《The Golden Dawn Will Shine On You》 Chapter 1 The doors to the sky and the underground opened simultaneously. A monster reminiscent of the devil, a great being who existed before the beginning of time, pushed his way through the gap between the two doors. A twilight time before dark, when light dominated the world most brightly. The girl closed her eyes and abandoned her God. **** Rosha Lewen was living a very normal life in a small town in the South, but she had concerns. ¡°Rosha, where have you been hiding all day?¡± Rosha, who was crouching in the direction where the sheep were grazing, did not answer her brother, Dane. Rosha¡¯s family, who ran a ranch on a hill close to the village, was in perfect harmony. However, her happiness was snatched away five years ago, when her younger sister Lily was born. In the beginning, she was not jealous of her little sister. In fact, Rosha loved her sister more than anyone else. However, as Lily grew older, the time their parents devoted to her began to increase. Starting at some point, she suddenly received all sorts of orders from her parents which ignited her hatred towards her own sister. ¡°Spent some time with her, play with her, and be patient with her because you¡¯re her older sister.¡± As Rosha started her schooling, she was forced to take on her role as an older sister because she was being disobedient. They said that she was jealous of her little sister. But,what she wanted was very simple. She just wanted the same amount of love and attention that her parents had given to her little sister. However, no matter how obedient she was, her parents didn¡¯t give her what she wanted. The same was true yesterday. It had been a while since she wanted to sleep with her parents, but when Lily went into their parents¡¯ bedroom, she was told to sleep alone. She was asked to yield over her little sister as she was older. Rosha¡¯s house was located outside the village entrance. Therefore, in order to take her to her school in the village, her father had to leave their home early in the morning. ¡®I don¡¯t even want to go to school.¡¯ She had been hiding from her father since morning and felt sad when only her brother had found her. However, she was not apologetic. Rosha, who was only 10 years old, wanted to be loved like a kid rather than being a mature sister. ¡°Because of our parents, you are not going to talk to me anymore? Rosha? Rosha!¡± Dane sat down with his knees bent by Rosha¡¯s side to console her feelings, but she turned her face away. No matter what Dane would say to her, she was not feeling good today. But, if she did not apologize to her parents today, she could be in big trouble as she had skipped school without their permission. ¡°Rosha, you are a bad kid, aren¡¯t you?¡± At this point, all she wanted to say was that she is not a bad kid and she is still young, but she kept her lips shut. Dane decided to stimulate her a little bit more. ¡°If you don¡¯t become a good child quickly, you will be in big trouble. ¡­.Ramia will take you.¡± ¡°You know about Ramia?¡± ¡°Of course. Ramia¡¯s upper body appears like a woman with very long black hair, and her lower body resembles a monster with a snake tail long enough to stretch over our ranch. The monster has a great sense of smell and is excellent in searching for bad children. For example, a bad child who ignores family talks and skips school.¡± As Dane whispered into Rosha¡¯s ear, she flinched and trembled slightly. Seeing her scared reaction to the story, Dane smiled and stimulated her even more. ¡°During daytime, she watches the bad child from far away, and then, at night, she will come and call the bad child¡¯s name. Bad kid Rosha, where are you? I¡¯ll gobble you up in one bite!¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± Finally, she responded. Dane bursted into laughter due to Rosha¡¯s screams with her brightly blushed cheeks. ¡°You are really bad! You always say bad things.¡­ and now, you don¡¯t even call me Unnie but call me by my name?¡± She turned around with a snort. ¡°Rosha, I know you¡¯re angry, but today, if mother and father scold you, you should tell them that you¡¯re wrong and apologize.¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡± ¡°Are you still mad because Lily took your doll the other day?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not because of that!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then!¡± She was still upset but she did not want to admit it because she did not want to show herself acting childishly in front of Dane. Afterwards, Dane whispered and gently pulled on her hair so that he could braid it into two pigtails. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a new doll.¡± ¡°But¡­¡­ You don¡¯t have money!¡± ¡°I had saved some of my pocket money! Let¡¯s go out today and eat until dark. Oh, it would be nice to take Polly for a walk, too.¡± Dane responded leisurely. As soon as they finished talking, Polly, their sheepdog, came running to them out of nowhere and wagged her tail at them. The heavy atmosphere between them seemed to be lessened a bit. Dane hoped that their parents would feel relieved that he had managed to talk it out with Rosha. Luckily this time, he was able to touch Rosha¡¯s heart. She nodded to him, pretending to surrender without erasing her sulky expression. **** It was relaxing after going out for a long time. Rosha was satisfied because she didn¡¯t have her gangster sister, Lily, who would always ask to play with her or ask for her favorite things. On top of that, she did not hate it when Dane, who always teases her, acted as a reliable younger brother today and soothed her anger. Rosha did not want Dane to buy her a teddy bear, especially after considering his savings. As Dane seemed to feel relieved to some extent, he bought her an ice cream and carefully cajoled her. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re wrong. But, if you don¡¯t listen to mother and father, you are the only one who loses. I know you are upset and our parents are too much sometimes, but¡­¡± ¡°But you said I was wrong earlier?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that, but admit it, you¡¯ve done wrong this time.¡± Rosha nodded as if she understood when she saw Dane¡¯s effort in advising her. She also wanted to reconcile with her parents. It took quite a while for Dane to spend all of his money in order to relieve Rosha¡¯s mood. The sun was setting down, and the most dazzling twilight time had come to town. It would be very dark during their walk back home. ¡°Shall we go home now?¡± At Dane¡¯s words, Rosha nodded softly and took Polly to the hill connected to the village but Dane, who had been walking ahead of them, found something and stopped. He was looking closely at the poster on the wall. She then naturally stood by his side with Polly and looked at it as well. ¡°The Golden Dawn Society, who claims there is a huge evil group that wants to rule the world, what is their identity?¡± **** ¡°The Golden Dawn Society?¡± Rosha asked with confusion. Dane shook his head with an expression as if he had swallowed bitter medicine. Rather than giving Rosha an explanation, he seemed to have a negative reaction towards the mention of the Golden Dawn. ¡°Father said that it¡¯s a crazy cult. They appear in newspapers a lot these days, and they sound absurd.¡± Dane was negative, but his reaction was rather actually propelling Rosha¡¯s curiosity further. ¡°What do they say?¡± ¡°They asked if there are strong evil forces scattered all over the world, if people disappear from the village for no reason or get sick, or if the sinister persists, contact them. They would resolve the issues. But it¡¯s not for free. It sounds like a scam to me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Anyway, you don¡¯t need to be interested in it because it¡¯s a strange group.¡± After he had finished explaining, Dane hurried again to see if her interest in the content of the newspaper had ceased. Rosha was not particularly intrigued by the content of the newspaper, so she followed Dane without a doubt on her mind. Then, it was the time to climb the hill. Ruff! Ruff! ¡°Polly, what is it?¡± Suddenly, Polly glared intently at somewhere and barked furiously. Her barks were somewhat unusual. Extreme aggression was revealed in her gaze. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her all of a sudden?¡± In astonishment, Rosha stared at the direction where Polly was barking. It turned out that Polly was barking in a frenzy towards a house that was barely visible from where they were standing, with lights leaking from its window, in the distance. ¡°Polly, stop it. Let¡¯s go.¡± She was forced to push Polly to climb the hill. ¡°Come on! Come on!¡± But the more she did it, the more rebellious Polly became. After a while, Polly stopped her misbehaviour and started to tremble with her tail down, she even made painful sounds. Somehow, something around them had frightened her. However, it was getting late and they had to go home, so Rosha and Dane were forced to push Polly forward. Eventually, Polly escaped from their arms and rushed down the hill. ¡°Polly!¡± Roscha called anxiously, but Polly didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Polly is acting strange. I¡¯ll go after her. Tell father that Polly had ran away!¡± ¡°What? Wait! Rosha!¡± Dane tried to stop Rosha but she was so focused on chasing Polly down the hill that she could not hear Dane¡¯s call and did not look back. ¡®Neither of them listened.¡¯ Dane grunted and sped up towards their home. He was worried about the path Rosha and Polly were heading to. Without further hesitation, Dane took the familiar path and opened the door to their house where the light shone bright. **** ¡°Polly! Polly!¡± Rosha tracked down Polly¡¯s footsteps, and continued to shout her name, but the dog had scampered away so fast that Rosha lost sight of her. ¡°Rosha!¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, Uncle!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this your dog?¡± Rosha glared at Polly, who was dragged by a leash in the uncle¡¯s hand. Polly was still quivering with her tail close to her. ¡°All of a sudden she barked a lot and ran away like she saw something scary.¡± Rosha said. ¡°What could possibly scare this big dog?¡± Her uncle asked. ¡°I know, right? Anyway, Polly. Let¡¯s go home now.¡± Rosha finished talking to a village uncle whom she had known since childhood and tried to take Polly. But, Polly avoided her touch. ¡°Polly, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Rosha sighed in frustration. ¡°It looks like she doesn¡¯t want to go home, you can leave her with me today. I¡¯ll give her some left over food and you can pick her up tomorrow.¡± The village uncle suggested. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t love you, but I can¡¯t stay here with you, Polly.¡± Rosha gazed at Polly with resentful eyes, and eventually nodded. ¡± Thank you, uncle.¡± ¡°Yes, come down here with your father tomorrow.¡± Rosha greeted the uncle goodbye and turned around. As she was about to leave, Polly caught her sleeve. ¡°Polly, what do you want me to do?¡± Rosha asked frustratedly, but Polly kept biting her sleeve, not letting go. ¡°No, Polly. I have to go home.¡± The village uncle pulled the leash forcefully but it was of no use, and eventually, Rosha¡¯s sleeve was torn by her. ¡°Polly! You! I¡¯m going to tell mother and father how bad you are!¡± Rosha was upset with her torn clothes and dashed away in tears. Suddenly, the anger she had for her parents disappeared, and her only desire now was to haste back home and complain about it. It was completely dark as the sun had long gone, but there was yellow light shining faintly in the distance and the way back home was not so difficult. Moreover, she was so familiar with the road that she could even find her way home with her eyes closed. The distance was getting closer, but suddenly, Rosha could hear the fierce cries and struggles of the farm animals. All of the livestock on the ranch, which were usually gentle, quarreled and called out fiercely, trying to get out of the fence, and not a single person could be seen outside. Instinctively, Rosha realized that something was wrong. She hurried her steps and opened the door to her house which seemed to be strangely peaceful. ¡°Well, I¡¯m back ..¡± Nonetheless, the serenity of her world was shattered without warning. As soon as the door was opened, a fishy smell pierced her nose and made her stomach upset, as if she could throw up at any moment. And there was more to the sight than to the smell. ¡®Why is there a snake in my house¡­?¡¯ With the dining table, the sofa, and all of the furniture broken, a large pit appeared in the middle of the house. It was huge, hollow, and of the same thickness of Rosha¡¯s waist. It was round and still. Rosha¡¯s gaze started at the snake¡¯s tail, all the way up to the trunk. As her eyes went up along the serpent¡¯s upper part, she saw the body of a person being swallowed halfway into the snake¡¯s mouth. Rosha knew who the person was. ¡°Oppa¡­.!¡± The serpentine, the abominable creature, who was holding Dane and devouring him in her stomach, quickly raised her head. Only then could Rosha see the body of her parents, who were headless, lying on the ground behind it. [Don¡¯t you know Ramia?] Rosha recalled Dane¡¯s story earlier in the day. The upper body appeared like a woman with very long black hair, and the lower body resembles a monster with a snake tail long enough to stretch over their ranch. Why did Dane¡¯s nonsense story suddenly come to her mind? No, how could this unimaginable scene unfold in front of her eyes!? **** Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Rosha looked at her brother with fear in her eyes. His body that had not yet died twitched like a newborn beast. Blood dripping down his face, which was covered with tears. His eyes, which were losing focus, managed to find Rosha amidst his pain. At that time, the monster was still chewing on Dane¡¯s flesh and howled in laughter. ¡°Rosha¡­ run¡­¡± Dane, on his last breaths, gathered all of his strength and shouted out his final warning. The monster threw his body towards the wall, painting the house with more blood. The snake¡¯s body slithered forward in a left right curvy movement. The action was so large that even a small manoeuvre could destroy many objects in the house one by one. ¡®Run away,¡¯ was his last words to her before he left her behind, but Rosha couldn¡¯t move. Her stiffened body could not release itself until the moment the monster came close to her face and opened its mouth. It was purely due to her innate survival instinct that she was barely able to move her uptight body in order to escape her death fate. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± By the time the monster¡¯s teeth touched her head, Rosha could barely take a step back to turn around and run with fear and trepidation coursing through her blood. She could not even look back. However, the moment she did, the monster was right next to her, whispering in her ears. [Rosha¡­¡­Nice child¡­..] Rohas turned back around and ran as fast as she could, away from the bloodthirsty creature towards the village. She needed help from the villagers. She needed to get there somehow. Rosha scrambled down the steep hill. It almost felt like she was going to tumble downhill, but she couldn¡¯t slow down now, even though she knew that. However, her pace was bound to stop soon. [Rosha¡­.] The voice of the monster was fading away and the lights of the village were getting closer. Rosha felt relieved that she was still alive. Then suddenly, the monster called out her sister¡¯s name. [Lily¡­..] It was then that Rosha came back to her senses and recalled that the faces she saw inside the house only belonged to her dead parents and Dane. ¡®Where was Lily?¡¯ Rosha decided to braced herself and go back to the murder scene in search of her sister. There were times she was mad at Lily, but Lily was her little sister and now, her only family member. She would not let the monster hurt her. After the snake went into the house again, Rosha sneaked back in. When she was inside, she saw her family¡¯s dead bodies again. It was the sight she could would never get used to even after seeing it several times. But, it was not yet time to be sad. She had to first find Lily and get her out of there. ¡°Lily! Lily!¡± Rosha whispered her sister¡¯s name quietly without attracting the monster¡¯s attention. As she scanned around the floor, a hammer near her father¡¯s body, whose head was missing, caught her eyes. It was the same hammer that her father often used to fix fences and furniture. Perhaps this was the time it was time to use it to resist the monster. Rosha picked up the hammer off the floor with shaking hands. As tremors filled her body, Rosha raised her hammer and stepped slowly, ready to attack the unknown monster if needed. ¡°Lily? Lily!¡± It wasn¡¯t easy to even gesture silently when a monster was nearby. Her voice shook violently even though she was only calling her sister¡¯s name. First, she searched around her parents¡¯s room but Lily wasn¡¯t there. Next, Rosha went up the stairs and headed to her room. ¡°Lily?¡± However, Lily was not even there either. Rosha turned to head for Dane¡¯s room. It was then, she heard the sound of someone crying weakly. Rosha hurriedly went to the closet and opened the door, but inside, only clothes were seen. Subsequently, she carefully bent her knees to, bowed her back, and looked under the bed. And, there was Lily in a pitiful state. ¡°Ahhh!!!¡± Even after seeing Rosha, Lily was still screaming and shuddering in with fear. ¡°Lily! It¡¯s me! Rosha, it¡¯s your sister!¡± Rosha held onto Lily¡¯s wrist in an effort to try to calm her down. It was then that Lily belatedly recognized Rosha belatedly. ¡°Rosha¡­?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s me, Lily.¡± As soon as Rosha pulled Lily¡¯s body out of the bed, she broke into tears and cried desperately in her arms. Although Rosha was the brave one at the moment amongst the two, she could not stop her hands from shaking as she stroked Lily¡¯s trembling body. ¡°Lily, what happened? That monster is¡­.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡­. I heard a loud sound from outside, so I left my room¡­Then, I saw our father swinging his hammer and told me to hide. I heard our brother¡¯s screams from downstairs, but I couldn¡¯t come out to look because I was too scared¡­.¡± Lily was gasping and stuttering while telling the story. Suddenly, Rosha got goosebumps on the back of her neck thinking, if she didn¡¯t go to look for Polly, she would be dead by now. She was surprisingly relieved at this moment. However, when she realized her hidden emotions, she felt disgusted with herself. How could she be so selfish when her family is all dead? Rosha, who was guilty for only thinking of herself, buried her face on Lily¡¯s shoulders, but soon removed her head as if she came to her senses. ¡°First, let¡¯s go to the village. Can you move?¡± ¡°Yes¡­..¡± Lily stared upward at Rosha and nodded. Rosha also tried to raise her little sister up with her trembling body. It was then¡­. ¡°Unnie¡­..¡± Lily¡¯s gaze was subtly off as she looked up at Rosha. Her trembling pupils were filled with horror as she gaped over Rosha¡¯s shoulder, not at her face. Rosha could feel it then, the cold wind from behind. It was Ramia. It fluttered its two-pronged tongue while rearranging its lower jaw. They were petrified as they couldn¡¯t scream and held each other tightly. Their stone-like appearances allowed the monster to come close and with its wicked hands, grabbed onto the hair of the two young sisters. Only then, came a scream. ¡°No, Lily!¡± ¡°Unnie!¡± Rosha pulled on Lily¡¯s arms hard to keep herself from letting her sister go. As the strength of her grip increased, the blade of the nails buried into Lily¡¯s flesh and scratched the surface of her Lily¡¯s arms. [Who should I eat first¡­?] The monster roared thunderously. Ramia¡¯s grip was getting stronger and stronger, and Rosha eventually lost her strength. The monster lifted Lily as if it had been waiting for her meal all this time. ¡°Let my sister go!¡± Rosha yelled loudly. The monster grabbed Lily¡¯s hair and prepared to devour her body. ¡°Unnie, save me¡­¡± Lily¡¯s faint voice like breathing penetrated Rosha¡¯s ears without the need for her to even shout. But Rosha was helpless. She was incapable to do anything, and had no choice but to watch the monster touch her little sister. At this moment, Rosha and Lily were the monster¡¯s prey. ¡°Lily!¡± Rosha tried to reach out, but her fingers could only rub against the sole of her sister¡¯s foot. When the monster¡¯s razor-sharpened fangs teeth were about to scratch Lily¡¯s stomach, a sudden noise broke its concentration . Ruff! Ruff! Somewhere near them, a dog was barking. Ramia turned her gaze away from Lily and looked back. A dog with white fur and black spots jumped up and bit its face. ¡°Polly!¡± The dog, who previously had left the house, had returned. Lily fell out from Ramia¡¯s clasp hands when Polly bit Ramia¡¯s face. Polly would notlet go. ¡°Get up quickly, Lily! We have to run! Right now!¡± Rosha, while holding on to her sister¡¯s hand, dashed out of the room fearlessly, stepping on the torn scales of the monster that was being occupied by Polly. The two young sisters went down the stairs and exited the house. ¡°Unnie! What about Polly?!¡± Lily was worried about Polly as she rushed down the hill. Polly was like a family member and a best friend who grew up with them. However, Rosha did not have the courage to go back to save Polly. She just pulled on Lily¡¯s hand and ran. She did not even have the strength to lift Lily, who had fallen several times, but drag her instead. There was no time to stall, no time to look back; all they could do was to leave the place for their own safety. In the great distance, they could hear the dog¡¯s cry. ***** Chapter 3 Chapter 3 It was more of a howl than a cry. The pace of their run stopped by itself when Lily heard the dog¡¯s scream. ¡°Come on, Lily!¡± After standing still for a while, Rosha again pulled Lily¡¯s hand and continued to run. Lily¡¯s knees, which she had injured due to continuous fall, were full of bruises and scratches. If Polly died, the monster would soon chase after them. So they had to hurry. ¡°Lily, hurry up¡­¡­ Ah!¡± Rosha turned back to see Lily, who was still young and couldn¡¯t keep up, and could not see the big stone in front of her. As a result, they both rolled down the hill. Rosha¡¯s braided hair had loosen itself by this point. Normally, she would whine about it and asked her brother to redo it, but now the situation was different. In a situation of life and death, her hairstyle was not important and didn¡¯t matter at this moment. ¡°Lily! Are you alright?¡± ¡°Oh, uh. I¡¯m fine!¡± Lily got up energetically, approached Rosha and offered her hand. However, she did not want to rely on the strength of her little sister. Rosha tried to get up by pushing herself off supporting the floor without the support of Lily¡¯s hand. ¡°Ugh¡­..¡± ¡°Unnie¡­?¡± However, there was a problem with one of her legs. When Rosha applied some strength on her feet and tried to get up, sharp stabbing pain shot up her leg. It seemed like she had sprained her ankle. Still, after trying hard, she succeeded in standing up while her collar was damp with perspiration covering her face and neck. But there was another problem, walking. ¡°Unnie, are you okay ?!¡± The foot with a dislocated ankle collapsed without being able to bear even one step. It was impossible as it was. Rather than running away with her little sister, now they would be in danger because of her. She was afraid. She didn¡¯t want to be left alone. She wanted Lily to be by her side. ¡°What is it? Are you hurt, Unnie? I¡¯ll give you a piggyback ride.