The sky hung low over Hosel, swollen with dark clouds ready to burst. Thunder seemed trapped somewhere beyond the horizon, waiting—as if even the storm itself needed something to happen first.
The streets were empty. Curtains drawn. Doors closed. Families indoors, unaware that the calm outside was only a thin veil before something irreversible.
Only two figures moved along the deserted road.
Diable and Teufel.
They had left the house barely ten minutes ago. Teufel walked slightly ahead, his hands tucked into his pockets, steps steady. Diable followed behind, feeling a strange unease in his chest.
He hadn't expected the walk to feel this awkward.
Silence stretched between them until it became unbearable.
Diable cleared his throat and finally spoke.
"S-So, Teufel… why did you want to go for a walk? Isn't there something you wanted to ask or say?"
Teufel slowed, coming to walk beside him.
"It's my birthday, after all," he replied calmly. "Can't we spend some quality time together? Well… there is something I want to ask. But later."
Silence returned. Only their footsteps echoed.
Diable inhaled deeply, looking up at the thick clouds above.
"Teufel… have you ever loved someone?"
Teufel paused briefly before answering.
"Yeah. I did."
Diable glanced at him, a faint smile forming.
"So… who was the lucky person?"
Teufel exhaled softly.
"A childhood friend. She moved to the United Kingdom when I was eight."
Diable nodded slightly, the smile lingering.
Then Teufel looked at him sideways.
"You like Marry too, right?"
Diable hesitated before replying.
"…Yeah. You could say that."
A small grin appeared on Teufel's face.
"I knew it."
"Hey, don't tease me," Diable muttered. "It's just… she's different."
Teufel nodded, catching pace with him.
"She really is. She tries to help people even when it hurts her. She doesn't think about herself much."
"Exactly," Diable agreed. "She even gets sad over other people's problems. Sometimes she tries helping in ways she doesn't even understand. She jumps in without thinking."
He chuckled softly.
"But she always gives her best. That's what I like about her."
Their conversation faded again, replaced by the hollow quiet of the street.
After a while, Diable spoke again.
"By the way… what do you think about Mr. Heinrich's suicide?"
Teufel's expression shifted slightly.
"It was unfortunate. He didn't seem like someone who would do that. Sure, his past was painful, but he was healing. Still… we only saw things from outside. We don't know what he was dealing with internally."
He looked ahead as he spoke.
"Humans are strange. The more you study them, the stranger they become."
Diable nodded.
"You're right… But, Teufel… at the funeral, a thought crossed my mind."
Teufel turned slightly.
"What thought?"
"For a moment," Diable continued slowly, "I suspected you."
Teufel blinked. "What?"
"I know it sounds absurd," Diable said calmly. "But maybe someone pushed him psychologically. Someone close enough. And you spent a lot of time with him."
Teufel shook his head lightly.
"So in your theory, I'm the prime suspect?"
"You were," Diable replied. "But it's absurd. I don't want to believe that."
Teufel's voice softened.
"You're right. I couldn't do that. My past isn't clean, but I've changed. I understand morality now. I feel emotions. And I liked him… he felt like a grandfather to me."
They walked a few more steps.
Then Diable spoke again.
His tone had changed.
Cold. Calm. Certain.
"Of course you liked him… That's probably why you're still carrying his Walther PPK. In your jacket's left inner pocket."
Silence.
For a moment, Teufel felt his heartbeat vanish.
How does he know?
His mind raced.
Impossible. He was behind me the whole time… Did he notice at the birthday party? And even if he did, why agree to come out with me? What is happening?
Confusion flooded his thoughts.
For a brief second, it felt as if his soul had stepped outside his body.
Teufel drew a slow breath, forcing his heartbeat to steady. Panic would help nothing. Confusion would help nothing. One by one, he pushed the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind.
Think Clearly.
Understand the Situation.
And Adapt.
Only the situation mattered now.
Beside him, Diable walked in silence.
Their footsteps echoed faintly on the empty road.
After a moment, Teufel spoke.
"Since when… and how do you know?"
Diable answered without looking at him, his tone lighter this time, almost teasing.
"Oh, not much. Just since yesterday."
