‘This is…….’

In the flesh, Port was even more grotesque than he’d imagined: the dark energy-soaked creature was at least four times Cadel’s height, with a crooked waist, a narrow, hairless head, and a thin, long body that at first glance resembled a giant insect.

It was more than grotesque, it was terrifying. But even more shocking than his appearance was the fact that this shriveled, insect-like form was his last.

‘……He just killed Port?’

Port lay slumped in the building that held him, pinned to the floor like a figurine, his body pierced from head to toe by spears forged from dark energy. There was not the slightest twitch, suggesting he had been dead for some time.

‘Looks like Yozen took care of him while I was looking for him.’

Cadel’s expression hardened as he examined Port’s body. Port was already dead. Which meant there was no longer a threat to the Knight Order, and yet Yozen’s technique was still intact. The implications of this fact were so clear that it was almost chilling.

‘Maybe it’s too late…….’

Yozen had either killed Jeffrey or was killing him, but either way, it was hopeless. Cadel stood there, pinned to the ground, wincing, then took a deep breath.

‘I have to find him.’

It didn’t matter if Jeffrey was dead or close to death. What mattered was that he needed to find Yozen now. It was unfortunate for Jeffrey, but even if he was dead, Cadel had no intention of honoring his memory. He has no intention of revealing the full story of his death. All Cadel could think about now was covering up the murder and keeping Yozen safe.

Cadel was surprised to find himself thinking this way, but he was too far gone to know what was right or wrong.

Once he’d gathered his thoughts, Cadel stormed out of the building where Port’s body had been left.

‘I have to find him before Dasto does.’

He had to move quickly, before Dasto found Yozen and made an inconvenient discovery. If he was spotted by Dasto, Yozen would surely run away. And no one would be able to catch him. He would go back to where he came from and live a bloody life, unseen by anyone. Cadel’s heart pounded at the thought that Yozen might leave his side.

He was always like that, just when Cadel thought he’d finally opened up, he’d run away in the blink of an eye to keep his distance. The familiarity was frightening, but Yozen never left his side, and just as he was about to reassure himself of that, Yozen was gone.

It was so hard to hold him, to be with him as a whole person. How can he win Yozen’s heart? What could he say to make him stop running away? Cadel ran from building to building, frantically thinking.

“……”

Cadel’s pace gradually slowed; his breathing was ragged from the constant running, but he could not hear it. He kept his gaze fixed on a single point as he moved forward, inch by inch.

One of the countless buildings that surrounded him, a man cowering helplessly beneath it.

As Cadel approached, the man’s head drooped and he muttered softly.

“You’re finally here.”

The voice was bitter and defeated, and as soon as Cadel heard it, he dropped to his knees in front of Yozen as if a lifeline had been released.

A dagger lay at his side. The only thing on it was a purple liquid that was presumably Port’s. Cadel stared at the dagger for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Yozen, who was still ducking his head. Cadel gently brushed his cheek. Yozen flinched slightly, but then wrapped his hand around the back of the hand that was caressing his cheek.

“Stay in here.”

Yozen’s hand was cold. Cadel felt the tremor of the hand that covered his own.

“Stay in here, oblivious to everything…… You’re safe here.”

“…….”

“I didn’t plant an alter ego. He was trapped without explanation, and I ignored his struggles to get out, that’s all. ……The revenge I took on him, that’s all.”

Yozen’s mouth twisted into a grim line. He squeezed Cadel’s hand hard and looked up. The bandages covering his eyes made his expression hard to read, but Cadel could tell. How much despair, anger, and confusion Yozen was feeling right now. What an agonizing crossroads he was at.

“I could kill him at any time, he’s right in my trap right now, and yet…… and yet I couldn’t, and I waited for you, I waited for you to come and discover that I didn’t kill Jeffrey. ……It doesn’t make sense.”

Cadel dragged Yozen’s other hand up and brought it to his face, carefully stroking one spot, then another, so that Yozen could read his expression for himself. As he did, Yozen’s trembling intensified. The man who had always been so calm, so detached, so outside of all emotion, became restlessly agitated, as if cornered.

Then Cadel found his voice, the voice he had lost.

“What do you see? What can you feel from my expression? You can tell everything from my breathing, my heartbeat, the way I speak.”

“……I don’t know.”

“No. You already know.”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s affection.”

He clasped Yozen’s hand with both hands as he tried to pull away. He rested his forehead against it and whispered like a prayer.

“You don’t have to give up vengeance for me. If you choose vengeance in the end, I won’t abandon you. I won’t be disappointed. I told you, you’re all I care about.”

Yozen said he was afraid of the changes he was slowly making, but he shouldn’t have been. He chose to clean the world for the happiness of others, and in return, he was covered in blood and slowly festering, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to isolate himself from the world.

