CH 161

“Kugh.”

Vassago, who was hit by the concentrated aura that I threw, hunched over with a painful sound.

Although the demon quickly regained his senses and stood in tiptoe to reach me, I easily swept Vassago to the other side when he came close in front of me.

‘Are you telling me this is the extent of Vassago’s power?’

Power overflowed as if the embankment that had been blocking the violent current had finally collapsed. 

It was to the point that I couldn’t believe there were days I had struggled sniffing around trying to purify the pieces of Asmodeus. 

‘I feel like I could annihilate Asmodeus now even without the help of Vassago.’

It was only after I opened my two arms and released some aura that I was able to calm my excited self. 

“However, it’s still strange.”

I tilted my head while stomping on Vassago’s hand, who had collapsed in front of me. 

The demon’s face contorted in humiliation.

“Your smell is too light.”

As my ability became stronger the more sensitive I became and noticed a change in Vassago. 

Whenever I faced Baal or the other demons in Lagrange, I was always suffocated by the stench that stung my nose, but the current Vassago almost didn’t give off any scent. 

Maybe, it’s not that my ability had come back along with my memories, but that Vassago had just become terribly weak. 

‘Come to think of it, why is Vassago with Charlotte?’ 

My eyes narrowed seeing Vassago’s lips curl up. 

“Why were you pretending to be a priest?”

“Because I thought it was important for Charlotte to see me on her side. I thought she wouldn’t listen to me if I told her I was a demon.”

In the end, that meant Vassago needed Charlotte’s help. 

But what kind of help did the demon want from a woman, who claimed to be a saint regardless of its true essence? 

‘The aura is flowing towards her.’

It was then that I noticed that Vassago's aura was moving along a long stream of water towards her.

“Stop!” 

“I already told you you’re too late, Anissa.” 

I glared at the aggravating Vassago and turned my head to follow the shadow that was slowly slipping from his fingertips. 

Boom, Bang!!!

I thought I heard a loud roar and saw the cave where Dietrich was collapsing. 

‘Are Dietrich and Charlotte confronting each other?’

“It’s not up to you to decide whether it’s too late or not, Vassago.”

“Ugh! Let go!” 

I began to head for the cave, clutching Vassago by his nape.

I said it with confidence, but I was anxious. 

Even though the distance was close enough that I could see it with my own eyes, the feeling of not being able to narrow it down made me feel frustrated. 

‘No wonder he was weak compared to before.’

It seemed that Vassago was sending his powers to Charlotte secretly.

“Dietrich!” 

I urgently looked around for Dietrich but I couldn’t see him with all the dust surrounding the cave like a fog. 

“Dietrich!!!”

‘What if he’s buried under all the rubble?’

Normally, I wouldn’t have to worry but he was currently unconscious. I scrambled to my feet, worried about the defenseless Dietrich.

‘He’s not answering. Maybe he still hasn’t woken up?’ 

Without even wiping my dripping tears, I began to dig up the piles of stones. 

Blood pooled in the palm of my hands which had been stabbed by the sharp debris but I wasn’t in my right mind to feel the pain. 

“Heuk! Ugh!”

‘Is he hurt? No, what if he’s dead?’

“Huu, what if he’s, hyup, completely, urgh, crushed?” 

Regrets of leaving him behind in the cave filled up my throat. 

It was too easy to judge that Charlotte’s holy power was not as good as my ability to attack.

“What are you doing?”

Then someone poked me with a finger on the side of my crying face. 

I answered temperamentally while digging through the pile of debris I couldn’t even see the bottom of. 

“What do you mean! Hiccup! I’m looking for you!”

Why were you asking while sitting there?!

I turned to Dietrich, who sighed in irritation. 

Standing on the pile of broken debris, he was completely fine with not a single scratch on him.

“Why are you crying?”

He smiled lightly while looking at me as he stood crookedly at a distance.

I stared blankly at the hand he extended toward me.

“Stop crying and come here.” 

“............"

“Hurry.” 

Tadak. Tak. 

As I leaped across the short distance at once, he hugged me in his arms as if he had been waiting.  

I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly and bowed my head. The moment my forehead touched his firm shoulder, the cry that had stopped exploded again. 

‘Ah, it’s not the time to cry just like this.’

We never knew when Vassago, who had regained his energy and Charlotte, who had gained strength, would come at us.

