing was written by the girl when she was dying, as evidenced by her messy writing.

“BREAK HOPE! Avenge this sinful act.”

Along with the discovery of the girl’s body, the church bell rang, signaling the descent of a new revelation. The priest appeared to come out of the church with an inexplicable expression. Confused, sad, scared, no words could describe it. He read the contents of the revelation aloud “An ancient devil has risen in this small village. One of us has been possessed by the devil and will slaughter all the residents until they are finished.”

The revelation uttered by the priest caused an uproar. Meanwhile, the gravekeeper was only busy burying the girl’s body without paying attention to the revelation. The knight bravely shouted “It seems that the devil wants to play with us. Calm down everyone! This is just the beginning, the real game has just begun!”

The Florist who witnessed the Girl's funeral just stared sadly. He did not expect that his loyal customer would also be a victim. "We have no other choice, we have no choice but to kill the Devil to stop this suffering!" The Florist shouted to the other residents.

With a frightened face, the trembling Poet said, "This murder has been going on since yesterday. That means one of us must have been possessed by the devil!" The Dancer walked slowly, looking at each grave of the residents who had fallen victim to the Devil. "What a pity..." He said with teary eyes.

Unexpectedly, there was also the Painter who came out of his house to listen to the revelation. With an innocent face and a lazy gaze, he muttered, "Whether it's the Devil, a game, murder, or whatever. I don't care. This is just a waste of my time." Of course, the Painter's muttering that was heard by several residents immediately got angry.

“Don’t you have any sense of humanity? Someone just died and you dare to say something like that?!” Said the Knight who was annoyed by the Painter’s words. “Tch, I told you. I don’t care whether it’s a devil or murder. Now get lost and don’t bother me.” The Painter replied with an indifferent expression. What a very apathetic human being.

Meanwhile, the Florist who still couldn’t accept the death of the Girl shouted loudly with rising anger. “Who?! Who is the devil who dared to kill her?! Show yourself, you coward!!” The Graveyard Guard who was tired of facing the anger of the villagers could only sigh. “Oh stop it. People die because of fate, not the Devil. Besides, there is no such thing as the Devil, this doesn’t make sense.” He said which made some villagers doubt the Priest’s revelation.

“Don’t worry! I don’t know if this was caused by a Devil or not, but as a true Knight, I will definitely protect you all!” Ignoring the Tomb Guard’s words, the Knight intended to protect this small village. Of course, his words made the villagers somewhat calmer. But now there was something more important. “Whether we like it or not, we have to take the next step. We better discuss what to do.” The Priest shouted to the villagers.

“You mean we have to discuss to find the Devil hiding among us? This is ridiculous!” said one of the villagers. “This discussion only results in us accusing and deceiving each other. We must immediately reveal who the Devil is as soon as possible!” replied another villager. Their discussion certainly did not go so well. Some of them accused and blamed each other. Until finally they all came to an agreement.

The entire village was angry at the Devil's cruel deeds. They shouted in angry voices, demanding the Devil's sinful deeds. Who knows what caused the Devil to rise. And who had been possessed. At this time, the small village that was once safe and prosperous was being hit by misery. Depending on their actions, whether they would bring the light of hope, or even add to the destruction. No one knows.

Now the villagers were confident and not afraid. They formed a group led directly by the Knight, flocking to capture the cruel Devil. What a wrong action, it won't be long before they realize what they did. Who knows what made them confident enough to fight the Devil. Was it arrogance?

It seemed that they had received their just reward. The next day, the group was found murdered. Their bodies were lying on the streets. Anyone who saw this terrible scene would immediately tremble. This was a mass murder that only happened in one night, leaving only a dozen residents alive.

Among those who died horribly, it seemed that the Knight had the most miserable death. His body had been gnawed by wild dogs, all that was left was his head pierced by his beloved sword. His fighting skills could not save him from his arrogant actions, so the Devil came directly to punish him.

It seemed that today the Tomb Keeper would have to work hard to bury the bodies of these mass murderers. Now only a few villagers were left, and soon, they would face death. Some were angry, scared, or even didn't care at all.

