Hell had a reason for saying this.
As a Transmigrator, he knew the true combat power of his body — if it really came down to a head-on, one-on-one fight, an Adjudicator like him who relied on the special ability Mutual Slaughter of All Things was absolutely no match for an Annihilation Angel at full power.
Therefore, he had to make her agree to this first to ensure his safety when approaching her in the future.
Hearing this, Luna froze for a moment. A complex expression flickered across her face, mixed with the surprise of ‘Is that it?’
She nodded.
“Fine.”
The girl silently added in her heart: ‘I can’t beat you anyway.’
Then Luna looked up and asked again.
“What’s next?”
Hell fell silent for a moment, appearing to think. Then he shrugged and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Next? Nothing for now. I’ll tell you when I think of something.”
“Huh?”
Luna blurted out, her face full of confusion. She stared with wide eyes, her pale gold pupils filled with disbelief.
What was this?
The girl had thought he would give her a spy mission, ask for intelligence on the Goddess Angel, or demand some other shady dealing. She had even mentally prepared herself for orders that might violate her principles.
And the result?
Just… just this?
“There’s no ‘next’?” Luna couldn’t help but press. “That’s it?”
“For now, that’s it,” Hell nodded.
“…”
Luna was completely stunned.
The wind blew across the top of the clock tower, fluttering her long pink hair and the indescribably complex expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something but found she didn’t know what to say.
What on earth was this person thinking?
“By the way, give me your contact information.”
At that moment, Hell suddenly moved, standing up and walking over. His voice came through the mask, still flat and devoid of emotion.
“…What?”
Luna blinked.
“Contact information.”
Hell shook the black phone in his hand, its dark silver light glinting in the sun. “Your phone number or a social media account will do. If I need your cooperation in the future, I’ll let you know.”
Luna froze.
Exchanging… contact information?
With an Adjudicator from Eternal Night Gospel?
She looked down at the pink phone in her pocket with its cute cartoon stickers, then at the cold, hard black device in Hell’s hand. For a moment, she felt a sense of absurd dissonance. This scene was far too ordinary — so ordinary it felt like being approached by a stranger at the Academy for her number.
But this clearly wasn’t that!
Luna bit her lower lip, a trace of struggle flashing in her pale gold eyes. But soon, that struggle was replaced by helplessness. She had no other choice now.
So, she reluctantly and slowly pulled out her pink phone.
A cute cartoon cat sticker was plastered on the case, something she had won from a gashapon machine in the commercial district a few days ago. At this moment, the adorable kitty was ‘looking’ innocently at the masked villain, creating an indescribably eerie image.
Luna unlocked her phone, opened the interface to add a friend, and turned the screen toward Hell. Her voice carried a hint of sulky annoyance.
“…You scan me.”
Hell didn’t say anything. He simply raised the black phone and aimed the camera at the QR code on Luna’s screen.
beep
The friend request was successful.
Luna looked down at her screen — the other party’s profile picture was a void of pure black, and the nickname was a simple “V.”
She stared at the icon for two seconds, then looked up at the man in the white mask before her, a wave of unidentifiable, complex emotions rising in her heart.
Just what was this guy here for?
“Oh, right. Today’s Crystal Husk Incident was a Random Rift.”
After adding her, Hell put his phone away. He turned around, his back to Luna, and faced the edge of the clock tower.
“It wasn’t an official mission. No other Adjudicators are involved.”
He didn’t turn back, only slightly tilting his head.
“So, go back. You’re going to be late for your next class.”
The wind blew from behind Hell, fluttering the collar of his trench coat and the tips of Luna’s pink hair.
“Huh?”
Luna stared blankly at his black silhouette, at the profile of the mask she still couldn’t see through.
This man had just made her say she was “willing to do anything.”
This man had asked, “Can you bear the weight of another person’s life?” only to be the first to look away.
