Chapter 19 preamble

There is simple beauty in the sheer ugliness of demons.There is no ambiguity, no hesitation, no misunderstanding about how to treat these creatures.You don't gamble with the devil.You will not listen to their lies.You banish them, destroy them, rid the world of them—even if the temptation is to use their power to protect the imperiled good you identify with. This is a concept that is difficult for many people to understand, and it has caused the fall of many mages and priests who mistakenly summoned demons and used these creations to achieve their original intention - which may be the answer to a problem - because they were Attracted.Many of them thought it would be good to force the demons to work for them, to back up their ideals, their armies, with demonic powers.What's wrong, they thought, if the end result was better?If the goblins were threatening his realm, wouldn't a good king deliberately use those "controlled" demons as well?

I don't think so.If the very existence of good depended on such a marked and irremediable struggle of evil against evil, then nothing would be real and worth protecting. Thus, the only use of demons is to reveal the motives of evil forces, and they can only be called when they have no hope of escape.Cadderly had done just that in the safe summoning chamber of the Goofy Spirit, as I'm sure countless clerics and mages have done.But even if the protection circle is perfect, such a summoning is not without risks under the temptation of powerful forces such as the Balor or the Serpent. There is always an irredeemably evil truth in temptation.There is no redemption, no hope.And redemption occupies a crucial and decisive place in this intercourse.Turn back your blade while redemption is possible, hold it tight when redemption is at hand, and plunge it mercilessly into your adversary when there is no hope of redemption. Body.

I wonder, where on this scale does Artemis Entreri stand?Was he really far from help and hope? Yes, I believe that was the case before, but not in the future.No one helped Artemis Entreri because he never accepted any help.His greatest flaw is his self-esteem, not the arrogance of his inferior warriors, but complete independence and unwavering self-confidence.I could tell him his mistakes like anyone else who knew him in any way, but he wouldn't listen to me. Even so, he may have hope of redemption.I don't know the source of his anger, although it keeps growing.But no matter how painful and horrifying the source, I don't think it excuses his killing.The blood on Entreri's signature sword and dagger was his own.

I'm sure he didn't have a good time bearing it all.It burned his skin like the breath of a black dragon and gnawed at his heart.During our last fight, I saw the silent dull pain in his black pupils.I beat him, I could kill him, and I believe he wants me to fulfill this mission, to end the pain he inflicted on me. But that pain stopped my knife, and I hope Artemis Entreri knows deep down that he needs to divert, that his present path leads only to emptiness and ultimate despair.I stood there, holding two knives, facing him who was unresisting, countless thoughts flashed through my mind.How can I swing a knife when I see the pain in his eyes and realize that this pain will lead to redemption?But if I don't swing the knife and let Artemis Entreri walk out of the Magic Crystal Tower, how many people will it mean the end of the world?

This is a dilemma, a turning point of morality and balance.I got the answer in memory of my father, Zaknafein.I understand that Entreri's and Zaknafein's states of mind are not so different, but rather similar.They all grew up in sinister environments, and each has its own judgment on evil.According to their respective judgments, neither of them killed anyone who should not have been killed.Are the mercenaries and killers who work for the dirty pashas of Calimport any better than the soldiers of the drow family?Thus, in many places, Zaknafein and Entreri acted alike: they both lived in worlds of intrigue, danger, and evil, and they both survived ruthless laws.If Entreri saw the misery of his world and his prison the way Zaknafein saw Menzoberranzan, then in defining his behavior, he and the Do'Urden family who killed countless dark elves were martial arts. What's the difference?

This comparison is what I first grasped when I first arrived in Calimport in pursuit of Entreri, who had taken Regis as a prisoner (justified, I must admit), and it has really stuck with me.Exquisite knife skills, undisguised desire to kill, how alike are they?So, was it the feelings I had for Zaknafein that stopped my blade when I was able to knock Entreri down? No, I must say, and I must believe, that Zach Nafein is clearly better at discerning who to kill and who not to kill.I know Zaknafein's true heart.I know that Zaknafein has a capacity for love that Artemis Entreri's nature simply cannot match.

At least, not now.But can he find a glimmer of light beneath the Killer's carnage? Possibly so, and I'll be glad to know he can embrace that ray of light.But I doubt that anyone or anything could, through Artemis Entreri's thick, impenetrable armor of indifference, call forth the glow of his lost compassion. — Drizzt Do'Urden