“Where are you going?!”
Ahh. Why is he here? Instinctively, I turned around and tried to run away, but he grabbed my arm. It hurt so much that I could scream.
“Argh! It hurts.”
“Does this hurt? Why are you freaking out?”
Ugh, it really hurts, so just let me go! Even if I crumpled my brow, he just grabbed his wrist tighter, telling me not to exaggerate. It will really bruise.
“More than that, you say you’re a healer? If you treat me, I will cut you some slack.”
“Why would I?”
“The bastard who’s crazy about a girl like you made me like this, so you have to take responsibility! Can’t you see my face?!”
Ah Okay. Alright, so take that grenade away. I rubbed my throbbing wrist and looked closely at Laytan’s face. The lips are also scratched, the blue bruised eyes, and the torn forehead.
You can’t see it there, but seeing that the scent of blood oozes out all the way, his face looked like it was still beaten to pulp. Even though it’s only been a day since he was hit, considering that he’s a demigod and has excellent recovery…
“Oh, that’s him over there… Go talk to him.”
Trying to tell him that I was okay, I failed to manage my expression and glanced back with a tired expression, and Laytan twitched his bright yellow eyebrows.
“Huh, who caused that bastard to go crazy yesterday, are you going to back out now?”
“It’s your fault too! And now it has nothing to do with me.”
“…… Are you sure?”
Yes? As Laytan looked back at me with a sick expression, my spine trembled and I looked back to see three familiar faces.
“Oh my gosh!”
“Lian! Where are you going by yourself! / Isn’t that Laytan? Why are you with such an idiot…?/…… It’s getting more and more exciting.”
What’s so exciting? Asura was approaching, all three of them with different expressions, and.
“………… ”
Abel. He was striding towards this side with an unusually cold expression. The blazing eyes are staring straight at me.
Oh, you avoided my gaze before, so why come now? Why now? I tried to be confident because I didn’t do anything wrong, but the fear of the active volcano-like reaper that was getting closer and closer, that was about to erupt, and a sense of shame, gave me a determination I couldn’t normally imagine.
“Go, go! Run!”
I used it as a means of escape by pulling the Demigod, a wrecker character, who was standing there holding my wrist. Laytan, who suddenly became a shield from the victim, asked in a bewildered way.
“What?”
“I’ll treat you, so let’s go! Ack, quick!”
“Why does this bitch start ordering me?”
Laytan got annoyed but I said that I would heal him, so he sat me up behind him and stomped on the motorcycle.
Vrooomm! Abel’s expression could not be seen properly because sparks flew and bounced every time the wheels rolled. However, I only remembered the woman holding her belly and smiling and Asura shouting something.
*
Laytan, who was running terribly, stopped his motorcycle only when he reached a corner in an unfamiliar area I had never been to. It was a riverside overlooking the black waterfront.
“Hey, make sure you heal me. Or die.”
Laytan, supporting his creaking motorcycle, turned his wrists, came over and slumped down in front of me. When I took off the red jacket, it was expected in another place. Seeing that there were a lot of thin cuts evident of Abel’s scythe.
Yesterday, I found out that Abel was fine with almost no place needed to heal, but maybe Abel’s power is stronger? I kept thinking of Abel’s expressionless face, but I immediately shook my head and focused on healing.
Arms, shoulders, cheeks, forehead. When touched, the red thread is absorbed and the stinging pain is absorbed as it is. Oh, it stings. I frowned as I endured the pain. It was a long healing time, even though it looks like a simple cut, but it is a tremendous pain that holds up to the intense heat.
“What. Does it heal when you touch them?”
How did he stand this? Is it also because he’s a demigod? I was enduring the pain as I didn’t have the pain reliever I brought, but Laytan was looking back at me with constant admiration.
“I don’t think you’re a god because you smell like a human being, are you a real saint as rumored?”
“That’s not me.”
“You’re pretty, …… I guess it’s not good as I think?”
“Because it’s not me!”
“Where did this cheeky yelling come from? Argh!”
Aackk. When he did, I flinched to open the Aegis, but surprisingly, Laytan just raised his clenched hands and didn’t seem to really want to attack. Maybe he was beaten up by Abel yesterday, or maybe it’s because I made him feel better because I healed him.
He’s acting like a high school kid with a dirty personality. The throbbing pain made me mumble, but Laytan smirked with satisfaction.
“Anyway, you’re useful. You’re pretty good. I will be using it often in the future.”
“Whoever wants…… Oh.”
A good idea suddenly came to mind. I am satisfied with my normal face, and I smile brightly as I reflect on my clean face in the river. As you can see, Laytan is hot-tempered and has a dirty personality.
He is the main culprit in fueling the feud with Luce and Apocalypse, which could have been resolved by dialogue, perhaps because it was purely out of defiance against his father. So, if I can control that fire. Well, perhaps.