¡± Little Lily bent her knees and curved her back ready to carry Rosha. But how could she when she was so small? It was impossible. Suddenly, Rosha recalled her parent¡¯s words that she was an older sister, and she should be responsible, take care, and protect her little sister. Rosha hated it. She hated her parents who forced her to think that the love she deserved was stolen, and she hated Lily. There were times she wished Lily wasn¡¯t born. However, at this moment, from her little sister¡¯s existence to the words of her parents, all of them were missed dearly. ¡°Lily, I¡¯m sorry.¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Unnie, why is that¡­ ?¡± ¡°When you asked to play with me, I always went out and left you alone. I never give up my dolls¡­.¡± Perhaps because of Rosha¡¯s sad confession, Lily suddenly burst into tears. ¡°Oh no! I¡¯m more sorry¡­ I wanted to play with your things and lost them ¡­.Come with me¡­. I don¡¯t want to go alone.!¡± Lily seemed to have already noticed what Rosha was going to say. Rosha wanted to become a good sister to Lily if she survived, but she couldn¡¯t accept Lily¡¯s request now. ¡°I can¡¯t go with you¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Oh no! Come with me! We can go together!¡± ¡°First, you go down to the village. Then, search for a grown up and ask them for help.¡± ¡°I can pick you up! l am very strong! Let¡¯s go together, Unnie!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn!¡± Eventually, Rosha was forced to get mad at Lily. ¡°If you¡¯re next to me, I can¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°But¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you can run away from me. Go down to the village and bring someone to help me. Got it?¡± ¡°Unnie¡­¡± ¡°Go now!¡± As Rosha shouted, Lily eventually went away with a tearful face, her eyes full of reluctance. ¡°I will definitely bring someone to help!¡± Lily left Rosha in a hurry and went down the hill. Rosha could not take her eyes off Lily who was running further away from her. ¡®Lily, I¡¯m sorry. I lied. By the time you bring someone, I¡¯ll probably¡­No, I have to live.¡¯ The moment she was about to weaken her heart, Rosha tried to strengthen herself. ¡®I will survive. For Lily, at least for Lily.¡¯ Suddenly, Rosha looked back as if she sensed something from behind. On the top of the hill, there was Ramia looking down at her. In Ramia¡¯s hand, Polly¡¯s severed head was held. It was hard for Rosha to suppress her sorrow because she could see the dead Polly clearly from where she was. Then, she turned to Lily¡¯s direction, fortunately, Lily had reached the village¡¯s entrance. Rosha felt a little relieved to think that Lily would be able to get some help from the villagers. She just had to hold on until then. Rosha tried to crawl on the cold ground with her knees and hands. She wanted to get away but she could not walk. However, there was no place to hide in the open areas. While crawling away, Rosha looked back, terrified as there was nowhere to escape. Ramia was large and her movements were clearly visible in the distance. The body of a giant serpent glided down the hill in no time. ¡°Oh, ah ah!¡± Regardless of the scratches on her knees and dirt on her palms, Rosha crawled desperately down the hill. But to Ramia, Rosha¡¯s movements seemed to be as slow as an ant crawling. [Young child¡­¡­] ¡°Ah, evil!¡± [Sweet blood.¡­] Lamia, who came close to her, grabbed Rosha¡¯s previously wounded ankle. Rosha screamed painfully. To avoid being dragged, she clawed her fingers into the grass and dirt, but she only managed to dirtied her nails. ¡°Let me go! Let go!¡± Rosha held on to the ground and scratched Ramia¡¯s scales with her fingernails. However, as Rosha¡¯s resistance increased, Ramia rejoiced. The snake quickly coiled around Rosha¡¯s body with its long, flexible body. The pressure was strong on Rosha¡¯s body, she could not make a sound as the constriction was too tight, she was suffocated. When the pressure had released from her body, Rosha¡¯s ribs were crushed, and her body twitched like she was having a seizure. Rosha was helplessly heard the sound of her ribs breaking under her skin. Breathing was so difficult, that even weak breaths could barely come out of her mouth. Saliva flowed uninterrupted from her open lips. Rosha¡¯s body was released only when she completely gave up her resistance. Ramia, who had loosened her grip, moved her upper body that was still wrapped around Rosha. Then it lifted Rosha¡¯s body with its hands and buried its teeth on Rosha¡¯s stomach, chewing on her flesh. Warm red blood soaked her still body as her mind gradually darkened. ¡®Mother, father, Dane¡­Lily, please survive¡­¡¯ Now, there was no monster Ramia, no ranch, no grass on the hills, nothing. Rosha was just lying in the dark. But, starting from the end of the darkness, a pure white light permeated. It was so dazzling that it was hard to see, but Rosha was able to look at the light without closing her eyes. Then the light got brighter and brighter. There was an ambiguous voice that started talking to her. ¡°Who are you..?¡± ¡°Do you want to live?¡± No face was visible, and gender was indistinguishable by the voice. However, Rosha felt that, for the first time, there it was divine energy coming from the light. She looked at it without even blinking. She realized that this was an opportunity. Just as Dane shouted at her to run away with all his might, Rosha reached out to the light with all that she had. ¡°I want to live! Please save me..¡­ !¡± After she spoke, sparkles which resembled white fluffy snow fell from the white light. She felt ticklish when it faintly brushed against her cheeks. At the moment, Rosha finally realized that it was white wings that had touched her body. ¡°Are you an angel? Or are you God?¡± ¡°I am your father and mother, salvation and disaster, light and darkness. If you are saved by me, you must become a light and face the darkness. Will you hold my hand?¡± God warned her that there was a high huge price to pay if she wanted to live. But could there be anything else that is more costly than death? Rosha reached out her fingers and held on to the hand of God just before she was awakened. With her hand inside God¡¯s grip, the same light that flowed through the fingertips of God seeped into Rosha¡¯s fingers and penetrated her body. At that moment, a new sensation of pain coursed through her veins. ¡°Ahhh! It hurts! It¡¯s hot. Father, mother! Help me!¡± The pain spread throughout Rosha¡¯s body. Her brown hair and eyes gradually transformed itself, becoming brighter like the light. A color that no ordinary human could ever have. **** When the pain was all over, Rosha woke up on a hill stained with her blood. It was hazy. She could not think of anything. However, even in the midst of that, Rosha¡¯s eyes found Ramia. Unfocused pupils turned to the village down the hill. What happened afterward left her like a hazy afterimage. It came to her mind without emotion, as if she was looking at other people¡¯s memories. Still, she remembered all the important things. The moment when she met the villagers who were annihilated by Ramia, all of the village¡¯s children were eaten up¡­.. And Ramia¡¯s head exploded by God¡¯s hand gestures. **** Chapter 4 Chapter 4 ¡°Oh, what a mess!¡± It was the bright morning that revealed the secret gruesome scene of last night¡¯s slaughter. A man dressed in a black suit tried to walk on the clean floor as much as he could in a village full of wrecked houses and bloodstains. He came to this village because of his mission. At a glance, traces of Ramia¡¯s bloody massacre were clear. Only the young ones were devoured while the adults were murdered. ¡°.¡­There seems to be no survivors.¡± Ramia must have escaped alive. The man hurriedly scribbled that there were no survivors in his notebook, then tried to leave the village quickly. Surely, it was impossible to imagine that Ramia would be dead with full of magical power buried in her mouth, and that someone could escape the killing. Just in case, he still patrolled the village just be sure. As he was close to giving up due to annoyance and was about to go, he felt a subtle magic energy coming from somewhere close. And when he followed the trail of the energy while feeling wondrous, he discovered an astonishing spectacle. Ramia¡¯s lifeless body and a living survivor. ¡°It¡¯s an unexpected discovery.¡± Taking a look at the remains, Ramia was obviously slayed by a magic wielder. It meant that the killer had magic, and easy enough, there was a girl lying quietly as if she was dead in front of Ramia¡¯s corpse, spewing out magical power. It was a bit hard to believe that the weak energy coming from the girl was the cause of Ramia¡¯s death, but it was undoubtedly clear that she had power. Her eyes were closed, so it¡¯s impossible to check her condition, but she had light pink hair¡­ It was a hair color that ordinary humans could not have. The man took off his jacket, covered the bloody girl with torn clothes, and held her small body. ¡°You will have to get ready to meet your new family.¡± After having an unexpected finding, the man hummed and left the village. **** The most painful and terrible memories came to life vividly in the dark. Rosha was standing alone in the murk so dark that nothing could be seen. It was strange. This blackness was unknown to her. Also, even though she had been hiding alone to avoid people, she still wanted someone to be by her side. ¡®Where is this? Where is everyone? Mother, father! Where are you?¡¯ No matter how desperately she called for her family, there was no response. [Let¡¯s go out and eat until dinner. Oh, it would be nice to take a walk with Polly too.] ¡°So it turned out that I went out with my brother. I ate ice cream with Dane in town, and saw a strange newspaper article on the poster¡­On my way home, Polly suddenly barked and ran away¡­Ahh¡­¡± As Rosha was looking back on her memories, a sudden light came through in the dark. [Rosha¡­run¡­] The image of her brother, who cried out to her to run away while being eaten by Ramia, was being replayed in front of her eyes, as if it was happening at this moment. Only then the memory of the great disaster that had struck her home came to her mind, who had chosen to forget it in the space of her dreams. Rosha ran through the blinding darkness. ¡°Lily! Lily, where are you¡±?! Her mission was to find her little sister. However, the door to oblivion, which had been firmly closed, opened, and Rosha recalled all the memories one by one. [Go with me¡­.I don¡¯t want to go alone ¡­!] Rosha¡¯s leg was injured, so she sent Lily away to the village first, and she was left alone and was eaten by Ramia¡­. The memories of that time were regenerated like a picture in the dark. However, the memory of herself being eaten was vague. All she could remember was that she opened her eyes and went down to the ruined village and did a motion with her hand to the serpent. And with that gesture, the sight of the monster collapsing came to her mind faintly. ¡®If the village was attacked by Ramia. I will definitely bring adults!¡¯ ¡®What about my little sister who had headed to the village?¡¯ Rosha¡¯s head was dizzy. Her memories of confronting her parents, eating ice cream with Dane, finding Lily under the bed, were mixed up. The ceiling, the walls, the floor, and everything became dark. The memories of that day were being drawn. Everything was confusing, but one conclusion was clear. She needed to find Lily. Unless Lily¡¯s body was found, Rosha refused to think that her little sister was dead. What Rosha could do now was to find her little sister first. In order to do that, she had to step out of this darkness. She lifted up her body that had been sitting down without even realizing it. Then the wall of memory that day was being played back began to crack. When the crack that started from above continued to the end and the wall was completely broken into two, white light permeated from somewhere. It was the exit from the dream. ¡°That¡¯s the exit!¡± Rosha did not hesitate to reach out for reality. ¡°Will you be ok?¡± However, the man¡¯s voice was heard at that time stopped Rosha. ¡°Who are you¡­¡­?¡± Rosha asked. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to live a normal life like before.¡± Even at Rosha¡¯s question, the man who did not reveal himself but only said what he wanted to say. But she as nott offended by his words. ¡°Even if you go out to the outside world, you don¡¯t have a family to protect you anymore.¡± The truth stabbed Rosha¡¯s heart because that was her fear. ¡°Stay here with me.¡± Suddenly, the surroundings brightened. Even in the brilliant field of view, the man¡¯s identity could not be seen. Instead, Rosha¡¯s favorite sweet treats were stacked on a small table. Also on the floor were her favorite dolls, toys, and flowers. ¡°If you stay here, I¡¯ll give you everything you want.¡± An unknown man persuaded Rosha in a sweet voice. Then, she picked up one of the dolls that were on the floor. It was the doll that had made her cry because she was forced to give it to Lily in the past. ¡°I have to go.¡± Rosha put it down because these dolls had no meaning to her now. ¡°You won¡¯t regret it?¡± The man asked. Rosha recalled her last view of Lily¡¯s face. Her little sister would be all alone if she did not go out into the world to look for her. For her parents, who were not in the world anymore, she had to take responsibility for Lily as an older sister. ¡°I won¡¯t regret it.¡± The man kept calling Rosha¡¯s name. However, Rosha, who turned away from the man¡¯s voice, reached out to the real world without hesitation. Even though the real world made her sick, she had something precious to find. *** When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the dazzling sunlight coming through the window opposite the bed. But it wasn¡¯t the bright lighting that made Rosha¡¯s face frown, it was the intense pain that came with it. ¡°No.777, are you up?¡± While she was grasping the clothes near her chest, a voice could be heard from somewhere. Rosha belatedly got up when she realized that there was someone beside her. ¡°Huh? Ugh!¡± But as soon as she moved, the pain spread all over her body. Rosha gasped, covering her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t over do it, you will get hurt.¡± There was no sincerity in the way the person was speaking. Rosha, who couldn¡¯t release her vigilance, raised her head and looked up at her opponent. A middle-aged man with a serious face holding a glass of dark green liquid came into her view. ¡°Drink this. The pain will get better.¡± She hesitated because the drink was given by someone who she had only met for the first time, but her hesitation only lasted for a short while. ¡°Ugh!¡± As the pain came again, Rosha took the glass from the man. The green liquid spilled over the blanket, but Rosha, who had a hard time breathing, drank the liquid without a break. ¡°Tsk,Tsk. Now the maid has more work to do.¡± After drinking the liquid from the man who clicked his tongue in annoyance, Rocha felt the pain in her chest subsided. The tip of her tongue was bitter, but it was a great pain reliever so it did not matter. Rosha sighed, lied down, and took in the scenery around her. The walls of the spacious room were white without any patterns. However, an alarm clock, golden frames and paintings filled the emptiness. The furnishings and decorations in the room were colorful. In addition, a bed made of wood with square pillars, tied with a white curtain, and a carpet with geometric patterns was laid on the floor. ¡°Where am I?¡± At Rosha¡¯s question, the middle-aged man clicked his tongue again, removing the monocle from his eye. ¡°This is the capital city, and far from the town where you lived.¡± ¡°Why am I here¡­¡­.?¡± ¡°Because you were lucky to survive and we found you.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°You must be very fortunate. If we hadn¡¯t found you, you would be dead by now.¡± The man in a white gown handed over the mirror to Rosha, who seemed to still not understand his words. Rosha received the mirror in a daze and carefully lifted it up. When she looked at her face in the mirror, she was speechless. Her eyes and hair color were very unique. Her hair was pale pink like cherry blossoms, and her eyes were dark pink. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you might get it wrong, but no one has dyed your hair. You know it¡¯s impossible to even change the color of your eyes, right?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Oh, of course I know that it¡¯s stupid, but there are also kids who sometimes ask these stupid questions.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather you ask a question that¡¯s more obvious than that. For example, why did your hair color change so much¡­.?¡± ¡°What happened to our village?¡± Rosha cut off the man¡¯s words that were getting longer and longer. The man, who had been shut down by her, stopped talking as if he was confused. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about the color of your hair and eyes?¡± ¡°There is something more important than that.¡± The pain got better, and she knew that the man was not a bad person. Then, there was something else she needed to do. ¡°Have you seen any other survivors from my village?¡± **** Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Perhaps Rosha¡¯s question was too unexpected that the man stared at her for a while. Then, he immediately laughed and shook his head. ¡°First of all, my name is Aaron. I was the one in charge of investigating this case. Of course, I am the person who found you.¡± ¡°Well, maybe¡­¡­.¡± ¡°# 777, we haven¡¯t found any other survivors except you.¡± ¡°All the villagers¡­¡­ Are you saying that they are all dead?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did you see a five-year-old girl with blond hair?!¡± Instead of answering, Aaron pulled out a small envelope from his white robe and threw it onto Rosha¡¯s lap. She hurriedly turned over the envelope, and the photos inside poured out. ¡°These pictures were taken to identify the victims who had died in that village.¡± Rosha hurriedly looked through the photos one after another. She looked at all the photos that seemed to be girls the age of Lily. After that, she looked at all the pictures of the women with long hair. And finally, she looked over all the photos from the beginning, including those of the men. However, Lily¡¯s body was not in any of those photos. ¡°None. I don¡¯t have a picture of my sister. Is this all? Do you have any more?¡± ¡°Every single victim was filmed. If it¡¯s not there, I can¡¯t tell you anything more.¡± ¡°Then, you mean there is a chance that my sister could be alive?¡± ¡°Well, maybe she was lucky enough. But, didn¡¯t you say that your sister was only 5 years old?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If she is that young, she is unlikely to be alive even if she was lucky enough to escape the village¡±, Aaron gave Rosha no hope. But, what he said was not important to her. ¡°It¡¯s only a low probability, and it¡¯s not like you can be very sure that she¡¯s dead.¡± Rosha had confirmed with her own eyes that her family was dead. But, it did not include Lily. Lily was her one and only family, and she had gone to the village to get help. If Lily were alive somewhere, she would be waiting for her. The image of her little sister crying and promising to bring the adults to help while running away, was still clear in Rosha¡¯s mind. ¡°Can you please find my sister? She could be hiding in a nearby town!¡± ¡°No.777, I investigated the nearby village, but there was no evidence of a survivor running there. I hate to admit it, but your sister is dead.¡± ¡°My sister is not dead!¡± Rosha yelled at the man with all her might. Then, the man just looked at her quietly as if surprised. Her body was shaking. Perhaps it was because she squeezed out all the remaining energy she had to scream at the man, causing the pain in her chest to throb again, it seemed that the medicine had lost its effect. ¡®Lily is alive.¡¯ Until she checked Lily¡¯s body with her own eyes, she refused to believe in the opposite. Her little sister, who was born with gorgeous blond hair, unlike herself, was lovely, and there were times she was jealous of that loveliness. The loveliness which took her happiness away. However, just because she was jealous and disliked Lily didn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t love her. And right now, she was in deep regret as she wasn¡¯t a good child just before her family left her forever. Lily is the only family she has left so she couldn¡¯t give up now. She will surely find her. But what if Lily really died? Then¡­.she won¡¯t give up on finding her body. ¡°I¡¯ll tear it to death.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aaron asked back with an absurd look at Rosha¡¯s sudden words. Rosha snarled, gritted her teeth, looking straight into the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°There are more monsters like that in this world, right?¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°The monsters, I will kill them¡­.All without exception.¡± It was hard for Aaron to believe that her pink eyes, as beautiful as jewels, were now gleaming like an illusion of red blood. Perhaps the girl¡¯s words were sincere. The amount of anger in it was big enough to tear the world apart. But just because her anger was great, it didn¡¯t mean that she could achieve her purpose. ¡°That¡¯s too bad, 777.¡± ¡°But, why do you keep calling me number 777?¡± ¡°I measured your mana while you were sleeping.¡± ¡°My mana¡­.?¡± ¡°I thought it was pretty high because you killed Ramia at once, but I was disappointed because the ranking was pretty low. Only in the 777th place. With this rank, you cannot be assigned a mission to kill a demon.¡± ¡°What do you mean now¡­?¡± It was when Rosha tilted her head in confusion at the appearance of a man speaking unknown words, she heard a knock on the door. When she looked in the direction of the door, the one who knocked was already opening it. ¡°Ah, Noah. Did you come?¡± A handsome man with light blue hair stood leaning against the door. He was young, unlike Aaron who was next to Rosha. The man, who was wearing a cravat in a neat white shirt, was as beautiful as a prince on the white horse in a fairy tale Rosha had read as a child. She would be enchanted by him if the situation was different, but the man¡¯s beauty had little effect on Rosha today. ¡°Aaron, you need to be kind to the young freshman.¡± ¡°You know obviously that this old man is not good at teaching anyone.¡± Unlike when dealing with Rosha, Aaron politely bowed his head to the young man with light blue hair. ¡°Aaron. Can I talk to this girl for a while?¡± ¡°Of course, Noah.¡± Aaron left the room, packing a bag full of medicine without Rosha¡¯s consent. Only the young man and Rosha were left behind. ¡°Hello Rosha.¡± There was no awkward silence, and the man spoke friendly to her first. ¡°My name is Noah. Noah Rostelier. You may have heard Aaron calling my name earlier.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°You can comfortably call me Noah.¡± ¡°Noah.¡± ¡°Yes, call me like that.¡± Then, Noah found the glass of medicine Rosha had previously drunk, smelled it, then put it on the side table again, frowning. ¡°Oh, that medicine is very bitter. Do you need candy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­.¡± When she tried to refute his words that the medicine was indeed bitter, suddenly, Noah¡¯s hand reached out to Rosha¡¯s hair. Surprised, she pulled her body back. ¡°Ta-da!¡± With a blink of an eye, the man held out a red lollipop in his hand. It was fascinating and surprising, and while her eyes were still wide open, the red candy was pushed through Rosha¡¯s lips and touched her tongue. The sweet taste spread in her mouth, eliminating the medicine¡¯s taste. ¡°I know it¡¯s rude, excuse me, but I heard the conversation you had with Aaron.