CHAPTER 105 – Are you for real?
A week before the start of classes in Cube, in a room inside one of Seoul’s many hotels.
“Will you ever tell me where you got this?”
A red-haired woman’s hand made its way up from the right wrist to the right chest, where she was resting her head.
The guy, a white-haired young guy, looked at the girl resting her head on his chest, before leaning his head on the comfortable pillow.
“Mm~? Are you not going to answer me~?” She asked as she rubbed his chest caringly.
“You know I don’t like to talk about it.” He said before yawning.
“Mhm~ I know~” She stood up, supporting herself on her arm. Looking directly at his face. “But~ There’s something else we could talk about.”
“Yes? What would that be?” He said, before softly caressing her hair.
“About us~”
“Mm? Us? What about us?” He opened his eyes, turning to look at her.
“You know~ About us being together.”
“Huh? Like right now?”
“No~ Dummy~ I’m talking about our relationship. When are we going to make things official~?” She asked sweetly.
Raising himself up, Cristopher looked at her.
“Relationship? What do you mean?”
“Yes~ We’ve been sleeping together all this time, don’t you think it’s time for us to formalize this relationship~? Don’t tell me you’re shy~?”
“Ahm… Angelica, listen.” Sighing, Cristopher sat on the bed. “We talked about this from the start. We’re friends. Friends with benefits. There’s nothing to formalize here, Angelica.”
“...” Looking down, Angelica just stayed silent for a moment, a little spark of pink magic power showed itself on her iris. She suddenly looked up. “What do you mean?”
Her tone went from soft and caring to something more firm.
“*Sigh…* Angelica, I don’t like where this is going, really. We talked about this. You know that I’m not looking to be in a formal relationship, I’ve been clear with you from the start. This was supposed to be just a casual sex relationship.”
“...” Angelica frowned for a split second. But it didn’t escape his senses. “Okay. It’s okay. I understand. You’re right sweetie~ I don’t know what happened~ It’s just that I felt so good tonight that I lost my composure for a while.”
She smiled brightly, kissing him sweetly before moving over him, sitting on his waist while caressing his chest.
“Why don’t we focus on… Other things~” She slowly leaned down to kiss him.
“It seems like a great idea to me.” He leaned up to meet her lips with his.
***
Later that night, walking through Seoul’s night streets, Angelica was absentmindedly walking without looking around.
She quickly reached Lofty Sun Residential Building and went up to the third floor, where her apartment was located.
Once inside, she locked the door, and went towards the bed, throwing herself on it, facing up to the ceiling.
Her eyes were lost in a daze, pink-colored Magic Power flowing in them.
“AHHHH!”
A sudden cry went out from her mouth before she muffled herself with one of the pillows.
[Why are you angry, dear.]
“...”
[Oh, don’t feign ignorance, I know you can perfectly hear me. Answer me, dear. Why are you so angry.]
“I’m not angry. SHUT UP!” Angelica hastily sat up on her bed, shouting at the enigmatic but sweet voice that was whispering in her head.
She knew deep inside that it wasn’t good to be hearing that voice.
[Oh, but you are? Why deny your own feelings? I know what you feel~ I know what you want~ That’s why I’m here, after all. Your feelings called me.]
“Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!”
[Hahahaha~ Oh sweet, sweet Angelica~ I can give you what you want~]
“You don’t know what I want!” She stood up from the bed while clutching her head with strength. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
[But~ I’m not in your head, dear. I’m in your heart~]
“AHHH!” Angelica quickly went to the wall and started hitting her head with strength.
[Why are you hurting yourself, dear. It won’t change anything.]
“Shut up...” Tired, Angelica fell on her knees, her head resting on the wall.
[Oh… Silly girl… What have you done…? Really? Proposing that to him? You know that it wasn’t a smart move. Don’t you?]
“*Sob… Sob...*”
[I know you want him for yourself, but look at him, only using you… Such a cruel man.]
“*Sob… Sob...*”
[I can help you. I can let you have him all for yourself.]
