"Gabriel! We're going to be late! Did you stay up all night gaming again!?"
The door to Gabriel's apartment slammed open with a crisp sound, crashing against the wall and startling the deeply asleep Gabriel awake.
The intruder was none other than Tsukinose Vignette April. Unlike Gabriel, she was a demon from hell, but with a kind heart that made it almost impossible to tell she was a demon at all.
Vignette was usually mild-mannered, but when it came to Gabriel, her demeanor changed. Even her way of opening doors became more forceful than usual.
There was no helping it—Gabriel was always late, and sometimes she even skipped school entirely. As her friend, Vignette had no choice but to use such methods to wake her up.
Compared to the angel Gabriel, who had completely fallen from grace thanks to her obsession with online gaming, Vignette often seemed more angelic in nature, making one wonder if she had been misplaced at birth.
"Huh? Vignette? What time is it now?"
Startled by the sound of the door, Gabriel poked her head out from under the covers. Her hair was a mess, and faint dark circles could be seen under her eyes.
It was evident that she had stayed up all night gaming, only going to bed when the sky began to lighten. By now, she had probably only slept for two or three hours.
If it were an ordinary person, maintaining such a lifestyle would have led to sudden death long ago—but thanks to her angelic constitution, Gabriel managed to soldier on.
"It's already 7:30! There's only half an hour left until the school gate closes! Hurry up and get up!"
Seeing Gabriel's lethargic state, Vignette grew anxious. She rushed over, grabbed Gabriel's hands, and dragged her out of bed.
Then, like a nagging mother, she propped up Gabriel's limp body and ushered her into the bathroom, making sure she began her morning routine in a hurry.
"Ugh... so annoying..."
Gabriel washed up with a look of exhaustion, already planning to catch up on sleep at school.
In truth, ever since she got addicted to online gaming, she hadn't wanted to go to school at all. However, if she skipped school, her allowance from Heaven would be cut off.
As a die-hard gaming addict, losing money for in-game purchases was unthinkable. So she begrudgingly attended school, meeting the bare minimum requirements set by Heaven.
Gabriel had once been an exemplary student in Heaven, receiving an allowance 40% higher than other angels. But due to her poor performance now, her allowance had been reduced to 20% below average.
That was why she was so desperate to make money, even eyeing the mysterious income stream of her gaming friend, "Zuke."
When it came to online games, if your skills couldn't keep up, you had to spend money. Not everyone could be like Doghead, who once kept pace with the top players purely through skill.
Unfortunately, Zuke remained tight-lipped about his money-making methods, leaving Gabriel clueless about how to extract his secret.
"...Gabriel, did something strange come into your apartment yesterday?"
While Gabriel was brushing her teeth, Vignette stood at the bathroom door, her gaze drawn toward an electrical outlet in the room.
"Did an evil spirit sneak into your place?"
She had sensed something unusual emanating from the outlet, leading her to suspect that an evil spirit might have infiltrated the apartment.
As an angel and a demon, both Gabriel and Vignette could see evil spirits. They occasionally dealt with these entities, which couldn't enter Heaven or Hell and instead lingered in the mortal realm.
For Gabriel, her angelic nature naturally repelled these spirits. Typically, they wouldn't dare to approach her apartment.
Even though Gabriel's halo had turned black from neglect, she still radiated an aura that deterred evil spirits.
"No way. What evil spirit would dare come here?"
Gabriel, having finished brushing her teeth, walked out of the bathroom with a towel in hand. Now that she was cleaned up, she looked like a proper beauty—though her eyes still carried a weary, disheveled expression.
She glanced around her room and picked up a dark, circular object from the floor.
"Are you talking about this?"
"Isn't that your angelic halo!? Look how filthy it's gotten!"
Vignette couldn't help but retort. How long had it been since Gabriel last used her halo? It was so dirty that its surface had turned black.
"That's not what I was sensing, though. There's still something strange... Are you sure you didn't notice anything odd yesterday?"
"Yesterday… Ah, yeah. While I was gaming, I felt like something was watching me from behind."
As Vignette's words jogged her memory, Gabriel seemed to recall something. She had felt a presence behind her while gaming yesterday.
"But when I turned around, there was nothing there, so I didn't pay it any mind."
Although not a Stand user, Gabriel's awareness of spiritual energies allowed her to sense things like Stands, which are essentially manifestations of spiritual energy.
Yesterday, Shin's "Blackbird" had traveled through the internet and entered Gabriel's apartment, momentarily alerting her.
But Gabriel, preoccupied with gaming, had dismissed the sensation entirely.
"Gabriel, I know you're addicted to gaming, but you need to take these things seriously!"
Vignette rubbed her temples, exasperated. She felt like she was lecturing an oblivious child.
"If something can sneak into your room without being noticed, it's not a simple entity. What if it's hostile? What would you do then?"
"Come on, what could anyone possibly want from me?"
Gabriel shrugged nonchalantly. Though she often pretended to be a cute girl in games, she clearly lacked any sense of self-awareness in real life.
However, Vignette knew how to push Gabriel's buttons:
"What if you can never play games again?"
"Eek…! Alright, I'll be careful!"
As expected, Gabriel's love for gaming was her Achilles' heel. The moment Vignette brought it up, she snapped to attention.
"Seriously, Gabriel, you're way too careless. Even as an angel, there are spirits that aren't afraid of you."
Sighing, Vignette walked over to the window, pulled back the curtains, and let sunlight flood the room. She also guided Gabriel to look outside.
Sure enough, even in Gabriel's neighborhood, there were several evil spirits lingering. It was a stark reminder of how persistent these entities could be.
"Although these spirits can't harm people who can't see them, they still cause trouble for others occasionally."
Vignette looked at Gabriel, who was still indifferent, and spoke earnestly:
"As an angel, you should at least do something befitting your role—like helping to clear these spirits."
She gestured to the street below, where a high school boy was walking. Something shadowy trailed behind him, and with a swift move, it shattered one of the nearby spirits.
"Just like that guy. Clearing spirits is just a casual act for him. But—huh!?"
Halfway through her sentence, Vignette suddenly realized something was off.
Why was there a human casually obliterating spirits on the street!?
To be continued...
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