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your sister.¡± Rosha nodded with somber expression, spinning the lollipop in her mouth meaninglessly. ¡°We¡¯re trying to see if there¡¯s any survivors nearby, but nothing has been found yet. If you didn¡¯t find your sister in the photos of the dead¡­¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Maybe she was like one of those who either died in the woods, or escaped somewhere else.¡± When the talks about the survival of Lily came out, Rosha took the candy out of her mouth. ¡°I was also killed by Ramia, but I am still alive! So maybe my little sister is also alive somewhere ..¡­.¡± ¡°You are a special case.¡± ¡°What¡­..?¡± **** ¡°You¡¯re a special case.¡± ¡°What¡­.?¡± To Rosha, who knew nothing, the man slowly explained. ¡°Do you know an old myth? God sent his son to a fallen world to save the foolish humans and the world.¡± ¡°I know. By the sacrifice of a child of God, he carried the evil out of this world.¡± In the long history, it was the state religion of this country, and it was a myth about the one god that many people still believe. It was an old story that a child of God, who was an angel, was born into the world, saved people, and died with the sins of this world. ¡°At that time, the God who mourned the death of his son made a pledge. When he sends another savior to this world, he will create knights to protect his son.¡± ¡°But God-sent knights need one condition to awaken. He has to be reborn from the death of the demon. Just like you.¡± Rosha fiddled with her half-length hair coming down her shoulders, wondered if Noah changed his hair color too when he was attacked by such monsters? Noah, with light blue hair and eyes of the same color, smiled and nodded. ¡°Rosha. I¡¯m sorry, but as long as you awaken regardless of your origin, you¡¯re a Rostelier from now on.¡± ¡°What is Rostelier?¡± ¡°Have you ever heard of the Golden Dawn Society?¡± Rosha remembered walking around town with her brother when she happened to see an article on the wall. At that time, Dane said it was a crazy cult. ¡°Yes. I know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s us.¡± However, today, Rosha couldn¡¯t call them a pseudo-group. It was because they were the ones who had saved her from her death. ¡°All the knights who belong to the Golden Dawning Society abandoned their origins and followed the last name known as Rostelier. It is my original surname, the founder, and everyone uses the same surname to symbolise us being in one family.¡± ¡°My name is Rosha Lewen.¡± ¡°But from now on, you¡¯re Rosha Rostelier.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. When you become a member of our family, I will find your sister for you.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I go find my sister by myself?¡± Rosha felt uneasy to leave the matter on her sister¡¯s whereabouts in the hands of others. So if she could, she wanted to find Lily herself. Noah laughed as if it was a little difficult, and shook his head firmly. ¡°That¡¯s not allowed.¡± ¡°Why? Because I am young?¡± ¡°Because you are only ranked 777th.¡± ¡°So..?¡± ¡°Rosha, our Golden Dawn Knights were ranked according to their strength. Among them, missions that involve meeting or taking care of victims by demons could only be taken by knights starting from the 500th rank, missions that involve actual battles with demons are from the 300th rank, while secret and highly important missions are reserved for the 100th rank and above knights. The rest are only tasked in adding a little power to a big battle.¡± To find Lily, she would have to find the victims who have run away from the demon, and she must be able to fight the demon if she met one. However, Rosha doesn¡¯t even rank in the 700th, let alone the 500th. As Noah had said, Rosha¡¯s rank was the 777th knight. She must be on the top 100 to be able to find Lily herself. ¡°What if I raise my ranking?¡± ¡°The innate mana cannot be changed.¡± ¡°I will work hard.¡± ¡°There are those who have made their efforts to rank 10th or so, but aren¡¯t you too low to do that?¡± ¡°Give me a chance. I will try!¡± Noah pondered for a moment, looking at the young girl who seemed very desperate. He didn¡¯t like to waste time on things with obvious results. However, if he doesn¡¯t give her any chance here, the girl will completely shut the door to her heart. Anyway, if she tried hard and it didn¡¯t work out, she would resign by herself, so giving her some time to throw away her lingering doubts would not be a bad decision. This little child needs time for education in the future. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Rosha.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a year¡¯s time.¡± Noah with a benevolent smile, glanced down at Rosha, who was still holding the lollipop in her hand. ¡°If you do not improve your rank within a year, then you have to give up completely. What do you think?¡± Rosha could also feel that Noah is giving her a great opportunity. There was no way to back out from here anyway. ¡°Good.¡± As Rosha nodded, Noah reached out to her and said, ¡°Then, let me introduce you to the Golden Dawn Society.¡± Rosha grabbed his hand and got out of bed. She then moved forward slowly while holding his hand, suppressing the slight pain in her chest. As she left the open door, she saw a long corridor. On one side of the wall of the corridor was a railing, the top was open, allowing people to look down. Rosha peered over the railing and was astonished, speechless upon the sights ahead of her. There was a large door far away across them. There was a square inside the gate, which was erected like the entrance of a castle, and there were countless people gathering there. The scenery, which seemed to appear like a city to her, was a space that only the people of the Golden Dawn Society could enjoy. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit late for me to say this, but¡­.Rosha,¡± Noah gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders. ¡°Welcome to the Rostelier of the Golden Dawn Society.¡± Looking at the young girl who was full of vain hopes that she would be able to raise her rankings if she tried hard enough, Noah hoped that in the near future, the day would come when this child would be able to abandon those futile ambitions and be able to laugh freely. **** Noah had to admit that he was wrong exactly a year later. As a result of re-measurement, Rosha managed to rise up 700th places. Now, she is ranked 77th among the Rosteliers. **** Chapter 6 Chapter 6 The energy of the dark forest made all of the beasts that had lived there for a long time trembled in fear. This was due to the presence of creatures that are higher ranked on the food chain than those beasts that have long occupied the forest. At one time, sunlight hung in the morning, dew formed on green leaves, and the forest where people often came to dig or hunt medicinal herbs were no longer considered popular. In such a forest, those beasts would drink blood from the wolf¡¯s neck with their tentacles extracted from their tongues. The girl with her pale pink hair twisted up high and tied into one, was lovingly dressed according to her liking. The girl was currently adorned in a black dress tied with a ribbon, black high knee-socks and a pair of shiny loafers. In the forest, with a staff stamped with the seal of the Golden Dawn, she stepped forward, striking the damp ground. Sasabonsam, the beast who had been enjoying its meal for a long time, finally felt the presence of humans and turned its head. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s disgusting.¡± It was a demon with no hair, thin and pale skin, with prominent blood vessels, walking bipedally, but also equipped with bat wings. A tribe¡¯s legend identified the demon as Sasabonsam. Reminiscent of what she had learned while practicing her magic, Rosha stretched out her hand and saw that the creature was so slender that his cheeks were hollow. She talked to it with her fake gentle voice while suppressing her power as much as possible. ¡°C¡¯mon. You want to eat this?¡± Animal-eating demons were not very dangerous. A group of humans were enough to hunt this kind of demon. Demons who were too weak to hunt for humans alone and gave up, evolved to fill their stomachs with animals instead. But in the core of their existence, only human meat could satisfy its appetite. At night, it sneaked out and attacked a person secretly, so it was Rosha¡¯s responsibility to kill it. In addition, the bigger problem was that Sasabonsam was a weak monster that couldn¡¯t live alone. While living in a group, a Sasabonsam would get pregnant with several offspring and then leave the group, settle itself in a new area in order to give birth and form another group. Rosha¡¯s eyes zeroed in on Sasabonsam¡¯s stomach. As she had expected, several babies could be seen to be conceived by it. This means that it would need more nutrients. ¡°You really don¡¯t listen, do you ?¡± Rosha didn¡¯t hesitate and bit her arm hard. Red blood flowed down from the wound. The eyes of Sasabonsam, who were still having its tentacles around the wolf¡¯s neck, flashed on alert. The excited monster crawled towards Rosha with a creepy cry. Although it had wings, it seemed to be powerless because they haven¡¯t drank human blood for a long time. The Sasabonsam, who had long been starving, hurried to stick out its tongue. Long tentacles with a sharp tip emerged from a hole in the tip of the tongue. Sasabonsam¡¯s tentacles flew to Rosha, drawing a long parabola like an arrow. Rosha quietly put her hands on the staff even though the tentacles were flying in front of her. As the tentacles were close enough to reach Rosha¡¯s neck, she raised her staff and struck upon it. And at once, the tentacles were wrapped around the staff. Sasabonsam let out a bizarre cry as it struggled to break free from the staff. Rosha was also struggling not to get dragged away by the demon, but with the help of her mana wrapped around her whole body, she did not lose her strength at this moment. During the tug-of-war, she swung her staff little by little to wrap the tongue of Sasabonsam even more and the distance between them gradually got closer. Finally, Rosha, who had narrowed the distance enough to be one step ahead of the monster, crushed its one eye, and the monster fell to the ground, wriggling in pain. The monster cried out its pain in a bizarre sound. The more it cried, the more Rosha was inclined to get this job done quickly as it was getting bothersome, while at the same time, she felt joyful. ¡°Die, you monster!¡± The monster¡¯s existence was such a waste of air. Still, the weak monster continued to suffer in hunger and weakened even more. She got the urge deep in heart to torment the helpless monster even more. Although it was already in pain and even shed bloody tears, Rosha wanted to rip the monster apart and see its cubs pulled out of the stomach while it was still alive. She really felt like committing those gruesome acts. [If you do what the darkness in your heart tells you, you will eventually become a slave to it]. But, Rosha couldn¡¯t do it. When she is reunited with Lily later, she doesn¡¯t want to become a monster herself. She collected her own precious blood that got pooled on her palm. If the magic tools made by the Golden Dawn, such as a wand or pocket watch, were used to control power, more energy would be saved making it easier for its wielder to use their own magic. All of the words spoken by wizards could be used as a spell in any situation according to their will. ¡°The flame of God will burn you.¡± On the contrary, a medium that could amplify magic would come from the wizard themselves, their own blood. Using a puff of wind released from her lips towards her gloved palm, a flame sparkled following Rosha¡¯s breath under the power of the spell she previously chanted. The flame soon lit up the body of the Sasabonsam. ¡°Ahhhh!!!¡± When the Sasabonsam¡¯s body burned, the tentacle that previously connected to the staff tore in half. Rosha removed the part that was still still attached to the staff, took out a handkerchief and wiped it while savoring the screams of the monster. While she was slowly wiping her staff, the burning body quickly became ash and disappeared into the air without leaving any trace. Instead, a small ember remained, emitting a faint glow on the ground. Rosha casually stepped on the still flickering cinders to extinguish it. **** Then, when she found that the ribbon on one of her black shoes had loosened, she bent her knees for a while and tied it. ¡°God, thank you for helping me not to become a monster today.¡± Rosha, who prayed to God like a habit, tried to leave the forest with the staff in her hand as she was. Then the sound of some beasts was heard, and she raised her hands reflexively to attack . However, the identity of the one who created the sound was not another monster, but a young wolf cub. Rather than the monster that Rosha criticized for being ugly and vulgar, it was literally a young cub. As if it was not long after it opened its eyes, the tiny white furry cub was crying hard. Other dead cubs could be seen next to him, but their mother was already dead while trying to protect them from the monster earlier. Luckily in the process, this white cub survived. ¡°Your mother is dead. Take care of yourself.¡± Rosha just ignored it and tried to leave. The loss of the mother was grim, but the monster was unable to take responsibility for the damaged animals. She took three steps away from the young cub when¡­ Kiing, Kiing, Kiing ¡­ The baby¡¯s cries persistently followed her. ¡°Ha, really¡­¡­.¡± Was it because the dog was originally a wolf family? She remembered her dog, Polly, that she had a long time ago. The dog who was able to sense dark energy and ran away, came back to save its owners, and eventually died as a young friend and family member. Rosha suddenly screamed mindlessly and when she had calmed down, she stood in front of the white young wolf. ¡°You know you¡¯re lucky.¡± Looking down at the baby wolf, she sighed and raised him up. The cub still whined in her arms. Rosha wrapped the cub in a cape coat, and left the forest without hesitation. As she left the forest, Ray, a black eagle waiting nearby, sat on Rosha¡¯s shoulder. With unique hair and eye color as well as carrying two beasts out of the forest, of course, she was bound to attract people¡¯s attention. However, as she was familiar with it, she didn¡¯t care about the attention. After receiving the promised money from the town¡¯s chief, she borrowed his one-of-a-kind phone here to report on the mission. Shortly after, the phone connected with a short beep. [My girl, Rosha. Did you finish your work well?] Upon answering the phone, Noah knew immediately it was Rosha. She quietly reported about the work, repressing the feeling of wanting to lie about being unable to perform the mission. ¡°As you expected, it was a monster belonging to the vampire side. It¡¯s named Sasabonsam. Fortunately, before forming a new herd, there was only one pregnant individual, and it was neatly burned and removed without a trace.¡± [I believe in your ability. No injuries?] ¡°I¡¯m not weak enough to get hurt by such a weak monster.¡± [Yes, you did a good job today. Anything else to report on?] Noah¡¯s soft tone relieved Rosha¡¯s tension, who had stiff muscles due to her holding the cub. Didn¡¯t know what to say, she looked down at the wolf still whining in her arms. ¡°I also picked up a wolf.¡± [A wolf?] ¡°Can I raise it?¡± [If you want.] ¡°Oh, and I¡¯m so tired, but I¡¯ll stay here today and leave tomorrow.¡± [Oh, what should I do?] ¡°Why?¡± [I have to get to the headquarter right now.] Noah, who had been asking for a favor because Rosha was still young, was determined somehow. That said, there was a reason to go up right now. ¡°If you¡¯re going to see my face anyway, why did you want to make the phone call longer?¡± [ I want to hear more of my cute youngest sister¡¯s voice.] Noah said, as if Rosha was even his actual younger sister. Although they used the same surname as Rostelier to symbolise them being in one family, there were more than a thousand magicians belonging to the Golden Dawn Society. There were very few people born with magical power, and the conditions for the awakening were also difficult, so only a small number of them were far behind. He said that the stronger the power, the longer the lifespan and it added up to the number of personnel as it was now. That¡¯s why Rosha was still the youngest, even though it¡¯s been 5 years since she joined the group. By age or order of joining, Noah was aware of the faces, names, ages, and personalities of more than a thousand Golden Dawn members and, surprisingly, he seemed to take care of them all diligently. Among them, Rosha was the youngest of them all. ¡°If you have to go to the headquarter in a hurry, is there something important?¡± [Of course I do.] ¡°What is it?¡± Noah¡¯s voice lowered. In addition, Rosha also felt his breathing sounded lighter than before. Shortly afterwards, Noah continued to speak in a low voice . [Tomorrow is your¡­.] A moment passed away as she was waiting anxiously for his words. [It¡¯s your fifteenth birthday.] ¡°Yeah¡­¡­?¡± [We are having a party, but it¡¯s hard to attend the party as soon as we arrive. So come up today and have a good rest and enjoy the party tomorrow.] He told Rosha to come up in a hurry differently than usual, so she was wondering what was so important. It turned out it was just a little thing called birthday. Although it was absurd, Rosha could not get angry because she knew Noah cared for her. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll start right now.¡± Rosha hung up the phone, and cherished the baby wolf in her arms even more, wrapped it inside her coat and found the luggage she had left at the residence. She departed early in the morning and as soon as she arrived in this village, she had to kill the monster and now left for the capital without rest. That was an 8 hours round trip. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be hard on the way, let¡¯s hang in there. Got it?¡± Ray the eagle quietly entered his cage, the wolf snuggled in her arm, and Rosha, with her staff and pocket watch, sighed as they all headed for the train station. Chapter 7 Chapter 7 The process of taking the train was not very difficult. That¡¯s all about sitting on the train and having a boring time. While traveling to the capital, Rosha spent time reading books or playing with the wolf cub snuggling in her arms. When the train finally stopped, Rosha groaned alone and left the train with a cage and a large eagle sitting on top of the luggage. It seemed too much for a small girl to lift alone. ¡°Child, is it too heavy?¡± The station attendant, who found a girl who stood out and memorized her since he was checking her ticket on the train, kindly approached and offered his help. However, Rosha turned her head away from the station attendant with a sulking expression as to what she was unhappy with. ¡°I do not need it.¡± And with an embarrassingly cold response, leaving the bewildered station attendant behind, Rosha struggled with Ray and the wolf cub. The newly remodeled train station was definitely more sophisticated than in the old days when old wooden pillars were built. But even more splendid was the appearance of Rosha, who looked like a noble child. Because of this, she was always attracting people¡¯s attention. After passing through the train station, she rented a small carriage at the entrance instead of walking on a dark night street. Listening to the clatter of horse hooves, she leaned back almost as if she was lying on a small rocking chair. The headquarter of the Golden Dawn Society faced the royal palace, and there was a wide road between them. The signboards of numerous shops were shining in a way that did not spoil the splendid exterior, and countless people were gathering and having a good time. Lovers, friends, and families. Each of the people who came together laughing while having a conversation. ¡°Sister, let¡¯s go together!¡± Among them, there were two young girls who seemed to be sisters. Like herself and Lily five years ago, the two sisters were exchanging words. ¡°Why did you ask me to come out? You said you wanted to play with your friends.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to play together.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not having fun playing with you at all.¡± Rosha was distracted by two younger sisters, as it seemed to recreate her childhood memories of herself and Dane. But it was only for a short moment. The wagon soon passed by them, and the two sisters disappeared from her sight and their bickering voices faded away. She leaned back with a heavy heart. ¡®Lily must be 10 years old now.¡¯ Her lovely little sister with blonde long straight hair. She must have grown a lot by now. The moment when Rosha was thinking about her little sister she longed for, a voice rang. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± Awakening from her imagination, Rosha came down from the carriage with Ray and the wolf cub at the coachman¡¯s announcement. ¡°Here you go.¡± Instead of saying thank you, Rosha, who gave the coachman the fee more than the amount was asked, lifted the cage and headed to the main gate of the headquarter of the Golden Dawn in front of her. When she put the seal on the pocket watch which she wore on her neck into the hole in the gate, the door opened with a pale blue light. As the gate opened, a view of another city unfolded inside. In the middle, there was a square covered with neat gray tiles, a white fountain with a statue of an angel spewing out cool-looking water. Rosha took Ray the Eagle out of the cage and walked with an empty cage. As she was walking along the road with lighter luggage, some of her colleagues greeted her for completing her mission. ¡°Hey, Rosha! Today¡¯s job was like babysitting a five-year-old baby, was it worth it?¡± Starting from those who were hateful, ¡°Congratulations on returning home unharmed, Rosha.¡± There were also those who treated the youngest Rostelier sincerely as a baby. She nodded at them without sincerity and moved forward. Those who looked coy on the outside, but knew Rosha well, found her red ears and giggled among themselves. Whether it was a mean reaction or an embarrassing expression of affection, she was consistent with a proper disregard when she was having difficulty responding, but there was no way to stop her ears from turning red. A long cherry tree stood tall inside as the thornless rose bushes passed through the arched door that entwined the wall. Rocha climbed up the spiral staircase that was wrapped around the cherry tree. After taking out the key from the clothes and opening the door to her room, Rosha put down her luggage and took off her cape coat and moved to another place with only a baby wolf in her comfortable clothes. As she went up the stairs again to the top, there appeared a room of someone who was monopolizing a single floor. Rosha lightly knocked on the door a couple times, then a soft permission ¡®come in¡¯ was heard from inside. She opened the door and stepped inside at once. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired coming all the way here?¡± Noah, who was sitting in front of a desk with piles of papers, seemed to be convinced that the person who knocked on was Rosha, smiling. ¡°I am very tired. But what do I do, it¡¯s Noah¡¯s order.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an order. I just asked for my youngest to come quickly because I wanted to see her.¡± Noah, who made a casual smirk, clicked his nose playfully. When she first saw Noah five years ago, she thought he was a friendly person, but didn¡¯t know he was such a smirk also. As the youngest one in the group, Rosha had heard all kinds of sweet words such as cute, pretty, and so on but she was still not immune to such words. ¡°Did you really call me early for my birthday?