“How…?” Angelica sobbed once more, cleaning her tears with the back of her hand.
[I’m known for my abilities to seduce men, sweetie~ With me at your side, there’s no way for him to reject you anymore~]
“Who… Who are you?” Angelica looked up, she knew it was futile, but she still tried her hardest to find the owner of that voice.
[You will know it once you accept me. Let us work together. Let us get what you so dearly want.]
“...” A soft, unhearable whisper came out from her mouth.
[You need to say it louder, sweetheart. Or I won’t be able to hear you.]
“I accept you!” She shouted out.
[You won’t regret this~ I swear on my name. Lilith.]
“*GASP!*”
Magic Power started flowing from Angelica’s heart, a pink-colored current traveled through her veins, covering each part of her body, permeating her own soul, which slowly fell corrupted by Lilith’s power.
[HAHAHAHA~ YOU~ SUCH COMPATIBILITY! You’re not like any of those filthy men I’ve converted to my side~ No! You’re so much more! RECEIVE MY POWER AND ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOAL! Together, we’re going to make that man fall in love with us!]
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
Screams went out from Angelica’s apartment that night, but no one listened. Lilith made sure of that.
***
Seoul, Saturday before the start of classes at 6:00 PM.
“Well, this is quite the surprise.” Cristopher said while walking alongside Angelica.
“Um~? Why is it sweetie~?” Angelica asked with a bright smile.
“I never thought you would bring me to your apartment. I was getting accustomed to the hotel rooms, you know?”
“Haha~ I never brought you here because I moved there recently, and was still decorating it. I didn’t want to show you something ugly, sweetie. That’s all~”
“Mm… Is that so? Oh well, you know I don’t care about that kind of stuff.” Cristopher shrugged his shoulders.
They got to the residence and went to the third floor. Once inside the fourth apartment, Cristopher could notice that there was a lot of new furniture around the place.
“Well, all of this looks quite new. Did you buy them yesterday or something? It’s like no one ever used them.”
“Haha~ How did you know? Yes! I just bought them! I was hoping to show you the apartment before actually using them~”
“Mm… They do look good, such a waste, they look quite comfortable.”
“You think so~? Well, they might as well be yours, after all, what’s mine, is yours, sweetie~”
“Um… Angelica… Hey… We have to talk… You’ve been saying stuff like that all week. I’m worried that you’re reaching a point that’s no good.” Cristopher turned to look at Angelica’s eyes.
“I don’t know what you mean~” She just walked past him towards the bedroom. “Come here! I’m going to show you where we’ll be having some fun~ You’ll love the bed! Is big and comfortable!”
“Hey! Don’t change the topic.” Cristopher followed her into the room with a sigh. “I’m not that blind. I know that you’ve been insinuating that we may be more than just fuckfriends.”
“Mm~? But I haven’t?” She said with a smile, standing right in front of her bed.
“Hey… Angelica. I-” He tried to say something, but she interrupted him.
“Shhhh ~” Angelica slowly and sensually walked towards him, hushing him and undressing herself as she did so. “Why are we wasting our saliva talking nonsense, when we could be using our tongues for something more… fun~”
She reached him, and slowly caressed his face before she started to sensually undress him. An almost unnoticeable flow of pink magic power covering her hand.
“Angelica, we really need to-” He tried to speak again, but Angelica closed his lips with hers. Kissing him deeply for a moment before slightly separating herself.
“Why should we? I’m starving. And I have such a treat in front of me. I don’t want to talk, I want to eat you.” She softly whispered to him, their lips barely separated by millimeters.
Her sweet aroma and her hot breathing left him with no choice but to kiss her back. There would be time to speak later, he thought.
***
“Mm…?” Waking up after falling asleep, the first thing Cristopher noticed was that he was caged. Literally caged as the bed he was sleeping on seconds ago was literally surrounded by some kind of steel bars that were giving off some kind of pink magic power.
Looking at this scene, he just sighed, also realizing that his wrists were covered by handcuffs, also exuding the same pink magic power.
