Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Into the Abyss (4)

Either way, the result was the same. Gabriel could not kill the insolent human who stood before him, brazenly scraping at his nerves.

In the end, Gabriel seized Ten by the collar and dragged him forward, then shoved him straight out the door. At present, it was the only cruel thing Gabriel could do to him.

Ten was unable to resist at all. He tumbled pitifully across the marble floor.

He wanted to protest, but Gabriel’s expression hardened as he raised his index finger to his lips. Erin was sleeping. Be quiet. Ten understood immediately and swallowed the complaints that had almost spilled from his mouth.

After checking once more to ensure Erin had not woken, Gabriel looked down at Ten.

“Wake up from your dream,” Gabriel said quietly. “Erin will never look at you the way you want her to.”

He paused before closing the door, then smiled gently, as if a pleasant thought had occurred to him.

“Erin dislikes it when I leave this place, so when she opens her eyes, tell her that you brought her back from the entrance,” Gabriel added lightly. “And bring me some nice clothes as well.”

Ten stared at him with a look that clearly asked why he would need clothes. Gabriel laughed with disarming innocence and explained himself.

“I am going to the south with Erin. If I can help it, I would like to make a good impression.”

As he began to close the door, Gabriel added, “You understand, don’t you?”

“…Do you have any idea how much Erin has suffered because of you?” Ten shot back.

Gabriel froze and turned to look at him. Ten was glaring up at him through tears, his eyes packed tight with hatred.

“She is someone who should be respected by everyone,” Ten continued hoarsely. “And now, because of you, she is being pointed at and condemned. How dare you talk about wanting to make a good impression.”

Gabriel said nothing.

It was true, so there was nothing to refute. Grinding his teeth, Ten forced out one last sentence as if holding himself back from screaming.

“You should wake up too. What you want will never come true.”

What exactly did he think I want, Gabriel wondered. He resisted the urge to frown. He forced his face into calmness. At the very least, he did not want this man to see that his words had shaken him.

Gabriel took a short breath, then let it out slowly.

“…But this is all I ever learned.”

He left the cryptic words hanging in the air and closed the door before Ten could respond. Leaning back against it, Gabriel worked to suppress the irritation still churning inside him.

He had shown a side of himself that was unbecoming. Erin would dislike seeing him like this.

I should have just killed him, he thought bitterly. I am already hated anyway.

No matter how many times he regretted it, it was too late. What if Erin woke and saw what he had done to Ten?

Anxiety tightening his chest, Gabriel moved to Erin’s side.

Fortunately, she seemed not to have been awakened by their conversation. Letting out a silent sigh of relief, he nicked his finger and brought it to her lips.

As his blood slipped between her slightly parted lips, they trembled faintly, then instinctively closed around his finger, sucking and drawing him in. Gabriel smiled as he watched her and gently stroked her cheek.

Beautiful.

It was a gaze full of affection that he would never allow her to see once she woke. That was fine. He had never intended to show it. Compared to this fleeting tenderness, the resentment rooted in him ran far deeper.

As Erin drank his blood, Gabriel lifted his eyes to the window.

It was well past midnight, the hour still too early for dawn, the world swallowed in darkness.

He stayed by Erin’s side for a long while, then returned to where he belonged just before the sky began to pale.

It was time to prepare in earnest for the descent into the abyss.

***

Light filtering through closed eyelids drew her awake. Erin opened her eyes slowly. Dawn was only just beginning.

I passed out in the underground prison. How did I get back here?

She lay still on the bed, carefully retracing the events of the previous night. She clearly remembered that bastard kissing her, touching her. The memory alone made nausea surge up her throat, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she could not.

She had received help from Gabriel. When thirst had robbed her of reason, when she had been gasping in hyperventilated breaths.

Only now did the words she had spoken unconsciously return to her.

“Save me.”

Cold sweat soaked into the bedsheets. Of all people, she had said that to him. Erin grabbed her head, disbelief crashing down on her.

