“Huh?”
Luna was completely stunned. Her pale gold eyes were filled with disbelief and extreme confusion; her expression even went blank for a moment.
She had been mentally calculating how to find an opportunity after recovering some physical strength and Mana — whether to cautiously test the waters or simply create chaos to seize a chance to escape this hellhole.
How… how did this guy just let her leave so nonchalantly? Was this development a bit too smooth and bizarre? Was it some kind of new trap? Was he playing hard to get?
Hell seemed a bit impatient with her dazed reaction. He looked up, and the crimson ‘V’ on his mask seemed to flicker in the dim light of the campfire’s embers. His tone was flat, even carrying a hint of a rhetorical question.
“What? Do you want me to let you stay the night?”
“No, I don’t!”
Luna reacted to Hell’s question as if she had been pricked by a needle. She hurriedly waved her hands so vigorously that she nearly knocked over the chair behind her. A flash of panic and embarrassment crossed her face as she rushed to clarify.
“I just… I just…”
The pink-haired girl sputtered “I just” for a long while, only to realize she had no idea what to say. Her mind was a mess; today’s experience felt like an absurd, surreal dream.
Today, she had truly been defeated in a battle against a villain. Not only defeated, but captured and brought to this deserted, abandoned warehouse.
According to common sense, according to her knowledge of the Eternal Night Gospel, and according to the evil face T had shown, she thought she was definitely going to trigger some kind of Defeat CG. For example, some dark plotline belonging only to a “defeated Goddess Angel” — imprisonment, torture, humiliation, or even a worse fate.
And the result?
This V, this guy also wearing an Executor Mask, had first killed T and his subordinates who had ill intentions, and then… not only did he not hurt her, he even untied her, treated her to an unexpectedly delicious barbecue, and just now, like an instructor, pointed out her mistakes and weaknesses in battle… Now, just like that, he was letting her leave so easily?
What kind of move was this?
‘Hey, did you, the villain, pick up the wrong script?’
‘What is this? A tactical review session combined with a free barbecue experience hosted by an enemy force?’
Luna felt that the understanding of the Eternal Night Gospel and villainous behavior she had built up over more than ten years was suffering an unprecedented shock, making her head buzz, completely unable to comprehend it.
Dizzily, she stood up. Her body was a bit stiff from sitting for so long and the previous battle, but she still subconsciously followed basic dining etiquette. She gave Hell a slight bow and blurted out, “Thank you… for the meal.”
The moment the words left her mouth, the girl froze again. Her delicate face was instantly filled with internal conflict and annoyance, her brows furrowing into a knot.
‘Wait, I said thank you again?! He’s a villain, an enemy! How could I thank the enemy again?’
‘This damn politeness ingrained in my bones.’
For a moment, Luna wanted to bite off her own tongue. Her face turned red and white in turns, her expression quite a sight.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her chaotic thoughts, and decided not to dwell on it. Then, she tentatively turned around and took a cautious step toward the warehouse door.
At this moment, the girl’s entire body was slightly tensed, her senses heightened to the limit. She was constantly prepared for an attack from behind or for him to call out and stop her because he changed his mind.
However, nothing happened.
Behind her was only the faint crackle of the campfire and… the soft sound of Hell picking up a new skewer of meat and placing it on the grill. He didn’t even… look up at her, as if whether she left or not truly had nothing to do with him.
Luna walked a few more steps and was already near the old, half-open warehouse door that revealed the deep night outside.
The night wind blew in, bringing a chill that cleared her head a bit.
She stopped and stood there, her heart struggling intensely. To just walk away like this? It seemed… too simple, and it didn’t fit her style as a Goddess Angel.
Whatever his motives were, what the other party did today had objectively “helped” her. At the very least, he had allowed her to avoid the worst outcome, provided food, and… er, tactical guidance?
But a stance was a stance, and principles were principles.
Thinking of this, Luna took a deep breath and suddenly turned around. She strode back and stood a few steps away from the campfire and Hell.
She straightened her back, trying to look serious and firm. Her pale gold eyes stared intently at the figure still focused on the barbecue, as if trying to convey her determination through her gaze.
The pink-haired girl cleared her throat and said in as clear and solemn a voice as possible, “Let’s get this straight. You… sort of helped me this time, but I won’t be grateful to you!”
Luna specifically emphasized “sort of” and “won’t be grateful,” as if drawing a clear line.
“If… if I encounter you again, as long as you are still endangering the city, endangering humanity, or doing anything evil…”
At this point, she couldn’t help but pause, her tone becoming heavier, every word carrying weight.
“I won’t show any mercy. I will definitely arrest you, or… eliminate you!”
After finishing this declaration — which sounded like both a manifesto and a warning — Luna seemed afraid she might waver or hear some strange response from him. Without waiting for Hell to reply, she immediately turned around again and, almost as if fleeing, quickened her pace and rushed out of the warehouse door. Her slender figure quickly blended into the heavy night outside and disappeared.
Silence returned to the warehouse.
The flickering light of the campfire reflected on Hell, who sat alone in his chair. He stopped flipping the meat skewers, and his gaze seemed to drift toward the doorway where Luna had disappeared, though nothing could be seen through the mask.
Hell looked at the empty doorway, as if he could still see the girl’s back — a bit panicked yet pretending to be firm as she left. A few seconds later, he shook his head slightly with a hint of helplessness.
Beneath the mask, the corners of his mouth seemed to curl up imperceptibly, and a thought that was almost a sigh flashed through his mind.
‘This girl… is quite cute.’
After confirming that Luna’s presence had completely moved away and disappeared into the night outside the warehouse — sensing not even a ripple of Mana — Hell finally raised his hand slowly and reached for the pure white mask that had always covered his face.
His movements were not rushed; they even carried a slight fatigue after unburdening himself.
His fingertips touched the cold, smooth edge of the mask. With a slight pull and a soft click sound, the mask’s fastening mechanism released, and he took the entire thing off.
Hell casually placed the mask on the armrest of the relatively intact chair beside him.
Without the mask’s cover, the face of a 16- or 17-year-old boy was exposed to the flickering, dim light of the campfire.
It was a quite handsome face with sharp, well-defined features and clean lines, possessing a cold and delicate beauty.
However, in stark contrast to this handsomeness, a lingering hint of melancholy hung over his brow, as if he were carrying some heavy burden.
Under the firelight, the boy’s face still appeared somewhat pale and bloodless.
There were even faint shadows under his eyelids, and his entire being emitted an undeniable sense of exhaustion stemming from deep within his mind or body.
It made him look somewhat sickly, a world apart from the mysterious, steady, and even slightly oppressive aura he had while wearing the mask.
Hell raised his hand and gently rubbed his temples with his knuckles, as if a dull pain were throbbing there. Then, facing the campfire — which now consisted only of a few stray embers and curls of smoke — he let out a long sigh.
“She finally fell for it.”