“Are you awake sweetie~?” At that moment, Angelica came into the room with a glass of pink wine in her hand.
“Angelica… I promise not to get mad, so could you explain to me why I’m suddenly caged after a light nap?”
“Well~ That’s your fault sweetie~ After all, you still don’t understand that you should be at my side~”
“...” Cristopher just sighed at her comment. “I knew we should have talked earlier...”
“Mmm~? What do you mean~?”
“You know what I mean. Angelica, this isn’t right. We can’t be doing this anymore. You’re reaching a point of no return.”
“Haha~ It is you that doesn’t understand. You belong to me~ You may not want to admit it, but you know that you’re in love with me~” Angelica smiled brightly. “This is just so you can understand that, and finally accept me.”
“So… Your way to make me realize I love you is… Locking me up…?” He tilted his head.
“...” Angelica sipped from her glass of wine, looking at his eyes for a moment, before quickly averting them. “It’s not my fault! It's yours! Yours and that wench’s fault!”
“*Sigh...*” Cristopher let out a deep sigh before shaking his head. “This has to be a joke… I think this is the first time that I’ve heard a Djinn insulting their contracted Devil...”
“Mm~? But it’s right! She said that I would be able to seduce you with her help! But she’s useless!” Angelica shouted at him.
“Of course she is… Lilith’s charms won’t work on me...” He rolled his eyes at her. “You think I didn’t notice all this time? You’ve been trying to use some charming magic on me all week. And also, I’m able to sense her through you, last time I tried to burn her connection with some asshole, so it’s easy to recognize that same connection in you.”
“Huh…?” Angelica tilted her head. “That bitch told me you weren’t going to notice!”
“And you believed her? I’m surprised you underestimated me that much, really. It somehow hurts my pride.” Cristopher acted hurt, pouting and touching his heart.
“And you still embraced me? Even when I’ve turned into a Djinn?” She asked.
“What does that have to do with anything? You haven’t done anything bad yet.” He shrugged before leaning on the bed. “I mean, you’ve done some stupid things, but that’s all.”
“See~ I knew it~! You love me!” Angelica’s eyes opened wide and started to shine. “That’s why you want to be with me even if I have become a Djinn~”
“No. That’s different. How the hell did you reach that conclusion? I like you as a person, and we’ve been having fun, yes. But that doesn’t mean I love you or something like that.”
“You just don’t want to accept it. But don’t worry. Now you’ll have time to think about us, about how I’m the one for you~ And how you love me sooo deeply that you don’t even care what I am anymore~”
Angelica’s smile grew wider, and her eyes, lost in a daze, shined even more in pink color.
“Ok, let’s stop right now. Let’s talk things through, okay? If you’re doing this because Lilith told you to, just ignore her. We can talk things through, and end this stupid game, okay?” He tried to negotiate with her.
“Mm~? I think you’re mistaken about something sweetie~ I’m not doing this because Lilith told me to. That bitch can go fuck herself for all I care. She even had the nerves to tell me not to do this, calling it barbaric or what-not.”
“...” Cristopher just looked at her, his mouth wide open. While the pink-colored magic power on the bars shined for a second.
“She talks and talks all the time about how she’s the best at seduction and whatnot, but look! That bitch can’t even grant me my wish! So, I just took things into my hands. She’s not necessary anymore.”
With a bright smile, Angelica got close to the bars made of Lilith’s magic power.
“So~ Now here we are, you’ll be able to think better here, you’ll finally understand that you love me and that we are meant to be together. If not, well, we can stay here in this room for our entire lives. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you well-fed.”
“Okay. Angelica.” Finally snapping out of his surprise, Cristopher started talking. “I really like the guts you have to be insulting the Devil you’re contracted to. But that’s another matter. What’s important is that you reconsider this, give me my clothes, and we can still be friends. Really, I won’t even tell anyone what you’ve done.”
