Devil’s Music

A residential area on West 68th Street in New York.

"Jennifer, Cloren! Still no news today?"

Jennifer, lying on her bed and looking at her tablet, brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and said gloomily.

"No, nothing. Ugh, what's he up to? He's not at Dante Park either."

Cloren, lying beside her, rolled over on the bed and replied.

"It's been a month already. Maybe he's just not coming to Dante Park anymore? Could it be because we kept bothering him to sing whenever we saw him? Maybe we went too far..."

Kayla wedged herself into the limited space left on the bed and spoke.

"No way! You've seen how kind he is, even when we nagged for songs, he'd sing happily like an angel. Can't imagine him not showing up without a reason. Maybe he's unwell? Should we check the hospital?"

Jennifer blinked thoughtfully.

"Hey, ease up or you'll be labeled a stalker. Why go checking hospitals, seriously."

Kayla sat up, stretching her torso, and retorted.

"Oh, what do we do then? I'll catch lovesickness at this rate! I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!! Just come out!"

Jennifer, watching Kayla toss and turn on the bed, looked incredulous and turned to Cloren.

"Hasn't the video been uploaded yet?"

Cloren pushed up the video list on the tablet and shook her head.

"No, it hasn't. There are 59 videos up now, and the last one was uploaded a month ago."

Cloren tapped the home button on YouTube, and the screen switched, showing recommended videos at the top. Looking at a still from the video, Cloren remarked.

"Hey, Marilyn Manson's back! His music video's up."

Kayla shuddered, shaking her body.

"I hate them! Just watching gives me chills. There are cool demons and handsome ones, but Manson looks genuinely sinister, ugly!"

Jennifer nodded in agreement, tying her hair as she got off the bed.

"I'm not interested either. Kayla, let's make oatmeal or something, I'm hungry."

As Jennifer and Kayla left the bedroom, Cloren, who had been alone on the bed, started playing Marilyn Manson's new music video. Watching with little expectation, her eyes widened.

"Hey!!!!!!!! Jennifer!!! Kayla!!!!!! Something amazing! Something amazing!"

Cloren yelled, catching Jennifer's attention in the kitchen.

"What? What's up? I've got a frying pan on, speak up!"

Cloren rushed from the bed to the kitchen, holding the paused video.

"Vampire Prince!!! Vampire Prince!!! Here, here!!!"

"What, what!!??"

Jennifer, holding the hot frying pan, came running. Kayla, seemingly in the bathroom, rushed out with the sound of running water, joining them.

"Where, where!!! A new video up? At Dante Park?"

Cloren wildly gestured, looking excited.

"No, no!!! It's Marilyn Manson's new music video!"

Jennifer widened her eyes, asking eagerly.

"What? Marilyn Manson? The one with Vampire Prince? Did he become a celebrity?"

On the screen, a stunningly beautiful boy, living in a small but peaceful countryside village, appeared. He interacted cheerfully with the villagers, had a warm mother and a kind father waiting at home. Leading an extraordinarily happy life, the boy with a dazzling smile spent an ordinary day.

Night fell. The door to the boy's room suddenly burst open, revealing a startled and sweaty mother. Seeing the boy, she widened her eyes and gestured with her index finger on her lips. Sensing something wrong with the shocked mother's expression, the boy turned to look out the window.

Simultaneously, the bass began with an ominous arpeggio. As the terrified eyes of the boy filled the screen, Marilyn Manson's distinctive vocals echoed.

"There was a boy so beautiful"

Outside the window, a group of thieves on horseback chased and killed the fleeing villagers with swords and knives. People screamed for mercy, their chests pierced by the cold steel, revealing the end of their lives. The boy's father urgently opened the door, saying something to the boy. Tearfully, the boy shook his head vehemently, but all he could do was watch as his father yelled, locking him in the barn and leaving with his mother.

