/
Julia stood there blankly while looking at her friend. It had been a face that she could not see in a long time, but why was he suddenly angry?
‘Oh, that was not what’s important right now.’
Half of it was an accident, but she had already met up with Legion anyway. She was relieved to see that he had survived the battlefield and she wished to talk more, but she still had to get him back to the ground above quickly before the other demons could notice anything.
Julia narrowed her distance once again and grabbed Legion’s arm. A long shadow of the moon loomed over his head as he really did grow taller after a long time.
“Oh, sorry. Were you surprised? For now, let’s just share our stories instead. If Aaron is still here in the Demon Realm, he’ll be able to take a closer look at that engraving.”
“Legion, wait a minute.”
“What?”
Julia firmly pushed Legion’s shoulder away. As he hadn’t expected the refusal at all, Julia blankly pretended not to see his hardened eyes while she secretly avoided his gaze.
“I actually sneaked out of the castle, but this was an accident. I have to get back before anyone else notices soon.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hurry back to the ground above.”
“Then, together
”
“You’re the only one who’ll be going, Legion. I’m staying here—in the Demon Realm.”
Legion quickly caught a hold of Julia, who was taking a step backwards. The little bit of relaxation eventually faded from his face.
“Why are you saying that? Is it because I made you wait for so long? Then, are you mad?”
“

”
“Were you very scared? I know—it’s so clear how those demons had really dealt with you.”
Legion’s gaze was continuously fixed on Julia’s chest, in fact, nailed to it. Julia felt ashamed for some reason, so she couldn’t look straight at him and still avoided his gaze in return.
It would have never been easy for him to get here. Since Bael had already locked the gates of the Demon Realm and everyone seemed to be surprised to hear that someone forcibly broke in. Besides, didn’t he face Lerazier earlier, that high-ranking, 14th demon?
She was sorry and thankful that he was willing to sacrifice so much just to save her.
“Julia.”
While she pondered her thoughts, Legion cautiously approached and took her hand. He locked her small white hand in his very own big hand, lest she ever get hurt at all.
“I’ll do my best from now on. I’ll do my level best so that those harsh memories won’t ever come back anymore.”
“Legion
”
“Remember when we were young? You said that you wanted to live freely in a small foreign port city with a view of the sea. You’re smart, so you can just work in the merchant’s accounting section and I told you that I would work as a mercenary at the same merchant.”
How could she ever forget about that time? How could she dare to forget? However, Legion moved his hand that was holding her without a single moment for her complexion to darken in response.
“It’s different than it used to be now. There’s no one to disturb us anymore. You’re already come out of Ingrem V’s grasp and I have grown to be a good swordsman in my own way. I’ve made many friends abroad too and in fact, I’ve already chosen a few villages where we could stay.”
Julia stared blankly at him as he added various things with a very bright face. The conversation passed so quickly that even she had lost track of it. She never expected that he was preparing everything so meticulously.
‘How do I stop Legion from saving me?’
She couldn’t just obstruct his future, which was barely livable right now. However, Legion never overturned what he had already decided. In other words, it was because being hard-willed brought the meaning of being stubborn as well.
Julia bit hard on the inside of her cheek. She then worked hard to make her face and voice appear all cold.
“Now, what’s the real use of all that?”
“Julia.”
“You don’t even know what I’ve been through while I’m here. Even after coming here
”
Julia abruptly stopped. She couldn’t quite get it out of her own mouth. No matter how hard she went through, it was nothing compared to Legion’s own kind of torments. Right in front of him, how could she actually whine like that. How absolutely shameless.
At that moment, Legion’s shoulders stiffened. Then, Julia’s eyes opened wide.
The pebbles beneath her feet began to creak and tremble. Not long after that, there was a thick thundercloud in the night sky as a strong gust of wind started to blow as well. Bero, who was simply sitting quietly nearby, curled its tail inwards and straight away hid its head behind Julia’s back.
Legion, whose expression hardened in an instant, drew upon his greatsword and spoke.
“I’m sorry, Julia. Let us talk later.”
“What are you even thinking? Hurry back to the Human Realm—quickly now!”
Julia, who gradually realized that he was going to fight, clung desperately onto his shoulder. However, he did not budge at all as he pushed Julia to the back once again.
“It’s dangerous, so you just run away with that dog.”
“You idiot? Don’t you understand people? I hate you!”
“Hate me later
 and I’ll listen to it all later as well.”
Legion’s face as he was ignoring Julia hardened like a wounded person. But as if nothing had truly happened, he shook his head and started pouring mana into his greatsword. The blue light that emanated from the sword eventually flickered as if it was swallowing the surrounding air whole.
Julia did not know what to do and immediately covered her face. This was definitely Bael’s magic. He was the only one who could control the Demon God’s Tower as well as the area around the Demon King’s Castle in this manner.
‘What should I do? It’s all because of me again

’
The long red trail of blood that had strewn across the white snow popped up in her mind. She definitely couldn’t let that happen once more.