“Oh, your clothes? I’ve burned them. They’re not necessary either, they’re as useless as that bitch Lilith. Also, I won’t let you go. You’ll just go to those bitches that are around you all the time, so no. Unless you accept to be mine and mine alone, you won’t be leaving this place.”
“*Sigh...* Angelica. I’m giving you an out here. Please take it. Reconsider this and we will make it as if it never happened. Okay?”
“Hahaha~ Have a good night, sweetie~” She said as she turned around and left the apartment.
“...” Cristopher looked at the place Angelica was, before sighing loudly and dropping down on the bed. “Hajin won’t stop bothering me about how he warned me… For fuck’s sake.”
The bars shined again.
“Oh, just fuck off. It’s all your fault.” Cristopher said. “You had to go and try to tempt the crazy one… See how well that turned out.”
The bars shined with a dim light this time.
“You all are fucking idiots.” He said before closing his eyes.
The bars shined strongly.
“Shut up, or I’ll burn down the bars with the same blue flame I used last time on that idiot from Cube. I know they’re connected to you too.”
The bars didn’t shine again.
***
Monday. Inside Angelica’s apartment in the Lofty Sun Residential Building.
Cristopher opened his eyes again, sitting on the bed and stretching his neck.
“Hey. You there?” He spoke to no one in particular.
But at his question, the bars shined dimly.
“Gotta ask you a question, why didn’t you snitch me?”
The bars didn’t shine.
“Also, what is this all about? With you helping Angelica with her attempts at seducing me and all. I mean. What’s the reason? I would understand if it was to kill me. But never once did I feel the desire to kill me.”
The bars again didn’t shine.
“Time’s ticking. Don’t think for a second that I can’t leave from here. The only reason I haven’t is that I have hope. Hope that Angelica won’t do anything stupid, well, more than this.”
The bars shined dimly.
“Okay, forget it. Got the point. There’s no way to talk like this.”
After sighing, he moved, Cristopher sat on the border of the bed.
“*Sigh...* You know that if this keeps going, I’ll have to kill her. Don’t you?”
No answer came from the bars.
“I’ve noticed that the connection she has with you is deeper than the one that bastard had. She’s special to you. Is it because of compatibility?”
The bars shined dimly.
“Well, I guess things will come to an end soon enough.” He stood up, looking towards the door of the apartment, even if it was behind the walls of the room.
***
“It’s here.” Hajin said while looking at the apartment's door in front of him.
While he didn’t say anything to the rest, he could see past the door and walls, and there he was, Cristopher, half-naked, with only a blanket wrapped around his waist, standing inside what seemed to be a weird cage. The rest of the place was empty, without a single person to see.
{Just what the hell is happening here... } He thought for a moment, frowning.
“Well, let’s go in!” Chae Nayun said, preparing her sword to barge in. Only to be stopped by Kim Suho.
“Wait.” He said, looking at the door. “We don’t know what’s happening. There may be an enemy inside, or the door could be protected.”
While it was true that they didn’t know what was on the other side, Hajin had already checked, and there was nothing covering the door.
{Well… Not this time I guess. Whoever is responsible for this, basically left the place unprotected. But why do I feel something familiar at all this?} Hajin thought, before speaking.
“It’s unprotected.” He said before pointing his gun to the door’s knob, shooting it open. “Let’s go in.”
Everyone walked, looking around, searching for any possible enemy. Even Hajin was acting as if he was looking through the place.
“I’m here.” From somewhere inside the apartment, they heard Cristopher, and everyone was alert, looking among themselves, before nodding and rushing towards the room where they heard him.
Running first was Kim Suho who quickly cut the door apart and entered in alert, Shin Jonghak, Rachel, and Chae Nayun went inside right after him, with Olivia taking out her knives and protecting the rear with Hajin.
They all went in with the intention to fight an unknown enemy, but they just stood there in surprise, looking at the caged Cristopher.
“‘Supp.” Cristopher said with a frown, before looking at Kim Hajin. “Dude, I explicitly told you to come here alone, what’s with everyone coming here with you?”
