JKA 18

The demon approached 1129. 1129 watched the demon and calmly put his hands in his pockets. His tilted, arrogant posture and the condescending look in his eyes were enough to make anyone feel displeased.

“I know you.”

“…”

“The crackpot angel who cut off his own wing. That’s you, right?”

“Why do you keep asking? Am I your teacher? Do you want some kind of lesson, some education from me?”

“What is with this bastard…”

The demon’s eyes, which had looked quite human, changed to resemble those of a goat. They then took on an intense red glow, but for some reason, he stopped right in front of 1129. The one who drew closer was not the demon who had approached with a menacing aura, but 1129.

“You know me, and I don’t know you.”

“…”

“Is that simply because I’m the crackpot who cut off his own wing? You didn’t even know I was there, did you?”

Until all the glass broke. 1129 whispered in the demon’s ear. In that moment, the demon felt goosebumps all over his body. It was a strange, indescribable pressure. He was afraid to move rashly. As if he might actually die if he opened his mouth carelessly.

“You have your job to do, and I have my job to do. We’re in the same boat, so I understand. But, if you can, find another human.”

“Wh, why should I…”

“Because it’s a pain.”

“…”

“Then I’ll at least not interfere. Think about it carefully. You think I’m strange too, don’t you.”

1129 said that and met the demon’s eyes. The demon felt a cold sweat run down his back as he looked at 1129, who was staring at him blankly. Then, without realizing it, he suddenly avoided his gaze. This was definitely strange. He was more frightened of this angel than he needed to be.

No matter if he had grown his third wing, he was a guy who had cut off one of his own wings. To an angel, wings were their lifespan, their power. Each and every feather was no different from their own self, yet he had gouged the whole thing out. It wouldn’t be strange if he had fallen to hell at any moment. Therefore, this angel should be of a lower rank than him right now.

“Mutual non-aggression is the rule unless it’s a special situation, so how am I able to do this? It’s not like someone called for me and requested that I get rid of you. I don’t even have a name.”

The demon swallowed hard. Not a single word was wrong. When 1129 had stopped time for a moment back then, he had also been there, but he hadn’t revealed himself. He had subconsciously chosen to leave the scene, and until 1129 came to find him like this, he hadn’t even thought of seeking him out.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he had been scared. Thinking about it now, he couldn’t understand with what mindset he had come before 1129. As if possessed, he had approached 1129, who was watching from afar, of his own accord. Why would he do such a thing unless he was crazy? It was something one could say was like being possessed. But for a demon to be possessed by an angel, that was a strange thing.

“A special situation, you say?”

At the demon’s question, 1129 let out a deep breath. Only then did the demon flinch and move his somewhat more relaxed body to step back. The tips of his fingers were still trembling.

“It’s not like things are going well for you anyway.”

Instead of answering the question, 1129 rattled on about something else.

“If you had made the contract successfully, you wouldn’t be this much of a scrub.”

“…”

“What I’m saying is, don’t waste your time on something pointless. That one will never make a contract with you.”

1129 said that and turned his head to look at ‘that one’ he had been watching all this time. It was Im Hanbyeol, who had been with Jiwoon just yesterday. 1129 had caught a strange scent from Hanbyeol, and he had specifically come to find him to confirm it.

It was the pungent smell of purgatorial fire. The smell, which had never been extinguished since the beginning of time and remained after burning countless evils, was terribly foul. Every demon was deeply imbued with the smell of purgatory. It was because only by becoming accustomed to that smell could one distinguish even worse stenches.

However, it wasn’t that this demon had been drawn to Hanbyeol because he smelled a stench. It was quite the opposite. When one comes to know a foul smell, they simultaneously come to know other scents. The fragrance that a good person emits grows stronger the closer they are to death. It was to call a Guide. But at the same time, it also called for scrappy things like this.

“How can you be so sure? What do you know about him?”

The demon asked, veins bulging on his forehead, thoroughly angered. 1129, indifferent, put a cigarette in his mouth again. He hadn’t come here for this kind of sluggish conversation, but it seemed the demon was having trouble understanding.

“Just go when I’m letting you go quietly.”

The moment 1129, without even a glance at the demon, looked at Hanbyeol and was about to light his cigarette, something sharp suddenly flew by and sliced through half of the cigarette. At the same time, a scratch was left on 1129’s cheek.

Slowly, blood beaded on the wound, and then trickled down. 1129 wiped away the red blood that was dripping down his chin with his hand. And the moment he saw it with his own eyes, the wrinkle on his brow deepened.

“Ha, haha!”

It all happened in an instant. The demon, taking advantage of the moment 1129 looked away from him, sharpened his nails and swung them. The black energy that followed it not only cut the cigarette but also left a scratch. That was an unexpected gain. It was because he hadn’t thought he would leave a wound in the first place.

“You’re bleeding? Are you not even an angel or anything anymore?”

