“What on earth just happened?”
Arthur, who had finally managed to recover from his injuries and clear his head, asked in confusion. Shekina, who was pulling Dehan along toward them, pressed a finger to her lips and whispered,
“Let’s run. Now. Quickly.”
“Ah, right!”
Arthur, Yuriel, Shekina, and Dehan slipped away quietly, holding their breath.
BOOM!
Explosions continued to echo from the top of the cliff for a long while.
***
“Whew… That was way too close.”
Shekina muttered as she let out a breath, having finally reached a relatively safe distance from the demons and the group led by Lucifer.
Normally, something like this might have been brushed off easily. But this time was different.
The system window had clearly warned her—It’s dangerous.
That meant it was truly dangerous. They’d only managed to escape by sheer luck. Shekina tried to shake off the chill running down her spine and turned to Dehan.
“Dehan. How many demons were there?”
Dehan, who was supporting the exhausted Yuriel, answered,
“I counted sixteen.”
“Sixteen?! We really almost died…”
Sixteen demons. If they’d tried to fight them head-on, someone definitely wouldn’t have made it out alive. Ugh.
“Wait a minute.”
At that moment, Arthur frowned and spoke up.
“Demons? What do you mean demons? Are you saying demons attacked us?”
“…Huh?”
Oh no.
She’d said too much.
She hadn’t told Arthur—or rather, anyone except Elder 1, Nord—that the elders were basically the worst. Shekina cautiously glanced at Arthur.
“Why are you avoiding my eyes? Judging by your expression, you’re clearly hiding something. What is it?”
Arthur narrowed his eyes and approached her.
“No, actually. Even if I asked, you wouldn’t answer anyway, would you? Right?”
“Wha—? N-no, there’s nothing to ask, really?”
“Dehan.”
Arthur quickly thought it through and turned to Dehan.
“Was it really demons who attacked us?”
Shekina sent Dehan a pleading look. Don’t say it. Please don’t make things worse!
But—
“Yes. It was.”
Dehan ignored Shekina’s desperate gaze.
This time, it wasn’t a matter of protecting Shekina and dying—it was a situation where they almost died together.
That meant it was serious. And that meant the truth had to be known. Dehan continued,
“From what I overheard, the one who ordered the attack was… one of the Elders.”
“…What?”
Arthur’s expression hardened. His eyes filled with bloodshot rage as he grabbed both of Dehan’s shoulders.
“You’re telling me an Elder ordered the demons to attack us?”
“Yes.”
“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Arthur took a deep breath, his face twisted as if he were struggling to suppress his anger. Then he turned to face Shekina directly.
“Lady Shekina.”
Gulp. Shekina swallowed hard.
“I knew the Elders had it out for you. But I thought the worst they’d do was push you out, make you an outcast. But earlier—they were clearly trying to kill us. No, to be exact, they were trying to kill you.”
“…Yeah, they were.”
“You know why they did that, don’t you?”
Arthur’s eyes were sharper than ever, burning with emotion. His feelings were painfully transparent. Shekina knew that if she wanted to, she could lie and avoid the situation… but she also knew she shouldn’t.
Not for Arthur’s sake—and not for her own.
“Except for Nord, the other Elders don’t want to go back to the Demon Realm.”
“…What?”
“They’re afraid their wrongdoings will be exposed if they return. So they’re doing whatever they can to stay here, in the human world.”
“What wrongdoings?”
“….”
Shekina bit her lower lip.
Could Arthur handle it? The man who had lost children to rampaging monsters—could he stay standing after hearing the truth?
She didn’t know.
That was something far beyond her understanding.
“Lady Shekina. Please tell me.”
But she had to speak. She had to tell him the truth.
It felt too late… or maybe too soon. Even so, she had to say it.
“Monsters.”
Her voice was slow but firm and clear.
“I believe the Elders are connected to the rampages of the monsters.”
Arthur mulled over her words—Monsters. Rampages. Them. Connected…
And the moment all those pieces clicked in his mind—
BOOM.
A sharp, dangerous aura of demonic energy burst from Arthur’s body.
“Arthur!”
Shekina grabbed his hand tightly. Until that moment, Arthur had been gasping, unable to control the seething magic swirling inside him.
Monsters. Rampages. Them. Connected… Then… my children? They died because of them? They suffered and died because of those people?
The red in Arthur’s eyes deepened, to the point where he looked like he was weeping blood. Shekina pulled him into a tight embrace.
“You can’t lose control now! Focus, okay? This isn’t why I told you!”
“…….”
Arthur clenched his teeth and tightly shut his eyes. Right. I can’t lose it now. Even if I rush the Elders right now, it won’t change anything. I need to keep my head. I can’t lose control.
“Haaah…”
He let out a harsh breath and forced the wild magic back under control. Wiping the cold sweat from his palms on his clothes, he knelt before Shekina on one knee.
“Who else knows about this?”
“Only Nord and me. I haven’t even told the Boss.”
“Why not?”
Arthur’s voice trembled with suppressed frustration.
“If something this serious happened, you should’ve told everyone from the start! Why did you keep it to yourself?!”
“There’s no proof.”
Shekina shook her head firmly.
“How could I speak up without solid evidence? If I did, I’d just get attacked.”
“……”
“I was waiting to get solid evidence.”
Arthur slowly closed his eyes, then reopened them. This time, his breath was calm—unlike before.
“Are you sure about what you just said, Lady Shekina?”
“Nord told me. That bald guy probably knows even more.”
“…I see. Alright.”
Arthur staggered as he stood up. He looked so worn out that Shekina felt a wave of guilt, even though she had done nothing wrong. She grabbed his sleeve.
“I’m sorry, Arthur. I was waiting until I had solid proof—enough to actually take down the Elders. That way, you could get your revenge right away…”
“…I understand. It’s alright.”
Arthur forced a faint smile and gently brushed back Shekina’s hair.
“It must’ve been hard, carrying all that alone.”
He was more worried about her than himself—even after learning the ones responsible for his children’s deaths. Even after all that, he had regained control of his emotions, thinking of her.
How noble could one person be?
Looking at Arthur, Shekina made a new vow in her heart.
She would make the Elders pay, no matter what.
Just then—
“Um… excuse me, are you two done talking…?”
Yuriel, who had tactfully stepped away when the conversation turned heavy, approached them again. Arthur nodded.
“Ah, yes. Sorry for making you wait.”
“N-no, it’s fine…”
Yuriel blushed faintly. Behind him, Arthur turned to Dehan again.
“By the way—how did you manage to get away from all sixteen of those demons?”
“Oh, um… how did that happen, Lady Shekina?”
Even Dehan didn’t know, so the question naturally passed to Shekina. She answered casually.
“Lucifer showed up. I think he was looking for Dehan, but he ended up taking those demons out for us.”
“…What?”
This time, Yuriel looked shocked. Eyes wide, he stammered,
“W-why would he be looking for Dehan?!”
Shekina tilted her head.
“Isn’t it because Dehan’s a compatible vessel?”
“…What?”
Yuriel whipped his head toward Dehan, who tilted his own head in confusion, completely unbothered.
“I’m fine. I already knew about it.”
“Just make sure he doesn’t take over your body.”
“W-what is that supposed to mean…?!”
Yuriel clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
“I—I’m going back!”
“Huh?”
“I—I’ll be the one to deal with him!”
He shouted, completely overwhelmed by emotion.
“Dehan is in danger!”