“Sorry, had to show the instructor your messages in order to ask for permission, he ordered these guys to come with me, while Rachel and Olivia just offered themselves to come.”
“Are you alright master?” Rachel went close to the cage and asked.
“Master? What the hell do you mean with master? Oh well, whatever, what the hell happened here? Why are you caged like an animal?” Chae Nayun asked with a frown while looking at the cage before she suddenly noticed something and blushed. “And w-w-why are y-you naked...?”
“*Sigh...* Doesn’t matter. Did you bring clothes with you?” Cristopher asked.
“HA! I told you that he would need clothes.” Olivia said with a grin while crossing her arms under her chest.
“...”
“...”
Everyone looked at Olivia with a dumbfounded face.
“What? I was right. The last time was the same. This guy has a tendency of needing clothes for whatever reason.”
“*Tsk...* Let’s just finish this.” Shin Jonghak clicked his tongue before walking towards the cage with his spear. “Get out of my way.” He said before slashing at the cage.
“What!?”
But instead of cutting the bars apart, he was sent flying towards the wall, breaking some furniture on his way.
“What is that thing? It felt like hitting something really hard but flexible at the same time...”
“Pfft” Cristopher tried to suppress his laughter to no avail.
“*Sigh...* Can’t you just break the cage by yourself?” Hajin sighed before frowning at Cristopher.
“I need clothes, that’s why I texted you. Or what? Do you want me to go around Seoul with only a blanket? I would get the police on me in seconds.” Cristopher rolled his eyes at him.
“Right...” Letting out a sigh, Hajin turned towards the room’s door.
“Mm? Where are you going?” Chae Nayun asked.
“To look for clothes so we can leave this place.” He answered.
“Huh? I’ll go too! I can help you choose-” Olivia tried to speak, but was quickly interrupted.
“NO!” Cristopher shouted at her before using another blanket to grab her arm and pulling her back.
“Hey! I’m not some animal!” She shouted at him, after falling on her butt.
“You’re not going to choose my clothes again!” Cristopher said to her with a frown, before suddenly looking towards Hajin with haste, but before he said something, Hajin tripped with some rubble that was left on the floor after Jonghak’s crashing.
“Huh!?” While falling, Hajin felt something scratch his back. {Why does this feels familiar?} He thought before finally landing on the floor.
From there, he could hear the others picking up their weapons.
“Who are you!?”
“When did you get here!?”
“That’s what I want to know~ Why do I suddenly find some rats and whores on my love nest~? Mm? Sweetie~?” Angelica, who suddenly appeared in the room, asked.
She was smiling brightly, but her eyes were giving off a really dangerous vibe, while Pink Magic Power could be seen flowing out of every centimeter of her body.
“S-s-sweetie!?” Olivia asked surprised, quickly rising up and turning to Cristopher. “What does she mean with that!? Wait! Is this a… L-l-lover’s quarrel!?”
“Oh, shut up.” Cristopher sighed, before turning to look up at Angelica. “Look Angelica, time’s up. I told you a hundred times that you should stop this play of yours, now is the perfect time for doing so. Just let’s pretend any of this ever happened and we both can keep being friends. No one will say anything about this. What do you say?”
“Mm~? I’m sorry sweetie~ I think I’ve misheard you haha~ Because there’s no way for you to have called these people here, right~? To leave me~? That must be a mistake, I surely heard wrong, isn’t that right, darling~?”
Angelica spoke, looking at Cristopher with her unfocused eyes and her bright smile.
“No. I didn’t call them all. Just called the usual idiot. But he brought them.” Cristopher shrugged. “But that’s not the point. The point is, for you to stop all of this, and we can just forget that anything like this ever happened at all. Okay? Okay.” He said with a smile.
“Hey. Just wanted to clarify that you’re the idiot here. I’m no the one trapped in a cage because of some dumb decisions.” Hajin said while frowning at him. “Oh, and by the way. Just wanted to let this out, but I told you this would happen.”
