weird story, I happen to have known the devil quite well. all the things they say about him are true, and that's the uncanny thing. you'd look at this man, slightly too large, objectively not attractive, impossibly clever and disarming, wealthy, seemingly impervious to any known law, known and welcomed everywhere, the exception to every rule and convention, accompanied everywhere by beautiful women, with literal horns on his head, and never once said a dishonest word even for the sake of politeness. Rationally, it was impossible that he could have been the devil, even if he specifically said it, broadcast it, and advertised it in every humanly possible way, the more he told you, the less you believed it, the more you felt like you were in on it. After all, he was harmless and fun, nobody around him ever did anything they didn't want to do. They always chose, they always consented with enthusiasm, and there are thousands of people who would rush to his defence and aid if anyone were to suggest he had ever done anything untoward. He is quite legitimately a great man in this world of men. Even when you knew, how much harm could be done in letting people who are already lost mislead themselves? We are not their keepers. They were having the time of their lives, but without him, their lives were less. He encouraged them up the hedonic treadmill to see how well they swam out of their depth. Decadent nights out became credit card bills, indulgences became needs, flings became transactions, familiarity contempt. They were all my choices as well, and I spent them unwisely, and at some truly astonishing personal cost, because we were spending what we wouldn't miss until it was gone. You couldn't know because you didn't know you were valuable. That was the impossible brilliance of it. I allowed myself to be seduced and misled because that was the whole ride. It's awesome. You can't judge the devil, it doesn't mean anything to him, but you can learn to appreciate and respect him for what he is, it's only a question of what you will pay for that education.
I haven't seen him in many years and it's hard not to miss him, but with some distance and respect I'm good with that. If you don't believe me and maybe think I'm insane, it doesn't matter either. If you ever want to prove it to yourself and find him, all you need to do is want for the material things in this world a bit more than others for whatever reason, and I guarantee he will find you. Bye old friend, you're missed, and may we never meet again.
I mean, the horns kinda give him away, don't they? Or are you saying you are the only one who sees the horns? It's not like I want to dismiss you but you are making it really hard to know what level of abstractions you are talking in. On one hand it sounds like symbolism and yet the descriptions are very specific.
I won't tell you that you are wrong. But speak to your local priest. You have a lot of weird opinions and they could be dangerous. Especially if you think a lot and speak a lot. You might say something you can't take back .
The thing is, according to Biblical canon (if we're taking that seriously,) the devil is one of the most beautiful beings in creation. He's an angel, albeit a fallen one, second in power and glory only to God. Also, the devil doesn't have horns - that's a motif added by the Church associating the devil with pagan horned deities like Cernunnos and Pan.
Also the devil lies, all the time. He's literally called the father of lies. He isn't bound to human rules of politesse or legality (definitely not morality,) only to what God allows him to do, and God let the devil ruin an honest man and slaughter his entire family over table stakes in the Book of Job. Even the serpent in the Garden of Eden was for all intents and purposes just a talking snake at first. Religion is weird like that.
And yes, technically that wasn't "the devil," because the "Satan" of Job and the devil (Lucifer) were different beings at one point, but now I think they're conflated.
I like your story - it reads like a one-off and if so I really respect the flow. I used to write and was only ever able to pull that off once, it was like somehow I did real magic, but was never able to again. But (putting my critic hat on, because those who can, do, and those who can't criticize) it's also a bit too cliche and even tame, to me. I mean, the devil may as well not have even been in it. The whole world is already is already full of rich sociopaths and charismatic predators ready to lead people into vice and corruption. You're not describing an encounter with the literal devil you're just describing an interesting life.
I haven't seen him in many years and it's hard not to miss him, but with some distance and respect I'm good with that. If you don't believe me and maybe think I'm insane, it doesn't matter either. If you ever want to prove it to yourself and find him, all you need to do is want for the material things in this world a bit more than others for whatever reason, and I guarantee he will find you. Bye old friend, you're missed, and may we never meet again.