La maschera del demonio

The 17th century witnessed

a violent and merciless battle

against hideous bloodthirsty creatures

who in the chronicles of that time

were referred to as vampires.

Brothers found the courage

to accuse their brothers,

and fathers their children,

lest the Earth never be cleansed

of this horrible race of ferocious murderers.

But before putting them to death,

human justice anticipating divine justice,

branded forever the cursed flesh of those monsters

with the red hot mark of Satan.

Asa, from the lineage of the Princes of Vaida,

the Sacred College of the Primats of Moldavia

has declared you guilty.

I, head of the family of the Princes of Vaida,

in my capacity as Grand Inquisitor, sentence you,

and as your brother I repudiate you.

You have committed many sins

to satisfy your satanic love

for that servant of the Devil,

Igor Javutich.

May God have mercy

on your soul

in this supreme moment.

Cover her face

with the mask of the Devil.

Nail it down!

May the cleansing flames

reduce her to ashes

so that the wind will obliterate

all traces of her existence.

Griabby!

It is I who repudiate you,

It is I who curses you in the name of the Devil.

Go ahead, nail me down!

You will never escape my claws,

nor those of Satan

The unchained elements of the power

of darkness are ready to strike you

Beware, Griabby!

My vengeance

will strike down you and your offspring,

because in the blood of your

sons and the sons of your sons

I will continue to live, immortal!

They will restore to me the

life that you now take from me.

I shall return to torment and

destroy throughout the night of time.

MASK OF THE DEVIL

As if by the Devil's command,

the sudden fury of the elements

extinguishes the purifying flames.

The terrified people run from that cursed place.

And for all that long night,

the churchbells toll to keep away the spirits of evil.

When the storm dies down, Javutich's body

is buried in unconsecrated ground

in the graveyard for murderers.

And the corpse of the witch

is placed in the tomb of her ancestors.

TWO CENTURIES LATER

How much further is it to the crossroads of Mirgorod?

Six or seven versts, sir.

Did you hear that, Professor?

If we stop at Mirgorod, we'll never

be able to reach Moscow by evening.

Yes, but it doesn't matter. We'll

spend the night at the inn at Mirgorod,

with good smoked salmon and excellent vodka.

We will arrive at the Congress tomorrow.

But we'll miss the inauguration

and Professor Blistanov of Saint Petersburg's speech.

It's such a pity.

How long have you had your degree?

For three years, and I have been assisting you for two.

When you have been in this profession twenty years,

you'll learn the true value of

the small talk of the Congress.

Take the road through the

forest, it's much shorter.

That is a bad route,

no one takes it anymore.

You are afraid of the witch

Afraid, no.

I fought against Napoleon,

but to tell you the truth,

I'd rather find myself face-to-face with

that Frenchman than to meet up with a ghost.

This will help you to forget the ghosts.

Come on, let's get going.

What's causing that strange sound?

It's nothing, just the wind in the trees.

What's going on?

The trees are extending their branches to strangle me!

Try not to strangle yourself with that vodka.

Why is he driving so fast?

I guess it's a combination of my tip and his fear...

Is it serious?

No, no. Fortunately, it just slipped out

of the socket. I'll have it fixed in no time.

Very well.

It certainly isn't very cheerful here,

and there's that sound on top of it...

It's coming from there. Let's see what it is.

That solves the mystery!

It's the wind in the pipes of this broken-down organ.

What is happening, your Lordship?

Nothing! Continue your work!

More than a thousand years of battles, hates, and loves.

Now there's nothing but dust in these tombs.

Only the memories of old exploits remain here.

The history of ancient Moldavia

is caught in these stones.

Andre, come here!

It's the witch of the old legend.

Do you see this bronze mask?

It was always placed on the

face of a condemned witch

So she shall wear for all eternity her true face.

And why is this window there?

They thought that the witch might rise again,

and that the cross visible through the glass

would keep her nailed down forever.

Hey, my Lords!

Where are you? I need someone

to come and give me a hand!

Gentlemen, please don't leave me alone

in this infernal place.

He is frightened to death. Go and help him, will you?

I want to have another look around.

Sure, I prefer it outside anyway.

There's no air in here, and it's a bit gloomy.

Professor!

Professor Kruvajan,

What is happening?

Why did you fire?

-Look here.

It threw itself at me.

That's very strange.

Usually bats fly away from human beings.

Let's go, Professor,

we'll be better off outside.

Otherwise the coachman will be convinced he is right.

Wait.

What are you doing?

Almost intact after two centuries.

Professor, you are injured.

Actually, I hadn't noticed it.

A splinter of glass, just a few drops of blood...

Those empty eyes seem to be looking at us.

Let's go.

Who are you?

What do you want?

I am Professor Choma Kruvajan,

and this is my assistant...

Dr. Andre Gorobek.

I was walking in the park

when I heard a shot. Why?

I killed a bat down in the crypt.

You must excuse us for taking

the liberty of entering the chapel.

We thought it was an abandoned ruin,

and we couldn't resist our curiosity.

It's all so strange

and mysterious here.

Everything is going to ruins here.

My father, Prince Vaida,

Refuses to repair even this old chapel.

This place, in his eyes, is cursed.

My Lords, the wheel is

ready, we can go now.

We're coming.

Please excuse us,

Princess, but we have to go.

We still have five versts between us and Mirgorod.

We are spending the night there.

Allow me not to say 'goodbye'

to you, I hope to see you again...

Thank you. I trust you will

spend a good night at Mirgorod.

Did she bewitch you?

What sadness in her eyes!

And this?

A souvenir of the witch.

What a strange sound.

Like a voice breaking off.

Wolves!

That's why in the forest today

we couldn't find any tracks of wild deer.

No, it's a different kind of howling.

Those are not wolves.

The gryphon moved.

Constantin! Katia!

-What is it?

-Father?

It wasn't painted like this, was it?

It was alive for a moment,

now it's dead again.

-What are you saying?

-I'm certain of it.

Yes, Father is right, it

wasn't in that position before.

Katia, you were always impressed by that portrait,

I don't know why.

That portrait is like a smoldering fire;

it burns with a mysterious secret life.

There is something different

about her eyes, her hands...

Sometimes I'm afraid to go near it.

Katia, Constantin must be right.

My imagination is playing tricks on me.

Let's not talk about it anymore.

How cold it is.

The chill that seems to come out of the

fireplace tonight penetrates my bones.

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