The Diablerie


A mysterious secret society, akin to a terrorist organisation, the Diablerie were the ones responsible for the manipulation of Baron Vengeous in Playing With Fire. Sanguine was working for them and he meets their leader in secret in the penultimate chapter of the book. They seek the return of the Faceless Ones, a "race of sadistic gods who loathe humanity". As revealed in Skulduggery Pleasant: the Faceless Ones, China Sorrows started the Diablerie, and Baron Vengeous later took over. Their leader's plan was for the Grotesquery to die so that its dying scream would alert the Faceless Ones to the whereabouts of the Earth, meaning that all the Diablerie have to do now is let them in. In The Faceless Ones, the Diablerie are the main antagonists of the book, including a "huge man with silver hair" called Gruesome Krav and a mad swordswoman called Murder Rose, as well as a dark-haired man called Jaron Gallow. Jaron Gallow is believed by Solomon Wreath, a Necromancer, to be the Diablerie's leader, but this is later revealed to be Paddy Hanratty, who nicknames himself "Batu". Batu isn't a sorcerer and he wants the "Faceless Ones" to return so one of them can possess him and give him magic, although this would wipe out his personality. Gruesome Krav and Murder Rose are possessed by Faceless Ones and killed, although Jaron Gallow escapes this. Batu is also possessed by a Faceless One, but that Faceless One is pushed through the "portal between realities", away from "our reality". The word "Diablerie" is an apparent derivation of the Latin "diabolos" meaning "devil".