“Laytan. Yes. Do you get hurt often? Of course, since you are the son of a god, you recover quickly, but if you were injured as much as yesterday, you will need treatment.”
“Can’t you tell? That’s why I found you.”
“Yes! That’s right. Do you need me? So let’s do this. When you need my help, I’ll take care of you. At no cost! Instead, please cooperate with me if necessary.”
Of course, that cooperation is to just stop when told to stop, but there is no practical request for cooperation or anything from Laytan. If I can just control that temperamental head, I’ll feel good about it. I secretly looked into Laytan’s eyes, and the blazing golden eyes looked like sparks.
“A cheeky human bastard dare to make a deal like this with me? This……!”
“If you keep saying discriminatory comments, you won’t get treatment again?!”
Laytan, who raised his squeaky hand for the second time, flinched at my shouting words.
“You know what? I can heal with just one touch, but I can put the wound back on. That’s why Abel can’t move on to me either.”
Of course it’s fake. If you had listened to my rumors a little, you would know that it was a lie, but there was Laytan, who was simple and uninterested in other people’s affairs. Done. As expected, he visibly flinched as he stepped back and I smiled with confidence.
“Do you want to get your wounds back? There are no priests in the temple who don’t hate you and heal you. I know everything.”
“This, this, the cheeky ……!”
“Human?”
“……… ”
When I hit my right in the nail, he growled, revealing his sharp fangs, then shut his mouth straight and wriggled his yellow eyebrows. It was like a gagged lion, holding back my laughter, I reached out my hand.
“Then it’s a promise. You’re going to cooperate. Huh?”
“……… ”
“Huh? Yes? Huh?”
“Ah shut up!”
Alright? As I asked persistently, Laytan nodded his head. It must have been quite painful from being beaten yesterday. So, he came to the human being who was so insignificant. After all, even the gods have no business in the face of suffering. Once again, he nodded deeply, agreeing with the eternal law.
“…… !”
That was then. The red thread wrapped around Laytan’s veined-stretched wrist was connected to my heart. What are you doing? My eyes widened, stiff, and I looked at him strangely, as if Laytan was something. I piggybacked on the back of his motorcycle and came back to the house, stroking my chest with a frown at the distant thunderous roar.
Unless my eyes were wrong, there was definitely a red thread stuck to me. This is the second time this red thread has been unilaterally connected to me. Once, with the pendant given by the Cherkopia priest, and the second is Laaytan. However, Laytan was originally destined to die in the original story, but it didn’t mean much to me that the lifeline continued.
Did I end up taking responsibility for his life just by talking to him? But what does that have to do with the priest’s son? Oh shit. I’ll just stay still. Regret came later.
I thought it was not the house I knew when I entered the place carelessly, with a sense of guilt and complicated feelings for doing something useless, I hugged myself.
“……… what’s the matter?”
As soon as he saw me, Wazowski, who had been attached to the window, flew into my arms, hissing. As I embraced him, trembling, the garden was filled with something like black ashes. Rubbing it with my fingers reveals a few red thread marks, so it’s not just ashes. No way? I rushed into the house with an ominous feeling.
“……… ”
The family was no different. The corpses of the pharmacists are piled up in a pile, so there is no room to set foot. In the middle of a pile of such things, Abel was leaning on the stairs with the scythe. At his feet, he saw a box lying haphazardly.
“……… What are you doing now?”
As he got up and approached, a dizzying scent wafted out. His loosely ruffled attire caught my attention. The energy was threatening, but I pretended to be calm.
“I healed Laytan.”
“……… Was that something you had to do out of my sight?”
It was very difficult to see your face back then. It was repulsing. I swallowed the words and remained silent, the expressionless red eyes looking down at me under the tousled silver hair. As if he looked down at something trivial, my chest throbbed in his gaze. I don’t think he’s ever seen me like this. I kept holding back and chewing on the strange emotions that kept coming up.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“… no?”
It doesn’t matter, right? I felt like I was choking from the sudden, spreading energy. He threw something in front of me, as I gasped, clutching my chest. A box made of black energy. Abel tapped the tip of the long sickle and opened its lid.
The beating, pounding, and pounding heart were clearly visible in front of my eyes. The demons slowly began to sway at the powerful energy flowing.
“What are you doing! Hurry!”
I panicked and tried to pick up the box with the heart, but Abel tapped it with the tip of the sickle as if it were insignificant.
He grabbed my chin with his other hand and pulled me in.
“…… Doesn’t it matter anyway? If I die, will you die too?”
I said that. We are connected by a thread of fate. The disorganized silver hair brushes the tip of my nose at the close distance.
“If I stab this heart, will you stop me?”
“……… ”
“For whom are you going to stop it? For you? Or no, … for me?”