“Is that really important right now, dude? Damn. It seems I’m the only one here who wants to solve things. Talk about being heroes and-”
“SHUT UP!” Angelica raged and a burst of magic power hit the cage, while the other went towards Hajin, who had to use the automatically activated bullet-time to evade it.
“Woah, calm down Angelica. We were just talking.”
“You were ignoring me! And that won’t be tolerated!”
“Let him go right now!” This time it was Rachel who spoke, covering her rapier in a deep crimson flame.
“...” The rest of the group also grabbed their weapon.
“Okay, okay, everyone calm down, we don’t want to be making a scene here. Let’s just peacefully talk things through, and we may reach an agreement, right, Angelica?” Cristopher tried to calm things down while turning to smile at Angelica.
“Oh, we will talk sweetie~ But after I'm done getting rid of these whores. Or do you think I don’t know who they are? These are the bitches that are always around you! It’s time to do what I should have done waaay before~”
“Dude, she’s crazy! Like a whole new level of craziness...” Chae Nayun muttered with a frown.
“Yeah… That’s why you should always stay as far away as possible from crazy girls like this...” Kim Hajin nodded. “But that guy just didn’t listen to me. Look where we are now...”
“Angelica. Come on, stop, will you? This is ridiculous already.” Cristopher said with a sigh.
“Huh~? Darling, is it maybe that you’re picking them over me~? No~ That can’t be~ Right~?” She smiled at him.
“Oh for fuck sake Angelica. You knew really well that we couldn’t have a formal relationship. I told you a thousand times that I’m not looking for something serious. Just drop this act and we can keep being friends, without the benefits of course.”
“So you do want to leave me for these skanks...” Angelica looked down, her bright smile disappearing. “Very well. I won’t let you go anywhere… But first...”
She whispered in a barely audible voice, right before a torrent of Magic Power erupted from her, covering the entire place.
“How…?” Hajin muttered, looking at the sudden power that was coming from Angelica.
“Mm? How what?” Chae Nayun asked.
“There’s no way for her to have that kind of power! She’s a Djinn, but she must have become one recently, and she isn’t even a hero, to begin with!”
“What!? But look at her power!” Chae Nayun said while gulping.
Djinns were known to have quite an amount of Magic Power. But for someone like Angelica that was a normal human, to gain this much power from the start was something they couldn’t even understand.
“Doesn’t matter. We just have to kill this trash.” Shin Jonghak said while preparing his spear to charge ahead.
“Be careful.” Kim Suho, who was quietly observing things, said. He too felt something odd with her power.
“You can’t tell me what to do.” Shin Jonghak said while rushing towards Angelica.
But just as he was going to slash at her, she looked up at him, making him flinch. Her eyes were completely covered in the same pink Magic Power that was raging around. And before he could even react, a pink whip of energy was lashing out at him, attempting to cut him.
“You won’t!” Just as the whip was about to cut him, an enraged Rachel slashed at the whip with her crimson flames, stopping it and giving time to Jonghak to defend, being sent away once again.
At the same time, both Chae Nayun and Kim Suho attacked Angelica from both sides. A long sword made entirely of Magic Power slashed from the right, while a metal-attribute-covered sword attacked from the left.
Rachel once again slashed out with her crimson flames from behind, not having enough space for all three of them to attack closely at the same time.
Looking at the incoming attacks, Angelica smiled brightly, a pink smoke coming out from her mouth, while two more whips came out from her back as if acting like extra limbs. The three whips lashed out at the incoming attacks, deflecting them on the spot, while she simply moved her head to evade an incoming bullet and used her hand to break the incoming knives.
Meanwhile, the pink smoke slowly covered the entire room, slowing down Kim Suho and Chae Nayun.
“What...?” Chae Nayun noticed the change on her body and soon started to feel as if it was wrong to attack the girl in front of her. “What’s happening…?”
“...” Kim Suho also started to notice the situation, and Kim Hajin frowned.
“It’s Lilith’s power.” Cristopher said with a sigh. “She’s using Lilith charming magic.”
