"Adopted? Why? Did something happen to my parents?"
Jeremy glances at her with a sad smile as he shakes his head. He picks out his phone and texts someone. Then he gazes at Elizabeth and says,
"Your parents are fine. Do... you prefer to stay with them?"
After asking her if she wants to stay, the awkward silence lasts for about two minutes, and Jeremy breaks it with fake coughing.
*Cough*
"To tell you the truth, Elizabeth, I will be the one adopting you."
"Huh?!? Why?"
Jeremy sees shock and suspicion in her eyes. He takes out a picture from his folder, shows it to Elizabeth, and asks, "Do you know this kid?"
She stares at the picture in disbelief. 'L-Levi?' The boy us her childhood friend Leviathan. She spent most of her childhood with him. As Elizabeth and Leviathan grew up, they separated as Leviathan's parents picked him to live abroad for a while. After he returned, they barely communicated with each other. About a year ago, Leviathan defended Elizabeth from Veronica, who's boyfriend beat him up so cruelly that he became comatose.
"Levi… It's Levi! Sir, why do you have his picture?"
Satisfied that she recognizes his son, Jeremy nods with a smile. He looks at the picture and carefully puts it back into his wallet. Then he looks straight into Elizabeth's eyes and tells her.
"Leviathan never introduced me to you, but I am his father."
"You? Are you his father?"
"Yes, I am."
Tears show up on her face as she recalls why Leviathan was comatose. She blames herself for her weakness of not being able to protect herself. If she could fight back, Leviathan would never receive such a grave injury.
"I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry!"
"It is okay Elizabeth, I know what happened. It was not your fault."
"World is cruel to me and Leviathan. We did not deserve this!"
"I know."
Jeremy gently pats Elizabeth's head as tears slowly flow on her red cheeks. He used to see Elizabeth and Leviathan playing in the yard, and seeing Elizabeth awake brought back nostalgia. To Leviathan, Elizabeth was almost like a real sister, and Jeremy often saw them playing. He again pats her head and comforts her.
"Everything will be alright, Elizabeth. You will be alright, I promise you."
"Why are you interested in adopting me?"
He stays quiet for a minute as he holds his wallet tightly. He gently scratches his chin and laughs.
"Haha. Because I sinned to you two. You were inseparable as kids, yet I took Leviathan away after finding out he can never use magic. I should have not done this. "
"So you took him to the elemental kingdom because church diagnosed him as a person with no magic affinity nor mana capacity…."
"I am quite ashamed to admit it… But yes. I did not want anyone to find it out, neither family friends nor my former co-workers."
"Ashamed?"
"…"
As Jeremy goes silent, Elizabeth realizes she has made Jeremy uncomfortable. She tries to change the subject. She is interested in knowing if Leviathan is getting better.
"Do you have any news about Leviathan's condition?"
"Nothing changed much except for the fact most injuries healed."
"Still no signs of him waking up?"
"Sadly. Because of his injury to the head, his brain swelled. Currently, we have no means of healing him."
"…"
[Unknown]
"I see. For people, who have been blessed by me. Humans are very arrogant." Isaac continues watching Elizabeth's and Jeremy's conversation.
'I will change the situation in Zerthia and I will start by taking away some of the blessings undeserving people got.'
However, when he tries making a portal, he realizes he can not enter it.
"Why? What did I do wrong? Why can't I leave this damned planet?"
Isaac's anger keeps growing, and the sky grows darker as he makes portals he can not even enter. He looks back at Elizabeth and sees her resting. Jeremy got a phone call from his wife and took a leave. Jeremy left, leaving Elizabeth quite relieved as she felt awkward and guilty in front of Jeremy after what happened to his son.
"This is ridiculous."
After many attempts, frustrated and angry, Isaac gives up on trying to leave the planet. Instead, he goes back to sleep as, during his sleep, he gets more knowledge about worlds, races, and even skills.
"I hope we will meet again soon, Elizabeth."