¡± Rosha deliberately changed the subject of the conversation. However, it didn¡¯t seem like it was a good decision because now it seemed like she was really expecting a birthday party. Noah woke up while looking at Rosha with a strangely playful expression. Then he approached her and playfully touched Rosha¡¯s red ear with his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s your birthday and I have to pay special attention to it.¡± Noah, who looked at Rosha, who had a grumpy expression while suppressing her unnecessary embarrassment, smiled lightly and belatedly glanced at the wolf in her arms. ¡°Is this a wolf cub that you reaped?¡± ¡°Ah yes¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very young baby, but it will take a lot of work.¡± ¡°I will not let it interfere with my mission.¡± Contrary to her worries that Noah would object, however, Noah stroked her head with a compassionate look. ¡°It just happened to be perfect timing.. I was going to keep you at the headquarter for a while.¡± ¡°Me? why?¡± ¡°Rosha. When did you perform your first mission?¡± ¡°Since I was 12 years old.¡± ¡°Since then, you¡¯ve been running without a break, so I want to give you a vacation.¡± She didn¡¯t know what kind of ghost took over Noah, who pampered her, but it worked just fine for her. ¡°I¡¯m looking for more news about Lily.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything to find your sister.¡± ¡°Whatever I do during my vacation, it¡¯s up to me.¡± Of course, Rosha complained, but Noah gently grasped her shoulders and spoke. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s talk about this after your birthday.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Rather, Rosha.¡± Noah opened his mouth with a somewhat spiteful expression. ¡°Giselle said she wanted to pick out a dress for your birthday party.¡± Rosha¡¯s lips opened in astonishment. She rushed out of Noah¡¯s office in an instant. ¡°Oh! Rosha, can I name the wolf?¡± ¡°Do whatever you like!¡± Rosha, who didn¡¯t put much meaning in the name, hurriedly descended the stairs, roughly giving permission to Noah. *** The members of the Golden Dawn Society, known to the public, had several things in common. First of all, they raised unique animals. There were eagles, frogs, and even octopuses in huge tanks. Second, the personality was unique. People said that Rosha has a bad personality, but the Rostelier brothers said that Rosha was shy. In their eyes, Rosha¡¯s personality must have been pretty cute. Some have anger control disorders, while others were manic, and Rosha was normal. Thirdly, she had unique hair color, eyes, and a staff and a pocket watch with a seal belonging to the Golden Dawn. Lastly, their fashion was firm. Rosha also acknowledged all those commonalities known to the world. In particular, the members of the Golden Dawn had a lot of money, but they were more obsessed with clothes because they did not have the time to spend money or create hobbies. So, whether each person wore well or not, their personality was their own uniqueness. Rosha was also interested in clothes. [Giselle would like to choose a dress for your birthday party.] But there was only one reason Rocha was astonished at Noah¡¯s words. Choosing a dress wasn¡¯t a problem. Rosha was also confident to spend hours choosing clothes. The problem was that Giselle was the one who chose clothes. Choosing clothes with Giselle would take a whole day, if not hours. Therefore, Rosha must choose a dress for the party before Giselle did. That way, even if Giselle came, she would be able to refuse by saying that she has already decided on a dress to wear. Rosha¡¯s feet going down the stairs in urgency got even faster. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Rosha.¡± ¡°Oh¡­.!¡± However, as Rosha ran into a person she never wanted to see, she almost missed her steps. The wolf¡¯s body in her arms leaned forward. Rosha, who almost dropped the wolf, said awkwardly to Giselle, who was standing downstairs. ¡°Hello, Giselle.¡± ¡°Oh, where did you get that wolf cub?¡± ¡°By chance in the woods¡­¡± ¡°You have saved a cute animal like you. Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong. No matter how cute this wolf is, it will never reach the tip of your toes.¡± (*I guess she meant the wolf will never be as cute as Rosha.) Unlike Rosha, who has wavy hair, Giselle, who has long dark red hair, looked up at Rosha in an alluring posture, with her hair hanging behind her shoulders. It seemed like she would seduce anyone, but in fact, Giselle maintained that alluring posture even when she was stained with blood. Giselle, wearing a tight black dress with a split, approached Rosha at once with a smoke pipe in her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Noah bought a bunch of dresses for you, but¡­ There are a lot of nice dresses but I have a good fashion sense. You have white skin, everything will suit you.¡± ¡°Well, there, Giselle¡­¡­!¡± By the way, Giselle was the one Rosha considered the most difficult among the Rostelier brothers. The other brothers cared about Rosha¡¯s feelings and yielded even though Rosha was cold, but not Giselle. Giselle was impulsive and extremely upbeat, and although she liked Rosha, she wouldn¡¯t yield. ¡°Giselle, I can choose the party outfit myself¡­¡­!¡± ¡°My cute Rosha, of course I believe your vision. But no matter how much you want, you can¡¯t win. I can choose the clothes that suit you better, so just trust me today.¡± Giselle, as if she waited long enough, dragged Rosha and headed to the dressing room. Giselle put the wolf cub in Rosha¡¯s arms on the sofa and began pulling out the dresses hanging from the hanger. ¡®Today will be a long and hard day¡­¡¯ Rosha was dragged into the dressing room by Giselle¡¯s hand, holding back her sigh. **** Meanwhile, Noah, who was left alone in the office, began to review the remaining documents. However, whenever he focused on work, he kept feeling something like hallucinations. For example, Rosha¡¯s reddish ears or her deeply stiff facial expressions vividly emerged because she did not know how to express her feelings of shyness. ¡°Who¡­.¡± Each time, Noah rubbed his face with dry hands and wrapped the leaking laughter like a sigh. When he first brought her here, she was a small child who was only ranked 777th. He took extra care of her because she was the youngest of the brothers who belonged here, and he had no expectations. A child who had a vain hope that she would surely be in the top 100 and chase after the demon was unfortunate. However, the child has rapidly increased the ranks within a year, as if the amount of power she had while asleep was recorded incorrectly. Obviously, innate magical power could not be increased with effort, but Rosha did it. And the wonderful girl grew up quickly five years later, and now the word ¡°lady¡± was more suitable than ¡°girl¡±. Her growth brought a strange sense of gratitude and joy to Noah, who taught and cared for her. ¡®I¡¯m starting to find little kids are cute, I guess I¡¯m pretty old.¡¯ Noah, who shook his head as if it was a silly thought, tried to focus on the paperwork again. Then, he heard a knock at the door. It wasn¡¯t Rosha this time. ¡°Come on in.¡± When Noah¡¯s words were over, it was Aaron with gray hair who came in. He was well dressed with a suit like a middle-aged gentleman. ¡°Looking at your good expression, you must have finished your work well.¡± ¡°When have I ever made a mistake?¡± Aaron replied vaguely, as if he didn¡¯t like even the smallest doubts about his work. ¡°Rather, I heard something from Kashin.¡± Aaron took off the bowler he was wearing on his head and lowered his voice in a different meaning than when he was earlier. ¡°You can find him right?¡± Noah¡¯s hand stopped trying to work on the documents. ¡°Please tell me, Noah. Who do you have in mind to go on this job?¡± Until then, Noah, who was looking at the documents, raised his head and gave an unknown smile. But as soon as Aaron saw his smile, he sensed the ominousness. It was the smile that Noah usually made when making unexpected decisions. *** 12 o¡¯clock on the hour. Lying on the sofa, Rosha was relaxing and playing with the wolf. The white wolf¡¯s teeth were so sharp, even though it was a wild beast, so Rosha slightly hit the back of his nose whenever the cub bit her painfully. A lot of dresses were piled up beside Rosha. At Rosha¡¯s plead, Giselle had to compromise with a suitable dress. She looked at the weary Rosha with sad eyes and sat down on the sofa next to her. ¡°Rosha, why are you already so weak?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯m too much, do you?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Rosha gave up the quarrel with Giselle and tickled the wolf¡¯s belly. The little beast now listened to Rosha well instead of whimpering. ¡°By the way, Noah¡­..¡± ¡°What¡¯s about Noah?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find him suspicious?¡± ¡°Is it because he urgently summoned all of us to headquarter?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°No, because it¡¯s your birthday.¡± Probably from the age of 13. Noah started to take care of Rosha¡¯s birthday. But it didn¡¯t matter as all the Rostelians in the Golden Dawn loved Rosha. Giselle wasn¡¯t even concerned about him urgently summoning them for Rosha¡¯s birthday. ¡°Rosha, did Noah give you a vacation?¡± ¡°Yeah? Yes Yes¡­¡­.He gave you one too?¡± ¡°Yes, he suddenly offered me a vacation.¡± ¡°Did Noah eat something wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just us.¡± Giselle opened her fingers and began counting the number of vacationers Noah had arranged. ¡°The bad guys Aaron, Casper and Eric also got a vacation.¡± It was strange. Everyone was working hard but only certain people were given vacation. Besides, they had nothing in common except that they were all in the top 100. Their personality, taste, and recently assigned missions were different. Rosha, too, like Giselle pondered Noah¡¯s intentions for a while, but there was no answer. Whatever it might have been, no one would be able to find an answer until Noah directly told it. ¡°It¡¯s late. Can I go to bed now?¡± ¡°Oh, Rosha. If anyone hears you, they think I¡¯ve forcibly held you here.¡± ¡®I was forced ¡­.¡¯ Rosha held back what she wanted to complain and returned to her bedroom, holding a wolf cub in her arms. Now she can finally rest. Even though it was the day before her birthday, she had a puzzle in her heart. *** Chapter 8 Chapter 8 In the evening when the sun went down, the whole family sat in a small hut where the yellow light shone. On the table, there was a pretty cake covered with cream of various colors to suit Rosha¡¯s taste, and on top of the cake, of course, candles equal to Rosha¡¯s age were placed. Of course it was a happy day for her, but she wasn¡¯t feeling it. ¡°Congratulations on the birthday of our two dear sisters, Rosha and Lily!¡± Dane deliberately screamed loudly and set off firecrackers. Their mother hurriedly cut the cake, and put it in front of Rosha. ¡°Our Rosha, happy birthday. And the youngest, Lily, happy birthday to you too!¡± Knowing that Rosha was not in a good mood, the whole family paid more attention to her. Nevertheless, Rosha¡¯s mood did not show any signs of improvement. Eventually, her father whispered in her ear so that Lily couldn¡¯t hear it. ¡°There are only three presents for Lily, but four for you. It¡¯s a secret from Lily. Understand?¡± Couldn¡¯t they have two separate parties instead of giving her an extra present? Rosha was upset that she had to have a joint birthday party with her sister every year just because their birthdays were a day apart. She didn¡¯t ask for a younger sibling. Once a year, she just wanted to be the happiest child but she couldn¡¯t be the main character even on her own birthday. ¡°Sister, sister!¡± As she turned her head to the feeling of the hem pulling, Lily smiled brightly and looked up at Rosha. ¡°Why?¡± Lily, who asked bluntly, had not noticed her sister¡¯s sadness. Then, Lily still smiled and handed something to Rosha¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s a gift from Lily!¡± What Lily gave was a weaved bracelet made of dandelions. ¡°Happy birthday, sister!¡± Somehow, as soon as she received the bracelet, Rosha¡¯s displeasure doubled. She was embarrassed for not preparing a gift for Lily, and she hated it when it seemed like she was the only one in this family who had become a bad person. Eventually, Rosha did something she shouldn¡¯t do. She threw the bracelet on the floor. ¡°Rosha! What is this girl doing?!¡± Her parents raised their voice. But Rosha just went up the stairs past Lily who was crying. Her father was angry, and her mother grabbed by the wrist. ¡°Rosha, apologize to Lily. You were wrong to throw away your sister¡¯s gift.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything wrong!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you every time?¡± ¡°My mother and father love Lily more than me!¡± ¡°Is that why you are so dissatisfied?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡­.¡± Rosha, who was expressing her sadness, paused for a moment. Something was wrong. Suddenly the grip on her wrist got stronger. ¡°You survived alone.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± When Rosha raised her head, her mother¡¯s neck was tilted to the side, as if it had been broken by someone. ¡°Rosha, Rosha.¡­¡± Her father was holding his head in his hands, and it spoke. ¡°Are you happy that you survived alone?¡± ¡°Ah, ah¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t just her father that spoke, but there was Dane. ¡°If it was me who went looking for Polly that day, it wouldn¡¯t be me who died, it would be you!¡± Dane with a bloody stomach spoke with resentment. ¡°Sister¡­¡± And the last time Rosha looked at Lily, everything in the world turned black. In the dark, only her and Lily were left. ¡°When are you going to find me? Sister, I¡¯m so scared¡­¡­. Bad people bother me. It hurts, I¡¯m hungry, I¡¯m cold, I¡¯m lonely.¡± ¡°Lily, Lily¡­!¡± Lily got farther away. Rosha ran after her, but wasn¡¯t able to catch Lily, who was getting farther away at a fast pace. ¡°Wait a minute! Don¡¯t go, Lily!¡± When Lily became a distant white light in the dark, she left a last word to Rosha. ¡°Don¡¯t forget me¡­.¡± ***** ¡°Oh!¡± Rosha woke up from a dream and was soaked in sweat. She raised her upper body and put her hand over her fast beating heart. It was a nightmare after a long time. It was a dream she had once dreamed about when she stopped looking for Lily, and when she was less reminded about her family. She sat up, saw the wolf cub approaching her, and held it quietly. When she felt its warmth, she felt a little better. ¡°Don¡¯t forget me¡­.¡± But those words will continue to bother Rosha for the time being. She got out of bed and pulled back the curtains. It was late in the afternoon. It was the beginning of her happy birthday. But Rosha started the day feeling a little depressed. **** **** It didn¡¯t take much time to get ready because Rosha chose all the accessories and a dress for the party with Gisele the day before. It was an off shoulders A-line dress that came down to her ankles. The dress, naturally gradient from dark purple to light purple, and from the upper body to the bottom, was girlish and lovely suited Rosha¡¯s age. Her hair was braided, rolled up to one side, and decorated with some flowers. Finished up with pearl earrings that weren¡¯t flashy, Rosha was escorted by Noah and headed to the spacious hall where the party was held. ¡°Rosha, are you here?¡± ¡°Happy birthday, Rosha!¡± Upon entering alone, numerous Rostelier brothers approached Rosha once to say their greetings and congratulated her. There were so many people and she felt embarrassed without knowing. ¡°Huh? Her ears are red again.¡± Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Rosha¡¯s ears when someone pointed out. Of course, Noah, who was an escort next to her, was included. ¡°Cute Rosha, are you shy?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m embarrassed.¡± Mischievously, Noah shouted loudly so that everyone at the party could hear him. ¡°Everyone don¡¯t look at Rosha¡¯s red ears! Don¡¯t embarrass our youngest.¡± At this moment, Rosha prayed earnestly to God. ¡®Please let me hit Noah once before this life ends¡­¡­¡¯ Noah laughed for a long time at Rosha, who was embarrassed and wanting to die, and then pretended to sooth her belatedly and look into her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s your birthday, so smile. Oh, and it¡¯s a little late ..¡­¡± Noah, bowing his head, whispered in Rosha¡¯s ear. ¡°Happy Birthday.¡± Noah tapped on Rosha¡¯s shoulder a couple of times and disappeared among the other brothers. While Rosha was congratulated by the brothers, the music began. Of course, she received the most requests for dance because she was the main character of her birthday, but she refused all and hid in the corner. But because the protagonist of the birthday wasn¡¯t supposed to be in the corner, she was dragged out by Noah and forced to dance with five partners. In a hall all decorated with gold, Rocha was exhausted and drank over five non-alcoholic cocktails. As usual, all the gifts she received from her brothers piled up in her private room, but today she felt tired and couldn¡¯t even open the presents. ¡°Giselle, did all the brothers attend the party?¡± ¡°Everyone attended this time without fail. Oh, except for the one you hated.¡± Fortunately, the deeper the night, the more matured the party atmosphere, so the brothers¡¯ interest was not focused on Rosha as much as in the beginning. Rosha was desperate for the outside wind. ¡°Well, Giselle¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to say you¡¯re going to your room and rest, are you?¡± At the point of keen Giselle, Rosha rolled her eyes and begged with a timid voice. ¡°¡®l will just get some air on the terrace and come back. If Noah asks where I am, say I¡¯ll be back soon, so don¡¯t you pretend not to know.. ¡° Giselle sighed and nodded with an expression that couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°It¡¯s a party for you, so you have to come back soon. Got it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± With Giselle¡¯s permission, Rosha couldn¡¯t come out to the terrace fast enough and get the outside wind. ¡°Sigh¡­..¡± she felt a little better when the heat that was spinning around her body while dancing and dealing with people was relieved by the night breeze. It was then. Ding-Ding-Ding- A bell rang to announce the hour. Now her birthday has passed, and it was Lily¡¯s birthday. ¡®How will Lily spend her birthday?¡¯ There were so many people who had congratulated her, and Lily could have a happy birthday too. With that hope, Rosha reached out to the garden. She did a hand gesture, then numerous flowers in the garden flew into the air and tied together at her fingertips. Just as Lily made her a flower bracelet, she made a flower necklace for Lily, although she couldn¡¯t give it to her. Knowing it was impossible, Rosha whispered, burying her face in the flower necklace, hoping her voice could reach her little sister. ¡°Happy birthday, Lily.¡± [Happy birthday, sister!] She fell into the old longing. However, her time alone was quickly disturbed by someone.The flower necklace she made was torn in an attack sent by someone. All the flowers fell to the floor in pieces. As she looked at the direction the attack came from, a tall person walked out of the dark. ¡°Kashin¡­..¡± The man with black hair and red eyes stared at Rosha in anger with arrogant eyes. **** Chapter 9 Chapter 9 **** Kashin was only two years older than Rosha. However, unlike Rosha, he was taller than quite a few adults, and above all, he had an overwhelming difference in rankings. He was third rank Rostelier. He was also Noah¡¯s right hand. At one time, Rosha also tried to get along with him, who wasn¡¯t much different from her age. And for a short time, they got along quite well. However, it didn¡¯t take long for their relationship to fall out either. ¡°I will definitely get to the target ranking and defeat the demons who make people sick! And I will definitely find my younger sister too!¡± Noah put Kashin beside him as a teacher and friend to Rosha, who said she would be in the top100. Noah thought it would be helpful to them both, for one who couldn¡¯t adjust to her new life and one who lacked social skills. Of course his decision back then was a big mistake. Kashin was very cold to Rosha, who lived every day for only one goal of finding her sister. ¡°How will you save your dead sister?¡± ¡°My younger sister is alive!¡± Unable to find the body was the only hope she had that Lily might be alive. The other Rostelier brothers tried to protect that hope of Rosha, but Kashin was rather ridiculed and trampled it thoroughly. [If she had been alive, you would have heard news from nearby villages. But you couldn¡¯t find her even after searching the area. A five-year-old girl wouldn¡¯t have been able to run away, and even if she survived, she would have died of starvation or eaten by animals already.] [What do you know.. Say something like that?!] Since then, Rosha and Kashin had become like enemies. However, the funny thing was that he somehow attended Rosha¡¯s birthday party every year and sent a whole bunch of gifts. On the other hand, no matter how much Noah persuaded Rosha, she never sent a gift, let alone attended Kashin¡¯s birthday party. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you, and you greeted me quite intensely.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not friendly enough to say hello.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you attacked me?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t do this, you won¡¯t look at me.¡± What was even more upsetting was that Rosha tried to avoid Kashin, but it was Kashin who was bothering her. He strode a big step, and quickly stood in front of Rosha. ¡°¡­Crazy guy.¡± There was blood on his face but it seemed like it was demon blood instead of his own. The distinctive rotten smell of the demon when it was killed. ¡°Wipe the blood off your face. It¡¯s my birthday, but it seems like I¡¯m about to get unlucky.¡± Not knowing that there was blood on his face, Kashin¡¯s eyes widened for a moment. If he had come with blood on purpose to spoil Rosha¡¯s mood, he would have fought with all his utmost power. However, it was fortunate because it didn¡¯t seem like it was his intention. Rosha stared at him, who wiped the blood roughly with his sleeve. Perhaps because he couldn¡¯t see where the blood was, he made it smear even more. He even got it on his hair, but Kashin seemed to know nothing about it. All Golden Dawn Knights changed their eyes and hair color at their awakening. According to the prophecy book, it usually turns into the same color as its own soul. But very rarely, there were those of the same color before and after awakening. That was the case with Kashin. He had blue eyes before awakening, and then they changed to red color after, but his hair color remained black. Rosha sometimes sarcastically pointed it out, saying that his soul was like his hair color. Of course, after that, she was scolded by Noah. ¡°Did you receive the gift?¡± ¡°Is it possible that you put the Demon¡¯s head in the gift box?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve sent anything like that on your birthday.¡± ¡°Ah, right. You mentioned that. But then, why is it that every year your present makes me uncomfortable?