The Devils Page #5

These priests are depraved!

It is they who are guilty of sacrilege.

Sister Jeanne is innocent!

She has been deliberately provoked

by the priests.

- They have desecrated God's house.

- Oh, shut up!

- Stop with this spectacle.

- You're blind, all of you!

This is an offence

against the Holy Spirit!

Who are these dissenters?.

The smaller one is Legrand, the baker.

The other one is Rangier,

owns the largest hotel.

I think we might

soon acquire an interest

in the catering trade, my friend.

Excellent, it looks

as if business will be brisk.

The tourist season

will start early this year.

We need a larger theatre.

The Devil, it seems, departed from

the Mother Superior at 10:45 precisely.

Who is responsible

for this evil possession,

Sister Jeanne of the Angels?.

- Priest.

- A priest?.

Of what church?.

- Peter's...

- St Peter's.

Tell his name.

Grandier.

Grandier!

Don't go tomorrow.

Hmm?.

I must go.

If the city's to be saved, I must go.

Stay here and crush these slanders,

then see the King.

And lose the chance of a royal audience

for the sake of a crazy nun?.

While I'm away, the whole

ridiculous affair will be forgotten.

Now go to sleep, will you?.

Have you offended this woman in any way?.

I have never seen her.

Then why has she picked on you?.

Oh, I don't know.

Secluded women.

They give themselves to God,

but something remains

which cries out to be given to man.

I mean, can you imagine being wakened

in the night by a dream?.

A dream of your childhood

or your lover

or even the vision of a good meal.

Now, this is sin.

And so you must take up your little whip

and start scourging your body.

This is discipline.

But pain

is sensuality.

And in its vortex

spin images of horror and lust.

My beloved Sister in Jesus

seems to have set her mind on me.

There's no reason, a piece of gossip

perhaps, overheard, magnified.

Anything found in the desert

of a frustrated life can bring hope.

And with hope comes love.

And with love comes hate.

So I possess this woman.

May God help her in her misery

and unhappiness.

And may God bless

and cherish you

while I am away.

You're accused

of being in league with the devil!

And in obstructing Father Barre's cure

of Sister Jeanne.

You have rebelled against the will

of the Church, the will of Christ

and the will of his most holy

representative, Cardinal Richelieu!

And in resisting officers of the Crown

in the passions of their duty,

you are also guilty of treason!

You are unrepentant heretics!

There is no act more vile.

You're traitors! You'll be executed.

Now!

Please, leave us! We love God!

Stop!

God has revealed to me

that these good Sisters

are addled with the fever that torments

the body of Sister Jeanne.

The evil in her flesh

has infected the young

and innocent bodies of her charges.

Sin can be caught

as easily as the plague!

If Father Barre is right,

my good Sisters,

you may save yourselves yet.

You would not be the first

to see the light.

You are tainted!

The Devil is in your flesh!

The evil spirit of Grandier

has taken possession of your souls.

Now you resist him,

but soon he will have his way!

You will scream.

Yes.

- You will blaspheme.

- Yes.

You will no longer be responsible

for your actions.

Denounce your devilish master Grandier!

And we will save you!

A quick word before I leave for home.

The King was very sympathetic.

After reading our petition,

he dictated a letter ordering

Laubardemont to leave our walls intact.

I could hardly believe

that so important a thing

could be settled so easily.

The more I think about it, the more

it seems that the King's heart was moved

by something more

than usual good sense and understanding.

Each morning I wake up

with a feeling of optimism

so strong as to be almost absurd.

The truth of the matter is

that Richelieu rules the King.

At the moment the King is smiling on us,

but that may not last too long.

We will need help and courage.

Strange thoughts come to me.

I am like a man who has been lost,

who has always been lost.

Now, for all kinds of reasons,

I have a vague sense of meaning

and can think of myself

as a small part of God's abundance,

which includes everything.

And I know I want to serve it.

I want to serve the people of Loudun.

I want to serve you.

Pray for us all. Especially me.

Tell me, tell me.

- That's a left ventricle.

- It's part of a heart of a child.

Sacrificed at a witches' Sabbath,

no doubt.

- Look, a consecrated wafer.

- Yeah. Thick blood. Blood of a man.

Grandier. Grandier?.

That slimy substance

could only be semen.

- And what's that?.

- That's a carrot.

Make way for His Excellency,

the Duke de Cond.

Make way!

I don't wish, my dear Father,

to disturb your devotions

and I would never suggest

a member of the Royal Family,

albeit one so close to the King,

should take precedence over God

all the same.

- Love me! Love me!

- I am at your service, sire.

These raving women

are possessed of devils, I take it?.

Oh, you lovely man.

Acting on the instigation

of a priest, sire.

So I understand.

Oh!

Most amusing. Pray proceed.

Kiss me! Kiss me!

Those are women, my darling.

Look well. Vomit, if you wish.

No, don't touch them.

Man is born of them.

Gross things, nasty. Breeding ground.

Eggs hatched out in hot dung.

No, don't wrinkle your little nose,

my pet. Here.

Take this scent. Some men love them.

This poor deluded priest, Grandier,

for example, he deserves all he gets.

With your permission, sire, I'll begin.

Please do so.

But first I have a declaration to make.

This, sire, contains the Holy Eucharist.

Heavenly Father,

I pray that I may be confounded

and that the maledictions of Dathan

and Abiram may fall upon me

if I have sinned or been at fault

in any way in this affair.

A very commendable gesture. Bravo!

Leviathan!

Leviathan!

Rouse yourself.

Rouse yourself in the name

of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Reverend Father, I notice that

you don't speak to these creatures

in Latin, as is usual. Why is that?.

They're not conversant

with the language.

You understand, sire, that there are

uneducated as well as educated devils.

I am a travelling monkey.

Quite.

Listen, filth, I'm going to speak

a name to you. Grandier!

Grandier!

Father, may I try this?.

What is in the casket, sire?.

A holy relic from the King's own chapel.

A phial of the blood

of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Tell me, Father, what effect would

the close proximity of this relic have

on devils such as these?

It would put them to flight.

- At once?.

- Immediately!

Of course, I couldn't guarantee

that when the relic was removed

they wouldn't return.

Of course not.

That would be asking too much.

Would you care to try?.

In the name of Our Heavenly Father,

I conjure thee, most frightful beings,

by this most sacred substance,

to depart!

I am free.

- I'm free.

- You are most welcome, my child.

You see?.

You see, Father?.

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