Say it. Quickly. Abel, who had dimly shining red eyes, touched the box with the tip of his scythe as if to rush my answer. I kept my mouth shut and avoided his gaze. The red eyes that had subsided and touched me as if they were licking my whole body, but I was completely silent. If I can’t give the answer he wants, this is wiser.
“…… Yes. You have always been like this.”
You always tested my patience. Always. After a suffocating silence, Abel finally let go of my chin. And looking down indifferently somewhere. My wrist, which was held by Laytan, was clearly marked with red handprints due to the ruthless control of force.
“Never mind. I don’t care.”
Abel, who looked down at it for a long time, grabbed it tightly. It’s almost like it’s already bruised, and even a slight touch makes it throb, and it really hurts when he adds his grip.
“You swore you wouldn’t run away from me.”
“…… Abel.”
“Not even a step out of the house. Never. Do you understand?”
“Hand, it hurts.”
Saying it unbearably, I winced and he released his strength. He bit his lip in a sharp contrast to Laytan, who was holding it tight again. As I bowed my head, Abel took the scythe down like a thump and tossed it on the floor, and Abel did not speak for a long time. And after a while, he said in a strangled voice.
“……… f***.”
Hearing the door closing with a bang and chill, I looked down at the box lying on the floor in the distance. His heart was pounding with red threads intertwined in it, as if it were covered in blood.
*
As Abel had declared, I couldn’t even step out of the house. A barrier has been erected around it, and the front door does not budge. The owner of this house was definitely Abel, and I was not allowed to go because I offended him.
Knowing that this was a demonstration of its own, from experience, I chose to quietly lock myself in the room instead of judging him. So we locked ourselves in our own rooms and spent the whole day. The second day, Asura bang! knocked on the door.
“I’m not going. Go away.”
Naturally, Abel didn’t go out on the field. Asura came to pick him up, but I heard a voice saying that he would rest as he pleases.
“I’m anxious./You’ve worked hard so far, so I won’t say anything about taking a break./……”
Asura, who eventually gave up, scribbled down his thoughts diligently with his six arms, then waved his hand and disappeared. That was the last time I saw the door open. And as if competing again, we continued to be locked in our own rooms.
I got impatient and started scribbling around trying to revive my memories as much as possible. Among the current Apocalypse, Kali and Silverwing have not yet met. And Damian, the 4th male interest. Karein is still without news. At this point, it was time for him to show up, but I can’t remember when. I also had to think about Laytan’s red thread.
In fact, the red thread wasn’t the only problem. Even when I closed my eyes and opened them, the red eyes that had been shaking unsteadily were flickering like crazy. I locked myself in the room and chewed my nails.
Yes, even if it’s not because of the original story, it’s right to keep pushing him away. Because I’m the one who has to go back. Besides, if the plan succeeds, Abel will become an immortal and it will be worse to give him hope for me.
…… But I still don’t think it’s a very good thing…… Just close my eyes and be selfish? Nope. Still, I feel so sorry for Abel…… In this way, the mind that changes twelve times a day seems to be because of schizophrenia. Frankly, if I hadn’t met Abel, I wouldn’t have been stitched up in a situation like this. What to do? What to do……
In the end, three more useless days passed without any conclusions being reached. Abel was still locked in his room, and I was trying to get along on my own as usual.
Abel doesn’t have to eat often as he absorbs the soul, but since I was a human, I had to eat. So, at my request, the demons went up to the earth and brought food—stealing to be exact. There were a lot of people chattering about food being stolen. Sorry. Everyone, I will definitely pay you back someday.
It was only the morning of the fifth day. The moment I am about to put a sausage that has gone through a tearful process before it even reaches the table, bang! A knock was heard.
The moment I was about to go out with a faint hope, Abel, who had noticed it amazingly, was standing in front of the door first. The visitor was Asura again.
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not going. Get out.”
“No, no! I’m here to pick up Lian!/There’s an injured person. It’s urgent./…”
At Asura’s words, squeezing his hand into the gap in the door, I could see the brows wrinkled, even if he didn’t want to show it. I pretended not to know, or asked if it was okay or not, and put on my coat.
“Who was hurt?”
“Silverwing and Damian are hurt!/They just came back from the ground, and they were hurt a lot./…… ”
No wonder I hadn’t seen them in a while, but they were up there. I rushed to get ready to go out to the familiar names, but Asura was dumbfounded.
“You say you’re not going? / Abel. Are you planning to go?/ … ”
Ha? I also looked at him with a daze as the barrier that had not moved for a few days was gently released. Abel looked at me as if he felt my gaze. As soon as I met his gloomy red eyes, I got away first.
“……… ”
“……… ”
So we boarded the cold war route and headed to the Black Castle, far away from each other.