"The day when the curse was darker than darkness"

Peeking through a small crack in the barn, the boy witnessed his father being stabbed with a spear by a dirty-faced thief with a sinister laugh. His mother, staggering backward, hit her head on a rock tied to a rope being swung by the thief, covering herself in blood. As she fell, her eyes met the hidden boy in the barn.

Tears streamed endlessly from the boy's eyes. As darkness enveloped and the surroundings grew silent, a dazzling angel with golden wings descended in front of the sobbing boy by his mother's body. Though the face was unseen, the angel shimmered with radiance all over. Extending a hand to the tear-streaked boy, the angel guided him, and they soared into the sky together.

Lucifer reached out to the boy.

The boy went to heaven with Lucifer

The angelic boy wished for everyone's happiness

The boy's worn-out green clothes transformed into dazzling white garments, his back splitting open to reveal golden wings. The camera panned from tear-streaked expression to a radiant smile on the boy's face, turning into that of an angel, strolling endlessly through a peaceful paradise while the angels played their trumpets.

Suddenly, the video paused, and Cloren, taken aback, looked at Jennifer, gripping her tablet.

"Whoa! I think I'm having a heart attack, let's take a breather, just a moment, *huff* *huff*!"

Kayla, nodding in agreement, clutched her left chest. "Wow, every time I laugh, I get this sensation, feels like my heart's skipping a beat for real."

Cloren waved his hand, exclaiming, "Oh, come on! Hurry back! I'm dying to know what happens next, can you hit play?"

Pressing the play button, the screen abruptly faded to black, then flashed to a modern, sleek, luxurious empty office space. As Cloren chuckled, the camera zoomed in on a white round clock mounted on the wall. At 11:59:58, precisely as the clock struck 12, the office door swung open.

Four men, impeccably dressed, entered the office with composed steps. Kayla, still fixated on the screen, exclaimed in surprise, "What? Is this Marilyn Manson? Why aren't they in makeup?"

"Seriously? They always show up looking like a dough mixture, don't they?"

"No wonder they seem just like ordinary folks now. It's refreshing."

Manson, sporting horned glasses and checking his wristwatch, stood on screen. Suddenly, as the music played again, the band members, frozen in place with their instruments, exploded into vigorous stage actions.

The scene shifted back to the beautiful angelic boy soaring amidst radiant angels. As the angel gestured, numerous angels armed with bows and swords appeared. Leading them, the radiant angel stepped forward, extending a hand to the boy.

With a bright smile, the innocent-looking boy took his hand.

The scene transitioned again to a thrilling battle among the angels, filling the screen with spectacle. Angels with wings clashed in the sky, while wingless ones on the ground fought fiercely. The boy approached the radiant angel with a spear and sliced through another angel's abdomen.

As the spear pierced the figure and tears fell from the dying angel's eyes onto the blade, the golden spear turned dark from the tip, gradually enveloping the shaft. The darkness that saturated the spear extended to the boy's clothing as he stared at his bloodstained hands.

The camera focused on the boy's face, no longer resembling that of an angel. His features contorted, eyes and lips turned red. As the screaming boy's image receded, demons roared out from behind him.

The swarm of demons emerging from the boy's shadow cut through the group of angels ahead. A relentless battle of killing and being killed ensued. Drenched in golden blood, the boy, wearing a grim expression, gazed at his blood-stained hands.

"The boy wandered through the bounds of death, on the earth full of sin, with the soul expelled. The endless battle and the unstoppable boredom of immortality have made the boy oblivious."

The boy asked Lucifer, "Is this right?"

The scene shifted back to Manson's band in the office, focusing on Manson as his face gradually turned white from the tip of his nose. The white hue spread, revealing Manson's signature demonic makeup, casting light on the entire band.

Manson, gripping the mic stand with an eerie expression, sang, "Come with me, let them fall. Lead them out of His light. Now is the time to forget him."

As Manson's vocal part ended, the relentless guitar noise ceased, leaving only the bass and drums. Then, a dazzlingly white guitar slowly emerged from the headstock, emanating a brilliant white light.

>

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