Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 387

387

After a moment of recollection, Deron spoke his name. Having never had a reason to use it, it was the first time he had uttered the name aloud. The other party smiled as if the name was unfamiliar.

“You figured it out quickly.”

“How did you get here…? …! Did El come here?”

“No, I came alone.”

Deron was confused by the nonchalant reply. He knew that Sibelius, the unicorn, would never visit them of his own volition. Moreover, the wind barrier was still in place outside. After a brief moment of contemplation, he arrived at the most likely conclusion.

“El must have noticed our situation. So he sent you instead?”

“Why pretend you don’t know the obvious? I understand wanting to avoid the truth, but I really did come alone. El probably doesn’t know about this yet.”

“What the heck…”

The wariness that had lessened upon confirming his identity grew stronger again. Deron gripped his sword tighter. Something was definitely wrong. However, even with the blatant suspicion, Sibelius only smiled.

“If you didn’t receive El’s help, how did you know we were here?”

“It’s not that hard for me to find you.”

“What…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m not going to eat you. Just relax. Besides, you can’t do much in your condition.”

Deron wore a dumbfounded expression. But even as he watched him approach, he didn’t feel like attacking. It wasn’t just because he was a familiar presence. He felt an odd, irresistible sensation.

‘What is it? It’s like my body is lowering its guard on its own…’

While Deron was bewildered by his own reaction, Sibelius lightly tapped his shoulder, as if he expected it, and walked past. When he turned around in shock, realizing that he had allowed him to pass completely unguarded, Sibelius was already examining As, who was forming a cocoon. As, sensing a strange presence even in his sleep, opened his eyes slightly. Sibelius, meeting his blurry gaze, smiled. “Yes, yes, good boy.” A soothing voice followed, and As closed his eyes again. His face, quickly returning to sleep, looked more peaceful than ever. Deron could only watch in a daze.

“Hmm, the attempt was good, but As’s power is too great, so Deron’s assistance is unstable. At this rate, his body will only suffer. This is really a matter of experience. Deron, you need to try harder.”

“Hey. What the heck…”

“Good. Since I came all this way, should I help with this?”

Before Deron could step forward, Sibelius placed his hand on As’s head and stroked it. It was a touch as gentle as if he were handling a commendable child. Deron gasped at the sight that followed. Silken threads seemed to stretch out from around As in an instant and began to envelop his body. Soon, As’s figure was completely buried inside and disappeared. It was a perfect cocoon state, unlike the previous one where parts of his body were sparsely exposed. Deron forgot his anger and just stood there blankly. He could instinctively tell that As had entered a state of perfect growth.

“Now you can conserve your energy. From now on, just focus on protecting this space.”

“I can’t believe it even after seeing it with my own eyes. A unicorn… is this even possible?”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be. It basically depends on what’s inside [referring to As’s inherent power]. This is a special, limited-time service that’s only available now.”

“What…”

Before he could grasp the meaning of what he said, Deron’s face hardened. He could feel a different energy emanating from Sibelius. It was definitely an energy that hadn’t existed until just now. It was even familiar. Of course it was. It was the energy of his lord, As.

“…What the hell did you do?”

“I made a contract with As.”

“What?”

“It’s a provisional contract because I proceeded unilaterally. But the effect is similar, so it’ll be useful for a while. When As comes out of there later, have him formally sign the contract. That would be safer anyway.”

“What are you talking about…”

“Don’t make such a disgusted face. It’s not a bad thing for As either. Since there’s no precedent for contracting with a unicorn, you don’t know its value. This is quite significant in many ways. The situation is a bit complicated, but hear the rest from him. He’ll explain everything.”

“Him…?”

“The original owner of this body that you know. I have to go back now. I can’t stay any longer because he’s calling me too annoyingly.”

The playful expression disappeared from his frowning face. Deron’s eyes slowly began to widen. Sibelius, who had been gazing at him playfully, lightly tapped his shoulder. A jolt ran through his entire body from the touch. It was a clear and definite presence. He couldn’t believe he was only realizing it now.

“That hair color suits you quite well too.”

