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chapter 15
Velita loved the time when Kessis painted her portrait.
When Kessis was immersed in his work, he was quiet. All Velita had to do was sit or lie still in one posture. And yet, she loved it vaguely but deeply.
Because the time spent with him was never boring in the slightest.
The time Kessis spent observing Velita was, conversely, also the time Velita could gaze at Kessis.
Velita enjoyed watching the serious look in his eyes when he painted her. And she loved witnessing the myriad emotions that melted within that gaze.
Inside Kessis, there were countless emotions—beginning with affection and ending with affection.
For example, the passion of his youth, his devotion to his craft, his compassion toward the world.
And when he looked at her, the tender feelings that resembled love…
Though his irises were truly nothing but a single pale shade of blue, Velita saw countless, far more varied blues within them—each representing his emotions.
And most of those hues were things that could not yet be named by a single word, things that had no name in this world.
Velita loved those countless shades of blue. Because when he looked at her with those eyes, it felt as if she possessed all of those colors herself.
Perhaps, someday, she could give new names to those nameless emotions—even Kessis himself was unaware of them.
…
A pleasant breeze blew.
Velita saw Kessis’s wheat-colored hair flutter in the wind. And the sky-blue of his irises shone more brightly.
“…Velita.”
But Velita failed to notice the most important thing.
That day, there was a shadow in Kessis’s eyes—something different from usual.
“This really is the end now…”
“Yes.”
Kessis’s eyes were fixed on her. Velita thought he seemed unusually quiet today, but dismissed it.
After all, today was the day when the painting Kessis had poured his very soul into for so long would finally be complete. Of course, he would want to be more deliberate.
“…Only the eyes remain to be finished.”
But then—
Crash!
Something shattered with a violent noise. Velita immediately looked around.
And what she saw was—
“Spatial distortion…!”
That was the only way to describe it: shattered.
The surroundings seemed covered in glass. Velita watched as the air itself broke into countless fragments, flying upward.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed.
“Now!!”
“Form the formation, quickly!”
As if a portal had opened, figures burst out from the cracks in space. They wore those all-too-familiar white robes.
Velita could hardly believe what she was seeing.
‘What in the world is this…?’
With each step they took, fragments of space were kicked up, spinning in the air. The countless shards glimmered like pieces of glass.
For a moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl.
Blink.
Velita fluttered her eyelashes.
The armed zealots charging forward seemed suspended midair, frozen.
The wind moved slower than a snail’s breath. Flowers and leaves drifted upward in lazy spirals.
And among them, like dandelion seeds…
A single small fragment floated gently on the breeze.
‘…Impossible.’
Velita, as if entranced, reached out.
‘Impossible. Not even a demon of my level can interfere with space like this…’
And then, the fragment touched her fingertips.
Tick.
It vanished in a dazzling flash, like grains of sand sparkling in the sunlight.
When the focus left her hand, the hazy background grew clearer. Velita’s eyes swept across the world that felt anything but peaceful.
Everything was wrong. The shining fragments burned into ash like white embers, the zealots who had leapt high in the air now sank slowly toward the ground.
Boom!
From one of them, a sudden burst of light exploded outward, swallowing him whole. Then, it disappeared.
And it happened again, here and there—the zealots charging her were consumed one by one by that expanding brilliance.
Something was very wrong.
‘This… this is not something mere zealots could do.’
Velita instinctively sensed danger. She had to escape. This was not power she could handle.
Whoosh!
Three pairs of vast wings spread wide.
The fragments of space were devoured by holy light, crumbling to white ash.
The world flipped upside down as the shards rose skyward, dust sucked upward.
“Kessis!”
In that chaos, Velita searched desperately for Kessis. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Damn it…!!”
Kessis was just a human. If caught in this, he could very well lose his life.
‘Where? Where are you? Run! You must run…!’
Velita leapt into the air with powerful wings.
And then—
BOOM!
A massive impact shook the heavens and earth.
“Ghhk!!”
At once, Velita’s body was slammed into the ground. A crushing gravity pinned her down, suffocating.
“Haaah!”
She flapped her wings helplessly, like a crushed bat. An unseen force pressed down mercilessly.
Even breathing was unbearable. Pain wracked her body, threatening to crush her organs.
‘What power… is this…’
Velita screamed in agony, thrashing, but the pressure only tightened.
If it was this strong—Kessis would surely die.
“…Kess…is.”
Tears welled up under the relentless force. Velita raised her head with difficulty.
And then she saw him—standing among zealots who had already vanished.
A man, the only one left. He removed his hood.
Under the sun, a brightness nothing could surpass was revealed.
White hair that fluttered softly, a slender youthful frame, and a childlike, radiant smile.
It was Avan.
“Y-You… Avan…!!”
He approached, face pure, free of blemish.
Reality returned.
Time resumed its natural flow, flowers scattered quickly once again.
The zealots had already repositioned themselves, hidden between great stones.
Avan crouched in front of her, his smiling eyes gradually softening. Long lashes lifted.
What was revealed was an uncolored, pale-white light within his eyes.
“Why… are you here?”
Even before such overwhelming power, he was calm, free.
Velita instantly knew he was the one behind this. The immense energy radiating from Avan was undeniable.