This man… who clearly should have taken the opportunity to set conditions, hike up the price, and hold her firmly in his palm, had simply said, “That’s it for now, go back.”
Luna opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. In front of this eccentric fellow, she seemed to have lost her ability to speak.
Finally, the girl slowly let go of the hem of her clothes.
“…If I’m late, I’m late,” Luna muttered under her breath, so softly that only she could hear.
Then she turned around, activated the pink Teleportation Magic Circle, and didn’t look back.
Hell stood in the shadows at the edge of the clock tower. He quietly watched the spot where Luna had been standing, where faint specks of light from the vanishing Teleportation Magic Circle still lingered.
The air seemed to hold a trace of her light, fresh scent, mixed with the mana fluctuations left over from the battle.
Hell remained leaning against the railing for a long time. It wasn’t until he confirmed that Luna’s presence had completely vanished and the magic circle’s fluctuations had settled that he slowly pulled the black phone from the inner pocket of his trench coat once more.
The screen lit up. The dark silver glow remained cold in the sunlight.
He opened his contacts, and the newly added person sat quietly at the very top of the list — the profile picture was a cute cartoon image of a small bunny holding a magic wand against a pink background. The nickname was “Luna✨.”
This was Luna’s private account used for daily contact with classmates, yet it now sat in the friend list of Arbiter V of Eternal Night Gospel.
Hell looked at the icon, and the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly under the mask.
‘Really… she has no guard up at all.’
His slender fingers slid gently across the screen, opening the chat window with “Luna✨.”
The window was blank, save for the gray system prompt: [You have added a new contact. You can now start chatting.]
Hell paused for a moment as if thinking. Then, his fingertips began to tap on the virtual keyboard.
“Student Luna, I look forward to working with you.”
After typing this, he stared at the screen for two seconds to check for typos, then lightly tapped the send button.
Ding—
The sound of the message sending successfully was exceptionally clear on the empty Clock Tower Platform.
Hell didn’t put the phone away. He just leaned against the railing, his black trench coat fluttering in the wind. The red “V” on the mask flowed slowly, as if it, too, were watching the screen.
One minute passed.
Two minutes passed.
Five minutes passed.
On the screen, the status of the message remained “Delivered,” with the gray word “Unread” sitting quietly beneath it.
Hell was in no hurry. He didn’t even change his position, just quietly watching the screen as if waiting for something.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time — “Delivered” changed to Read.
Hell’s gaze flickered slightly.
However, that was it.
There was no reply. No text, no emojis, not even a single punctuation mark.
The screen still only showed the sentence he had sent, lying lonely in the blank chat window. Below it was that piercing Read indicator and… silence.
Hell stared at that Read indicator for a long time.
Then, he let out a soft chuckle.
The sound was so light it was almost swept away by the wind, yet it carried an indescribable meaning. It was like a helpless sigh of expectation met, or the patience of a hunter testing a cautious prey.
He tucked his phone away, placing it back into his inner pocket.
The black figure stood firm at the edge of the clock tower, overlooking the massive Academy City below — the crisscrossing streets, the endless flow of people, and the tall spires of the Academy District in the distance.
“Read and ignored, huh…” Hell murmured to himself, his voice scattered by the wind.
Beneath the mask, a faint, lingering smile remained on his lips.
It didn’t matter.
He had plenty of time.
And… the first round of their confrontation had already ended.
Even though she chose silence, that Read status was the best response in itself.
After all… if she really didn’t want anything to do with him, she could have just deleted him or even blocked him.
But she hadn’t.
She simply chose to leave him on Read.
What did that mean?
It meant she was hesitating, struggling, and thinking — about what this bizarre villain actually wanted.
And hesitation and struggle were exactly the start he wanted most.
On top of the clock tower, the wind continued to blow and the sunlight continued to spill down, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
Only the message lying in the pink phone quietly told the story of an unknown journey that had just begun.
“Student Luna, I look forward to working with you.” — Read