Merihem (Art by Mike Franchina)
| “ | You see, God's a bit of a softy even when He's really pissed off. He doesn't want His hands stained with blood so He has me do the dirty work and turn the other cheek. I've bathed in Horonite blood. Brought forth plagues that made humans tear the skin from their flesh. Torn eyes and guts and ribs and jaws from bodies of still living men. Why you might be asking? The will of the Lord. | „ |
| ~ Merihem |
Merihem, known to many as "The Red Death", is the spirit of pestilences and a Prince of the Qeteb. He is also revealed to be the enigmatic Red Death in Edgar Allan Poe's popular poem The Masque of the Red Death.
History[]
Time in Heaven[]
Merihem is believed to been once a beautiful angel who was part of the Destroyer Angel garrison in Heaven, which involved him being sent by God alongside his cohorts to destroy the enemies of the Lord with extreme prejudice. However, unlike most of the other Destroying Angels, Merihem was noted to be the most violent and ruthless of the bunch. Experiencing a wave of euphoria and ecstasy whenever he would bath in the blood of heretics and heathens.
Fall from Grace[]
However, the Almighty did not exactly share Merihem's view on finding thrill in spilling the blood of your enemies which of course angered God, due to the fact that blood is the life currency of all things. Instead of the Almighty ending his existence outright, he had Michael cast him out of Heaven and the impact only twisted his once beautiful form into that of a hideous creature which is a projection of his inner sadism and monstrous ways.
The process of becoming a fallen angel drove Merihem insane and in his madness, he was imprisoned deep within the confines of the Inferno. It is also believed that Merihem founded a partnership with the likes of the Malebranche and Alastor himself, demons which specialize in the torture of particularly wicked souls. It is also said that Merihem lords over the Qeteb, a class of demons who bring forth pestilence.
Prince of Violence[]
Interestingly, despite being shunned from the Lord's grace he would still be called upon by God whenever a reckoning is needed. Merihem explains that he is the "slow, painful, and agonizing" suffering that is inflicted upon the most reprehensible of sinners and heretics, those who are beyond redemption in contrast to the quick and painless deaths inflicted by Hasmed. In a sense, Merihem could be viewed as the most extreme of God's wrath.
He explains to Immanuel that he is the worst aspects of God's wrath and was the one who unleashed one of the worst plagues in human history. It is also implied that he was used by Gabriel to make the Nephilim kill each other in the most gruesome of ways. His reputation has earned him the title of the "Red Death" as he was the angel whose wings were always dipped in the blood of God's enemies and was feared even by the demons.