I asked him for help.

Her body would not stop trembling.

Self loathing wrapped around her once more.

As shocking as it was that she had turned to Gabriel, she could not remember how she had returned here at all.

Do I have such strong homing instincts?

The thought was absurd, but there was a complete blank where the middle should have been.

Did Gabriel bring me all the way here?

She had never truly believed he would be unable to escape that underground prison. After all, it was impossible to confine one of the strongest demonic beings in existence in a place like that.

Then did he choose not to leave?

Or had he simply dumped her at the entrance?

Her mind spun with pointless speculation as she stared blankly out the window. Only then did she realize that the thirst she had felt before losing consciousness was gone once more.

Did Gabriel do that again?

Whenever she drank his blood, the thirst that tormented her vanished without fail. Erin let the hand clutching her hair fall limply.

…Can I not resolve even this without him?

She rubbed her neck. At least it had happened before she was to be dispatched to the south. That much was fortunate.

She sat there in a daze until she remembered her upcoming deployment and hurried to her feet. The moment her soles touched the floor, something unseen seemed to grasp her.

Her whole body felt as if it were screaming that it did not want to go.

…No. I still have to.

After splashing water over her face, Erin changed into her uniform. Forcing herself to move felt like trying to drag a body soaked full of water.

There is no time for this because of Gabriel. I do not even have the luxury to rest. Get it together, Erin Furr.

She had never struggled so deeply with a mission assigned to her, and she could not understand herself.

Is it because I never came this far wanting to be a hero?

She knew one thing for certain. Because she had thought of nothing but revenge, the gods were punishing her belatedly.

They were beings who might withhold blessings, but they never failed to deliver punishment.

Perhaps she had been under too much stress lately. She found herself thinking thoughts she normally never would. The absurdity of it made her snort softly as she brushed her bangs back and reached for her sword.

Just as she was fastening it at her waist, a voice sounded from outside the door.

“Commander.”

“Come in,” Erin replied.

At her permission, Ten opened the door carefully and stepped inside.

For a moment, she considered asking how she had returned here, but it felt inappropriate for a commander. More than that, the deep shadows beneath Ten’s eyes stopped her from asking anything at all.

Asking if something was wrong also felt strange, so Erin abandoned the idea of questions entirely.

Ten saluted her formally and delivered his report.

“The others have finished preparing for departure.”

“…Good work,” Erin said. “We leave in an hour.”

“…Commander.”

It seemed he wanted to say something. He stood there, hesitating. Erin waited quietly for him to speak.

But Ten only parted his lips again and again without managing a word, eventually bowing his head.

“What is troubling you so much?” Erin asked gently.

“Ah… I was wondering if the demon god will be left here.”

“He will come with me,” Erin replied evenly. “If he stays behind, I have no idea what he might do.”

She met Ten’s eyes after delivering the lie. He looked uncomfortable, unable to argue with a superior.

He cannot lie, and he cannot hide his expression either, Erin thought. How does he even wield a sword like that?

She placed a hand firmly on Ten’s head. She did not know exactly what he was worried about, but it seemed clear he feared she might be harmed or killed because of the demon god.

“I am the only one who can control him,” she said. “There is no need to worry.”

Ten flushed, then lowered his head and muttered, “…I just do not trust that demon god.”

“All the more reason I must keep him with me,” Erin replied. “Bring some clothes for him as well.”

With that, she left the room. Outside, damp air greeted her. Perhaps the rainy season was approaching.

She paused to glance out the window. She did not know why, but she had always disliked rainy days. Whenever it rained, her mood sank for no clear reason.

I forgot in all the chaos.

How long would this monsoon last? She had heard that rain fell heavier in the south, and that the season dragged on longer there.

There is no choice but to resolve this as quickly as possible and return.

Letting out a low sigh, Erin headed toward the underground prison.

Perhaps because she had been going there so often, her steps toward the abyss felt disturbingly natural.