“Ah…”

“Thank you for doing so well. You’ll continue to do well in the future. You’re the most commendable child.”

“Ah, ah…!”

Sibelius, who had been smiling faintly, slowly closed his eyes. His body staggered and began to collapse. Deron hurriedly caught his collapsing body. Without even having time to think, tears streamed down his face. He held the unconscious Sibelius in his arms and sobbed quietly for a long time.

“Lord Kanos.”

* * *

“Have you returned?”

At the gentle voice ringing in his ear, Kanos slowly blinked. In his clearing vision, he saw a ceiling decorated with gold and obsidian. It was inside the most central bedroom in his palace. When he shifted his gaze to the side, the one who had been guarding the bedside bowed his head. Her hair, slightly textured and draped over both shoulders, was a vivid coral color, and her eyes were as red as blood. The woman with the flowery appearance had six wings as black as ebony [a very dark, almost black, wood].

“I’m back, Yuvia.”

At the words spoken with a smile, the angel called Yuvia bowed her head again. It was a businesslike, dry attitude, but Kanos, who was used to it, didn’t pay attention and got up.

“Oh, I didn’t know because it was my first time possessing someone, but this is a bit of a burden on the god’s side too. My body feels languid.”

“I will get divine fruit for the recovery of divine power.”

“No, it’s not that serious.”

“If so, I will withdraw the statement. And… the gods have been visiting since earlier.”

“Ah, I figured.”

Kanos nodded indifferently. He had returned because of the noise they were making, so it wasn’t particularly surprising. He opened the door and went out, and those outside flinched and stepped back in droves. All of them had black wings like Yuvia. It was just that they seemed too frightened to be treating their god with respect. Kanos, who was also used to this, simply walked past them indifferently. Only Yuvia followed him quietly.

“Kanos!”

A hurried voice rang out as soon as he went down. Two gods who had discovered him descending the stairs were jumping up from their seats. Kanos, reciting their names once each in his mind, Shannon and Rusef, smiled.

“Geez, you’re so noisy. I know my name is Kanos. You don’t have to call me that incessantly.”

“What the hell happened to you?”

“Don’t you already know what happened? I think Rusef has already explained everything.”

“You bastard!”

Anger sparked like flames in Rusef’s eyes. He was about to pounce and throw a punch. Shannon grabbed him and forcibly stopped him.

“No! Calm down, Rusef!”

“Let go! Do you think I can calm down right now?”

“I understand how you feel. But…”

“That bastard ruined my first communion with my child! It’s already a burden on my body because it’s the first possession, but another god! Even a demon god with the most stimulating energy among the gods!”

Rusef poured out his anger without restraint. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this angry. Just thinking about the situation at the time made him grind his teeth. How happy he was when he found out that Sibelius was alive. He had tried to connect and knocked on the door several times, but he didn’t respond, so he was anxious. As time passed, the boundary became blurred, and Sibelius’s subconscious slowly began to recognize his existence. He could clearly feel the anger and resentment 쌓인 [ssah-een – built up, accumulated] in his heart melting away. And so, he was finally breaking free from the seal he had placed himself. Now, all that was left was to commune with him for the first time. But then!

“That guy stole that golden moment!”

Kanos lightly picked his ear at the finger pointing directly at him. Rusef was even more enraged by his nonchalant behavior.

“Why did it have to be that moment! If you needed possession, you could have done it at another time!”

“Well, I wouldn’t have come at another time.”

“What?”

“If I hadn’t stepped in then, Karyuan would have taken over that body. Even if you had entered first, he would have pushed you away with force. You don’t think you can beat the current child, do you?”

“…”

Faced with the brutally stark truth, Rusef couldn’t readily answer. Instead, he clenched his fist tightly. In fact, there was a separate part that was the real problem. As his excitement subsided, the things he should have been pursuing began to come to mind. Rusef took a slight deep breath and stared at Kanos.

“Telling me about Sibel’s existence, was that on purpose?”

“Hmm?”