He then turned to Angelica, who was also looking at him with lost eyes.
It was as if she wasn’t even paying attention to the attacking cadets, not even when Shin Jonghak attacked her from behind. She just had to summon another whip to defend and attack, letting the smoke cover the entire room. Once they all fell for her charm, she would have won.
“Angelica. Stop this.” Cristopher said firmly.
“Why don’t you want to stay with me...? We love each other so much, so why...?” She asked sadly.
“I don’t love you, Angelica. I can’t love you the way you want me to. You knew that from the start.” He said before sighing. “But we can still be friends. Just stop this nonsense.”
“...” Tears fell from her eyes. “But… I don’t want to… I don’t want to let you go. I don’t want you leaving my side. We were meant to be together...”
“We weren’t meant to be together, Angelica.” Cristopher leaned on the cage, gripping the bars. “You still have a chance, you can still stop this, so do it. We can go back to being friends, talking to each other on Aroma Mocha.”
“...” Tears keep falling from her eyes.
“Shit! How is she so strong!?” Chae Nayun said while defending from one of her whips.
“The smoke is making us slower, it’s trying to make us stop attacking her...” Hajin gritted his teeth while shooting another barrage of bullets that were stopped by a barrier.
From everyone there, he was the only one apart from Cristopher to not be affected by the smoke. All thanks to Aether protecting him.
“Shit!” Shin Jonghak attacked again, trying to fend off the smoke’s power that was trying to make him attack the rest of the cadets. “I’m not going to be controlled by this crazy asshole!”
“Angelica. Stop now.” Cristopher said softly, gripping the bars with more strength than before. “Please. Just please stop this. I’m begging you.”
“And I’m begging you to stay with me...” Angelica smiled sadly. “But I guess we can’t have what we want, isn’t that right?”
“Angelica...”
Cristopher closed his eyes for a moment, before taking a deep breath. He opened them again, looking at her, his look was calm, but there was a slight tremble in his eyes. A small tremble that only Hajin could see.
“I’m giving you one last chance. Stop this. Please. Don’t let things escalate further.” He tried to convince her, but he received a sad smile in response.
“I’m sorry, darling… I can’t. I love you so much. Even if you can’t see it.” She said and the smoke around became denser, while the whips on her back turned into something more akin to thick tentacles. Increasing their strength.
“What!? She still had more power under her sleeves!?” Olivia shouted, charging at her with two daggers.
“Everyone protect yourselves!” Kim Suho alerted before an eruption of magic power sent them flying away and crashing around the place.
“Argh...” Chae Nayun held her stomach while trying to sit up. “Shit… I hope this alerted the active heroes already...”
“No...” Kim Hajin, who was lucky to receive the least damage while being behind, muttered. “She covered the place with a barrier so no one would know that something was happening here. That’s the reason she isn’t using her entire power, she knows she can alert the active heroes if she overuses her strength.”
"Damn... How will we win against her..." Rachel, who protected herself with Laki's water barrier, spoke too.
“Haha… She doesn’t need to use it...” Olivia said, holding her arm that was hurt from the impact. “She can just win us with what she has.”
“The smoke… Is getting stronger...” Kim Suho muttered. “This has to end now, or we will be turned into puppets...”
“You won’t have the time to even become puppets. I have no use for filth like you.” Angelica said, her bright smile back on her mouth.
Her tentacles moved with speed and attacked Chae Nayun, Rachel, Olivia, and Kim Suho, while she extended her arms to attack Kim Hajin and Shin Jonghak with her Magic Power.
“Shit!” Kim Suho prepared to go all out, but before he could do anything, a soft whisper could be heard.
“I’m sorry too… Angelica.” Cristopher whispered as he embraced her from behind.
“What are you saying, darling...” Tears fell from the smiling Angelica. Who grabbed the arms holding her.
A blue flame flew out from them, burning the tentacles and the pink smoke, covering the entire room.
Just as everyone freaked out from the sudden flames covering them, burning the tentacles and smoke as if they were nothing more than thin paper, they realized something. The flames didn’t hurt them, they were helping them recover their senses. Burning the effects of the smoke.
