Hills walked out of the temple.
Since Arundel and Zion had safely returned to the temple, there was no need to stay inside the temple unnecessarily.
Hills, who came out without thinking, headed for the forest where he originally stayed. He stayed in this forest while Arundel was in the temple. It was quiet and dark, perfect for being alone.
Hills climbed a tree and lay down with his hand on his head on a thick and sturdy branch.
When he closed his eyes, Arundel’s sobbing face came to mind.
‘That guy…what’s so good about him.’
Seeing Arundel’s crying face, he knew for sure.
Arundel was in love with Zion.
He knew that she only had affectionate and shy eyes for that guy. Not only her gaze, but her whole body language was giving it away.
If it was just unpleasant then, now he feels drained.
‘I never expected anything.’
He had felt a special emotion from the first time he saw Arundel. With her encounter, meaningless time turned into meaningful time.
So he didn’t get greedy. No, he couldn’t. It was good enough just to be by her side. He discovered himself full of vitality just by looking at her.
But still, his heart hurts.
He feels powerless as if blood has been drained from his entire body.
Hills looked at the high sky without a single cloud. The thought occurred to him that the white wings of a pigeon passing by quickly resembled Arundel’s wings.
Hills, who was chasing the figure, suddenly got up.
‘…Come to think of it, isn’t the mission ending soon?’
A considerable amount of divine power had returned to Arundel. It’s hard to think it’s all, but the return to heaven should be approaching.
But…
Arundel is in love with Zion.
No way.
A sense of unease sweeps over him.
‘She wouldn’t give up returning to heaven because of Zion.’
He doesn’t think Arundel would be so confused.
Hills, who jumped off the tree, headed straight for Arundel.
Sure enough, Arundel was in Zion’s room.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Arundel nodded as if she had expected it.
Hills sorted out his thoughts while moving.
Asking Arundel outright if she would give up returning to heaven because of Zion was a stupid thing to do.
Even if he asked, she would obviously say no, and there was plenty of room for resentment inside.
There was a good excuse at hand.
“You must have noticed, but the balance of the world is collapsing.”
It was the best reason to stimulate Arundel.
It was a story that had to be accepted by Arundel, who was born with a sense of responsibility and mission as if it were her destiny.
“Tell me exactly? If you keep staying next to Zion, he might run wild again. If there’s no one to stop him, part of the empire could be blown away in an instant.”
And pushing Arundel with Zion as the reason, she was noticeably swayed.
“It’s none of your business.”
“No, I can interfere. If this goes on, you’ll be ruined.”
Green eyes were shaking with emotion. In the end, harsh words flowed from Arundel’s mouth.
“What does it matter if I’m ruined.”
A sorrow wells up from beneath his tightly closed chest.
What does it matter?
I’ve been watching you for thousands of years,
I decided to touch the treasure of the Demon World because I wanted to be involved with you,
I’m circling around Zion, who I don’t even want to face, for fear that you might get hurt,
And I’m still staying in the temple, enduring the discomfort with gritted teeth, to talk to you.
There are so many words boiling inside, but they can be summed up in one word.
“Because I like you.”
In the end, he spat it out. The words he had cherished for a long time.
“It might be better if I disappear. Think carefully about what I said.”
He didn’t even hope for a smile, but he couldn’t bear to see Arundel crying helplessly.
So he said that and left the temple.
Hills headed back to the forest. There was nowhere else to go.
The purpose of provoking Arundel was achieved. Surely Arundel would feel something too.
Confessing was an unexpected event.
Hills ruffled his hair in annoyance. His purple hair became ridiculous.
‘…What if she avoids me?’
When he thought about it, darkness descended on Hills’ face.
I never really expected her to like me. But if she avoids me, my heart might shatter into pieces, or even turn into dust.
Hills, who was staggering like a corpse, kicked a stone out of habit. The stone flew far away like last time.
Hills sat down by a nearby lake. The water was frozen and turned into an ice rink.
‘Should I just fall in here and die…?’
But I probably won’t die.
Have I ever been this depressed in my life? There probably wasn’t, but old memories are blurry like worn-out paper.
Among them, only the memories related to Arundel come to mind clearly.
This is severe, no, terminal.
Hills weakly got up. But a large shadow was cast behind him.
Hills, who turned around, looked up at the owner of the shadow.
“Baphura.”
“It’s an honor to be remembered.”
Baphura awkwardly smiled as he rubbed his head. In his other hand, he was holding a stone, just like last time.
“Did you get hit again?”
“…Maybe there’s a magnet in my head.”
Baphura made a wronged face.
“Did you solve the ancient demon well…?”
“Ah, yeah.”
Although I wasn’t the one who solve it.
“That’s a relief.”
Baphura’s steady voice, on the other hand, reminded him of Baphura’s trembling figure.
At that time, thanks to Baphura, he was able to find Baphomet in no time, but as soon as he faced Baphomet, Baphura seemed scared and was shaking.
