I turned my body and met his gaze. Dianel flinched and avoided my gaze, but then he met my eyes again, his restless pupils red like ripe grapes. So I laughed without reason.
“You! Want to drink with me?”
Dianel tilted his head.
“I have no intention.”
“Why?”
“Because you have abstained from eternity. I don’t want to hear any complaints later.”
“Well, I’ve had a few drinks before.”
“Occasionally having a sip or two is fine.”
“Ah, alright then. Yeah, this is the first time I’m drinking like this.”
But well, whatever. I’m an adult now, so there’s no reason I can’t drink. So I turned away from him and went downstairs.
“I don’t know, I’ll drink.”
Then Dianel sighed quietly and blocked my way. He glanced somewhere for a moment and then asked, raising the corners of his mouth.
“Then have it with me.”
“…You’ll drink with me?”
“If it’s your wish, I can abandon my beliefs. Unlike some tiresome people.”
“Ahaha, you’re the preaching demon, aren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
Dianel nodded willingly. He hadn’t been speaking much lately, but seeing him like this made me feel like the old Dianel had returned. So I patted his back.
“Yeah, yeah, make an exception and drink with me!”
Dianel nodded eagerly and led me. I followed him from behind, observing him. His elegant gestures hadn’t changed whether he was an animal or a human.
It didn’t come from the etiquette learned throughout his lifetime. It originated from his life that fascinated people. Standing on the border between light and darkness, maintaining a delicate balance of the soul. It was by no means an easy task.
So if the gods were just, they would be even more strict with their actions, but they would overlook any mistakes made in the process.
As I watched Dianel crossing the dim corridor, I mumbled words unintentionally.
“Light cannot exist without darkness. So there’s no need to be discouraged. You’re not a sinner.”
Dianel paused for a moment and then continued walking. I also regained my composure and followed Dianel, having completely forgotten what I had thought and said.
* * *
Dianel drank with Siara. It was grape juice disguised as alcohol. But Siara was already intoxicated and praised it for tasting good.
“Wow, this is sweet!”
“I thought you would like it.”
“Of course, you know my taste so well!”
That way, Siara easily finished two bottles of grape juice.
Dianel laid her on the bed and took a seat on a chair. It felt as if they had returned to the time when they spent time together alone in the forest. Dianel tapped the table absentmindedly.
Outside the window, two pairs of eyes flickered, monitoring him. They belonged to Adandito and Hierian.
With a tone that suggested they wouldn’t stay still if he did something foolish, Dianel rose from his seat in irritation. Then he pulled the curtains hanging on the window, instantly obscuring the outside view, and the bedroom was engulfed in serene darkness.
Dianel sat fearlessly at the edge of the bed and glanced at Siara’s hair. As his fingertips touched her gently, his previously dull heart throbbed like a rock coming to life.
Dianel sank his eyes deep and got lost in his thoughts.
“Light cannot exist without darkness. So there’s no need to be discouraged. You’re not a sinner.”
Was that something she knew? No, that couldn’t be. Siara still didn’t remember anything.
It was a word she could say because she didn’t know. But Dianel was momentarily shaken by her words. Just as he had done for hundreds, thousands of years, he hesitated and wavered even at the slightest hint from the Savior.
Dianel leaned over and looked down at Siara. His hands were suddenly gripping her on both sides. He held her as if to confine her.
“…If you say such things, won’t it shake my resolve?”
Hatred, resentment, longing, regret—all these indescribable emotions surged around Dianel. All the while, Diane’s gaze remained fixed on the round forehead, the beautifully closed eyes, the slightly short but firm nose, and the lips tinged with a hint of darkness.
If God intended to control the Savior through her appearance, it was an excellent choice. Dianel was not immune to her appearance. There was no way he could tire of it. Whenever he faced the Savior, he wanted nothing more than to unleash the reins of his reason and give in to his primal instincts like a beast in heat.
Especially in such a vulnerable state.
