Hell seemed to completely ignore the mix of conflict and struggle etched onto Luna’s face, as if he had not even heard her small, bewildered mutter about him being a weirdo.
His gaze shifted slightly, moving past Luna’s shoulder to look at the other side of the Clock Tower Platform—toward the empty patch of sky where Hestia had just dissolved into golden specks of light.
The wind continued to blow there, but the golden radiance had long since dissipated. All that remained was the afternoon shimmer of the city and the occasional bird gliding in the distance.
“That just now…”
Hell’s voice came through the mask, carrying a thoughtful, slow tone that bordered on being evaluative.
“That was the Arc Light Angel, Hestia, wasn’t it?”
Those casual words hit Luna like a massive boulder, instantly shattering the calm she had barely managed to regain.
Alertness and tension surged like a tide into her pale gold eyes, which had been glassy with confusion only a moment before. Her pupils contracted sharply, and her entire body tensed up like a cat with its fur standing on end. Her voice instinctively rose several octaves.
“W-What do you want?!”
The pink-haired girl took a half-step forward almost subconsciously, positioning herself in the empty space between Hell and the direction where Hestia had disappeared, as if that could actually block him.
“You don’t… You aren’t having designs on Hestia, are you?!”
Luna’s voice was laced with unconcealed wariness and a trace of uncontrollable panic.
Hestia was kind, gentle, and always spared no effort to heal and help others. Hestia was the one who had just promised to go shopping and eat sweets with her in the Surface World… She absolutely, definitely could not let that girl fall into the sights of this bizarre villain.
Hell did not answer Luna’s rapid-fire questioning directly, nor did he even look at her.
He simply continued to stare at that empty patch of sky, slowly uttering a few words in a detached tone that sounded like an objective statement.
“That girl just now…”
He paused intentionally halfway through.
“She was… quite exquisite.”
Those few brief words—vague in meaning yet carrying a strange sense of predatory appreciation—hit Luna’s frayed nerves like a cold electric current.
The girl’s face flushed a deep crimson instantly. It was not from bashfulness, but from extreme anger and alarm. A tangible fury burned within her pale gold eyes, and her slender frame trembled with agitation.
“You—You—!”
She was already distracted and overwhelmed by this man’s endless stream of bizarre words and actions. Now, she absolutely would not permit him to reach for Hestia!
A girl so kind, so gentle, who always warmed others like sunlight, must never have anything to do with this villain who practically radiated an aura of eeriness!
“Don’t you even think about touching Hestia!!”
Luna practically blurted it out, her voice cracking slightly from the urgency.
Hearing this near-screamed protest, Hell finally turned his head slightly. The flowing red “V” on his mask seemed to flicker as he “looked” at the Goddess Angel before him, who was bristling like a lioness protecting her cub.
“Oh?”
He drew out the sound, his voice carrying an obvious sense of playfulness and a deliberate, mocking question.
“And what if I said… that is exactly what I intend?”
That nonchalant tone completely ignited Luna’s anxiety and fear.
“No!”
The girl almost shouted it. Her voice echoed across the empty Clock Tower Platform, carrying a desperate sort of determination.
“I won’t allow you to do that! I absolutely won’t allow it!”
Hell remained leaning there in a casual posture, not changing in the slightest despite her outburst. He merely asked calmly, “And… can you stop me?”
That flat question was like a bucket of ice water, instantly dousing the fire of Luna’s rage, but also making her feel as though she had fallen into a frozen abyss.
For a moment, the girl was stunned.
The flames of anger quickly faded from her pale gold eyes, replaced by a cold realization of fear and a deep sense of powerlessness.
Could she stop him?
She had witnessed the baffling, miraculous, and cursed abilities of this Adjudicator.
In a single instant, more than twenty fully armed combatants, including Adjudicator T, had slaughtered one another and been wiped out under the “Mutual Slaughter of All Things.” She didn’t even understand the principles behind how his power functioned.
The pink-haired girl knew she was no match for this man. In a direct confrontation, she didn’t have the slightest chance of winning.
But…
Was she really supposed to just stand by and watch him lay a finger on Hestia?
To watch that gentle, kind girl be dragged into this bizarre whirlpool, monitored by this dangerous villain, or perhaps… subjected to even more unpredictable treatment?
‘No… I can’t! Absolutely not!’
The intense mental struggle played out clearly across Luna’s face. Her expression shifted from anger, to fear, to powerlessness, and finally… it settled into a sort of “all-or-nothing” resolve.
The girl took a deep breath and looked up, her pale gold eyes staring directly into the expressionless white mask. She took a step forward, her hands instinctively clenching against her chest.
“What… what do you want from me?”
Luna leaned forward slightly in a posture that was almost a plea, yet held a final spark of stubbornness. Her voice trembled from the strain, but she spoke every word with absolute clarity.
“As long as you leave Hestia alone… as long as you don’t move against her…”
She paused, biting her lower lip as if using every ounce of her strength to force out the next sentence.
“I…”
The girl closed her eyes and then opened them again. Her pale gold eyes reflected the figure wearing the “V” mask, and her voice was quiet but exceptionally firm.
“I’m willing to do anything.”
The sound of the wind seemed to stop for a heartbeat.
On the Clock Tower Platform, there were only two figures facing each other and a promise that carried the weight of a vow.
Hell looked at Luna. He saw her posture—clearly terrified yet forcing herself to be firm, clearly helpless yet still trying to protect her companion.
Beneath the mask, his mouth, which had remained calm and indifferent, finally curled up slowly into a clear and meaningful arc.
It was the smile of someone who had successfully watched his prey walk into the net.
This Goddess Angel.
Finally…
She had fallen for it.
“Just how much resolve do you have… saying something like that?”
Hell looked at Luna, the pink-haired girl whose fingertips were trembling with fear, yet who still stood stubbornly before him, looking up to tell him she would “do anything.” Then, his voice came from behind the mask, still carrying that tone so calm it was almost cold.
He didn’t move, nor did he even change his lounging posture against the railing.
The red “V” flowed slowly as he gazed at the Goddess Angel who had just uttered her “oath.”
“You are nothing more than an ordinary student. Can you truly shoulder… someone else’s life?”
The moment those words fell, the air atop the Clock Tower seemed to freeze solid.