Reassuring. That he'd be that angry because they were friends. It didn't do more than make the terror abate only slightly, but that was better than not having any relief at all from the fear that their friendship would be damaged.

"Psychopomps are usually spirits or angels and such, aren't they? I'm fairly certain that if angels existed, there's only one that would wear my face, and it's one of the fallen varieties," he jibed.

He wasn't actually Satan, John. It was a joke. He was just hoping that being more like his usual snarky self would make John more comfortable.