Teufel frowned. "But how?"
Diable sighed.
"When you went out for a walk, Marry and I started preparing for your birthday. We decided to clean the house before decorating. And… I got assigned your room."
A small smile appeared on Teufel's face.
"So that's when your suspicion became stronger. And you agreed to this walk because you wanted time alone with me. You couldn't accuse me without understanding my intentions first… so here we are."
Diable glanced at him and gave a faint nod.
"Full marks. Exactly right."
His tone shifted, becoming firm.
"So now… maybe you can explain yourself."
Ahead of them lay a small bridge, barely fifteen meters long, crossing a shallow river below. The wind grew stronger as they stepped onto it, the clouds above rumbling violently.
When they reached the middle, Teufel stopped.
Diable stopped too.
Thunder rolled across the sky, loud and close, as if the storm was straining against its leash.
Teufel spoke quietly.
"So… you want the truth?"
"Yes," Diable answered.
Teufel's voice was calm.
"I killed Heinrich. You're right."
At that exact moment, lightning tore across the sky, thunder crashing so violently it felt as if the world itself had cracked open.
—
Scene shift
At home, Marry flinched at the thunder. Anxiety tightened in her chest.
The weather had worsened too quickly.
She worried about Diable and Teufel.
As she walked toward the window, movement in the yard caught her eye—a small white kitten, thin and trembling, wandering near the gate.
Without thinking, she hurried outside, scooped the hungry animal into her arms, and brought it inside. She placed food before it, watching it eat desperately.
A small, fragile comfort in a restless evening.
—
Scene returns to the bridge
Rain had not yet begun, but the air felt heavy.
Teufel looked straight at Diable.
"Yes, I killed Heinrich. So what?" he said coldly. "What will you do now? Kill me? Hand me to the police? What, Diable?"
Diable's reply came without hesitation.
"I'll forgive you. And blame myself."
Teufel froze.
Shock crossed his face.
"W-what? Why?"
Diable's voice softened.
"I told you about my past. I committed unforgivable things. At first, I wanted redemption. Now… I don't care about that anymore."
His gaze remained fixed ahead.
"But when I killed my parents, the weight in my chest was unbearable. I locked myself away for days. When I finally looked at myself in the mirror… I didn't see a monster. I didn't see a sinner."
He exhaled slowly.
"I saw a child who had suffered too much."
He finally turned toward Teufel.
"And when I met you… I saw the same face."
Teufel's jaw tightened.
"I don't know what you've seen or lived through," Diable continued. "But I knew you weren't evil. Even if suffering is inevitable, maybe I could help. That's why I took you in."
His voice grew heavier.
"Because I know what it feels like to carry pain you can't even understand yourself. To hide it. To pretend to be something else."
A pause.
"So if you've done something terrible… then I failed to help you. That's why I forgive you. And blame myself."
For a second, Teufel simply stared at him.
Then something snapped.
"What do you think you are?" he shouted. "Some savior?"
His anger burst free.
"I'm not a victim! You're wrong! I'm the devil—worse than that!"
His breathing quickened.
"Yes, I destroyed Heinrich psychologically! I pushed him to his end because I wanted to! I enjoyed it!"
His voice shook, almost desperate.
"I've always enjoyed watching people suffer! I never felt anything to begin with! All those emotions? I was faking them! I fooled you and Marry from the start!"
Rain began to fall, light at first.
"I used you!" Teufel continued. "I studied you! And now you have nothing left to teach me!"
In one swift motion, he pulled the Walther PPK from inside his jacket and aimed it at Diable.
"That's why I called you out here! To kill you! I don't need you anymore!"
Rain intensified, drops striking the bridge in sharp bursts.
"Look!" Teufel shouted, finger tense on the trigger. "I'm pointing a gun at you! I'll kill you! So how can you forgive someone like me? Don't treat me like a victim!"
His voice cracked as he screamed,
"I'll KILL YOU, DIABLE!!!"
For a moment, there was nothing but rain and thunder.
Then Diable slowly raised his hand and pointed directly at Teufel's face.
Diable did not Flinch.
His finger rose and stopped inches from Teufel's face.