¡± As Rosha continued sarcastically, Kashin kept quiet as if he had nothing more to say. And he just stared at her. Rosha was nervous. There¡¯s never been a double attack. Before Kashin attacked, she would surely attack him first. She was very nervous to see when he would make a move, but Kashin finally opened his mouth. ¡°I was going to talk to you earlier, but I was very late.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Kashin, who was speaking unknown words, suddenly reached out his hand. Rosha didn¡¯t feel any magic in the touch, but she was about to step back just in case. Suddenly, her hand was caught. ¡°What, what are you doing?!¡± Rosha, embarrassed, tried to get her hand out, but Kashin quickly bent in a pose asking for a dance, and kissed on the back of her hand. His reverential attitude seemed to be sarcastic. ¡°Happy Birthday.¡± As soon as Kashin finished, Rosha pulled her hand away roughly. Then she rubbed the back of her hand on the dress. ¡°My birthday has already passed.¡± ¡°I know. I just did it because I wanted to talk to you though.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°It passed your birthday, so today is your sister¡¯s birthday.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°And you still haven¡¯t abandoned that stupid hope.¡± Rosha thought how much she hated this boy. ¡± I think you¡¯ve done enough to bother me, so I¡¯ll go now.¡± Rosha passed him while he had a frown on his face. ¡°Oh right.¡± Before opening the door to the terrace, Rosha paused and spoke without looking back. ¡°Thank you for bringing me this birthday present as well. Of course it will go into the trash without being opened.¡± She didn¡¯t know what reaction Kashin had because she didn¡¯t bother to look back. She didn¡¯t even want to know. Rosha opened the door without hesitation, and walked into the colorful lights. ***** It was the day after a spectacular birthday party. The brothers, who drank a lot the day before, suffered from a hangover. Rosha, who hadn¡¯t drank a sip of alcohol, also suffered from the aftereffects. Rosha, who enjoyed the party, was very tired from dancing without ceasing. She still felt tired even after a good sleep. ¡°You look like someone who hasn¡¯t slept for a few days.¡± Aaron clicked his tongue when he found Rosha sitting on the first floor sofa. ¡°I saw you kept spinning around yesterday like a crazy person.¡± ¡°I was dancing.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t different in my eyes.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re here to pick a fight, then go.¡± ¡°Difficult kid.¡± Aaron shook his head and clicked his tongue. However, he did not leave Rosha¡¯s side. ¡°There was a call from Noah. Take your eyes off and follow me.¡± ¡°Is Noah coming?¡± ¡°I sent someone to your room, but I didn¡¯t know you would be hanging out here. Tsk, I did something useless.¡± Rocha stood up, lightly ignoring Aaron¡¯s words, which she didn¡¯t want to hear. If Noah called it, it could be for a new mission, therefore no matter how tired she was, she couldn¡¯t ignore it. ¡°When it comes to me, no matter how fun the party is, I always restrain myself¡­.¡± Rosha hated the repertoire and hurried her steps. Aaron was also hurried, and soon they arrived at Noah¡¯s office. As she knocked and went inside, there were others who had already been there along with her and Aaron. Other than Noah, there were Giselle, Casper, and Eric. Those were supposedly to be on vacation as well. In addition to those, there was Kashin and a few other people. Rosha deliberately sat down next to Giselle, avoiding Kashin. Giselle was happy as she stroked Rosha¡¯s hair, clinging to her without knowing anything. Kashin looked at Rosha for a while, then looked away and drank his tea. ¡°Everyone is here.¡± Noah spoke when all the people who were called, seated. ¡°There may be brothers who know the reason why you are here, some might not.¡± Aaron and Kashin, as if they already knew, did not seem to be interested in Noah¡¯s story, but the others were. Noah¡¯s attitude was also different from usual. Noah, who was playful and friendly, always wore a smile on his face, wasn¡¯t smiling. Rosha couldn¡¯t even touch the cookies on the table and waited for his words nervously. ¡°Brothers.¡± Noah finally got to the point. ¡°The time has finally come.¡± Everyone was surprised by his words. Even if he didn¡¯t explain in detail, Rosha could fully guess what Noah¡¯s tone was saying. None of the people who worked at the Golden Dawn did not know about the ¡®time has come¡¯. There was a prophecy that the child of God came down to this world and saved humans. And the ¡°time has come¡± was what it meant.The Golden Dawn, and those who were born with magical power, all existed to protect him, the child of God. ¡°Rosha, when does the prophetic book say that a new Savior will be born?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a day when a blue cross star rises above the blue blood scattered on the floor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Noah, who glanced at Rosha, then looked at the other brothers sitting in their seats. ¡°In fact, I lied to you about something.¡± Noah stopped speaking while everyone was surprised and speechless. After a moment, he continued. ¡°It has been about 10 years since a child of God was born into the world.¡± ¡°But why is it now¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Ten years ago, while interpreting the prophetic book, Aaron and I heard a rumor about a woman in Beria who claimed to have conceived a child in her virgin body, and we went there. In Beria, I met a woman who was pregnant with a child, and helped her give birth. But then suddenly, a number of demons attacked Beria, and Aaron and I hid the woman and left her to the midwife to fight.¡± ¡°Did the blue cross star appear that day?¡± Noah nodded. **** Blue blood meant the blood of demons. Their blood was sometimes green, sometimes red, or sometimes black, but it was commonly called ¡°blue blood¡± because the first demon¡¯s blood discovered in ancient times was blue. ¡°So where is this woman now?¡± Noah shook his head miserably at Casper¡¯s question. ¡°When I came back after the fight, the woman was dead, and the midwife and child were gone.¡± ¡°Gone?¡± The last question was from Giselle, who was sitting next to Rosha. Noah nodded calmly and continued his explanation. ¡°That¡¯s what we were wondering, too. We hid them in an old well in that village because there was no place to hide a woman carrying a child of God to avoid the demons. It¡¯s impossible for the midwife to get out of a deep well with a child unless someone lets her out.¡± The incident where the Demons attacked Beria¡¯s village was a very famous event for Rosteliers. Rosha also knew about the events of that day through her studies when she was an apprentice. However, the fact that the Child of God was actually born that day was probably unknown to almost everyone in the Golden Dawn Society. ¡°Anyway, we have long been tracking down the boys among the Beria orphans and visiting the missing Sons of God. In fact, we have tracked down boys of the same age who survived the Beria attack. They were adopted in different countries.¡± ¡°Then the Child of God must be the one who uses holy stigmas or holy power.¡± Noah shook his head at someone¡¯s theory. ¡°As you all know, there are three main pieces of evidence that he is the Child of God. The first is the holy stigma, the second is the holy power, and the third is evil obsession.¡± The evil obsession referred to the demons and the evil forces hiding behind them that were trying to kill the Son of God. Because just as the Golden Dawn Society searched for the Son of God, the Arteliers of Babel, a group that worshiped the evil god, also searched for him. The demons that Babel created and used were good at finding the power of the Holy God. It was like an instinct to kill the enemy. So there was always the danger of demons lurking in the neighborhood of the Son of God. ¡°And one more thing.¡± Noah went on to say. ¡°There will be false saviors.¡± Just as the Golden Dawn Society, born to protect the Son of God, had its prophecies, so did Barbel. It was a prophecy of the birth of an ¡°evil child¡± with similarities to the Son of God, just as the Knights of God were confusingly similar. If the Rosteliers of the Golden Dawn Society existed to protect the Child of Light and God, the Arteliers of Babel existed to protect the Child of Darkness and Evil. ¡°It has been confirmed that all of the children adopted from Beria, whether they are Babel¡¯s work, show the same evidence.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not all children of evil, are they?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a little trick of the devil to mislead us. As you said, they are not even ¡®children of evil,¡¯ so it will be easy to distinguish them.¡± When Noah finished, he looked at each of the Rosteliers sitting around the couch. ¡°That¡¯s why I called you all.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with power rankings, but because I had faith in your abilities and your ability to make the right decisions.¡± Noah gave a new mission. ¡°I want each of you to go to the country I have designated to observe and protect the children, the survivors of Beria. Those who are found to be the children of God will be placed here. Kashin will be going around the countries to communicate with you all and inform me of the situation.¡± Noah, who had finished talking up to that point, finished his story while taking a sip of the tea that had finally cooled. ¡°Do not tell the others about this, as it is very important. From now on, you are all officially on a long vacation. I will call you all individually later to give you the details. Only Kashin and Rosha can stay, the rest of you can leave.¡± They all thought Noah would give them a vacation, but it wasn¡¯t a real vacation. This fact in itself was shocking enough, but an even bigger shocking truth kept the brothers from leaving their seats right away. Noah waited slowly until they were able to recover from that. Aaron was the first to stand up, then the other brothers along with Giselle stood up and stepped out of the office. The only ones left in the office were Rosha and Kashin, who had stayed behind on Noah¡¯s orders. ¡°Rosha, were you surprised?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ a little.¡± Ten years ago, when Rosha was five years old, it was long before she joined the Golden Dawn Society. One of the topics that took up the largest portion of the study at the Golden Dawn was the Beria incident, and she never thought there was such a hidden truth to it. ¡°You may be young, but this is a heavy task¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I entrusted you with this task because you are perseon I trust, regardless of your age. You know that, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I know.¡± Rosha was well aware of how difficult this search for the Son of God would be. Regardless of her age, she was selected among the top 100.To entrust this job to such a person like Rosha was proof that Noah had a very big trust in her. Because of that, a heavy responsibility was placed on Rosha¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Well then, there is something you must do first if you are to live up to my trust.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Motivated, Rosha looked up at Noah. Even up to that moment, Noah looked cautious. However, a mischievous smile soon appeared on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s make up with Kashin.¡± ¡°What ¡­¡­?¡± Rosha thought it was strange when Noah asked the two of them to stay back, but now he wants them to reconcile? ¡°Why should I reconcile with him?¡± Rosha looked up at Noah with an offended face, but Noah seemed to have no intention of retracting what he had said. ¡°Kashin will be traveling through the warp to the various countries to get an idea of the dynamics of those who have accepted this job and the candidates who may be the sons of God. That means you two will be meeting quite often and will have to engage in close conversations.¡± ¡°But ¡­¡­¡± ¡°Rosha, I should say. If you are not confident that you can make up with Kashin, you can stay home this time.¡± There was still a hint of mischief on his face, but Noah was quite adamant. Rosha was troubled. Either make peace with Kashin who denied her sister¡¯s survival, or else break Noah¡¯s trust. Rosha didn¡¯t like the idea of having to leave this job. Finding and protecting the Son of God was something that would help drive the demons out of the land. ¡®But I hate Kashin so much!¡¯ When Rosha was troubled and could not give an easy answer, Noah, who had been watching her, decided to help Rosha answer easily. ¡°Rosha, you have other reasons besides serving God¡¯s son that must be put into this time.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Lily Lewen, you are looking for your sister, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°We also have a potential child of God who was just adopted by the Herodion nobility¡­¡­.¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found a child who is presumed to be your sister.¡± Noah stood up and took a document from the desk where the papers were stacked in towers and handed it to Rosha. Rosha took the document and hurriedly read it out. An orphanage in the Rosanto region of Herodion state. A child with short blond hair, estimated to be 9~11 years old. She did not remember the specific village she lived in, her age, or her family relations. However, she said her name was ¡°Lily-Lewen¡± and she had an older sister. She claimed to have seen a giant snake when she was a child. It seemed that she had cut her hair, which used to be very long. ¡°If she¡¯s really your sister, I don¡¯t know how she got to another country. Anyway, if you want to check, you should start with Kashin¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± No sooner had Noah finished than Rosha apologized. Of course, she wasn¡¯t looking at Noah, but at Kashin, who was sitting across from her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being angry with you and treating you recklessly. I¡¯m sincerely sorry.¡± She apologized so nicely that Kashin had nothing more to say. Kashin watched Rosha apologize without a single emotion with unknown eyes. ¡°You should apologize too, Kashin. You don¡¯t think I know that you said something bad about Rosha¡¯s sister, do you?¡± Kashin finally opened his mouth at Noah¡¯s words. ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m sorry, too.¡± He was an egomaniac, so it¡¯s probably best to accept his apology. Rosha nodded and lowered her gaze at the document about Lily again. ¡°And.¡± However, it seemed that Kashin still had something to say to Rosha. ¡°And a hearty congratulations on your work.¡± That was a bit unexpected. She was really going to give him a hard time if Kashin was being sarcastic again this time¡­ Come to think of it, he wasn¡¯t such a bad guy when it came to his personality, as she remembered the time when she and Kashin were close for a short while before they fell out. ¡®It¡¯s because you keep talking about my sister carelessly.¡¯ Rosha gladly accepted Kashin¡¯s congratulations. Thus there was peace between the old foes for a while. Chapter 10 *** Rosha had a hectic morning. Packing wasn¡¯t difficult, since traveling away from home was a task with which Rosha was familiar. However, the problem was that Ray, who had been outside, had not yet returned. However, Ray was so independent that sometimes once he left the house, he would only come back after a few days. When that happened, Rosha would open the window and the birdcage and leave Ray as he was and went on the mission. When she returned, the big eagle was perched in the cage with a thick look on his face, as if to say, ¡°When did I leave home and not come back?¡± Rosha wasn¡¯t so worried that Ray hadn¡¯t come home. She was more worried about this wolf that was stuck to her side. The little wolf tormented her as it chased after Rosha¡¯s chiffon dress that fluttered from her ankles. ¡°I heard wolves are in the dog family, why are you acting like a cat?¡± Lifting the wolf up, Rosha kissed its black nose. After getting some of her things ready, Rosha laid down on the couch and rested, playing tricks with the wolf on her stomach. It was then that she heard a knock at the door. The highly independent brothers of the Golden Dawn Society did not come to the room often, so Rosha curiously opened the door. ¡°Noah.¡± It was Noah who knocked, and although Rocha was the main visitor to Noah¡¯s office, this was the first time Noah had come to Rosha¡¯s room in person. ¡°Rosha, did you name the wolf?¡± Noah¡¯s first words after his sudden visit puzzled Rosha for a while, but she immediately thought of the fact that Noah had decided to name the wolf for her, and since she didn¡¯t place too much significance on the name, she forgot about naming the wolf in the first place. ¡°No, not yet. Didn¡¯t Noah decide to name it?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t wait for me to give it a name, you forgot, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­I feel guilty.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an indifferent master.¡± Noah walked up to the bored, couch-scratching wolf and patted the little head. ¡°This guy¡¯s name is Sadrak.¡± ¡°Sadrak?¡± ¡°It means I hope he will be a loyal species, always obeying your commands.¡± Rosha didn¡¯t attach much meaning to the name, but she wasn¡¯t Noah. He was a person who believed that people would live up to their names. So it seemed obvious how much trouble Noah had gone through to name it. It was also a good name to pronounce, Sadrak. ¡°Rosha.¡± ¡°Yes, Noah.¡± ¡°May the light be with you in your future.¡± A small powder of light permeated into Rosha¡¯s body along with Noah¡¯s hand. After receiving Noah¡¯s blessing, Rosha smiled in gratitude. After exchanging a short but sincere goodbye with Noah, Rosha was about to leave the room with her bag and Sadrak. That was when she saw a black object flying outside the window from afar. Rosha, who knew exactly what it was, stepped aside.Then Ray flew into the birdcage on its own. ¡°Ray, I almost left you here.¡± Putting the pocket watch around her neck and a burgundy cape-coat that covered only her upper body, Rosha lifted the heavy birdcage containing Ray with her hand holding a cane. With the suitcase still on her shoulder, Rosha left her room. ¡°Rosha! I hear you¡¯re going on vacation?¡± ¡°I hear Herodion is winter all year round. Sounds fun!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget to buy some souvenirs!¡± After hearing the brothers¡¯ carefree words without knowing the truth of her trip, Rosha left the gate of the Golden Dawn Society with her heavy luggage. *** Herodion was the farthest country Rosha had ever been to, but the way there was easier than anywhere else. This time, Noah allowed her to warp. There weren¡¯t many wizards who could use the warp more than three times a month. Only wizards who ranked in the top ten in the Golden Dawn Society could do it. Warp magic itself was a magic that eroded the energy of the wizards. But this time, the third-ranked Rostelier, Kashin, decided to make the warp happen himself. After leaving the headquarters, the brothers took their turn to enter an alleyway where no one was passing. ¡°Then I¡¯ll start the warp.¡± Kashin drew a magic circle on the floor. took his turn on the floor. As the Rostelier brothers stepped in the magic circle, Kashin stood in the middle. Rosha also stood on the circle that Kashin had drawn and watched as Kashin performed his magic. The wind was blowing and dust was rising around his feet as he stood in the center. This was when Rosha, who hated dirt, held her breath. A red light leaked out from the circle of the brothers standing across from her and eventually consumed them. Rosha was nervous for a moment even though she knew the light was bright and it wasn¡¯t an attack. One by one, the brothers disappeared into the light, and finally Rosha was left. Rosha¡¯s eyes met Kashin¡¯s, who was focusing on the magic. At that moment, somehow, Rosha wanted to tease Kashin. It was an extremely impulsive action to take out the earrings that Kashin had given her as a birthday present. Originally, she had brought them outside to throw away, because he was afraid that Noah would get angry if she threw away Kashin¡¯s gift inside the headquarters. Waving the diamond earrings, Rosha deliberately smiled. Looking at her, Kashin felt the ominous feeling, and his eyes grew wide. ¡®I¡¯ll throw these away well¡­¡¯ There were some lines she had prepared. ¡®I will throw this away well and go.¡¯ Then Rosha was going to throw the earrings very coolly and disappear. But the problem was that she saw an unexpected appearance. Kashin smiled. ¡°¡­¡± A warmth drifted into his red eyes that had always seemed so hair-raisingly cold. That was the last image of Kashin just before Roshaleft for Herodion. ¡®I forgot to throw my earrings.¡¯ ¡°Ah¡­¡± When she opened her eyes again, the smiling Kashin was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Rosha stood in a very strange place. It was in the middle of the village with snow piled up on the chimneys and roofs. Breaking free from the shock of Kashin¡¯s smile, Rosha finally pulled herself together and pocketed the diamond earrings she still carried in her hand, then took out the paper Noah had given her. She was bewildered and in a funny mood as she was constantly reminded of the afterimage of Kashin smiling at her, but now was the time to be true to her duty. ¡®Which one is it?¡¯ The place they were currently away from was Rosanto, a border region of Herodion, also the territory of the Baldwin frontier Count who still had a lot of noble power left. Today, Rosha had to go to Count Baldwin¡¯s castle. Noah had once drawn her a map to the Count¡¯s castle, but there was no need to look at the map. For there was only one high castle in this village full of one-story houses. Rosha went straight to Count Baldwin¡¯s castle. She grasped the handle of the castle gate and knocked on it, and soon heard footsteps coming from inside. ¡°Huh, who are you?¡± At the sound of the old woman¡¯s voice, Rosha revealed her identity. ¡°I¡¯m from the Golden Dawn Society.¡± Then, after a few seconds of silence, she heard the sound of the door being hurriedly opened. Creak! The old gate opened and an old woman in a thick blanket stepped out. ¡°You must be the guest the Master mentioned.¡± ¡°Yes, is the Count inside?¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s cold, so come in.¡± The old woman led Rosha inside with a slightly clumsy hand. If necessary, she would have to disguise her identity, but fortunately for the Baldwin, she didn¡¯t have to. This was because Count Baldwin, who felt strange about his son¡¯s abnormal symptoms, contacted the Golden Dawn Society on his own. The Golden Dawn Society was a group with a mission to stop Barbel and the demons they used to serve the evils who had tried to corrupt the world by causing the death of the Son of God long ago. However, to the eyes of those who knew nothing about them, they seemed to be just another occult-crazed group. It was also an atmosphere of recognition, with demons popping up all over the place these days, but it still couldn¡¯t have been easy to get in touch with them. It must have been even more so, especially as it was a matter concerning his adopted son. Count Baldwin had adopted his son when he was a baby and raised him until now as his own son. So it must have been even more difficult for him to admit that there was something wrong with his son. Rosha sensed the mood of the castle. There was nothing ominous, sacred, or special about it. She just couldn¡¯t feel any human presence or warmth in the castle. It would take a lot of people to manage such a large castle. It was strange that it was cold, considering the children in the village who were having snowball fights in their fur coats. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can I take out my eagle? He seemed to be feeling frustrated.¡± ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t harm anyone, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± After receiving permission, Rosha opened the bird cage and took Ray out first. After making sure that Ray flew freely, Rosha followed the old woman inside and searched the atmosphere. The castle, where there was no human warmth left, was not properly managed, so it was a little messy and old-fashioned. The sticky feeling on the skin wasn¡¯t good. A different kind of cold enveloped Rosha than the usual cold caused by temperature differences. She felt it more clearly as she walked up the stairs and down the corridor. ¡°Wait for me here.¡± The old woman stopped Rosha at the door at the end of the corridor and carefully knocked on the door. ¡°Master, a visitor you mentioned before had come, please open the door!¡± The old woman¡¯s words ended and a bit of silence drifted in, just like when the first castle gate was opened. No, this time, the silence was much longer. However, this time, she heard a bustling sound from inside, and a metal sound. ¡°It sounded like a chain being unfastened, what is it?¡± A small gap in the door opened. It was pitch black and Rosha couldn¡¯t see inside. But as the Count¡¯s face came closer through the gap in the door, she could see his hollow eyes clearly. ¡°Hello, Count Baldwin.¡± Rosha curtsied and greeted the Count, who for some reason seemed scared. ¡°I am Rosha Rostelier, a member of the Golden Dawn Society.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­I heard that you need our help¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°Are you really human?¡± ¡°What, what do you mean¡­¡­¡­¡­.?¡± ¡°Are you really human?¡± The extreme fear that the Count was feeling was even felt by Rosha. Rosha was not of a kind nature, but she deliberately tried to smile kindly for the Count¡¯s sake. ¡°Of course, I am human, Count. If you want, you can touch my hair.¡± Rosha even took out the hairpin and untied her neatly tied hair, giving the Count a wisp of her hair. The Count hesitated, his eyes trembling, but eventually he stuck his finger through the crack in the door and touched the ends of Rosha¡¯s hair. ¡°You can touch my fingers too.¡± Rosha put her fingers to the door crack in the same way the Count did, but he was startled and retreated. But seeing Rosha waited patiently, the Count stuck out his finger again and touched Rosha¡¯s finger. ¡°You can feel the warmth, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I am a person.¡± Some demons disguised themselves as humans. There were demons whose upper body, or lower body, or a part of the body was the same as humans, but she had never heard of demons that look or transform to look exactly like humans. She didn¡¯t know why the Count was acting like this, but there must have been something to it, because he couldn¡¯t believe Rosha was human even though she was in human form. ¡°Come in¡­¡± Rosha waited quietly and patiently, and finally the Count opened the door. Chapter 11 *** As if not allowing another intruder to visit, the Count, who had only moved aside enough for Rosha to pass by, closed the door immediately after the old woman had entered. As Rosha looked around the dimly lit room, the sound of chains moving caused her to turn around. The Count had chained his room and fastened it tightly. ¡°Count¡­¡­?¡± She called out to the Count, cautious of his odd behavior, and the Count waved his hand and spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll let you out as soon as we¡¯re done talking. Something that isn¡¯t human might break in, I just locked the door¡­¡­..¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± So far she didn¡¯t understand his strange behavior up to this point, but after talking to him some more the story might be different. Rosha sat down in the seat that the old woman led her to. Sadrak started to squirm in her pocket for a while, but Rosha calmed it down and waited for the Count to take his seat. ¡°So, where do you want me to start¡­.¡± The Count sat on the sofa, guarded by the old woman, and opened his eyes in frustration. Rosha observed him and led the conversation naturally. ¡°I heard you adopted a son.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. You¡¯re still young, but you must have heard about the Beria case. At the time, I had lost both my wife and child when she died during childbirth. While I was wandering around in grief, I heard about the orphans who lost their parents in Beria.¡± ¡°So you went to visit those orphans.¡± ¡°At first I went to visit them to sponsor them¡­¡­. There was a baby who was not even a year old. His golden eyes were truly adorable.¡± ¡°Is that your child now?¡± The Count, who had been immersed in memories for a while, became afraid again. ¡°Yes. Besides, the person in charge of the adoption agency strongly advised me to adopt him, and I felt sorry for the child, so I chose to adopt him in the end.¡± ¡°But, as soon as you adopted your son, you start experiencing strange things?¡± The Count shook his head. ¡°If it¡¯s strange, it¡¯s probably strange, but after I brought the boy home¡­ ..I slept well.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°After the loss of my wife, my days of insomnia disappeared. Plus, I didn¡¯t have to light the stove to feel the warmth in the house. It was also centered around the place where the child stayed.¡± ¡°Now, when did you start to become afraid of your son?¡± ¡°He was about three years old, I think. He started drawing pictures.¡± Before Rosha could ask to see it, the Count beckoned, and the old woman brought out a bunch of papers from a drawer with a sweeping gesture. ¡°These are the drawings the boy started to make when he was three years old.¡± When she received the painting, Rosha looked at it calmly. Indeed, it was a bit eerie for a little child to have drawn it. The margins were painted so black that she couldn¡¯t see the white part of the paper, and the dozens of shining eyes made it seem as if someone was really watching. Rosha looked through the papers. In the second painting, bright red rainwater was engulfing the earth. People were dying in the red rainwater. In the third painting, several people were surrounded by swords pulling out their own hearts, and in the fourth painting, there was a tall tower. The tower towered so high that it was obscured by the clouds, and upon closer inspection, the architecture was made from people¡¯s bones. Rosha flipped through the papers with an increasingly swift hand. In the fifth picture, a boy and a girl with quite a height difference were depicted. Both had brown hair, and the girl was holding hands with the boy with her hair braided in pigtails. It was an ordinary picture, but it didn¡¯t take away the eeriness. Rosha moved on to the next one. Then she saw that the boy in the painting was alone and bleeding. Red blood was flowing from the boy¡¯s stomach. Why? The boy in the painting looked somewhat familiar to Rosha. Rosha also tried to pass the painting to the next one. But after seeing the bottom part of the next one, Rosha was hesitant to continue to look at the entire picture. She could see the tail of a snake. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the Count asked, and Rosha pretended to be unconcerned and looked at the next picture again. Then, as expected, it was a painting of the demon, Ramia, with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a snake, appeared. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Her fingers began to tremble. But Rosha held her nerves and turned to the next page. A girl with brown pigtail hair and a girl with long blond hair were running away from Ramia, hand in hand. And the next picture¡­¡­. The pigtail hair girl died. Rosha looked roughly through the paper, not hiding her frustration. Then, on the next page, there was a picture of the blonde girl laughing as if the edges of her mouth were being torn off. Rosha didn¡¯t stop and flipped through the pictures. But in the next picture, and the next, and the next, there were still strange pictures, but no more pictures of Ramia and the boy and the girls. ¡°Aren¡¯t they creepy?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°At first, I thought he wanted attention¡­¡­. But at some point, people around the child began to die. The reasons were different. People who had laughed and said they were happy the day before committed suicide the next day, or they might fall to their death on a flat surface they hadn¡¯t even slipped on¡­. ..Not only humans, but also animals, if he touches them, they won¡¯t eat, they¡¯ll hang around for a while, get sick, and starve to death¡­..¡± ¡°I heard there was also an attack by the demons.¡± ¡°As expected p, you knew it too.¡± ¡°I heard about it from my superior.¡± ¡°I thought it wasn¡¯t the child¡¯s fault, so I figured it was okay. Although the monster attack reduced the number of troops. But what I can¡¯t stand is when I feel like my child has a problem.¡± ¡°What else happened?¡± At Rosha¡¯s question, the Count wrapped his arms around him and began to tremble. ¡°Once, I was angry at the child¡¯s creepy behavior. But it was that night. I was in the middle of sleeping when I felt a strange sensation and looked up to see one of my old knights plunging a sword into me.¡± The Count unbuttoned his shirt with trembling hands, exposing the shoulder area. ¡°This wound is from that day. His eyes were dazed, as if he was being controlled by something. I tried to avoid him, and he jumped out the window and killed himself.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°The moment I realized that the child¡¯s special ability might turn into an attack on me, I became very afraid of him.¡± Rosha was trying to listen to the Count¡¯s words, but she couldn¡¯t help but console herself in her heart. That picture she saw earlier was just a coincidence. Noah told her so. The evil will play tricks on them to make sure they can¡¯t find the child of God. Maybe that painting was one of those tricks. She reminded herself that she will be looking for Lily soon, and she will not be fooled by the tricks of the demons. It was about observing and protecting the candidate who might be the Son of God. It was on the premise that this mission would be a priority that Noah sent Rosha on this mission. It was only by successfully completing the task assigned to her that she was able to go and find Lily. And yet, she couldn¡¯t afford to be so devil-may-care anymore. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there anything else?¡± Count Baldwin turned red and blue at Rosha¡¯s question. Perhaps now the Count was hesitating whether to bring up the subject he least wanted to. Rosha said with strength in her voice. ¡°You must tell me everything, and not leave it out.¡± At that moment, the Count made a strange noise, as if he was about to cry out. ¡°My deceased wife visits me every night¡­!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I can see the dead knight who stabbed me walking down the hallway, and every night my dead wife lies down beside me¡­..I haven¡¯t slept peacefully for just one day!¡± There was no need for further delay. Rosha asked the Count to let her see the boy. The Count nodded with the same fearful and hopeful expression and beckoned to the old woman. ¡°Show her the child.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± When Rosha got up along with the old woman, the Count hurried forward and unbolted the lock and chain, and opened the door. Rosha bowed to the Count out of courtesy and left the room. ¡°That boy¡­.!¡± Just as she was about to walk down the hallway, Rosha turned her head at the voice behind her. The Count looked horrified, and said in a small, insinuating mumble. ¡°Do anything¡­..¡± It might have been a misunderstanding, but it sounded as if he wanted Rosha to kill the boy. When Rosha did not answer, the Count hurriedly closed the door again, perhaps interpreting silence as positive. The sound of chains could be heard again inside the door. Rosha continued on with the old woman. ¡°Is the reason why there are no people in the Count¡¯s castle because of the rumors about the little boy?¡± ¡°Yes. The only ones left are the Count and myself.¡± ¡°I guess you serve this family for a long time.¡± Rosha talked to the old woman to get rid of the awkwardness because there was quite a long way to meet the Count¡¯s son. The old woman, with an indifferent look on her face, was happy to engage Rosha in conversation. ¡°I was looking for a job for a long time, and I was just lucky enough to get one here. I¡¯ve been working here for about ten years now, since the Young Master was adopted.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of the Young Master?¡± ¡°pfft!¡± ¡°¡­¡­what is it?¡± The sudden appearance of the old woman suddenly bursting into laughter made Rosha curious. And it was almost a mocking laugh, so she even wondered. What on earth could be so funny? ¡°Young Master¡­.¡± The old woman¡¯s laughter didn¡¯t last very long, but it was rather unnatural and abruptly cut off. The person who had been laughing just a moment ago was looking at Rosha with an expressionless face. ¡°He is the most beautiful, precious and holy being on earth.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ What?¡± ¡°If you follow the rear garden all the way there, you¡¯ll find the annex, so you¡¯ll be on your own from here.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Young Master is a sensitive person and doesn¡¯t like to be approached by a lot of people, so I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± Even though Rosha couldn¡¯t calm her feelings of surprise at the old woman¡¯s sudden change in attitude and behavior when she spoke about the little boy, the old woman just smiled and left. ¡°All the candidates born in Beria that year had strange powers. Don¡¯t let a mere thing like this give you the illusion that he is something special.¡± Maybe that old woman was also playing a trick of the devil using the child. Feeling emotionally upset from the first day, Rosha consoled herself and headed to the annex along the garden path. Rosha moved forward, leaving her footprints in the snow-covered field. It was a dazzling landscape because the sky was white all around and the earth was white as well. As she gazed at the white landscape, she saw a small shadow above her head. Feeling a presence, Rosha looked up and saw a snow-white dove passing by. It was about that time when the figure was like a picture and captured her gaze. Sadrak, who had been buried in Rosha¡¯s coat all day, stuck his head out. ¡°Sadrak!¡± And without enough time to catch him, Rosha ran down the snow field. It was always in Rosha¡¯s arms. Maybe it was the snow, or maybe it was the wonder of his first sight, but Sadrak didn¡¯t even stop at Rosha¡¯s call, he just kept jumping around. Coincidentally, Sadrak headed to the annex like the dove. ¡°Wait, Sadrak!¡± Rosha had no choice but to start running to catch Sadrak. Rosha ran in the same direction to catch the mischievous white wolf that had already disappeared into the distance. When she finally reached the annex, Rosha¡¯s legs spontaneously stopped. Several pigeons were gathered in a circle in one place. They were surrounding a boy. Then the pigeon that sat on the boy¡¯s head flapped its wings and fell to the ground. Still, the pigeons entrusted their faces to the boy¡¯s hands and expressed their affection by rubbing the boy¡¯s cheek. The boy with silver hair and golden eyes smiled brightly like a work of art. He looked like a child angel in the torchlight. Doves were not the only animals that approached the angelic boy. There was also Sadrak, the white wolf. The boy cautiously reached out his hand, tilting his head at the appearance of the strange beast. It was then. ¡°Not only humans, but animals as well, if the boy touched them, they won¡¯t eat, suffer from depression for a while, and starve to death¡­¡± Rosha remembered what Count Baldwin had said. ¡°No, Sadrak!¡± At Rosha¡¯s desperate cry, the boy¡¯s hand stopped approaching Sadrak. Instead, the boy¡¯s eyes reached Rosha. The boy¡¯s golden eyes grew larger as they met Rosha¡¯s startled eyes. Then. ¡°Rosha!¡± He jumped up from his seat and ran towards Rosha. That too while calling out her name which she hadn¡¯t even introduced herself. Rosha tried to take a step back, but the boy, who had not hesitated, was faster. The boy plunged into her and hugged Rosha¡¯s waist tightly. ¡°I missed you so much!¡± Rosha swore to the heavens that she had only met the boy for the first time today. However, as soon as they met, the boy, who knew Rosha¡¯s name, whispered to her in a wistful voice. ¡°I was sure you would come to see me one day¡­¡­.¡± Chapter 12 *** ¡°Excuse me, hey¡­¡­You¡­¡­.¡± Rosha had a few words prepared in advance. ¡®Hello, kid. I¡¯ve heard that you have special powers. I am the one the Count has called here to help you. Can we talk?¡¯ However, all the words she had prepared were useless. Due to Sadrak¡¯s unexpected escape and the boy¡¯s unexpected behavior. Rosha just looked down at the little head of the boy holding her helplessly. Perhaps sensing her gaze, the boy looked up and smiled, resting his chin on Rosha¡¯s stomach. He was the child who had made the Count into a coward who feared his adopted son. This was the child who painted bizarre pictures, dark and strange and full of blood. In fact, Rosha had unknowingly defined this child as a very gloomy child. That was why she was so puzzled by the appearance of this adorable boy who was the opposite of what she expected. With his white skin, matched this pure white landscape, and his golden eyes as clear as jewels, the child reminded her of a snow fairy in a fairy tale. ¡°Can you let go of me first?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even the boy¡¯s surprisingly straightforward fall was puzzling. It was a situation Rosha didn¡¯t expect. At that moment, Sadrak, who hadn¡¯t come no matter how much she called, ran quickly to Rosha¡¯s feet. Quickly grabbing Sadrak out of the boy¡¯s reach, Rosha took a couple of steps away from him. ¡°Eh-hem. How do you know my name?¡± ¡°I saw you.¡± ¡°What did you see?¡± ¡°Today is the day we meet like this!¡± ¡°¡­.. Well, yes. Well, first of all¡­.¡± It was the kind of dialogue that would take a long time to talk over a cold snowfield. First, Rosha regained her composure and later introduced herself to the boy. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you know, but I¡¯m the one who¡¯s here to help you. And you are ¡­..?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Joshua von Baldwin.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Joshua, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Rosha asked the little boy to shake her hand. Joshua took it cautiously, looking down at Rosha¡¯s hand softly, unlike the way he had looked when they first met. ¡°It¡¯s very cold here right now. Can I go inside?¡± Shivering lightly as Rosha tucked Sadrak into her coat, and Joshua nodded with an embarrassed chuckle. ¡°Follow me!¡± Joshua walked ahead of her and Rosha followed, heading inside the annex. Once inside, she tried to feel the special energy coming from this place, but she felt nothing. Likewise, no evil energy could be sensed, except for the fact that it was so uninhabited. Still, she didn¡¯t know if she could feel the sacred atmosphere yet either. Is it that the boy¡¯s innate atmosphere is mysterious and makes her feel that way, or is this momentum genuine¡­? Rosha followed after carefully observing the back of the boy, who even looked cute. It was a problem for the boy, the Count¡¯s family no longer had many servants and the boy avoided contact with others, suddenly the boy did not look like a nobleman and seemed to live here in complete isolation. Crossing the cold stone wall, the boy opened the door and entered the room. Following him, Rosha looked around inside and saw that it seemed to be the boy¡¯s bedroom. The fireplace only had firewood in it, but there was no fire at all, so the room was cold without much difference from the outside. With a light hand gesture, Rosha brought her hand close to the fireplace and lightly snapped her fingers. Then the fireplace, which had been empty, lit up. ¡°Wow!¡± Leaving the curious boy behind, Rosha approached the bed and dragged a thick blanket, which looked old and unwashed, across the floor. She then draped the comforter over Joshua¡¯s body, who sat down on the couch absent-mindedly. It was practically a tossing motion of the blanket, though. Joshua struggled as he swam under the covers that covered his head, and finally managed to pull his face out. Not paying attention to the child¡¯s cute gesture, Rosha brought over a rocking chair in front of the fireplace and sat down across from Joshua. ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m the one who came to help you. I heard you had a ¡­¡­ little problem.¡± ¡°¡­¡­..¡± ¡°Of course I want to talk about your condition. Can you tell me if you¡¯re ready to answer me honestly?¡± Rosha was normally blunt when dealing with children, even though Joshua was only five years younger than her. However, Rosha tried her best to be nice to the child. What if the child became mischievously stubborn or uncooperative here, Rosha was terribly worried. But Joshua, who had been staring up at Rosha so intently that such worries overwhelmed her face, answered cheerfully with a straightforward nod. ¡°Ask me anything!¡± Rosha looked relieved. Now that the child had agreed, there was no need to hold back any more questions. ¡°How did you know my name?¡± Joshua looked around for a moment at Rosha¡¯s question. He didn¡¯t seem to be thinking about what to say. ¡°We¡¯re the only ones in the room, what are you looking for?¡± Rosha followed him and looked around the room, but she didn¡¯t know what Joshua was looking for. After a moment, Joshua whispered quietly as he leaned his upper body toward Rosha. ¡°They showed it to me.¡± ¡°They? No way¡­ ¡­Are they demons?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Who could they be?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Do you know what they look like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­just black.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human figure, but it looks black like a shadow.¡± While listening to Joshua¡¯s reply, Rosha kept thinking in her head. And if it¡¯s them, it¡¯s not just one, it¡¯s many. Are the shadowy forms of demons grouped together? The answer, however, came quickly. As far as the Golden Dawn Society knew, such a demon did not exist. ¡°How long have they been with you?¡± ¡°Since the beginning. That¡¯s why I thought they could see you.¡± ¡°Do you talk to them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried a few times, but they never answered me. Instead, they just tell me what they want to say.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bad word.¡± ¡°What kind of bad words? Are they still whispering them to you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Die, you¡¯re no good.¡± ¡°¡­¡­..¡± ¡°¡­¡­Say.¡± The boy¡¯s rough words and actions, which had come suddenly and without warning, startled Rosha¡¯s confused mind for a while. ¡°It whispered as if it was its feeling. It¡¯s not mine.¡± Pretending to be unconcerned and keeping her expression in check, she continued to listen to what Joshua was saying. ¡°If someone hurts me, I whisper, ¡°I want to kill them,¡± just like I would if they hurt me. So many times people whisper that to me that I sometimes think it¡¯s how I feel.¡± Crackle. Joshua¡¯s story continued in the quiet room, where the only sound was the fire burning in the fireplace. ¡°I can¡¯t stop thinking about it. I really want that thing to die.¡± ¡°When you think about it, what changes occur?