He didn’t care about his own happiness. Rather, he was unwilling to be loved. The love that had been given to him in those fleeting moments made Yozen human, and that was why he avoided it.

If he were human, he would never be able to repeat the same mechanical search for prey, the same relentless killing, the same walks into solitude. He knew he couldn’t stand it, so he gave up the happiness that was right around the corner.

“Accept me.”

Still, Yozen craved affection after all, for inside him was not a cold-blooded assassin, but a child clinging to human goodness and longing for love.

“……I’m scared.”

Yozen’s body tilted slowly. He gently cupped both of Cadel’s cheeks and stroked the bridge of his nose with his thumb. His breath was palpable.

“I wasn’t afraid of anything. I tried really hard to be like that. ……But when I stand in front of you, it’s all useless. You’re the only person who makes me afraid.”

Soft lips tickled the corner of his mouth. And little by little, Cadel felt the dark energy covering him melt away.

“You let me live as a human.”

“That’s exactly what I want to do.”

“Even if I’m going to be very annoying, lousy, and weak?”

“……Yes.”

And just like that, Cadel was back to himself.

「Knight ‘Yozen Vardikta’ ‘s favorability has increased by 7.」

「Current favorability: 77/100」

He didn’t care about his own happiness. Rather, he was unwilling to be loved. The love that had been given to him in those fleeting moments made Yozen human, and that was why he avoided it.

If he were human, he would never be able to repeat the same mechanical search for prey, the same relentless killing, the same walks into solitude. He knew he couldn’t stand it, so he gave up the happiness that was right around the corner.

“Accept me.”

Still, Yozen craved affection after all, for inside him was not a cold-blooded assassin, but a child clinging to human goodness and longing for love.

“……I’m scared.”

Yozen’s body tilted slowly. He gently cupped both of Cadel’s cheeks and stroked the bridge of his nose with his thumb. His breath was palpable.

“I wasn’t afraid of anything. I tried really hard to be like that. ……But when I stand in front of you, it’s all useless. You’re the only person who makes me afraid.”

Soft lips tickled the corner of his mouth. And little by little, Cadel felt the dark energy covering him melt away.

“You let me live as a human.”

“That’s exactly what I want to do.”

“Even if I’m going to be very annoying, lousy, and weak?”

“……Yes.”

And just like that, Cadel was back to himself.

“Knight ‘Yozen Vardikta’ ‘s favorability has increased by 7.”

“Current favorability: 77/100.”

Yozen, who had been fumbling around, pressed their lips together, and for the first time since they’d met, Cadel heard Yozen breathe.

Gently, they bit each other’s lips, nuzzled each other’s cheeks, the nape of each other’s necks, and pulled hard against each other’s backs. Heat burned in his mouth. The temperature, at odds with their cold skin, was an eerie pleasure that made their hearts race.

In a world of pure blackness, Cadel was the only one Yozen allowed to exist. Only he had color, and only he was free to roam his world. It had been that way from the beginning. Cadel leaped into him, leaving a trail of his own, and never stopped approaching, a sweet smile on his face.

“Cadel.”

“……Yes.”

Yozen needed constant reassurance that Cadel was with him. He parted his lips slightly and slipped his thumb into the slit of Cadel’s mouth, which was parted by his breath. Pressing lightly on his lower jaw to open his mouth, he brushed his lips across his teeth. After savoring the touch for a moment, Yozen twisted his head as if to swallow the defenseless exposed tongue.

Cadel groaned in pain at the weight of Yozen’s mouth and the pressure against his mucous membranes, and his brow furrowed slightly as he explored him more intensely. His touch tugged at Cadel’s already tight lips, teasing them, and he ran his hands down his back, keenly aware of his small reactions. He remembered which parts of Cadel’s body responded to stimulation and teased his tongue a little deeper.

Their ragged breathing echoed in each other’s ears, the only sound filling the silent space. The creaking sound was clearly audible and made him feel shameful for what he was doing. Cadel realized that if he continued kissing Yozen any longer, he would be in trouble.

“Hold, on…….”

There were his subordinates here, there was the Shadow Knight Order, and there was Dasto, who was probably out there somewhere. Cadel still had a strand of sanity left in him to think he could show them this, and when he managed to jerk his head away from his lips, Yozen lunged at him, urging him on.

“Wait……! Stop it, Yozen. Let’s wait until we’re out of here before we kiss. There are too many people here.”

A wry smile tugged at the corners of Cadel’s mouth. As it came out of his mouth, he felt an unbelievable rush of embarrassment. Yozen rubbed his lips ticklishly against Cadel’s cheek as he caught his breath, then spoke in an irritated voice.

“No.”

