She had refrained from consuming food and water from the Demon Realm until now ever since she discovered the existence of the hidden stat, devilism. She had always been cautious in which she even preferred to endure hunger rather than to risk the unknown right until Kimaris or Revenna finally returned back from the Human Realm itself.
However, just now, she was about to drink some water right from this very lake. It felt like she would have died out of thirst if she didn’t drink it—just as if she had been possessed by something.
‘Why did I do such a thing anyway?’
However, she couldn’t dwell on her thoughts for long. Bael was firmly gripping her shoulders with a stern expression painted all over him.
“Do you actually want to die?”
His voice had carried an absolutely clear tone of anger. And his red pair of eyes continued to scrutinize her bewildered face relentlessly. Bael could easily read Julia’s current thoughts.
“You were trying to enter the lake just now, weren’t you?”
“I’m not sure. I just…”
“If you plan to mess with my memories and simply pretend that you didn’t know about it later, then forget it.”
He kept on looking straight at Julia.
He muttered as if he was actually chewing on the words, Bael then released an immense surge of magical power towards the lake. At an instant, a powerful shockwave swept through the entire surroundings. Massive trees were instantaneously uprooted and even the clouds in the sky had been split in half without notice.
However, the lake, which had been the real target of the attack, remained calm and continued to flow serenely as if nothing had ever happened while it effortlessly deflected Bael’s assault.
Julia’s eyes widened considerably.
‘It’s actually imitating the water…?’
The eerie feeling that she had experienced earlier came back in waves. Now that it was mentioned, it had been strange that not a single fish had lived in that transparent and clear lake. Furthermore, not a single blade of grass had ever grown at the water’s edge too.
Finally, Julia had realized. This wasn’t actually water, it had merely been a manifestation of magical power that only imitated its form instead.
“No matter how strong your resistance to magic may be, it probably won’t run deep inside your body.”
“I didn’t know, I really—”
“I told you to drop those excuses!”
The angry man’s voice growled softly in her ear. Yet the grip on Julia’s shoulders tightened like a reminiscent of the impending storm right before the onset of a fierce tidal wave.
She grew absolutely terrified as she became concerned that Bael might be angry with her for causing this kind of situation at hand.
“Fine, then. The absolute ruler who had created the underground was actually a filthy, lust-driven pig—and you didn’t know anything about it.”
“…”
“Do you even understand the true meaning of the ‘key’ itself? A being that could actually unseal the magic stone—is that all you think it is? No, the ‘key’ is actually a fragment that’s entirely separated from the Demon God. It seems like he had sent you all the way to the Human Realm in order to protect what he considered to be the most important from when he had predicted the end. But still, where will those dirty instincts go…”
The hand that had gripped Julia’s shoulders now rose upwards as if it was trying to caress her. Bael’s eyes were now focused on her slender neck within his grasp and he seemed to be pondering about what to do with this insignificant being.
“And in the end, I will consume you whole.”
After all, there was no being that could refuse such a tempting feast anyway.
Julia stared at Bael as he slowly withdrew his hand from her. He seemed to be hesitant as he let go just like a starving beast that was reluctant to kill its prey—as if he had preferred nibbling instead of biting.
She couldn’t fully comprehend everything that Bael had just said earlier: the true meaning of the key, the fragment of the Demon God, the prophecy of the end, what deemed to be the most important thing and of course, the instinct itself.
However, one thing was absolutely certain: Bael was concerned that the key, which was none other than herself, might go awry due to the Magic Stone. Perhaps it was because of the crimson mark, but as soon as she had deciphered his meaning, her heart began to tingle uncontrollably at once. She could no longer bear it without opening her own mouth. Julia then cautiously grasped onto one of Bael’s fingers.
“Are you worrying about me right now?”
Bael’s narrowed eyes immediately met her gaze. His mouth seemed to have stiffened as if he was asking about what kind of nonsense she had been talking about. However, Julia’s thoughts took a slightly different turn.
“I do worry about you.”
“It seems like Bael doesn’t like the idea of me getting hurt more than simply losing the ‘key’ itself.”
Julia, who was cheekily smiling just moments ago, suddenly donned a serious expression now.
“Even if I’m totally wrong, please don’t correct me. I only want to think of Bael as a good person. Will you please grant me that wish?”
She already knew of Bael’s kindness that was hidden behind that cold gaze of his. It had been another face that only she was aware of, which got concealed beneath his own icy demeanor.
After thanking Bael for saving her, Julia then walked past him. As she sprinted towards her destination while heading straight for the appointed time mark, Bael simply watched her retreating figure in response. He gazed down at the finger that she had been holding onto and an unbearable rush of heat surged within him.
He wanted to capture her lips, passionately and persistently. No matter how much she would try to escape, he desired it even more intensely—to overwhelm her small body, to make her tremble to the point of not being able to accept it all the while causing her to cry in an utter terror. And even then, he would definitely enjoy swallowing those tears of hers.
However, amidst the tangled mess of desire in his chaotic mind, even as he ravaged Julia like a wild animal, he still couldn’t bring himself to ruin her completely.
‘It seems like Bael doesn’t like the idea of me getting hurt more than simply losing the ‘key’ itself.’
Julia Vestra’s voice that was tinged with a faint smile echoed in his mind. Still, Bael couldn’t comprehend her true intentions at all. He suddenly felt a little tightness in his chest.
He sighed deeply and stroked back his jet black hair. The blue and cold lake slowly swayed just like his own neck. Ever so quietly—as if nothing had ever even happened.
Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 12 chapters in advance!