Avan smiled gently.
“Velita.”
As she was distracted by him, the zealots formed a strange arrangement. Velita forced her chin up, glancing between the encirclement and Avan.
“You thought I was Avan all this time.”
Velita’s pupils trembled.
The first day she had met him, he said: he was a zealot, Avan, traveling with his brothers and sisters.
When she asked whose zealot he was, he answered—
“…Lastavan.”
…That name.
“I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.”
Lastavan stroked Velita’s hair like one might pet a dog. The touch carried a terrifying force that suppressed her magic.
Velita could not resist, only grinding her teeth.
“…Damn it. Where is Kessis?!”
“Ah.”
Lastavan’s eyes curved in delight. He gestured into the air.
From the zealots’ barrier emerged a figure Velita had yearned to see—Kessis.
In his arms, he carried the familiar frame he had bought to hold her portrait.
Velita’s body lunged instinctively.
“Kessis!”
Clang!
Lastavan restrained her, chaining her wrists with cuffs forged of holy power.
“Shh… No, no.”
Velita bit her lips, snarling.
“What nonsense is this…!”
The cuffs would not break, no matter what she tried. Straining with all her might, she shouted toward Kessis.
“Kessis, run!”
Her cry was desperate. Run. Escape! This was power no human could endure.
Power that even she, a great demon, could not resist—the power of a god.
“…”
But Velita’s frantic struggle gradually weakened.
“…Kessis?”
Kessis finally spoke.
“You once asked if I had no wishes.”
Velita’s eyes widened, unable to guess his intent.
And then, from his cheek, a clear tear rolled down.
“…This is my wish.”
Velita froze.
“Even after time passes, people will remember you.”
“…Kessis.”
“And so will I.”
Thump.
“But you will forget me.”
Thump, thump.
“Avan! I’m at my limit here!”
“Just like you forgot your former lovers…”
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
“Hold on a little longer!”
Velita’s demonic heart pounded faster. Her eyes glowed faintly red.
Kessis, what are you saying?
“Please, remember me forever.”
Tears streamed down his face, but he smiled.
“…Ah.”
Velita had never seen such a pure, beautiful face.
“Ah…”
Blinded by that radiance, she heard Lastavan whisper:
It’s your fault.
Yes, Velita… all of this is because of you.
Because you stirred the world. Because of your existence, I can never be perfect.
“…Kessis.”
But you see—I am a god.
“You may hate me.”
Beloved Velita…
“You may curse me, even wish to kill me.”
But how could I kill you in the name of God?
“…So please.”
Because you too are part of the world I created.
“Never forget me.”
“Aaahhh!!”
Velita’s eyes turned completely crimson.
All the magic buried deep inside her erupted violently. She screamed, swinging her arms.
Clash!
The chains shattered under the surge of power. She immediately clawed at Lastavan.
“Urgh…!”
The zealots’ voices rose in panic.
“Damn it! Kessis, chant the spell now!!”
Caught off guard, Lastavan staggered, clutching his eye.
Behind, shouts, screams, and sobs rang out. Velita laughed maniacally.
“Ha! Hahaha, ahahaha…!”
Yes. She was a demon.
As long as there was blood and screaming, nothing else mattered.
“…Love was always a luxury.”
Yes, that was what kind of demon she was.
“Kessis. How did we end up like this?”
Straining against crushing gravity, Velita rose to her feet.
“Avan!”
Step.
With that step, she remembered the day she first met Kessis.
“…I’m sorry, Velita. I only ever…”
Step.
Another step. Countless days with Kessis flashed by.
“You fool! Cast the spell now! Do you want us all dead?!”
Step.
Another step. The day Lastavan, disguised as a zealot, first came to her home.
Step.
Memories swirled—the countless masks of Lastavan, the so-called Avan.
The stranger who claimed to spread doctrine, the client who asked Kessis to paint his portrait, the neighbor who approached her wanting friendship.
And all the other guises he wore as “Avan.”
[Aaaaagh…!!]
Portals opened across the sky, linking to the demon realm. Velita roared madly, unleashing magic across the land.
Bang! Boom!
With a flick of her hand, meteor-like blasts of mana fell. Another flick, and portals opened, summoning massive beasts.
The plateau, the village—it mattered not. All the magic he drew forth became catastrophe.
Hell itself unfolded.
The beautiful forest was set ablaze. The tranquil village overrun by monsters. People were torn apart, devoured.
And then—
BOOM!!
An even greater force bound Velita’s body.
[Ghhk…! Let me go!!]
From every side, zealots and Kessis chanted incantations.
[Damn you! Release me!!!]
Chains coiled tighter around her body.
[I’ll kill you all!! Tear you apart and feed you to the beasts!!]
She thrashed violently. Strange words of power echoed endlessly in her ears.
Bright light spread across her vision. Cold pain, like burning, consumed her. Holy power bound her again.
Her rampaging energy ebbed away. Dizziness struck. No… it can’t end like this.
Her body felt as if dissolving into countless fine particles.
And then, under the overwhelming flood of divine power—
Darkness.
Her vision blurred, fading.
Before her eyes closed completely, Velita heard Lastavan’s voice one last time.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your portrait safe.”