¡± ¡°The object of my thoughts really dies.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hurt the animals either. I just touched my horse, rabbit, and dog to comfort them when they were depressed, and they died. But I didn¡¯t force myself to touch them. The animals like me, and they come to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s something they¡¯ve done or something I¡¯ve done. People tell me I¡¯m weird. They say I¡¯m scary and give them goosebumps. Are you scared too, Rosha?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rosha answered at once, without hesitation. Joshua¡¯s eyes visibly shook as he was shocked by Rosha¡¯s firm answer. In order to win this child¡¯s heart, it would be right to pretend not to be afraid. However, Rosha wasn¡¯t going to lie. ¡°Then, when I hugged you earlier..¡­ It must be uncomfortable.¡­.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do this one thing right.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ What is it?¡± ¡°I have an eagle and a wolf.¡± As soon as the words were finished, Sadrak jumped out of Rosha¡¯s coat. ¡°Don¡¯t touch them. Because the last thing I want is to lose something that is mine, be it human or animal.¡± ¡°What about Rosha?¡± ¡°Me ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Shall I not touch Rosha too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re afraid of me.¡± ¡°I was just afraid you¡¯ll harm the animals.¡± ¡°What if I want to hug Rosha?¡± ¡°You can hug me if you want to.¡± It would be troublesome for the child to attach to her, but she was inclined to be gullible, since she had come in the name of protection anyway. To Rosha, Joshua was an object that she could use in the name of her mission and her stay here to find Lily, nothing more and nothing less. However, the boy, who had no idea how Rosha was treating him, looked very touched. Joshua came a little closer, with the covers draped over his body, and hugged Rosha. Rosha pulled the boy away with a vague gesture and forced him to sit there again. ¡°¡­I feel pressured, so don¡¯t stare at me. My question is not over yet.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Joshua quickly bowed his head when he was told not to look. She didn¡¯t mean to do that, but are kids at that age usually extreme? Rosha shook her head and asked the question she had finally tried to ask. ¡°You said you knew about me beforehand because they showed it to you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What did they show you about me?¡± Rosha remembered the painting of Joshua that the Count had shown her. At first she wasn¡¯t sure, but when she saw Joshua, who knew her from the beginning, she was convinced. That picture was about herself and Lily. ¡®Then maybe he knows where she is.¡¯ She was almost certain that Lily was at the orphanage here, but she still wanted to be sure, just in case. ¡®It¡¯s strange how the shadows showed this boy about me and Lily¡­¡­.¡¯ It was not too late to talk to Noah about it later, through Kashin. It was a pity that she couldn¡¯t get Noah on the phone, since this was a foreign country of all places. ¡°Rosha¡­¡­¡± Finally, Joshua opened his lips. Rosha gulped nervously. ¡°She was very fond of me.¡± ¡°Oh¡­..?¡± But Joshua¡¯s words came out unexpectedly. ¡°She patted me on the head and smiled gently. She even said I was cute.¡± ¡°Me?¡± It didn¡¯t really fit with Rosha¡¯s personality. ¡°And then she hugged me and cried.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°No one has ever cried for me before¡­¡­¡± ¡°Stop.¡± It was hard to listen to more. The shadows seemed to instill vain delusions in this child. ¡°Other than that, is there anything else?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s always a jumble of things that they show me¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± It would be better to go look for Lily herself than to look for clues about her from Joshua. Without hesitation, Rosha stood up and turned away. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go out for a bit.¡± Rosha said casually, looking down at the boy who was sitting there under the covers before leaving the room. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay here for the time being, so¡­.¡± The boy¡¯s face, which had looked sad, immediately broke into a smile. Rosha closed the door without giving Joshua a side glance. Chapter 13 The door closed and the sound of slightly hurried footsteps became distant. As the signs of people moved away, a cold wind blew in the room even though the windows were closed. The fire in the fireplace, with its lingering magical energy, was extinguished, and perfect silence came over the room. The shadows screamed beneath the ground and from the ceiling as they climbed toward Joshua. [Joshua is a liar.] [Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies!] [Cut off the head of that girl who thinks you¡¯re some kind of experiment, and show the Rosteliers a lesson!] [Joshua, Joshua. They are just a small piece of a dirty, hypocritical group.] ¡°¡­¡­.¡± [Let¡¯s kill her*! Let¡¯s call Ramia! Let¡¯s dig her guts out and feed them to her!] Let¡¯s kill them! Let¡¯s call in Seiren and have him remove her vocal chords! Let¡¯s kill her! Let¡¯s kill her! We¡¯ll kill her!] (*her=Rosha) [That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s kill her, let¡¯s kill her, let¡¯s kill her!] [The bones of the horrible wizard of light will be piled up in our tower along with many other remains!] [Then we will celebrate at the top of the tower, squeezing out fresh blood!] [Let¡¯s give it to those useless Rosteliers!] ¡°Be quiet.¡± At the sound of Joshua¡¯s low voice, the noisy shadows fell silent at once. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill Rosha.¡± Joshua hugged the blanket that Rosha had covered him and buried his face in it, his cheeks reddening as he grimaced. ¡°Go away.¡± The shadows scattered without a trace at the command of the small boy buried in the blanket. Joshua was really the only one left in the room. *** ¡°Ha ¡­¡­¡± As she stood in front of the Angel Orphanage, Rosha let out a long breath, taking a deep breath of tension. The Angel Orphanage was not far from Count Baldwin¡¯s house, so it was a quick walk. ¡®Lily must be in there¡­¡¯ There was a possibility that there wasn¡¯t, but for now, there was a good chance that Lily was in this orphanage. Rosha stepped into the entrance of the orphanage with a trembling heart. Fortunately, she was able to quickly find someone at the entrance of the orphanage with poor facilities. She saw children making snowmen and a woman playing with them. It seemed to be the director of the orphanage. Rosha deliberately approached them. As she approached them a few steps ahead, the director, who was focusing only on the children, belatedly discovered Rosha. ¡°Excuse me, who are you?¡± It was strange that a girl who looked young to be adopted had visited an orphanage by herself. Rosha placed her hand on her chest and bowed lightly. ¡°I¡¯m Rosha Rostelier. I understand that the Golden Dawn Society had contacted you in advance.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I am Susan Leilletra, the director of this orphanage. I heard about you. But I didn¡¯t expect you to be here today.¡± Rosha felt her conscience squirm at the mention of this. It was because Noah¡¯s words about not neglecting the mission in exchange for finding her sister came to mind. ¡®It¡¯s a bit like being on my own from day one.¡¯ But Rosha quickly reconsidered. She wanted to come from the Angel Orphanage as soon as she arrived in this country, but she held back. The reason why Rosha had joined the Golden Dawn Society was to defeat Barbel, who was using demons to disrupt the world after she had swept away all the demons in the world, but the first reason was to find her sister. The most important person to Rosha was Lily. ¡°I¡¯m Lily Lewen¡¯s older sister. Can I see my sister right away?¡± She tried to stay calm, but she couldn¡¯t help talking a little faster. ¡°Um, that¡¯s ¡­¡­.¡± But somehow, the Director slurred her words. ¡°Lily disappeared yesterday.¡± Soon, the shocking words flowed from the Director¡¯s mouth. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± ¡°What the hell is this¡­.¡± This was the moment she had been waiting for the most. Rosha¡¯s legs weakened. She couldn¡¯t believe Lily disappeared¡­. yesterday¡­. If she had come one day earlier, she could have met her¡­. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Lily¡­¡± The Director rushed to support Rosha¡¯s arm. Before Rosha knew it, her legs had lost their strength and she was about to collapse. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s going to be a long conversation, so come inside. I¡¯ll explain everything slowly.¡± Rosha¡¯s first instinct was to immediately grab the Director by the chest and shake her. She was the one who was responsible for the children while managing this orphanage, how could she have lost the child while doing that? However, Rosha had no energy to get angry because her whole body trembled so much that it was hard to even move her fingers. Lily had gone missing. With that one word, Rosha lost all motivation. Rosha had a long talk with the director of the orphanage in the counseling room. The Director told her that Lily, who had snuck out of the orphanage in the middle of the night, had not yet returned and that they were also looking for her. She even said that she would definitely contact Rosha when Lily returned. ¡°Can I see some recent pictures of Lily?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Lily hates taking pictures, so I don¡¯t have any.¡± ¡°Lily hated having her picture taken¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was strange. It¡¯d be understandable If she was afraid of something related to demons, why would she be afraid of taking pictures? Lily, whom Rosha knew, wasn¡¯t afraid of such things. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t be of any help.¡± The Director bowed her head slightly to apologize. Rosha¡¯s heart stirred with sorrow, injustice, and resentment. ¡®Why didn¡¯t you wait one more day, Lily?¡¯ ¡®If you had waited for just one day, I would have come to pick you up.¡¯ ¡®Lily, where the hell are you in this land?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m staying at Count Baldwin¡¯s residence, so if you find Lily, please contact me.¡± The Director was surprised to hear Rosha was staying at the Count¡¯s residence, but the Director just nodded with a sad expression. Rosha doubted that the Director had listened to her properly, but Rosha decided to keep her words to herself. In any case, she was going to wait a little longer to see if she could find Lily, and if she would contact her after she did. If she couldn¡¯t find Lily after some time, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to sit here and cause a ruckus then. Rosha walked languidly through the entrance of the orphanage, not bothering to hide her feeling of emptiness. She felt like she was going to fall down at any moment, so she put all her strength into her body and concentrated on taking one step at a time. In the yard of the orphanage, she could see the children gathered as they had been earlier. As she walked, Rosha couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the children who were around the same age as her sister. At that time, she saw the golden hair among the children. She didn¡¯t think there were any blondes among the children. ¡­¡­ Now she saw only one child who had blond hair. Blonde was a common hair color. But blonde hair without any other color mixed in, like Lily¡¯s, was rare. Before she knew it, Rosha¡¯s legs were heading for the children. The blond haired girl wore a red dotted dress with a black headband over her short hair¡­¡­. ¡°Li, Lily¡­¡­.¡± The children scattered quickly, probably at play. The child with the blonde hair also ran off somewhere. ¡°Lily ¡­¡­!¡± Rosha ran after Lily. ¡°Wait, Lily!¡± Rosha saw Lily enter through the entrance of the orphanage building and quickly followed her. ¡°Lily, please¡­¡­¡± Rosha went inside the building, but Lily was not seen. Rosha whirled around in place, looking in the direction the blonde haired girl seemed to be headed. That was when it happened. Whoosh. She felt the presence of a passerby. She glanced sideways at the figure at the other end of the hallway. Rosha quickly ran down the hallway. Just as she turned the corner of the hallway, she heard a voice ask, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± She met not a child, but the director of the orphanage. ¡°This is a children¡¯s only rest area. You can¡¯t go any further.¡± ¡°I saw Lily.¡± ¡°What are you talking about¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the girl in the black headband and the red dotted dress!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°You said Lily left the orphanage. Maybe she came back again. I saw her pass this way¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I think you must be looking at something wrong. There isn¡¯t any Lily with blond hair¡­..¡± ¡°I saw her!¡± Rosha ended up raising her voice. The Director lifted her glasses and gave Rosha a puzzled look, as if she was confused by Rosha¡¯s outcry. ¡°Director¡­¡­.¡± At that moment, she heard a child¡¯s voice from behind the Director. Rosha pushed the Director to confirm the child¡¯s appearance. ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Short blond hair. A black headband and a red dotted dress. ¡­¡­ But it wasn¡¯t Lily. The director was right, it was just a blonde haired child who looked like Lily. ¡°I know that you are heartbroken about losing you sister.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t be too disappointed, we¡¯ll be looking for Lily as hard as we can.¡± The Director comforted Rosha. However, no words could reach her heart. *** Returning to Count Baldwin¡¯s residence, Rosha went into her room without seeing Joshua, who was alone. It was fortunate to be able to rest without anyone¡¯s attention on a day like today, when her mood was down¡­. It was good for Rosha that the servants were too scared of Joshua and stayed away. It was hard to explain what kind of spirit she had. However, Rosha managed to wash up and lie down in bed. ¡®Lily ¡­¡­¡¯ Actually, sometimes Rosha was tired of looking for Lily. No, actually, she was always tired. She thought she could endure it only if she believed Lily was alive, but sometimes¡­¡­. She wanted to think that Lily was dead and forget about it. However, Rosha still couldn¡¯t give up the search for her sister. No matter how hard it was, it was the one thing she couldn¡¯t give up. But at times like today¡­¡­.. She thought she could find Lily this time, but she missed it in vain. Rosha felt more mentally exhausted than usual. She resented the orphanage director, but what she resented more was that she couldn¡¯t come sooner. She also resented Noah for not telling her about Lily sooner. But what good does it do to hold a grudge against everything in the world? She had already lost Lily. On the way back, she asked people about the blonde girl, but she couldn¡¯t find a clue about Lily. Rosha was almost in tears, angry with herself for not finding Lily again this time. Eventually, she buried her face on the pillow and cried. While repeatedly telling herself that she wasn¡¯t crying because she wasn¡¯t crying out loud. With her exhausted body and mind, Rosha cried for a long time and eventually fell into a deep, dreamless sleep in the darkness. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Shhhh, shhhh, shhhh. Rosha¡¯s consciousness began to return when she felt a touch that tickled and fell on her body. It came up with a sniffing sound from the bottom as if smelling Rosha. ¡°Sadrak?¡± The scent came up to Rosha¡¯s face. She tried to ignore it because she wanted to sleep. Woof woof! If it weren¡¯t for the barking of the baby wolf¡­. Sadrak was barking. That meant that it was not Sadrak that went up and sniffed her body. Come to think of it, she didn¡¯t feel any soft fur at all from sniffing so close. The moment she noticed this, Rosha opened her eyes. A demon with red bumps all over its body was propping up the ground with each arm and leg under the bed, looking down at Rosha. Kakaaa. A cry that resembled a girl¡¯s cheerful laughter came from the demon¡¯s mouth. The filthy monster¡¯s breath and disgusting body odor hit Rosha. Rosha¡¯s face slowly twisted in disgust, and she reached for the demon¡¯s face. Flames erupted in Rosha¡¯s hand. The skin of the demon began to burn. The demon¡¯s skin gradually melted, and a thick liquid trickled down Rosha¡¯s wrist. The melted demon¡¯s skin was so hot that it burned Rosha¡¯s skin as well, but Rosha endured it without letting go of the demon. Even if her body was crushed and burned to death, she would not let the demon in front of her live. Kaaaaaaaa. However, Rosha was unable to kill the demon, because with a big shake of its head, the demon escaped from her grasp. It took two steps back from Rosha¡¯s bed with its long, spider-like arms and legs. It seemed to be struggling in pain. Rosha took the opportunity to grab Sadrak, who was trembling in fear in the corner, put him in the closet, and closed the door. Rosha quickly tried to grab her cane, but it took her too long to hide Sadrak. Kaaaaa. Demon stuck out its long tongue like a frog. ¡°Ahh!¡± Demon¡¯s wet tongue wrapped around Rosha¡¯s neck. The more she twisted her body to get out, the tighter it grabbed. ¡°Ahhh¡­..!¡± At this rate, she was bound to die of a broken neck before the demon could take and eat her. Rosha put her hand on the demon¡¯s tongue that covered her neck and tried to use her magic. But there was no way she could use magic when she was losing consciousness to the point where her eyes were blurred. Magic only works as long as the knight still has mental and physical strength. It was impossible to use magic when she was just before passing out. ¡°Ha. ¡­¡­¡± Tears flowed from her eyes. Rosha clawed at the demon¡¯s tongue, knowing instinctively that it was useless, but she had to try. She had let her guard down, knowing that the end of carelessness would lead to death. A feeling of helplessness overcame Rosha. She felt like her bones were about to break. Rosha¡¯s eyes slowly lost their focus. Shriek! But then, something flew through the window, shattering it. Shriek! The demon was attacked by something , and the long tongue that had been clamping around Rosha¡¯s neck naturally loosened. ¡°Haha, haha¡­!¡± As a drop of tears flowed down, she could clearly see the situation in front of her. Ray, whom Rosha hadn¡¯t seen since she arrived here, had broken through the window and come in, poking the demon¡¯s eyes. God had always been on Rosha¡¯s side in the battle against the ruined demons. Rosha took her cane. But before that, the demon was faster. It escaped through the broken window, avoiding the eagle Ray that had devoured one of its eyeballs. Rosha hurriedly put her face out of the window and looked at the direction of the demon¡¯s escape. The demon climbed the wall like a spider with its long legs and entered another room where the window was already open. ¡°D*mn it¡­¡­!¡± It was, of course, Joshua¡¯s bedroom. Rosha hurried into the room where Joshua was, cursing wildly. ¡­¡­ No, she tried to head to his room. But something outside the window caught her eyes. It was a large number of dead white pigeons. ¡°Ray, bring me the dead pigeon.¡± As soon as Rosha finished her order, Ray flew at once, picked up the pigeon¡¯s body and flew back to Rosha. Wearing gloves, Rosha grabbed the dead pigeon and smelled it. It didn¡¯t smell like that demon. Instead, it smelled of other evils. ¡°Ray, you stay here and protect Sadrak.¡± There was no reason to delay here any longer. Rosha hurried over to Joshua¡¯s room. Boom! The door swung open roughly and hit the wall. Joshua, who was lying on his bed, woke up rubbing his eyes when he heard someone coming in. Joshua¡¯s eyes caught sight of Rosha, her expression cold. ¡°Rosha¡­?¡± Walking in a large stride, Rosha opened the closet door of Joshua¡¯s room. ¡°Rosha, what are you doing¡­?¡± Joshua¡¯s question didn¡¯t stop Rosha from searching under the couch and then under the bed. It was when Joshua, who couldn¡¯t stand to see Rosha¡¯s strange behavior, was about to call her again. ¡°Ro¡­..ahh.!¡± Rosha pulled Joshua roughly by the neck and sat his little body down on the sofa. ¡°A demon came to your room.¡± ¡°A demon¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hideous shaped monster!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see it ¡­¡­..¡± ¡°Why did you leave the window open when you went to bed?¡± ¡°I was warm¡­..¡± ¡°In this cold?¡± Rosha was so angry that her hands were shaking when she was attacked by the demon, who had fallen asleep without being careful. She couldn¡¯t tell if the shaking was from fear and shock, or anger and disgust. ¡°The pigeon you touched was dead. Did you know that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­..¡± There was no shock on the boy¡¯s face, as if it had been totally unexpected. Indeed, the boy was also well aware that the animals he touched could die in a pinch. ¡°You knew that if you touched an animal when you¡¯re depressed, it¡¯s likely to die. Did you touch it to comfort yourself?¡± ¡°The animals came¡­¡­.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t want to kill it, why didn¡¯t you just shove it into a corner of the room and not touch it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°If you watch life die, do you feel pleasure?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± It was Joshua who touched a pigeon today, a wild pigeon, not a human-owned pigeon. But the pigeon¡¯s corpse reeked of evil. It was a much worse smell than that of demons. When she was twelve years old, Rocha happened to smell it. Babel. The word referred to the evil force that tried to mess with God. They smelled very stale and damp. It was the scent of roses in full bloom, but it was a horrible stench for Rosha, who was chasing evil. However, the pigeon touched by Joshua smelled that terrible. It smelled like the distinctive rose perfume used by Babel. ¡°You¡¯re not hiding anything from me, are you?¡± ¡°No¡­¡­¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m afraid, Rosha.. ¡­.¡± Rosha thought. It was really strange. Why did he leave the window open on this cold day? That huge demon had definitely entered this room, but now that Rosha had come to visit, the trace had disappeared cleanly. The strangest thing of all was the fact that she could smell Babel from the pigeon Joshua had touched. That particular scent, that odor that Rosha smelled, was a smell that was solely among those who belonged to Babel. Rosha took out the pocket watch she wore around her neck. ¡°Ro, Rosha.¡± ¡°Stay still!¡± The terrified boy pleaded with Rosha, but she held him tightly by the neck as she screamed. ¡°Look closely at this clock.¡± If Joshua didn¡¯t want to tell the truth, Rosha was going to hypnotize him to get the truth. Rosha didn¡¯t stop this action, even the boy¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears. It was at the moment when Rosha was about to slowly shake her pocket watch. ¡°Stop.¡± Someone approached without her knowing and grabbed her arm. The voice was familiar and she slowly raised her head. ¡°¡­¡­ Kashin.¡± Kashin was looking down at Rosha with cold eyes. It was with the coldness in his eyes that Rosha finally realized. She was acting irrationally. She was to question why he was here, but Rosha quickly shook her head. It was his role to keep track of the situation of the Rosteliers scattered in different countries and protect the candidates , so it was his business whenever and wherever he appeared. But the fact that Kashin had seen her blame Joshua, of all people, made her fingers tremble finely. Even if it was just for the sake of it, Kashin had always doubted her qualifications, but to see her in such a pathetic state was ¡­¡­. She couldn¡¯t even deny that she was in the wrong, so Rosha was ashamed and felt sorry for herself. ¡°Get out of the way, Rosha Rostelier.