[Izzyz]

The old man, clad all in black, gazes steadily at the younger man before him, swathed in red and gold.
"So, it has come to this at the last?"
"Yes."
"And now?"
"I leave immediately to take to the field with the army."
"And the enemy?"
"They are foul, twisted mockeries of humanity. The taint within them will be their undoing. The power of the Divine will unmake them!"
"You have always been devout."
"As you taught me to be."
"Indeed I did. Did I never teach you to doubt your haste, or to question?"
"Never on matters of faith, or right and wrong."
"So you will destroy them?"
"What else is there to do?"
The silence hangs between them, and lengthens.
"And yet, I pity them," says the old man at last.
"I do not! They are evil incarnate, bathed in the flames of hell, who march upon our borders even now, bearing the blood of demons in their veins! I go to deliver them from their loathsome existence and render unto them Divine justice!"
"My blessing upon you, then."
Another silence, which ends as the younger man inclines his head, backs to the door and leaves. The black, iron-bound door is heavy, but makes no sound as it swings shut.
"And that is why I pity them."