"Unfortunately, the Devil has killed the Knight. I know you must all be scared, but we must act immediately. He will not stop until we are all dead." The Priest said loudly, trying to convince the villagers that everything would be okay.

The Florist who was not willing to see the Knight die could only get angry and curse the Devil. The Dancer could not stand the suffering anymore and said, "If this game continues, we will all die." The Dancer's words were true. "Even though it is high risk, I will try to catch the Devil tonight." The Priest replied, calming the other villagers.

"Damn, I will definitely avenge the Devil's actions." The frightened Poet added, even though he was shaking, he was determined to catch the Devil. Once again, the Painter who did not care about this massacre actually made the atmosphere worse. "Come on, stop this useless effort. Forget about the Devil. We are all going to die anyway." He said casually.

The Poet who was provoked replied, "What? How can you be so calm after seeing people die?! Could it be that you are the Devil??!" The Painter who could not accept being accused denied it. "Don't accuse carelessly, I only suggest the best solution."

But that didn't work, the Poet accused him even more. "I knew it! I knew it from the start! You are the Devil!!” The Painter became even angrier, continuing the argument until a voice broke them up. “Stop it! This is not the time to blame each other! We have to catch the Devil now.” The dancer said, stopping them.

In the middle of their argument, the Tomb Keeper said something. “While burying the Knight, I found something strange.” His words made everyone look at him curiously. “I found the Florist’s necklace in the Knight’s hand… Not to accuse, but isn’t this strange?” He continued.

The people who understood the Tomb Keeper’s intentions immediately turned and stared at the Florist suspiciously. With eyes shaking with fear, the Florist tried to explain in a stutter. “W-wait, I’m not the devil! A-actually the Knight is my lover, and I gave him my necklace as a protective charm. Really, believe me–”

In a high tone, the Poet cut him off, “Nonsense! You must be the culprit! You’re the Devil!” The Dancer covered her mouth in disbelief. “Oh my, I never thought…” Now everyone considered the Florist to be the Devil. No matter how many times she denied it, no one believed her.

The Priest, who was also affected by the atmosphere, immediately made a loud decision. “Capture him! And burn the Devil alive!” With a shocked look, and his body trembling, the Florist shouted, “No, wait! It wasn’t me! Really! I was framed! The Tomb Guardian is the Devil, not me!” No one believed him. His body being held by the people made him helpless at all.

“To celebrate the victory and ask for protection from the Gods, it would be better if we perform a cleansing ritual at the same time as burning the vile Devil.” The Priest suggested that this was done to purify the souls of the villagers and prevent the possibility of the Devil possessing another body.

With his body tied to a tree trunk, the Florist was burned alive by the villagers without mercy. No matter how many times he begged, no matter how many tears he shed, no one believed him. Because he was revealed as the Devil, he died bearing his sins.

The Florist’s screams and sobs were like the background music of the cleansing ritual. All the villagers knelt before the tortured one. Their heads were slowly doused with holy water. Their eyes slowly closed as they followed the priest's instructions to pray.

“We finally managed to catch the Devil. And as atonement, we performed this ritual. But at least we can bring hope and avenge the sins of the cruel Devil. The Devil who deserves to be punished for his sins. The poor Devil who was burned alive. But we have no other choice, we have to stop this crazy game.” Said the Priest who began a sacred sermon in the middle of the ritual.

The villagers who had purified their souls with holy water slowly closed their eyes. Still kneeling, they raised both hands. Ignoring the Florist’s deafening cries for help, they seemed to have become deaf. With trembling hands, the villagers prayed for God’s protection.

That night was a night with a rather horrific sight. The villagers who knelt down prayed to God, while watching the Devil being burned alive. No one could forget the incident at that time. As if God answered their prayers, the game was finally over and the village returned to peace.

After the ritual of cleansing and punishing the Devil was completed, the villagers could sleep soundly without fear. There was only a bright crescent moon in the sky that was a silent witness to the events of tonight. Tonight, it was a calm and silent night. The cursed Devil finally died in a terrible state, paying for his actions.