"Fren, are you okay?" Kloin and the other kids hurriedly approached Fren, who still limped after losing strength while hanging on the cliff edge for almost five minutes.
Fren was placed beside a huge birch tree, leaning there with an exhausted face.
"I'm fine… I thought I was gonna die." He let out a bitter chuckle and looked at his friends with an awkward grin.
"No, you're not. Thanks to the Mister Demon who helped you earlier… eh? Where is he?" Kloin turned back to find Val, but that figure had vanished without leaving a trace.
"Look! The other handsome person who helped Fren also disappears!"
Kloin pulled his eyebrows together, feeling confused. "Where are they?"
---
Buagh—!
"Keughh!" screamed Val in pain when his back slammed against a trunk.
He hissed, "What the hell?"
The other person charged at full speed toward him and pointed his sword tip at Valac's porcelain white neck.
"You're a demon. What's a demon like you doing here?" pondered Ryland with a fierce gaze.
At first, he did not realize that Val was a demon and went to save him from the cliff because he heard a commotion. However, when he saw the horns and his demonic appearance, it made Ryland instantly chase him.
Ryland was on his way to the Capitol, the Embrass City, from his birth village where he would register as a formal adventurer and create his own party.
He was eighteen now, and last night he had received his blessing from the divine beings.
Every human mortal who had reached the age of 18 would receive a blessing from the divine higher beings, like Angels and Gods. The term "blessing" here meant that the Angels or Gods gave their chosen human their essence, allowing the human to use part of the Angels or Gods' true power.
Evolution Path was the way to reach the peak form of their blessing, which was possession from the Angels or Gods who became their sponsors. Humans needed to follow their blessing's evolution path and fulfill each stage.
A common blessing's evolution path ranged from 4-5 stages until the peak form, but an epic or legendary blessing's evolution path consisted of up to 9 stages. Each stage could grant their blessing owner one active and one passive power depending on what blessing path route they picked.
Ryland got a high divine being as his sponsor and granted him a holy blessing which could make him defeat any evil power using his power. The blessing could also affect the owner's change in behavior, like a criminal who got a saint's blessing could change into a person who willingly helped people in the slum without asking for feedback.
Now Ryland looked at Val, who coughed from pain with a belittling look.
Deep in his heart, he felt that he despised this person so much. However, Ryland had never met a demon and had just learned about them from the elders in his village. They talked about the First Apocalypse, a legendary tale where Angels and Demons clashed, ruining half of the Heaven realm.
'Is that because my sponsor was enemies with the demon race?'
On the other side, Val was holding back the pain gnawing inside his chest.
'Damn it, I knew that Val deserved a blow for all his crude actions. However, I did not know the pain would be this hurt!'
"Answer me," dictated Ryland once more. Now, he pressed the sharp edges into Val's neck, making fresh blood gush out from the wound.
"Listen, I also have no idea. I was tossed here against my will. Okay?" implied Val with a tired expression. He then explained, "I went to search for my sister and found her in a basement where the portal is placed, and somehow it was activated by itself. We were thrown here and wanted to go back when those kids asked for my help. Satisfied? Any objection?"
'Sigh, I hate this. If he wants to kill me, then fine, kill me already. Don't waste any time.'
He closed his eyes and waited patiently for his death. Val wondered after this death would he reincarnate again or just go to the afterlife? Whichever that was, it was still better than dealing with all this bullshit.
Schwing.
"I believe that."
"What?" Val abruptly opened his eyes and wore a bewildered expression upon hearing the man's words.
Ryland sheathed his sword again—it was his late father's—and smiled gently at Val.
"You helped them, the kids. Why would an evil demon do that? You could leave them to die or kill them, but you're not." He shrugged his shoulders and explained his reason. "I'm given the power to exterminate evil beings, and my sword also reacted to your demonic aura. However, I believe that you're a kind person, apart from what you are."
Val was holding back the cringe he got from Ryland's affectionate words.
First, he was not a kind person who falls for those soothing and kind phrases.
'And second, I was going to leave them if my sister hadn't interrupted, you know.'
"Here, take my hand—"
"I can stand up myself."
"Haha, fine." Ryland pulled back his hand and laughed awkwardly. Val stood up, cleaning his pants which got dirty, and fixed his hair that got messy. Ryland glanced at him and seemed amazed by Val's look.
'I've never met a demon before. I thought they were more like monsters, but they look similar to humans if they don't have those horns or a very fair skin tone.'
"What?" snapped Val with an affronted face. He was sick of those blue pupils and wanted to bawl them from their place.
Ryland shook his head and asked Val again. "No, it's nothing. I'm Ryland. Ryland Sunshard. Who are you?"
'What's this? Does he want to remember my name so he can kill me later?'
Val looked at him with full suspicion, and Ryland could sense that.
"I just want to make a friend. Having a friend from the demon race, isn't that wonderful? You know, I have a dream to make a place where all races can live in peace and without threats." He turned his head and talked alone while looking at the clouds floating above, Ryland holding out his hand as if trying to reach those clouds.
"You'll achieve that," answered Val out of the blue, even he was surprised with his own answer. Why was that?
"You believe that too?" Ryland turned to him with a surprised look, as if he couldn't believe there was a person who had faith in his impossible dream. "Most people told me that my dream was too grand and unachievable."
Val rolled his eyes out of annoyance.
'Of course, you're the MC here. You can achieve anything beyond impossibility using the author's will. Hahh. Maybe it's because when I was still the old Kang Hyunwoo, reading his journey in the book made me say that.'
Ryland suddenly grabbed both of Val's hands, shocking the man from the sudden event.
He looked into Val's eyes with full determination. "Thank you for your trust, my friend. I will never betray it. I will prove to you that someday I will make my dream come true, even though I need to pass through eternal hell to reach it."
"Y-yes?"
"Oh, the sun is starting to set. I need to hurry, or I will not get a room for tonight. I'm sorry, but I need to go now," added Ryland.
Val turned aside and realized it was almost dark.
'Damn, I forgot about Luna! She must be scared alone.'
"Well, I also need to go!"
Without waiting for Ryland's response, Val released his hand from Ryland's grip and ran toward the forest entrance, where Luna was waiting for him.
"Wait…! Ah, he's gone. He didn't tell me his name…," murmured Ryland with a disappointed face. He wanted to be friends with that man; however, the timing was wrong, and he could not introduce himself in a proper way.
Ryland smiled faintly while clenching his fist, from which emanated a faint glow, and he stared at it for quite a long time. "It's fine. I will ask his name again when we meet in the future. Then I will prove to him that I can achieve my dream using this power."
---
"Luna? Luna!" shouted Val while searching for Luna's whereabouts through the bushes.
"…mmhm? Brother?"
He heard Luna's weak voice and marched to the voice source. He found her there, lying on the grass with a puffy face.
She yawned, "You're back?"
"Huft," sighed Val in relief. He then picked her up and put her in his arms. "Did you enjoy your nap, sleepy princess?"
"Hehe… I just got bored while waiting for you, and I didn't realize I fell asleep. Did you succeed in saving the kid, Brother? Is he alright?" asked Luna with a curious face.
Val nodded. "Yep. Now, stop asking me to do bothersome things like that, or you can't go inside my room anymore, understand?"
"U… understand," murmured Luna with a pouty face. Val could not get angry with her and just let out an exhausted breath.
"Haaaah—"
It might be someday Ryland would kill him because he could not escape this damned plot; however, at least today, he escaped Val's original fate.
'Still, I need to get stronger so I can defend myself… also protect this kid.'
"Then let's go home."
"Uhm!"