Arfimaino, still dressed in the same gray suit, was sitting
on the sofa with his legs crossed.
«Come on in, Keiji. I was worried. But recently I
felt that you were fine and that you would be back soon.
Arfimaino was pouring the alcohol when he saw
Damiel and Reana enter the room.
He jumped up from the sofa and waved his hands.
I didn’t expect
you to… why did you bring him here?» «But then he calmed down.» —
I stopped and sniffed. – And our girl, or what, or not?..
I don’t understand, here are miracles, I’ve become quite old!
– Hello! Reana said, but
no one paid any attention, and Damiel remained standing
silently by the door, arms crossed, looking
down on Arfimaino.
«No, not ours,» Keijigen said. «But they
’re with me. I’m sorry, I can’t help it. He sat
down in the chair opposite the sofa and sipped his drink. – I
probably shouldn’t have listened to you out there on the field, old friend,
something unimaginable is happening in the world. Who could
have suggested it.
«Yes,» said Arfimaino thoughtfully. He reached
for a cigar. – We have become mortals. All of us. Even
them! he nodded at Damiel.
– How is that possible?»»
Ah, my dear Keijigen, it all happened so fast
,so fast… Three days ago, rumors began to spread through Hell that
everything would soon end, that the X-hour was coming, and if anyone
wanted to continue their existence, they had to pass the ora-
59
and bow down to a certain black messenger.
It was all very strange. I do not know if
any of our people bowed down, but I was whispered in time to get out-
I thought there would be a big massacre… and I did… you know,
I’m already old, I’ve served Hell a hundred times, and I want
to live a little for myself, see the world…
Keijigen was perplexed, he was very surprised and
charmed.
«Brother, what about your fellows? I don’t believe you could
leave like this…
– And I didn’t believe until the last
moment that something serious could happen. You didn’t believe me then, either! I thought
I’d run away just in case, hang out here
on Earth for a couple of days, and then come back. He buried his face in his hands
and sobbed. «We can’t go back now,»
he wailed. «There’s nowhere to go back… And not to anyone…
– Do you know what happened there?» You can feel
everyone, right? Keijigen asked.
Arfimaino looked up.
«I’m a mortal, Keiji, I’m a human now…» He patted