Their eyes locked.
Teufel expected fear. Anger. Hatred.
Instead, Diable looked at him with quiet certainty.
And then he spoke.
"Liar."
The word wasn't shouted.
It wasn't angry.
It was gentle.
Almost sad.
As if he were correcting a child who didn't understand his own lie.
Teufel's breath caught.
The storm roared around them, but for a second, all sound seemed to vanish. The gun in his hand suddenly felt heavy. Meaninglessness.
As the word left Diable's lips, it struck Teufel like a blow to the chest.
For a moment, the storm raging above meant nothing. Thunder cracked across the sky, rain pouring down in sheets, yet all of it faded beneath that single accusation.
Liar.
Teufel's hands began to tremble. Slowly, his aim lowered.
Still pointing a finger at him, Diable spoke again through the rain.
"Liar. You're lying. I can tell. Teufel, you aren't a pathological liar. Don't try to become one. Pathological liars are fools… remember? That was the first lesson."
Teufel swallowed hard. Both of them were completely soaked, water dripping from their hair and clothes as the storm swallowed the bridge in wind and rain.
Diable continued, his voice steady.
"Just like you said about Mr. Heinrich… we only see what happens to people on the outside. We never truly know what's happening inside them — their psychological state, their pain."
He took a slow step forward.
"It's the same with you, Teufel. People only know what you've done. They know about your mother… the pregnant woman… the judge. But no one knows what you felt. Why you did it. What you went through."
His expression softened.
"I don't know everything either. But I know one thing. You've suffered more than anyone I've ever met."
Diable extended his hand toward him, offering it through the rain.
"Come back. It's not too late. We can forget the past. You have me. You have Marry. Maybe your childhood friend will return one day… and you can begin again."
His voice trembled slightly, sincere and vulnerable.
"Teufel… I want to save you. Please."
The words shattered something inside him. Teufel staggered back a step, breathing unevenly.
Silence stretched between them.
Then, slowly, he lifted his own hand, as if he were about to accept.
For a moment, it truly seemed he would.
But suddenly, he raised the gun again.
Diable's eyes widened.
"Why?" he asked, confusion and pain mixing in his voice. "You don't have to keep going. You've already suffered enough. Why are you still doing this?"
Teufel met his gaze directly.
"You're wrong. It's not too late… but what's already been done can't be undone."
Rain streamed down his face as he spoke.
"I never wanted any of this in the beginning. Maybe something forced me onto this path… maybe I'm wrong. But even so… I'll keep moving forward."
His voice hardened.
"There's no point in turning back now. Nothing would ever be the same again."
Diable watched him quietly. Then, strangely, a calm, satisfied expression appeared on his face.
"Oh… I see," he murmured. "Then it can't be helped. I won't force you."
He took a slow breath.
"But I have one request. Even if you say you won't… just in case."
His voice softened.
"Please spare Marry."
Teufel's expression faltered for a moment.
"You're too easy," he muttered. Then, more quietly, "Anyway… thank you. And… sorry."
He pressed the cold metal of the Walther PPK against Diable's forehead. The storm seemed to roar louder, as if the sky itself were breaking apart.
Diable lifted his hand and gently placed it on Teufel's head, smiling kindly despite everything.
"Oh… I see. You really are a good person, Teufel."
The trigger was pulled.
The gunshot vanished beneath the crash of thunder striking at the same instant. Diable's body fell backward from the bridge, disappearing into the shallow river below.
For a second, Teufel stood frozen.
Then he turned and ran, swallowed by rain and darkness.
Back at the house, Marry had just finished feeding the hungry white kitten she had found outside. Watching it eat made her feel a little less anxious about the storm and the two boys still out in it.
Now the kitten scratched at the door, wanting to leave.
Smiling faintly, Marry opened the door. The small cat dashed outside onto the road.
She waved gently. "Bye-bye…"
But in the next instant, headlights flashed through the rain.
A car sped past.
A dull impact echoed through the storm.
The car Hits the kitten at full impact.
Marry's smile vanished as the tiny body lay motionless on the wet road.
The storm continued to rage.
Chapter ends
To be continued