“…”

“How can a wound appear on an angel’s body. And what’s with that blood? I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

The demon burst out laughing with a triumphant expression. For a wound to appear on an angel’s body was an impossible thing. Wounds and blood were things that only existed for humans. But now, 1129 was bleeding in front of him. The wound wasn’t healing quickly either, and the blood flowed without stopping.

“How does it feel, to be hit like that? You were talking all high and mighty, but you’re practically no different from a human…!”

“I told you to shut your mouth because you stink.”

In the blink of an eye, 1129 was in front of the demon, gripping his neck hard. The demon’s eyes went wide, and he grabbed 1129’s wrist. His sharp nails dug into 1129’s skin, but as the blood flowing from his body began to wet his fingers, black smoke billowed up.

“Gahk!”

The demon, startled, let go of 1129’s arm, and 1129, grabbing the demon’s neck, pushed him up hard. The demon, his face turning bright red, screamed as he looked at his own fingertips, which had been burned black. The sound was so horrific that 1129’s expression contorted even more fiercely.

Great strength went into the hand that was choking him. As a force strong enough to break his neck at any moment squeezed him, the demon couldn’t even scream and thrashed his body like mad. But he could not escape from 1129.

“You think I’ve become human? Good, I like that. Then shall we try calling upon it?”

“Wh, what… Don’t tell me! Le, let go! Ugh!”

The demon’s bright red eyes contorted in terror. 1129 smiled as he looked at the demon. It was a very clear, innocent-looking smile that contrasted with the blood flowing from his cheek. But to the demon, that angel’s smile only looked like a figure steeped in madness, urging on annihilation.

1129 raised the hand that still had his blood on it. Then he placed it on the terrified demon’s forehead and drew a horizontal line. The demon trembled like an aspen leaf. As if he no longer had the strength to struggle, he stared wide-eyed, only at 1129’s palm.

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…”

“N, no! Please, stop! Save me. I was wrong!”

The demon cried out desperately as his finger was about to draw another, vertical line. He was just about to complete the sign of the cross. 1129, pressing his thumb firmly on the demon’s forehead, met the eyes of the demon who was begging for forgiveness.

“Who would believe your apology.”

“It’s true… I was wrong. I also… have to do my job, just like you said.”

“…”

“If you think about it, I was the one who found him first. The opportunity to collect two souls at once doesn’t come often. And they’re top-grade, at that!”

“Then you’re saying you’re not at fault.”

“No, no! I was wrong!”

The demon reached to grab 1129’s arm, then stopped his hand. It was because he felt that the moment he grabbed the blood-soaked white shirt sleeve, both his hands would be burned black again. How could this happen? He had never heard that an angel could bleed, nor that they could do such a thing with that blood.

Angels and he were, if one had to put it that way, like office workers in different departments. All were born under Him, but they each had different roles. The existence of hell and their work were necessary evils. The act of finding out their true names was necessary to eliminate their existence, and only humans, who were called disciples of God, could do that.

It was said that since completely eliminating evil was impossible in terms of order, only the power to do so could be lent. Humans could protect themselves with their own firm will, or with the power borrowed from God. But now, an angel was doing that.

“Really, please… let me go. I have my own desperate situation, you know.”

The demon pleaded earnestly, but such mercy did not exist for 1129. His mind was complicated by the wound on his cheek and the blood that had flowed.

“You’re not saying you’ll back off until the end, are you.”

“Wa, it!”

1129 drew a vertical line with his thumb. Then, all the strength drained from the demon’s body.

“What is your name?”

“…Egi.”

“Not the abbreviation.”

“E, Eggerci.”

“Are you going to keep cutting it short like this? How long do you think your body can withstand this?”

The sign of the cross written in blood on his forehead drained all the strength from his body. The demon, Eggerci, could do nothing but tremble.

“It’s true… I haven’t received a proper name yet.”

“So you’re a scrub.”

“…”

“The moment I utter your name here, you know what happens, right?”

At 1129’s words, the demon made a movement that was unclear whether it was trembling or nodding. With the sign of the cross on his forehead, the demon could not lie.

“Good.”

1129 said that and took his hand off Eggerci. Then, with his blood-free hand, he erased the sign of the cross drawn on his forehead. Then the demon fell from the air. 1129, who had been expressionlessly watching Eggerci pathetically crash onto the asphalt ground, landed lightly on the ground.

Something had suddenly fallen from the sky, but no one found it strange. It was because there was no one around who could see 1129 and Eggerci right now. Hanbyeol, too, had walked off somewhere long ago.

“Not having received a proper name means you’re far from the line of succession.”

“…”

“So you’ve also staked your life on collecting that soul, is that it?”

Demons, unlike angels, were born from other demons. Just like humans. It seemed that Eggerci, while growing up, had failed to produce proper results and had been completely pushed out of his family’s line of succession. To receive a proper name, one had to be granted a name by their father.