At Hills’ words to just stay quietly in the corner, Baphura nodded and disappeared.
And now they met again.
“What kind of guy was it?”
Hills, who was meeting for the third time, seemed quite comfortable, and Baphura asked naturally.
“It was Baphomet.”
“Do you know the demon?”
“…Well.”
Hills scratched his head.
Baphomet seemed to recognize him, but he couldn’t remember well. He had met so many beings.
“Ah! And I found out.”
Baphura suddenly raised his head as if he had a fit.
“What?”
“The reason why the balance is breaking. And why the demons are going crazy.”
Baphura swallowed his saliva once.
“That, that is.”
Hills frowned at Baphura’s hesitation.
“Speak quickly!”
“It’s because of the seed!”
Seed…? Hills straightened his eyebrows and made a blank face.
“Because of the forbidden seed…”
“…Tell me in detail.”
Hills’ voice dropped.
“That… So, you know that about 20 years ago, an angel stole a seed, right?”
“I know.”
He knew it. He was involved in it.
Baphura, who didn’t know that Hills knew Arundel, asked cautiously.
“The seed had tremendous power. It’s not for nothing that it’s the treasure of the Demon World. But it seems that the power that was supporting the Demon World collapsed when that seed disappeared.”
Hills made a ridiculous face.
“What? Even though it’s called the treasure of the Demon World, but the Demon World collapsing because of just one seed?”
“That… I didn’t hear it in detail. But you know, there’s the butterfly effect. It seems that the balance is breaking down in a chain reaction because the power that the seed was supporting collapsed.”
At Hills’ suddenly dark expression, Baphura hesitated to speak.
“And… as the balance of the Demon World breaks, it also affects the human world… and heaven.”
“How did you know this?”
“I…I went to report on the ancient demon yesterday… and I overheard the Demon King talking.”
Hills pressed his temples. His head was throbbing.
“What did the Demon King say?”
“…He didn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
The expected answer came back.
If it’s an event of this scale, Mannheim would definitely know. Then what happens to Arundel…?
She is about to complete her mission and will soon return to heaven.
‘I can’t ask her to return the seed that’s already gone.’
Hills thought of Mary.
That weak woman barely survived with the power of the seed, but he didn’t even know where she was now, and there was no guarantee that she was alive.
But a question suddenly occurred to him.
Did Mannheim know from the beginning that this would happen…?
Then why did he tell Arundel to stop Zion from becoming a tyrant?
Although he couldn’t know his intentions because he was a cunning and sly old man, one thing was certain that he seemed to care quite a bit about Arundel.
He knew that Mannheim was the only one who opposed the opinion of heaven to expel her immediately.
‘…Should I tell her this fact.’
He hesitated to tell Arundel this fact.
Because she is the party concerned, she must know for sure, but even if she knows, there is nothing Arundel can do right now, and she will only worry more.
For now, he had to keep quiet about this.
If something is decided, Mannheim will tell Arundel first.
****
He thought so, but it seemed that Mannheim didn’t say anything about the reality.
So Arundel is just blinking her eyes with such a shocked face.
“So… the balance of the world is collapsing… because of me.”
It took a while for Arundel to finally seem to come to her senses and ask.
“…Because of us.”
Hills corrected.
But Arundel shook her head.
“No, it’s entirely my responsibility. I needed the seed, and I was the one who decisively stole it.”
She didn’t expect to say such a thing.
Arundel was surprised at her changed self.
At first, she thought everything was because of Hills. The demon that suddenly appeared was determined and deceived her, and she said she had no choice but to fall for it.
But not now. Looking back, it was entirely her own choice.
‘And, if you have to be held accountable later, you don’t need another second person.’
She didn’t know what Mannheim was thinking, but he said he would call her soon, so she would know then.
Arundel looked at Hills. Hills had a darker face than herself.
“Hills, don’t worry.”
“What? Don’t worry? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in thousands of years.”
Hills said with a ridiculous expression.
“Mannheim seems to be trying to solve it somehow, but if he can’t, Arundel will…”
“I am?”
“…”
“What will happen?”
She was curious.
If punishing herself would restore the balance of the world, she could take it as many times as she wanted.
But she knew that wouldn’t happen.
How can the balance of the world be restored? Is there no way?
“…I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Hills’ fists were trembling. Arundel held Hills’ hand.
“Hills.”
Violet eyes were directed at Arundel.
“Thank you. I know how hard you’re trying for me.”
“…”
“But not anymore. I don’t want to drag you in anymore. I’ll take the responsibility.”
Hills’ eyes looked unstable. Suddenly, she missed the playful Hills.
“Honestly, if I say I am not scared, it’s a lie. Well, it will work out somehow, right?”
Arundel laughed weakly. A moment of silence passed.
“And, Hills.”
The first to break the silence was Arundel.
