Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Angel and Demon (7)
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Creak—
The massive gate of hell, guarded by Cerberus, swung open, and Rael stepped inside.
A few minutes' walk beyond the gate.
As the darkness lifted, a hellish landscape unfolded before his eyes.
A barren wasteland beneath a pitch-black crimson sky, where volcanic ash rained down like snow.
Rael glanced around and spotted a colossal castle in the distance.
An imposing fortress built of black iron and red brick.
'Is that where Bella is...?'
The moment he started toward the castle, something tripped him up.
Nearly stumbling, he looked down in surprise.
Soldiers who appeared to be guarding the entrance lay sprawled on the ground, snoring away.
"Snore... Snnnoore..."
"Hnnn... Hnnn..."
Rael approached them cautiously.
Guards at the entrance sleeping so soundly?
Something was off.
Even when he waved his hand in front of their eyes just in case.
Even when he poked them lightly.
Even when he pinched their skin hard and shook them vigorously.
They showed no sign of waking.
'It's weird, but... this is actually a chance.'
He quickly stripped the armor off one of the soldiers.
"Mmm... Hun... Honey, not yet..."
Midway through, a murmur from the soldier startled him.
But confirming it was just sleep-talk from the deeply slumbering guard, he let out a sigh of relief.
The pilfered black armor bore a skull emblem, and the helmet fully concealed the face.
'...This'll do for now.'
Rael donned the armor and secured the helmet perfectly.
No mirror to check, but from afar, he'd pass as an ordinary soldier.
A bit heavy aside, the armor hid his identity completely as he headed for the castle.
The path to the castle was rougher than expected.
Demons patrolled here and there, and Rael tried to walk as naturally as possible.
"Hey, you."
A voice called from behind, and cold sweat began trickling down his back.
He turned slowly to see a demon eyeing him suspiciously.
"You, shouldn't you be at the entrance right now? What're you doing here?"
Rael clamped his mouth shut, figuring speaking would give him away.
His odd silence made the demon approach step by step.
"Hey, didn't you hear me?"
As the demon reached to yank off Rael's helmet.
"Just came off shift."
Rael replied in a low, muffled voice to disguise it.
"Oh, yeah?"
The satisfied demon turned away.
'Phew... Thought I was done for.'
As relieved Rael resumed walking.
"But why's your voice like that?"
The demon grabbed his arm from behind, face grim.
Cold sweat poured off Rael like mad.
"W-Well, actually..."
"Ah, now I get it."
The demon smirked inscrutably and touched Rael's helmet.
"...Caught a cold, huh? This guy's sweating buckets under the helmet. Go rest up."
He tapped the helmet lightly, then walked off for good.
The most nerve-wracking moment of Rael's life.
He gasped out the breath he'd held and hurried toward the castle.
Aa.
Hello.
I'm in hell right now.
Not because I kicked the bucket doing something bad, of course.
Sending some angel down here alone is straight-up insane, so I'm keeping an eye on him from nearby.
Oh, perfect timing—looks like I get to swoop in.
At the castle gates. Two hulking demons stand there with spears blocking Rael.
"Halt!"
One soldier stops Rael.
"Password!"
Rael just gulps, lips sealed tight.
Naturally, a non-soldier like him wouldn't know the passphrase.
"Password!!"
Poor Rael's about to get tied up any second.
Time for my dramatic entrance!
But first, a quick transformation.
Poof.
"Hey, who the hell are you...?!"
Another demon spots me and charges over.
Ah, he recognizes the face and bows his head.
"Out of my way. I'm busy."
"C-Count! You're here!"
My bluffing demon pals all snap to attention.
Adorable.
"What're you doing?"
"W-We thought this guy's suspicious 'cause he couldn't give the password!"
The demon glances nervously at me and points at Rael.
Man, Rael's face is priceless.
"Tch, you guys have it rough with idiots like this."
"N-No, sir! Your grace—"
"Quiet. I'll take him and drill some sense into him, so let him through."
"Yes, sir!"
I grumbled and vanished inside the castle.
Our bewildered Rael's heading this way now.
Probably thinks he's in deep shit meeting a bigwig.
Wanna tease him more, but he's got important business today, so I'll cut it here.
"Chin up."
Terror-stricken Rael sees my face.
"Huh...?"
"Your spot's the farthest left corner of this castle. Figure out the height yourself."
My cue for a stylish exit.
Though I'll stick around invisibly, of course.