Even while thinking about that, my vision just kept getting blurry.

“Hic, huuu.” 

“It’s strange you’re still crying.” 

Dietrich patted me on the back affectionately but also uttered mean remarks. 

Listening to his blunt rebuke made me feel like I was back in Lagrange.

“Shut, ugh, hyup!, up.” 

“You have a runny nose.”

“That’s not true!” 

That’s not possible. I turned my head away in denial when Dietrich’s arm that wasn’t holding me moved as if to wipe my face. 

But he grabbed the back of my neck and turned my head to face him. 

“Blow.” 

“............."

“Blow your nose.” 

He held out a handkerchief and told me to blow my nose.

He waved the handkerchief in front of me while giving me a sidelong glance and I snatched the handkerchief away from him and blew my nose on my own. 

‘I can’t believe he’s still carrying a handkerchief even in this situation.’ 

I was embarrassed to return the dirty handkerchief so I held it tightly in my hand and looked at him when from a distance, I smelled the faint scent of a demon. 

I looked around again with my nerves on edge. 

‘It definitely smells like Baal.’

I wouldn’t confuse Baal with another demon. 

“Don’t tell me you summoned Baal?” 

“That’s right.” 

Surprised, my face twisted at Dietrich’s calm affirmation.

“How could you call out Baal?!” 

He had already abused using the demon’s ability that the state of his soul was at stake.

‘Even if he’s Baal, he’s still a demon –’ 

I bit my lip, staring at the tattoo that moved insidiously as if it would swallow Dietrich at any moment.

“It’s all right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if I called Baal, it’s alright. Maybe.”

I knitted my eyebrows at his small addition.

If it’s all right, then it’s all right. What’s with the maybe it’s all right? 

With my hand on his shoulder, I closed my eyes to determine Baal’s position and felt his familiar stench mixed together with an aura I saw for the first time. 

“It seems like he’s fighting someone?”

“I ordered him to get rid of Vassago.”

“No, it’s not Vassago’s smell.” 

I looked at the place where I threw Vassago to find Dietrich.

The sprawling figure of the demon had already disappeared without a trace. 

“Anissa.” 

But before I could find where the missing demon had disappeared to, a voice called out to me.

I found Charlotte glancing at us with silent eyes while still on the pile of debris.

“Anissa, do you want to stop conforming to fate?” 

Another voice overlapped with the voice she was calling me with. 

I gazed into her bright yellow eyes and opened my mouth, “......Hella?”

“I see you recognize me. I borrowed Charlotte’s body for a moment to converse with you.” 

Her voice, which spoke with force on each syllable, even felt holy at first glance. 

An intense desire to kneel and bow my head soared but I grabbed Dietrich’s hands tightly instead and bit my lips.

‘A benevolent goddess?’

I didn’t know when it became benevolent to arbitrarily control people’s minds. 

“Are you all right?”

Noticing that I was overwhelmed by Hella’s aura, he grabbed my hand back. 

I nodded my head lightly and met Hella’s distinctive eyes which were looking at me as if my behavior was interesting. 

“Dietrich, about ‘Hella’.......”

“She’s a demon. Just like Baal.” 

I thought it was strange from the time I learned that an impartial god who loved peace threw only the children of the North as prey to the demons.

‘People seemed to think that it was fine to do that to the North.’ 

Didn’t that also mean that Hella was controlling people’s thoughts? 

At Dietrich’s words, Hella frowned as if expressing displeasure. She even clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“In the end, you’ve called Baal again. Just because it wasn’t a fair price doesn’t mean the contract has disappeared.” 

Charlotte, no, Hella raised her right hand high and pointed at Dietrich’s tattoo which was getting darker and darker. 

The air began to freeze when she reminded him of the curse on him. 

“Stop, stop it!” 

Even when I screamed in shock, Hella still threw Dietrich into the air. 

The moment he raised a shadow to counterattack, a white curtain shuttered between him and us. Hella, who clasped my arm tightly, whispered. 

“Anissa, I also don’t want to persecute you like this. Follow my will and give up Lagrange. I am like your God.”

I snorted at Hella’s solemn tone, speaking as if she really was a God. 

‘Even so, you’re a demon.’

Her eyes were dyed with embarrassment when I scoffed at her ears.

“Whether you’re a God or a demon, who cares?”

“.........What?”

“Don’t touch Dietrich. If you do, I’ll tear you to death.”