In his dream, he traveled to Zerthia's world. However, it was two thousand years before the current events.
[Zerthia- Elemental kingdom 2000 years ago]
'Darkness. It's not like it is too dark to see. No. I don't think I have eyes anymore. I no longer feel my burning soul. For hundreds of years, I've been inside a cage. Wait, was it thousands? Weird tho, why my soul is not regenerating? Did I finally reach my limit? The irony is, that I have finally gotten used to this world, yet my soul is vanishing. '
Elijah felt depressed. Even though he prayed for his suffering to end for the first hundred years, I could now travel to hell because of my soul's immunity to hell's flames. 'The hell they sent me to was one of the worst kinds. Because of my untimely death, my beloved sister killed herself and would spend eternity in hell. I made a deal with the demon king of the west who allowed my sister to be released from hell and enter the reincarnation realm in a horrific condition.'
In his last moments, he remembers the tears of his bellowed sister, her sorrow while she held his dead body. And her death, when she took the same dagger that ended Elijah's life and forced it into her own throat. People laughed while it disappointed some that they won't have 'fun' with her.
Royan was enjoying the view like it was a show. Because their souls were in different realms, Elijah and his sister couldn't communicate. However, Royan took this as entertainment and allowed me to see her. He wanted to see. Would he sacrifice himself for her and vice versa? Or will she go to hell? He started talking to Elijah.
"This is where it ends, kiddo. You reincarnate, your kid sister goes to hell, and those people go back to their lives, to their wives and kids," Royan mocked our situation.
Everything started after the young Lord saw Elijah's kid sister and tried to force himself on her. Enraged, he killed him. And Lord punished them. How dare lowly peasants fight back? Commoners are just bugs. If bug bites, he has to be squashed. His soldiers held Elijah in front of his hut while the Lord gutted Elijah.
'I only felt fear and endless hatred for those people. It wasn't my sister's sin that attracted him. No. It was Elijah who would become a hero if he lived.'
Elijah lost for words with the injustice. They did nothing wrong, but destiny punished Elijah and his sister while the real monsters continued living.
"I can't believe you, kiddo, you're not even speaking? Are you so shocked? Are you so angry? C'mon, say, something boy," Royan tried to understand him. However, even Elijah didn't understand what he felt.
"It's not fair… The world isn't fair." Elijah would cry if he could. However. He had already expired his body. Royan just grinned as Elijah's words amused him. But it did not focus Elijah on him. He focused on the Royan's clone, speaking to Elijah's sister. It took some time, but I realized. When Royan came, he split himself in two. One said to him, and one spoke to her. But Elijah saw his sister smiling as she talked to Royan.
"You're a god? Do you have a name?" Elijah asked him.
"My name?" he chuckles after realizing I asked if he was a god.
"Haha, my name is Royan. I am one of the demon kings." Royan kept grinning while talking.
'Demon? What is a demon? And he said he is a king, so he is a royalty? He also speaks about hell and reincarnation before.' Elijah's attitude changed as his brain tried to process what was going on.
"What is a demon?" Elijah asked.
"What? You don't even know that. You do not know what demons are?"
As intrigued as he was, his smile was gone. Together with Royan's counterpart, Charlotte disappeared with a smile. After the two disappeared, Royan began rushing things as he spoke.
"I see you don't understand the situation. First Charlotte is going to hell. It is a place where demons exist and sinners suffer. Sinners, like your sister who ended her own life!" Royan started grinning once again.
"However, there is a way for you to save your sister." Royan focused his eyes on Elijah. He was like a hungry beast staring at its prey.
"You will take her place. However, instead of regular hell, she would have gone. I will send you… somewhere else. Somewhere that is far worse than regular hell." Royan adds. "while your sister will reincarnate in your place. "
Elijah understood. The person in front of him is a MONSTER. And he can't leave his sister in his hands.
"I agree," Elijah nodded, "But can you help me with one thing?"
"What is it? Ask ahead. I will help you out as long as it is in my power."
"I want these men dead."