"Hang in there."
Rael stared at him blankly.
'No way... He's been helping me the whole time...?'
He made a gesture with his fingers, then vanished.
"Th-Thank you, Lord Eros."
Not sure if he heard, but Rael bowed deeply anyway.
'Head to the farthest left corner of the castle first.'
Rael hurried off, but the castle corridors were dark and labyrinthine, making it hard to find his way.
'Where the hell...'
As Rael wandered the halls, he bumped into another demon.
"What's this?"
The demon approached with suspicion.
"What're you doing here..."
Suddenly, a nearby door flew open, and he was yanked inside in an instant.
Rael looked around in shock, but nothing was there.
'Lord Eros, right?'
After that, Rael kept roaming the corridors.
Every time an obstacle tried to block him, it vanished courtesy of someone unseen.
Only after quite some time did he finally find the spot.
Bella was locked in her room.
"Haa..."
She sat on the bed, sighing, then turned her head.
A lavish dress caught her eye in the wardrobe on one side.
The gown for her impending wedding.
Bella scowled at it.
A political marriage to a pig-faced demon— the world felt utterly vile.
"I already have someone in my heart..."
Overwhelmed with frustration, Bella walked slowly to the window.
Opening it let a cold wind brush her face.
"No stars..."
She gazed at the sky, but unlike the human world, no stars shone here.
Just thick, murky clouds.
"I miss you."
His face came to mind.
The day they met— his face as he held her waist and shielded her with his umbrella remained vivid.
Yet the most tragic part was that her fated match was an angel.
Love between angel and demon.
Or maybe it wasn't mutual— perhaps just her one-sided crush.
The wary, suspicious glances he'd given upon learning she was a demon.
Recalling those eyes filled her with suffocating frustration.
"Why are you Rael? Why must you be an angel, standing on the opposite side...?"
Tears threatened to spill.
Even after centuries, someone had stirred her heart.
Why couldn't she be with him?
"If I weren't a demon... would you have loved me...?"
Bella murmured to the empty, quiet window.
But she wasn't alone.
Rustle—
A familiar male voice rose from below the terrace where she stood.
"What does it matter if you're a demon?"
Bella couldn't believe the sight before her.
He climbed the railing and tossed aside his helmet.
"How did you get here...?"
Her amber eyes sparkled brilliantly.
This was hell.
How had an angel made it here?
Questions swirled, but none mattered now.
"You said we'd meet again, so why didn't you come find me?"
He began shedding the heavy armor piece by piece.
Tears burst from her eyes instead of words.
Overjoyed that the face she'd longed for appeared before her in this dire moment.
Rael gently wiped her tear-streaked cheek with the back of his hand.
"Don't cry. Even the hurt kitten held back its tears— we can't shed ours."
"Uu... How'd you get here...? Guards are everywhere... How'd you pass the Gates of the Underworld?"
Bella spoke worriedly, but.
To Rael, it just sounded like adorable sniffling.
"Stop crying and tell me."
"Hic... I can't stop...!"
She wiped her endless tears, but the joy overwhelmed her, refusing to cease.
Rael pulled her close in a tight embrace.
Bella startled at the sudden contact.
'It wasn't... unrequited...?'
"I didn't fully understand my feelings at first. It was a brief encounter, and I'd never felt anything like it."
Bella's heart pounded wildly.
Knowing he could feel it against him embarrassed her deeply.
"W-Wait... Too close..."
"He showed me. The path I must take, and who stirred these feelings in me."
Rael gazed down at her flushed face.
"D-Don't look..."
"You were just singing how much you missed my face, but now that I'm here, you hate it?"
"No, that's not it... Wait. You heard all that...?!!"
Rael grinned instead of answering.
"Then even the part about loving you..."
"I heard everything."
"Uwaaa..."
No more tears left, but Bella still wanted to cry.
"It's fine. I'll bare my soul too."
With that, Rael stepped back and met her eyes.
His pristine white wings unfurled.
"I'm an angel. As you know, you're a demon. But... is that reason enough not to love?"
It was a breathtaking sight.
"I love you, Bella."
A loved one confessing their love.
That single phrase could make anyone the happiest in the world— if only everyone knew.
"...So that's why you came all this way?"
"Yes. Like you said, I missed you too."
Her shy blush when looking at him.
Her pure kindness toward wounded animals.
Her final farewell to him.
Rael had missed her terribly.