Chapter 53 : Chapter 53
Chapter 53 : You, how could you be here!?
Amid the ruins of an abandoned factory, Aimiya, covered in wounds, was curled up beneath a massive piece of rubble.
The spirited demeanor she once had was gone.
Her limbs and wings were marred with burns and gashes, traces of magical attacks. Aimiya wrapped her wings around herself, trying to shrink into a ball, hiding under the debris to evade her pursuers.
"Damn it… If only I could use a blessing spell…"
The pain coursing through her body made her tremble slightly.
If she were an angel capable of using blessing spells, such superficial injuries could be healed with a single burst of light.
Unfortunately, unable to wield her innate angelic magic, she could only rely on her resilient physique and wait for her wounds to mend naturally.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The heavy footsteps of the Corpse Bearers still echoed around her, their nauseating stench of decay lingering in the air.
They were still nearby…
Aimiya shrank back further.
The half-collapsed wall above her and the scattered tiles almost completely concealed her form, and she did her best to suppress her presence.
Even so, it was only a matter of time before the Corpse Bearers found her.
All she could do now was pray that those grotesque, corpse-made giants would take longer to discover her—at least until she regained a bit of strength.
"Hey… I wonder how Iphilia-chan is doing right now… Calculating the time, she’s probably about to go to sleep, right?"
For some reason, despite the life-or-death crisis, the first image that flashed through Aimiya’s mind was that of the little demon who, just this morning, had angrily left her alone at home after being teased.
It seemed that, over time, even she had unknowingly… changed her view of Iphilia…
Initially, Aimiya had approached Iphilia purely out of spite.
After all, that night when Iphilia spanked her, she had truly made a fool of herself…
But as they spent more time together, Aimiya realized that this demon named Iphilia wasn’t as vile as she had imagined.
Unlike other demons, she wasn’t cruel or ruthless.
She would feel anger over the death of an ordinary person she barely knew and would act without hesitation for justice that had nothing to do with her.
She attended a human school like any normal girl and helped the weak among humans seek justice… Honestly, Aimiya thought she didn’t seem like a demon at all.
She was so pure, kind, and adorable that Aimiya even entertained the thought: in some ways, Iphilia was more angelic than she was.
When had her perspective on Iphilia changed?
Perhaps it was when she began to see Iphilia’s silhouette overlap with “his.”
Perhaps it was that night when she gazed at Iphilia’s adorable sleeping face or maybe it was during one of those mornings when she teased her as part of her routine… In any case, at some unnoticed moment, Aimiya’s feelings for Iphilia had quietly transformed.
Tragically, it was only now, on the brink of death, that she could finally confront her true emotions.
"It’s too late, after all… If only I had realized sooner… Like this morning? Heh, if I hadn’t teased her as usual when I woke up and instead confessed to her seriously, what kind of cute expression would she have made?"
"I’m oddly curious and excited about it…"
"But unfortunately, that chance… I’m afraid it’s gone forever…"
Aimiya gave a bitter smile and closed her eyes.
She could feel the Corpse Bearers’ footsteps drawing closer.
Perhaps in the next second, she would be discovered, and she… could no longer run…
The pain in her body numbed her senses.
She could barely feel her hands or feet.
She was truly a lamb awaiting slaughter.
The moment that repulsive black-robed butcher found her, her time would be up.
"Hahaha! Found you, little rat! So you were hiding here!!!"
The debris above her was suddenly flung away, and the black-robed man’s loathsome voice reached her ears.
Aimiya, half-squinting in annoyance, didn’t bother looking at his disgusting face so close to hers. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the bright, full moon above.
The moonlight in Wangyou City was always beautiful.
Tonight’s moon was round and radiant, its alluring glow as comforting as it had been that night.
Aimiya wouldn’t give this bastard the chance to humiliate her.
With the last of her magic, she conjured a golden dagger.
The black-robed man, wary after being repeatedly ambushed by Aimiya’s counterattacks that night, feared she was feigning her weakened state.
He cautiously kept a small distance, which gave Aimiya the opportunity to end things herself.
"A noble angel will never submit to a filthy insect like you. I’d rather die."
With that, Aimiya pressed the dagger lightly against her throat.
Having experienced death in her previous life, she felt no fear of what was to come—only endless regret.
And her regret wasn’t about failing to kill the man before her.
That no longer mattered. Her regret… was not seeing that adorable Miss Demon one last time.
"Such… regret…"
Aimiya let out a soft sigh.
Just as she was about to slit her fragile throat with the dagger, her dull gray eyes, fixed on the moon, suddenly lit up, and her hand slowed for a beat.
Was it… an illusion?
How could she be here?
"What are you looking at? Holy crap!?"
The black-robed man noticed the shock in Aimiya’s eyes.
He casually glanced upward, only to be met with the sight of a very familiar black shoe sole…
With a thud, the black-robed man was sent flying by a kick! At the same time, countless magic arrays glowing with faint purple light appeared beneath the feet of the surrounding Corpse Bearers.
Thick, eerie black tentacles shot out from the arrays, binding the Corpse Bearers tightly.
"Ha—made it just in time!"
Iphilia landed gracefully in front of Aimiya.
One hand held her beloved shotgun, while the other reached out to Aimiya, who lay on the ground, barely clinging to life and utterly stunned—
"You, how could you be here?"
"Idiot angel! Don’t just try to off yourself like that! Look, I’m here to save you, aren’t I?"
The purple-haired demon girl smiled as she extended her hand to the fallen angel, much like how, not long ago, the cunning Miss Angel had reached out to a rather disheveled her in the night.
Only this time, the roles of rescuer and rescued had quietly reversed…