“You knew that the ‘sinner’ was looking for another body. Sibel, who had awakened his abilities in that guy’s eyes, would have been the best prey. It would have been safer to keep the runes sealed now. But you deliberately told me about that child and made me connect with him. So eventually the seal was broken. You made it so that the sinner would find him.”

Shannon opened her eyes wide and looked back at Kanos. He was smiling playfully with a face that didn’t know what he was thinking. It was the expression he always made when he was playing a bad prank. An ominous feeling crept up.

“You planned it all from the beginning?”

“That’s right.”

“Kanos!”

Shannon, who was taken aback, shouted without realizing it. It would have been much better to ignore the answer than to affirm something like this. She had come along because she was worried about Rusef, who was jumping up and down, but the situation was getting worse. Rusef also cursed. His head was going blank with anger, but his heart was rather at ease. Honestly, he couldn’t say he didn’t know anything. There had been a strange sense of unease all along. The demon god Kanos was not a very kind person. He was mostly mischievous, indifferent to others, and, to put it coldly, rather cruel. He was a god who always easily manipulated others and used someone’s desperation as a weapon. He thought it was strange that he had readily told him about Sibelius’s survival. He was the one who had ignored it. The very fact that the child he had thought was dead and had been looking for so long was alive and well was more important.

“Why…”

“I needed a way to draw out the hidden Karyuan. Now that child is close to a god, he’ll feel it when the ‘door’ opens, and I thought he would definitely show up to target him. I didn’t know he would awaken in front of that child, though.”

“That child, that child. It’s been bothering me since earlier, but stop calling the sinner affectionately.”

A suppressed voice flowed out from between his clenched lips. A blue light flashed in his distinctly glaring eyes.

“Otherwise, I might think you’re helping the awakening of the evil god.”

“Rusef, there’s no such thing as that.”

Shannon, flustered by the provocative statement, quickly stopped Rusef. Kanos, on the other hand, simply watched the anger he was pouring out with the same smiling face, without being disturbed. Rusef’s face was even more distorted by the attitude that he didn’t care what he said.

“Say something?”

“Oh, did you need an answer?”

“You…”

“I don’t know why you’re angry.”

Kanos, tilting his head to one side as if he really couldn’t understand, languidly curved his eyes.

“As long as Karyuan’s roots are in the demon race, it’s my business what I call that child.”

“…”

“If I had helped the evil god, everything would have been over already. There’s no reason to drag out time so stupidly like this. Do I have to point out this obvious fact?”

Rusef’s face crumpled. He didn’t want to admit it, but that was the truth. Shannon watched him with an anxious face as he clenched his fist again with a resentful face. The increasingly fierce atmosphere was resolved unexpectedly by Kanos. The momentum of Rusef, who had been endlessly sharpening his blade, stopped at his passing words.

“I’m sorry I took away your first communion with the rune. Think of it as paying back the debt you owe me.”

“…What?”

“We had a settlement to make, didn’t we?”

“What…”

Rusef closed his mouth as it was. The black-winged angel silently standing behind Kanos―Yuvia―came into view. Black wings are a unique symbol of the demon god’s angels, and the angels in the demon god’s palace all have the same color wings. But if you actually dig into the details, it becomes ambiguous whether you can call them true demon god’s angels. In the angels here, not only Kanos’s energy but also other energies were felt together. This is because they are angels that he forcibly stole from other gods. The wing color has changed due to the divine power forcibly injected by the demon god, but their original owners were still separate.

However, Yuvia was different. Only the demon god’s unique energy was felt from her. Only Yuvia was the pure angel of his who was born only with the demon god’s divine power in this palace. Of course, it wasn’t like that from the beginning. At one time, there were 12 high-ranking angels who stood shoulder to shoulder with Yuvia. The number decreased rapidly as they went through the Great War of Gods and Demons.

“How many of my angels and demons did you kill back then?”

“…”

Rusef swallowed hard at the smiling face. The Great War of Gods and Demons was a war between the gods and demons. At the time, all the gods participated in killing the demons, but only the demon god’s angels tried to protect the demons. From the perspective of other gods, it was natural to see them as enemies as well.