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I have to protect the child from you.¡± Rosha couldn¡¯t say that she was very sorry. Trying to protect the child was a reasonable thing for Kashin to do. As the excitement subsided, shame overwhelmed her. Noah had certainly said that Babel would make them confused, but to lose reason at this level at best¡­¡­. Thinking about it, someone could have snuck into this remote place while she was visiting the Angel Orphanage. Rosha moved her trembling eyes and looked at Joshua. Joshua, held in Kashin¡¯s arms, was sobbing and fighting back tears. Not having the confidence to watch him any longer, Rosha left Joshua¡¯s room. When she returned to her room, Rosha felt comforted as she touched Sadrak¡¯s fur. Sadrak also noticed that Rosha wasn¡¯t feeling well, so he sat on Rosha¡¯s lap, wagging his tail and licking her hand. Ray also rubbed his face on Rosha¡¯s arm. Rosha suddenly remembered what she had said to Joshua earlier. ¡°When you see life die, you feel pleasure?¡± How could she say something like that when she herself also found comfort by touching Sadrak? She didn¡¯t try to approach the child emotionally, but if she tried, she could understand as much as she wanted to understand about the child¡¯s situation. It was a child left alone in a remote place. The only object that could have given him warmth would have been animals¡­¡­. Rosha felt like banging her head against the wall in shame. ¡°I¡¯m crazy.¡± ¡°You seem to know that you¡¯re crazy.¡± Rosha raised her head at the familiar voice she heard again. Perhaps he had calmed down Joshua, but Kashin had come into Rosha¡¯s room. ¡°Come up with an excuse. I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± ¡°I have nothing to say. I¡¯ve lost my reason.¡± Rosha didn¡¯t want to lose a single word to Kashin, but here today she really didn¡¯t have an excuse. ¡°Then make your report on that boy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Including what had happened, in detail.¡± She didn¡¯t want to exchange a word with Kashin, but this was a report about work. Even if she wanted to avoid it, she couldn¡¯t. ¡°¡­..I was asleep, and when I woke up, the demon was right in front of me, and it ran to the boy¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°No, besides that¡­¡± Rosha explained everything that had happened during that time. But the more she continued to talk, the more it only confirmed the fact that she was hypersensitive. The only circumstance in which she could think that Joshua had called the demon was the fact that demon had entered Joshua¡¯s room. The fact that the pigeon that Joshua touched died had nothing to do with this. The possible direction of inference here was that she had unconsciously thought Joshua was one of the evil ones in the story she had heard as soon as she entered the Count¡¯s house. Rosha couldn¡¯t look up. For once, she wasn¡¯t confident she could meet Kashin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I knew you were emotional. That¡¯s why I was against letting you in on this case.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious, I don¡¯t need to see it. As soon as you came, you went to the orphanage to find your family. I¡¯m sure Noah had some idea of what was going on, but he turned a blind eye to it.¡± ¡°I know. Shut up!¡± Rationally, it was Rosha¡¯s mistake to be absent from Joshua¡¯s side even for a little while. And that she shouldn¡¯t have left her position since the first day. However, the reason why Rosha wanted to join the Golden Dawn Society was to find her sister. Killing demons and trying to get rid of Babel was her family¡¯s revenge, and it was important. But more important was to find Lily. She didn¡¯t want to be taunted by Kashin, who was convinced her sister was dead because she put her first. In the end, Rosha said what she shouldn¡¯t have said out of spite. ¡°You can¡¯t understand my feelings, since your whole family is dead!¡± It was Kashin¡¯s family history. She heard about it from rumors. It was about the day Kashin, who was an orphan but lived with his twin brothers, lost his brother and awakened after being involved in an incident in which Babel directly intervened. Rosha regretted it as soon as she spoke out of anger. She knew that she shouldn¡¯t mention his family, no matter how angry she was. However, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to apologize to Kashin. There was an awkward silence for a moment. ¡°No.¡± Unexpectedly, it was Kashin who spoke up first. ¡°My brother is alive.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°To be exact, it¡¯s hard to say that he¡¯s alive or dead.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Rosha Rostelier.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°How much do you love your sister?¡± She was curious as to what that would mean, having Kashin¡¯s brother alive, but it seemed that Kashin didn¡¯t want to answer, Rosha decided not to ask. Instead, she answered Kashin¡¯s last question without hesitation. ¡°I would give my whole life for her.¡± But the response she got was cold. ¡°Yes, arrogance.¡± Kashin said with a snicker. ¡°Family is important. It¡¯s especially sad when their survival is threatened by demons, or if it was unexpectedly separated.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°That sadness gives people an illusion. They are willing to devote their entire life to it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°But there is no such thing, Rosha Rostelier.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get drunk on yourself and do the most important thing wrong.¡± Rosha¡¯s body trembled with anger as she clenched her fists. ¡®Kashin, if you had a family that you loved, but could not understand me, it would be because you¡¯re a cold-blooded person without feelings.¡¯ She wanted to refute, but the recognition of the mistake was greater than pride. Rosha calmed her trembling body and just listened to Kashin¡¯s insults disguised as advice not to make a mistake like the one she had just made. ¡°Noah had said that Babel makes the child of God look like an evil child too, just to confuse us.¡± ¡°You mean the boy¡¯s the child of God?¡± Kashin shook his head. ¡°He could just be a normal child. ¡­Or he could be a truly evil child. Whatever it may be, you have to keep your emotions in check and watch that child until the truth is confirmed.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to report what happened today to Noah as it happened. It¡¯s up to you to find your sister, but keep an eye on the boy.¡± Kashin left one last warning. ¡°Keep in mind that if you mess up the mission, the Golden Dawn Society will not be able to help you find your sister either.¡± That was the end of it. When Rosha raised her head again, Kashin vanished without a trace. Except for the baby wolf Sadrak, in the room left alone, Rosha collapsed in bed with her legs loosened. It was a heavy and lonely night in her heart to spend alone. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Knock. Knock. Early in the morning, Rosha gently tapped on the door of Joshua¡¯s room. There was a very long time of hesitation before she knocked on the door of this room. Even though she had made a mistake, she could not easily apologize because of her pride. The Rostelier brothers adored this stubborn young wizard, so the majority backed down. This time, however, the child Rosha had mistreated was a 10 years old boy, five years younger than her. On top of that, it would be difficult to perform any more missions unless the relationship with this child was resolved regardless of the fault. ¡°Joshua, it¡¯s me.¡± As she approached the door, Rosha quietly called Joshua¡¯s name. ¡°Are you awake?¡± Although she didn¡¯t hear the voice, Rosha felt confident that Joshua was awake. ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡± Rosha opened the door without the room¡¯s owner¡¯s permission. As expected, Joshua was awake. Still cloaked in fear, Joshua avoided Rosha¡¯s eyes with tearful eyes. If she couldn¡¯t loosen that boy¡¯s heart strings, she wouldn¡¯t be able to watch him and observe and consult with him. If that happened, she may be excluded from this mission and have to leave the search for Lily to others. In order to find Lily, she had to make the boy feel better. ¡°Joshua¡­.¡± Rosha made up a soft, awkward voice and approached slowly. As soon as she was close to the bedside, she slowly bent her knees and looked at the boy. ¡°You were surprised to see me come in so suddenly, weren¡¯t you?¡± The end of her voice trembled as she had never used such soft words before, but Rosha tried her best to act like a perfect adult who had never been angry at all as she thought of how Noah had treated her. ¡®You know what, Joshua?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Yesterday, I¡­..¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to apologize.¡± Joshua cut her off, and Rosha looked at the boy with some discomfort. She still had the same awkward smile on her lips, of course. ¡°You don¡¯t feel sorry for me.¡± The boy, who had been friendly to Rosha since their first encounter, glared at her with a hurt expression. Rosha, who was terrible at relationships, didn¡¯t know how to approach someone who had come to hate her. Rosha scratched her palms with her nails in frustration. ¡°I was adopted since I was a child. There was a phrase that I was told to the point of disgust the moment I could understand.¡± At an age when the world must seem beautiful, the boy shuddered, his voice full of exasperation. It was a pitiful sight, and Rosha felt a faint sense of guilt, but the difficulty she was facing now took precedence over that. ¡°This baby we brought back from Beria. The monster must have planted a curse on that baby instead of preying on it!¡± The moment she heard those words, Rosha¡¯s heart pounded violently. ¡°I was a survivor, but to the humans, I¡¯m a cursed child that the monster had saved for a reason.¡± It was because she remembered the similarities between Joshua and Lily that hadn¡¯t occurred to her before. Joshua and Lily, both survivors of the demon, both orphans who had lost their parents, were the same age. Of course, Joshua was adopted by the Count¡¯s family and became a nobleman, but according to Joshua, he had heard not-so-nice things after being adopted because he survived the demons. So, what about Lily? Joshua, who was adopted by the Count, also lived to hear such things, but Lily, who had no one to rely on, would also live to hear even more words. ¡°Every day¡­.every time it looks weird. ¡­¡­ Every time someone dies¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m really a cursed child¡­.¡± ¡°Joshua¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I thought Rosha was different¡­¡­¡± The guilt in Rosha¡¯s heart doubled the moment she started putting Joshua and her sister together. ¡°Because out of all the many illusions the shadows have shown me, Rosha is the only one who has cried for me¡­so I thought I could open up to Rosha¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°And Rosha called me a monster, it¡¯s terrible¡­..¡± The sadness Joshua was spitting out was like Lily¡¯s. ¡°That day ¡­¡­ I should have died too¡­¡­.¡± (Joshua ) ¡°I should have died that day, too.¡± (Lily) ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Lily¡¯s voice overlaid Joshua¡¯s. ¡°Rocha, I¡¯m scared too. People pointing their fingers at me, and I hear strange illusions and voices¡­¡­.¡± ( Joshua) ¡°Sister, I¡¯m scared too. People are pointing their fingers at me. I keep seeing monsters¡­.¡± (Lily) ¡°Why did Rosha come to see me?¡± (Joshua) ¡°Why can¡¯t sister find me?¡± (Lily) ¡°If you hate me this much¡­.¡± (Joshua) ¡°Is it because you¡¯re happy without me?¡± (Lily) ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡± Rosha involuntarily raised her voice, denying Lily¡¯s words. Hugging the little blonde girl staring up at her with surprised eyes, Rosha constantly whispered, hoping that Lily¡¯s broken heart would be relieved. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not like that¡­ I came very late, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m really sorry¡­..¡± How could I have been happy without you? It¡¯s not like that, Lily. There¡¯s never been a day when I didn¡¯t think about you. ¡°I¡¯ll never let people point fingers at you again. I¡¯ll protect you from those monsters. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Rosha¡­?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Rosha slumped as she heard a beautiful voice, slightly different from Lily¡¯s. Lily¡¯s hair, which had been blonde earlier, had turned back to silver. In her arms, she saw not her sister Lily, but a boy of Lily¡¯s age. She was mistaken. She thought that the situation this child was facing might have been Lily¡¯s situation, so she lost her reason and mistook Joshua for her younger sister. The hand that was holding Joshua trembled. ¡°Ro, Rosha¡­¡± Joshua called out to Rosha in a voice of concern and anxiety. For some reason, Rosha couldn¡¯t bring herself to untie the arms that held the boy. Maybe it was the fact that she had mistaken him for Lily for a moment, but it weakened her feelings for Joshua. ¡°I apologize.¡± At the same time, this was an opportunity. This was het only chance to make up with this fickle boy. ¡°As a matter of fact, I have a younger sister the same age as you.¡± ¡®In order to win a person¡¯s heart, it is good to expose one of your weaknesses.¡¯ Remembering Noah¡¯s teachings, Rosha carefully told Joshua what had happened. ¡°There was a demon attack on our village, my entire family died and I was separated from my sister, not knowing if she was alive or dead. However, I finally began to hear of my sister.¡± ¡°Have you found your sister?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ No.¡± Rosha stroked Joshua¡¯s head and smiled bitterly. ¡°She disappeared before I came to see her.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I heard the news yesterday.¡± Listening intently to the story, Joshua¡¯s eyes, which had stopped crying, twitched again, and he grabbed Rosha¡¯s collar and bowed his head. ¡°It must have been hard for you¡­¡± Seeing the boy empathizing with the pitiful story of another person, Rosha felt heavy about bringing up his story to this child intentionally. However, she did not stop talking. ¡°I treated you badly, I really suspected you, and I just¡­¡­. It was just frustrating and I took it out on you¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Yes.¡± ¡°Will you forgive me?¡± Rosha apologized as she looked into Joshua¡¯s eyes. Joshua opened his eyes wide and didn¡¯t open his mouth easily. It was when Rosha began to feel nervous because she was afraid that this child would not accept her apology. ¡°From the beginning, I¡¯ve never hated Rosha¡­¡­¡± Fortunately, the boy forgave Rosha easily. Such an innocent child was pitiful, unfortunate, and cute made Rosha laugh in vain. Joshua looked at Rosha like that, and carefully began to speak again. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­how about Rosha?¡± ¡°Me? Why me?¡± ¡°Rosha is¡­.¡± Joshua asked Rosha with teary eyes again, as if he had experienced something sad. ¡°Are you feeling okay, Rosha? It was a question that no one had ever asked Rosha. Everyone took pity on Rosha¡¯s situation, but no one cried for her. ¡°I¡­¡­¡± She opened her mouth to answer Joshua firmly, but no words came out easily. It was then that she felt a small warmth on the back of her hand. Joshua held Rosha¡¯s hand. Why? She hadn¡¯t shed a single tear since she was little. Occasionally, she cried alone in her room, screaming, when she couldn¡¯t help her resentment towards the demons, or when she dreamt about the night her family died, or at night when she was worried about Lily who was alone. But that was also when she was very young. Rosha had to grow up fast. When other kids her age were complaining about their parents and going to school, Rosha learned how to fight against evil. All her brothers adored Rosha, but she learned that there was a degree to which she could rely on them to complain, because they weren¡¯t her real family. In order to become a perfect member of the Golden Dawn Society, she had to learn about the different types of demons and what kind of group Babel was that wanted to rule the world. In the midst of all this, Rosha had to study at the headquarters at a very young age and complete her higher education, because her intellectual level should not be inferior. It was bearable. This much was nothing. She had already experienced the really hard part before. She still felt sorry for her sister and her heart ached, but she didn¡¯t feel like it was hard. In fact, she didn¡¯t even have time to think about how hard it was because she was so busy. Naturally, Rosha¡¯s tear glands dried up day by day. Now, however, she felt like crying again, just like that childhood day. The boy, who was much shorter than her, patted her lightly on the back of her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Rosha.¡± Joshua made it sound like Rosha was crying, even though she wasn¡¯t really crying. But his words made Rosha really shed a tear. She felt as if she had received warm comfort. But it was a feeling that was all too unfamiliar to Rosha. She didn¡¯t know how to unburden herself, even for a moment, at someone¡¯s comfort. After awkwardly avoiding the boy¡¯s hand, Rosha turned away from him, keeping both eyes open to prevent the tears that were already welling up in her eyes from falling. Then, when she was about to leave the room, she hesitantly kept her grip on the doorknob. ¡°Hey, Joshua.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind ¡­¡± Rosha exhaled long enough to catch her breath. ¡®It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s a mission. I can¡¯t let him leave my side.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m going to the orphanage where my sister was, do you want to go with me?¡± This did not mean that she would give her side to the boy. She told herself. However, Joshua seemed to be happy despite whatever Rosha was feeling. The boy got off the bed with the blanket wrapped around him, ran to Rosha with his little two feet, and hugged Rosha with his small arms. All he had was a bright smile on his face. Rosha¡¯s heart grew heavy at the sight of the innocent face. *** It was the Angel Orphanage, a place where lovely, poor children were abandoned. The beautiful building had a deep basement. Down the dimly lit stairs, there was a prayer room with a faint red light leaking from its depth. Today, the prayer room echoed with the earnest prayers of the director, who was always devoted to the service of the god. ¡°O God, forgive them their sins today. Your foolish children¡­ Stay away from the darkness and chase the light. They keep away from pleasures in order to live a clean life. Give them goodness so that they will not be corrupted. They reject the darkness. They create sin and evil by worshipping false gods. Use the flesh of your sinful children. Shed their skin. Pile up their bones and paint them with blood. Build a tower that reaches to the heavens. As such, may their sins be forgiven. The day you climb up the tower to heaven. And next to you is the one who embraces the sins of the earth. Your children will accompany you. Your followers, the ones who built the tower. Will look up to you from underground. On that day, the sun in the sky will be hidden by the moon. The moon at night will be blocked by the sun. All the light in the world will be extinguished. A perfect darkness will descend on this earth. God. Will you punish all the people who have sinned against you? Will you do that? So, our great God, do nothing. Just reign in the sky.¡± The prayer eventually turned into a hymn. ¡°Darkness descends on the world. Those who have sinned will not be able to see what lies ahead. Listen, you sinners who believe in false gods. You will not be able to look forward. You won¡¯t be able to see your family being separated before your eyes. You won¡¯t even know that your eyes are pulled out. You believe in and worship false gods. The ones who sell fake shoes to feed their bellies. Those who have chosen evil and asked for forgiveness from false gods. All of them will not be able to see what lies ahead. The day darkness came into the world. Only those who stand at the Tower of Babel will be able to see forward.¡± It was a song with a cheerful melody, but the lyrics were not. The blood flowing from the woman¡¯s arms formed a bright red formation on the floor around her. As the song moved towards its climax, the color of the magic circle on the floor became increasingly darker and more purple. The child who was watching through a crack in the door gasped quietly. It was always a bizarre and terrifying sight. The child, who had something to inform, but did not have the confidence to call the director, retreated. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± The child¡¯s plan to leave quietly was ruined. The child, who was stepping back, stepped on the wrong foot and fell on the floor. Squeak! The door opened completely and the child made eye contact with the Director. The head of the director, who was sitting there looking at the inverted cross on the wall, turned completely towards the child. ¡°Ha!¡± The child covered his mouth. ¡°If you scream, you will have to spend some time in penance!¡± The Director said that screaming during the holy time of praying to the real God to the children is fear of God and must be repented. Fearing the penitential time hanging upside down on a rope, the child stifled the scream that escaped his mouth. The director left the frightened child and turned her head again, touching her bleeding arm with her hand. The bleeding stopped and the wound disappeared. After organizing her clothes, the Director approached the child who was sitting on the floor and gently offered her hand. The child held the Director¡¯s hand with a trembling hand and rose from his seat. ¡°Good boy, you don¡¯t fear God anymore.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go, thank you.¡± ¡°Alright. Hey, kid. You must have had a good reason for coming to see me at this hour, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­¡­someone¡¯s here¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think anyone¡¯s visiting today.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that pretty pink-haired lady who came in the other day.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡­.¡± When the child finished, the Director sighed and rubbed her face with her hand. She did not like the girl¡¯s visit. The child added a few more words. ¡°This time she came with someone else.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a boy with white hair, about our age.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± As the child finished his words, his hands trembled at the Director¡¯s increasingly bizarre expression. The face that had looked so annoying had immediately changed. The Director, whose mouth was gaping open, smiled and fixed her hair, which was once again neatly raised and tied. ¡°You go outside and pretend to play with the children.¡± The Director, who gave the familiar instructions, patted the child on the head and left first. It was annoying to have her prayers interrupted, but since the visitor was special, the director was okay with today¡¯s short prayer. ¡°I must welcome the guests.¡± The child followed the Director. The Director gladly went out onto the light-flooded ground to welcome the special visitor to Angel Orphanage.