Chapter 574
Why would I do that?
The child did nothing wrong.
Perhaps, as he said, if given a little more time, everyone will change.
Azazel had this premonition, and frankly, he wanted to wait and see.
But why should I treat him so cruelly?
The Answer is very simple.
Because we must avoid being tainted by their "Evil".
Azazel believed himself to be a manifestation of God's glory, and therefore could not act arbitrarily without restraint.
Angel themselves have no emotions, which is why they depart so ruthlessly.
Just like always.
Forever and ever, so long that even the duration is unclear – an eternity.
All I can tell myself is that's how things are.
Then, his fellow leader Sangyangsha, came to him and said, "I'm afraid you won't agree to do this. I will bear the punishment for this Original Sin alone."
According to the rules, Azazel should have immediately rejected him, or fought him, and then taken him to the Heaven Realm.
However,
He replied, "Let me swear an oath with you, let us curse each other, and promise not to give up on this plan, that we will definitely do it."
That was the beginning of the fall from grace.
That was the beginning of all sin.
"That was what Sangyangsha and I thought. But Sangyangsha was more resolute than I was, even going so far as to join forces with Rahab to try and protect the people of Egypt in his own way. As for me... after I had been punished and realized I had done wrong, I was too weak, and together with Satan of Paradise Lost, I raised my sword against the one who had shown me mercy."
"Therefore," Azazel's gaze was fixed firmly on Draco's red eyes, "Please cooperate with me."
"You, who have had a direct connection with God and were even His closest disciple, deserve this title from me—"
"'Queen of Heaven'."
577: Found you! (6k)
Erice made up her mind to protect Luce, who called her "older sister."
Previously, because there were many more people at the Kuonji residence, Erice always left early and returned late in order to avoid running into them as much as possible.
But now, Erice has begun to observe Novia... or rather, she steps in to stop him when he might go to Luce.
Or you could say the world has shrunk to the point where it can only hold one person, but that's too ambiguous, Erice would never think that way.
Early morning,
When sunlight streams through the frosted glass of the Bathroom, it bathes everything in a soft, warm glow.
Erice held her breath, crouched at the corner of the corridor, only peeking out half her head, her eyes fixed on the half-open Bathroom.
Novia was standing in front of the mirror, holding a toothbrush in one hand and half-embracing the silver-haired girl who looked like she hadn't woken up yet in the other.
Kama.
"I need to open my mouth, ah--" Kama's little head bobbed as if he were dozing off, mumbling indistinctly, "Um... Ma... Ma... I..."
Because she was talking, white toothpaste foam spilled from the corner of Kama's mouth, but Kama seemed unconcerned. In fact, she didn't need to care, because Novia wiped it clean for her with Towel.
"You can't judge a book by its cover! How disgusting!"
Erice cursed him in her heart.
How could they lay a hand on a child who looks so young? They're the worst of the worst!
And to make someone call for "Mommy" while they're unconscious? What kind of unheard-of, utterly perverse and twisted sense of humor is this?!
Erice almost couldn't control her urge to rush in. She grabbed the man by the collar and demanded to know if he could be normal for once.
She may have misunderstood something; Kama's mother referred to herself as such, not as Novia.
However, despite her inner grumbling, Erice had to admit that Novia was indeed quite capable to have reached this point.
Immediately afterward, as Novia finally settled Kama and prepared to leave the Bathroom, another figure, like a boneless vine, silently coiled around her—
Melusine.
The Strongest Dragon, completely oblivious to her status as the "strongest," clung to Novia's back like a giant koala, her head resting affectionately on his shoulder, and commanded in an air of entitlement and unquestionable authority, "Novia, carry me to the restaurant."
"You have legs, and if all else fails, you have wings to fly."
"I don't want to walk. I'm tired." Melusine's answer was concise and clear. She even adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable.
Novia seemed to want to say something more, but in the end she just sighed, carried the "large ornament" on her back, and walked step by step towards the living room.
Erice frowned slightly as she watched. Although she was used to it, she couldn't help but complain in her heart.
One or two of them, why are they both like this? Are they covered in some kind of superglue? Or are they both mollusks without bones?
However, this kind of taken-for-granted intimacy, this boundless dependence, evoked a slight sense of nostalgia in Erice.
At noon, the sun was shining brightly.
Erice hid behind the sliding door to the kitchen, doing what she did that morning, observing the scene in the living room through the crack in the glass.
Novia was sitting leisurely on the Sofa.
Meanwhile, Metatron, the Angel who called himself "Sloth," was sprawled out on the other Sofa like a dying salted fish, clutching a game console in his arms. The screen was flashing with brilliant lights, but his fingers hadn't moved an inch, clearly having entered a half-asleep, half-awake standby state.
"Host..."
Metatron let out a weak, nasal groan, his voice as soft as a lump of melting mud.
"I'm hungry..."
Upon hearing this, Novia didn't even turn her gaze to Metatron, simply replying, "There's instant noodles in the kitchen."
"But I don't want to move..." Metatron said in a pitiful voice, glancing at Novia with his lazy Golden Eyes. "My hands are so sore, my arms are so tired, I have no strength left... Master, could you make me a bowl of soup? It's in my room, please..."
Erice couldn't believe her ears.
Where did your month-long Sloth attitude that you gave me and Kuonji go?!
At least you did your own food delivery when you ordered it back then. How come you're such a lazy, unproductive, and NEET now, needing to be fed?
Erice thought that Novia would refuse without hesitation this time, or at least say something sarcastic.
After all, tolerance has its limits.
And the more I look at them, the more they seem like little kids... oh, I almost forgot, most of them do look like that.