They even noticed that the furniture wasn't burning at all.
“You know...” Angelica started to talk softly, her pink eyes turning back to her normal blue color. “I tried… I really did… I wanted us to be friends.”
“...” Cristopher kissed her softly on her head, before resting his chin on it.
“But I just couldn’t...” Angelica’s eyes were once again completely covered in pink Magic Power.
Her body, starting with her arms, started to turn black, claws extending from where her hands used to be.
“I love you so much, there’s no way for me to just be your friend. I want you. I want you all for myself...” Her smile never disappearing from her face while she used her devilization.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered to her. Closing his eyes.
“Why? Dummy. It’s not your fault. You can’t prevent me from loving you. No one can.” She said before chuckling, wings protruding from her back, while two long and curved horns appeared from her forehead.
She then turned around slowly. Looking up at him. Her devilized form complete. Pink smoke flowing from her now blackened skin. Her eyes, completely covered in a pink Magic Power that now flowed out of them in a mystical way.
“...” Cristopher looked at her eyes. He still could see them. Two ocean-blue pearls looking deep into him. Tears falling from her eyes, unrestricted even from her own Magic Power.
Blue flames covering the room, keeping the now stronger smoke from affecting the rest of the cadets.
“Haha...” She chuckled, caressing his face with her clawed hand. “You look sad. Mm~? It’s so unlike you~”
Slowly she leaned up, closing her eyes while her lips met his. A soft, sweet kiss.
As if time stopped for them, Cristopher also closed his eyes, reciprocating her kiss.
A small, lonely tear fell from his right eye.
Breaking the kiss, Angelica softly whispered to him. Her warm breath, full of charming magic, reaching his lips.
“Too bad… I failed once again...” She smiled.
“I’ve told you.” He smiled too. “Lilith’s charm doesn’t work on me.”
“I know, dummy.”
“Goodbye, Angelica. I hope you can be happy in your next life.”
“There’s no next life for me, darling~ There’s no life for me without you.” She smiled.
“...” Closing his eyes, the blue flames that were burning around the entire room moved. They concentrated on the both of them, spinning like a fast tornado.
“ARGH!!!!!!” Angelica’s scream could be heard from inside the tornado, making everyone turn away from it.
Meanwhile, inside the blue-colored tornado, Cristopher looked deep into the eyes of Lilith.
In a world with only the two of them, where time didn’t flow. Lilith stood in front of Cristopher, using Angelica’s body as a medium.
[I finally see you closely.]
“...”
[I’ll take care of her soul.]
“...”
[That, I swear on my name. Lilith.]
“And I swear...” The Stigma on his right arm started to shine on a flaming blood-red color. “That I will someday find you. And I will burn down your existence.”
His voice, deep and full of hatred, felt like impending doom to the Devil. She knew that he didn’t have the power to kill her. He was strong, but not strong enough to antagonize a Devil, but yet, she felt scared for a moment.
[We don’t have to be enemies. We can be allies.] She said.
“I don’t care.”
[What's coming to your world is not something you can stop by yourself. You know that. Why would you refuse an ally that’s willing to help.]
“*chuckles* It seems you’re mistaken about me. But that’s okay. I don’t care. And either way, I’m not alone. So, don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for you, and for that flock of filthy trash that’s trying to reach this world.”
[My offer is still standing. I hope that when we meet again in that world. We can be allies.] Lilith said.
“...” Without answering, Cristopher just raised his hand and touched Angelica’s body’s chest. “Stop using her body, it's making me sick.”
With a burst of blue flames, Angelica’s body turned to ashes. Lilith’s last words floating in the air.
[I hope you reconsider my offer, dear.]
Time started to tick again, and the blue tornado of flames disappeared, leaving a standing Cristopher in the middle of the room.
“Fuck off. Bitch.” He whispered to himself. Something only Kim Hajin could hear. Even if he didn’t understand what he meant with that.