Yozen, who usually kept his emotions in check, acted unilaterally, like a completely different person. He pinned Cadel to the ground and pressed his lips to Cadel’s, more roughly than before. Cadel’s teeth grinded together in pain from the forceful pushing, and it was hard to breathe from the pressure crushing his body. But there was something else that puzzled Cadel even more.

“What are you doing…… Oof……!”

It was Yozen’s rough touch, his hands roaming over Cadel’s body insistently as if to explore his body’s form. He stroked Cadel’s lean back, traced the hollow of his spine, rubbed his flat stomach and navel, and even his chest.

Cadel’s eyes widened as the large hands molded to his sensitized body, the whole time he’d been mesmerized by Yozen. His face flushed and his lips pursed, Cadel slammed down on Yozen’s shoulder. A groan escaped from his mouth as their tongues filled each other’s mouths.

“Don’t be such a pushover. It’s uncomfortable.”

Yozen’s voice was low as he finally gave in to Cadel’s ranting beneath him. Cadel, barely able to catch his breath, gasped loudly.

“Stop touching me!”

“Why?”

“Why? No, why are you touching me like that in the first place? Are you trying to do, like, weird thing here?”

“Weird thing?”

“If not, why are you touching me like that? You’re making me feel weird…….”

Cadel didn’t particularly enjoy doing that kind of thing out in the open with humans locked up all around him. Cadel grunted and covered his mouth, and Yozen, who’d been groping his face, wrinkled his brow in displeasure.

“I’m just feeling you in my own way.”

“You, you’re not feeling anything!”

“Are you ashamed?”

“Then why wouldn’t I be ashamed?”

“You’ve been so sweet when you’ve done it with other guys, but you’re ashamed to do it with me?”

Cadel’s words were cut off by what felt like a surprise attack. Cadel stared blankly at Yozen for a moment, his face turning an even deeper shade of red as he unleashed his magic. A gust of wind rushed past him, blowing his navy blue hair around as if to shake Yozen off. As Yozen flinched from the gust of wind that washed over him, Cadel pulled out from under him with all his might.

“You’re a pervert!”

Yozen sighed in annoyance as he was forced to end the kiss by Cadel, who sounded genuinely indignant.

“You said it was okay to be annoying, were you lying?”

“Of course I meant it all, but……!”

Cadel hadn’t realized that meant Yozen was going to kiss him to the point of annoyance without a care in the world. And given that he’d already seen Cadel and the other members of the group kissing, his embarrassment threshold was pretty low.

“You meant it, though?”

Yozen swept a hand through his disheveled hair and slowly pushed himself up. He ran a finger across his saliva-soaked lips and tilted his head stiffly. Cadel could almost feel the cold stare through the bandages.

“Just, just…….”

Yozen’s sinking mood sapped Cadel’s momentum. It wasn’t that he didn’t like kissing Yozen. In fact, it was very stimulating, and he was on the verge of a new kind of pleasure. It was just that the sudden declaration in the wrong place at the wrong time was the final straw.

Cadel didn’t want to lose Yozen’s hard-won affection again. After a brief moment of quickly organizing his priorities, Cadel spoke in a low voice.

“……I don’t like it here, there’s a lot of people, and you, do you want anyone else to see me crushed under you and panting?”

“…….”

“I’ve drilled holes all over the building on the way here, and Sir Dasto’s been roaming around for a while now. I don’t want to make out with you while I’m constantly distracted by others when I don’t know who’s going to pop out at any moment.”

He grumbled without confidence, but his point was clear. As he continued, Yozen’s defiant demeanor softened, as if he was asking for an excuse. His head bowed slightly, he rubbed his forehead in thought, and then he shrugged.

“I get it.”

“……Really?”

“So what you’re saying is, once we get out of here and into the middle of nowhere, you won’t stop me no matter what I do.”

“No matter what you do……?”

Cadel thought he’d just heard a very bold statement. Flustered, Cadel stepped in front of Yozen, but he lightly brushed himself off and turned his head away.

“I’ve killed the demon, I’ve fulfilled the task you gave me, and now I’m going to finish my business.”

Cadel stiffened, about to correct Yozen’s words. Finish the business. He didn’t need to be told what that meant. Cadel clenched his lips, still tinged from the kiss, and balled his fists. 

“……Like I said, the knights will be here in a few minutes.”

“It won’t take long.”

“It can take forever. I’ll take care of it, whether anyone suspects anything or not. Take as long as you want.”

Cadel meant it. If he could lick Yozen’s wounds with such sloppy revenge under these limited circumstances, he didn’t care how long it took.

The corners of Yozen’s mouth turned up in a soft arc at the encouraging words. With a slow nod, he turned away from Cadel and raised his hand to Jeffrey’s building.

A steady ripple spread along his palm where it touched. Yozen disappeared into the building as if he had just been absorbed into it.