When Dianel came to his senses, Siara’s breath was reaching his chin. Inhaling and exhaling, her breath was serene and peaceful, unaware of what was happening.
Dianel had already straightened himself up several times as if it was something he had experienced many times before. Then he walked over to the table and downed the remaining grape juice in one go. Thud, a drop of blood stained the glass on the table. It was a newly formed scar from the fresh wound on his fist.
Blood trickled from the pierced hand to the back of his hand. If Siara had seen it, it would have been a wound that she would have immediately healed, but he would rarely have such minor injuries throughout his life.
Dianel roughly wrapped his hand with a cloth and left the room. But as soon as he did, Adandito grabbed him by the collar.
“…What are you doing?”
The normally calm golden eyes glinted ominously, almost like a hidden threat. They were not much different from his eyes.
‘Light cannot exist without darkness.’
For some reason, Siara’s words seemed to make sense to him, and Dianel twisted the corners of his mouth.
“You seem like a deeply concerned bastard.”
“I don’t care if you insult me. I asked why you closed the curtains.”
“Is it wrong to close the curtains in the room?”
“Yes, it is. It’s a sin for you to have a conversation face-to-face with her.”
Dianel smirked.
“You’re not guilty, are you?”
He had always been curious.
Why couldn’t he inherit the power of Eora, like Adandito, or the power of dragons, like Hierian? Why did he have to hide his true form and be trampled upon by the streets of life where he couldn’t be welcomed anywhere? What could be better than being able to live as they were, at least? Dianel felt a deep sense of inferiority toward all living beings.
But in reality, they had no right to blame him either. They had also succumbed to temptation, not just him. So Dianel sneered.
“The Devil just revealed your desires on the surface. If you had resisted temptation, it would have been fine.”
“….Shut up!”
“Don’t you already know? That you’re nothing more than that, a being limited to just that, and you’ve been maintaining that facade all this time.”
Thud!
As Adandito swung his fist, Dianel took a hit and stumbled back. Dianel’s cheek turned red in an instant from Adandito’s rock-solid hand. But Dianel burst into laughter, while Adandito hardened his expression.
Hierian, who had been silently watching the scene, interjected belatedly.
“Dianel, are you in your right mind?”
Looking at Hierian, who was hanging onto his arm with wide eyes, Dianel laughed.
“Come to think of it, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you all along. Now that you’ve regained your memories, how does it feel to have your severed limbs reattached?”
“…You.”
“Or when the nanny who you trusted and followed like a mother betrayed you? Or when your friend tried to kill you? Did you feel despair that seemed like death? Or perhaps—”
“Shut up!”
Hierian rarely erupted. His eyes flickered with a spark of life that seemed ready to kill Dianel.
The once blurry, ash-gray eyes that used to shy away and avoid Dianel’s gaze now met him with an unfeeling stare for the first time.
It sent chills down Dianel’s spine, and he felt alive after a long time.
When Dianel saw the Savior, he felt the desire to live as a human. He wanted to be loved and acknowledged. His desire for the opposite was just as strong.
“I will kill you. I will kill you with my own hands.”
God loved a mere weed more than himself. The soul of the weed was harvested, while his soul was ultimately ignored.
That’s why the Demon King yearned for God’s love and resented everything alive. The love he sought was rejected. The void that reached its end even detested the existence of God himself.
‘Try to kill me.’
He earnestly wished for his death.
A deep, chilling voice tickled Dianel’s ears. Dianel took that voice and embraced its desire. It stimulated them, leading to their destruction.
“I will devour Siara. Hair, fingers, toes, even the shimmering souls. I will snatch her away from you.”
At that moment, a tremendous divine power spread in all directions, illuminating the entire battlefield.
The serene night sky was filled with densely gathered shooting stars. Their anger converged directly toward Dianel.
They aimed to kill him, seal his soul, and eventually bring about his annihilation. With synchronized thoughts, the calm palace instantly surged with tension.