At the same time, Novia got up and went into Metatron's room. At that moment, Erice noticed a sly glint in Metatron's narrowed Golden Eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up almost imperceptibly, as if some plan had been figured out.
Before Erice could figure out what Metatron's expression meant...
Novia emerged from Metatron's room a few minutes later with a dark expression on her face and a steaming bowl of instant noodles in her hand...
Erice then noticed that there seemed to be two small, large-headed figures on the bowl and chopsticks.
Immediately, Metatron's eyes lit up the moment he smelled the aroma of instant noodles, like a lazy cat that had caught a whiff of dried fish. He struggled to sit up from the Sofa, staring longingly at Novia, practically drooling. Then, quite naturally, he picked up his chopsticks, used the tips to lift the noodles, circled them around the rim of the bowl a few times, carefully blew on the rising steam, took a bite, and then handed it to Novia.
Then, Metatron tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth, as if waiting to be fed.
The result was naturally--
"Awoo."
Metatron laughed happily, his mouth stuffed full of noodles, his cheeks bulging, and mumbled, "It's... it's still the best food the master feeds... it's the tastiest..."
Erice watched all of this with a blank expression.
She was exhausted and didn't want to complain anymore.
I just think this place should perhaps be renamed "Center for the Breeding of Useless People" to be more fitting.
"Speaking of which, where is Lilith?"
Just as Erice was calculating in her mind which important member was missing from this "breeding center" to make a mahjong table, a voice with a mocking smile suddenly rang out silently behind her.
"Yay! Lilith, I've caught a little mouse that's been diligently spying on us!"
"Waaaaaah!"
Erice was terrified and turned around abruptly, only to see Lilith, who was always licking a lollipop, standing silently behind her with that kind of smile that made it impossible to be angry.
"Tell me, my adorable little Erice," Lilith said, pulling Erice out of her hiding corner with an intimate yet irresistible gesture, like dragging a guilty kitten directly in front of Novia. "What interesting thing have you been sneaking around watching? Let me see it for Lilith."
In the Hall, all three people's eyes were focused on Erice.
Erice's face flushed red instantly, from her neck to her ears, like a mouse caught in a spotlight, so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into the ground.
"I... I was just passing by! Yes, I just happened to be passing by!"
Erice stammered and gave an excuse that even she herself couldn't believe.
"Oh? Just passing by?" Lilith's smile deepened. She extended her gloved index finger and gently tapped Erice's burning forehead. "Does passing by require you to cling to the door like a startled gecko, even lowering your breathing to the bare minimum? Erice, lying isn't good behavior, you know."
Novia sighed as she looked at Eri, Erice was almost bursting with shame and anger.
"Erice, if you have any questions, just ask me. There's no need to go through all this trouble."
The attempt to evade responsibility was a complete failure.
Erice took a deep breath; the awkward atmosphere made her too afraid to stay any longer.
However, she remembered Luce's innocent and trusting smile, her clear and melodious "Sister," and the sudden sense of responsibility that had arisen in her heart.
Suddenly, a strange, almost tragic courage surged from the depths of Erice's heart and swept through her entire body.
I'm going all in!
The Black-Haired Girl suddenly raised her head, her clear blue eyes looking directly at Novia with unwavering determination and fearlessness for the first time.
"You..." Erice's voice trembled with nervousness, a tremor she herself didn't even realize, "Were you very close to a girl before?"
Novia glanced at Erice at that moment.
No matter how you look at it, that aversion to her own 'fickleness' is still there, so she probably just suddenly found some possibility somewhere, which is why she asked that question.
So,
After thinking for a moment, Novia answered by referring to the Rome era.
On the country lanes of Antioch, the Saintess Martha, who wielded Iron Fist capable of shattering mountains and whose smile was as bright as the sun, yet showed no mercy to herself during training, was naturally very close to him.
Therefore, Novia nodded. "I guess so."
Upon hearing this, Erice's heart tightened, and she involuntarily held her breath.
After all, she was once possessed by the Demon King, and the two shared a body, which meant they were intimately close with almost no secrets.
No, no, we can't judge it like that! We can only say that this guy's talent for womanizing has been there since he was a child! Yes, that's it! Don't overthink it.
"Do you two often bicker?" Erice's voice was even lower, as if afraid of hearing some terrible Answer. "And you even participated together in... a very large-scale, well, you could say a martial Ritual?"
During the grueling training, Novia would naturally argue with Martha, but each time she was suppressed by Martha's Iron Fist. As for duels, Tarasque was considered to be on a large scale.
So Novia nodded again, a nostalgic smile even appearing in her eyes.
Erice felt like she couldn't breathe.
Subconsciously, he recalled the argument he had with the Demon King, and the memory of publicly apologizing during the Holy Grail Elimination Tournament resurfaced.
They overlapped.
All the details began to overlap wildly at a terrifying speed.
"So... what kind of person is she?" Erice a slightly hoarse voice.
"Charming and incredibly gentle. Of course—" Novia changed the subject, "It would be even better if she could let people finish speaking instead of attacking without saying a word."
Erice recalled her childhood, when she impulsively injured a classmate during a misunderstanding at school. Even though it was her fault, she was 'taken care of' by everyone around her because she didn't have Servant. Meanwhile, the classmate she had hit, who was truly innocent, apologized to her in a broken voice.
It would be good if the victim was resentful, it would be good if the victim was very unhappy, it would be good if the victim hit themselves.
No, that classmate genuinely believed that she was the one in the wrong, Erice was 'not at fault' for injuring her. Even her Servant came to apologize to Erice.
When Erice told the Demon King about this, she ended up saying something that Eri thought was incredibly sentimental and cheesy, "I do hope that Erice can grow up properly."