Devil’s Music

At the Bronx Zoo.

Geon was happily laughing as he pointed out Shihwa and her young ones, who had recognized him after a long absence, playfully showing off in front of their enclosure.

"Look at that. That's Shihwa! Did I name her? Isn't she pretty?"

Despite just being a gorilla, Geon couldn't take his eyes off what he saw as beautiful in Shihwa.

Through Geon, greetings were exchanged with the zoo staff, and he even received some snacks to feed to the animals, tossing pieces of bread into the gorilla enclosure.

Geon noticed Pyemon and Kushiyeon standing apart from the rest and asked with curious eyes.

"Don't you like animals? Why are you standing so far away?"

Pyemon just smiled and gestured with his head.

"Ah, we'll just watch from here. It's not boring, so go and spend some time with those guys."

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay."

As Pyemon waved his hand as if to say go and enjoy, the gorillas watching from a distance were startled and hid in a corner.

Animals recognize those stronger than themselves unlike humans. Knowing that no one in the ecosystem could dare look up to the likes of Pyemon and Kushiyeon, who would only tremble in corners, they stayed a bit away to not disturb Geon's time.

Laughing innocently while spending time with the animals, Geon occasionally turned back to explain something about them to Kushiyeon, who just watched him for a long while.

After passing by Ricky and Phil, they reached a large bird cage, where Geon, excitedly close to the cage, was joined by the two who sat on a bench.

Handing a bottle of water to Kushiyeon, Pyemon sat next to him, watching Geon who seemed fond of the child.

"He seems like a good kid, right? Pure for his age like no other."

Still not taking his eyes off Geon, Kushiyeon silently opened the water bottle and drank.

Kushiyeon's observation of Geon was a sign that his feelings were changing, Pyemon noted.

"He's excited about having dinner later with some other friends."

Kushiyeon twitched his eyebrows.

"Other friends?"

"You know, the ones he makes music with and people from the company, the only people he's close with are those guys and some professors."

"Hmm, Kevin and Shizuka?"

"Yeah, they said they'd have dinner at the BBQ club."

"I see."

Pyemon clapped Kushiyeon on the back loudly and laughed.

"Cheer up, man!"

Kushiyeon, unperturbed by the slap, turned back to Geon, who was still attached to the bird cage, laughing. After a while, he murmured softly.

"I still don't know."

Knowing what Kushiyeon meant, Pyemon shifted his weight back and sat comfortably on the bench.

"What's the rush? You've got eternity to live, think it over slowly."

Kushiyeon looked at his own hands and then clenched them into fists.

"Right, we have eternity. But he's human and will die soon. If I don't drag him to hell with me, I'll never see him again."

Kushiyeon turned to Pyemon.

"Are you okay with that?"

Pyemon watched Geon and smiled faintly.

"I haven't thought about it."

Kushiyeon frowned.

"Weren't you friends? Won't you be sad when his last day comes?"

"Ha, so? Are you afraid to make friends because of that?"

Kushiyeon bowed his head. After a moment of silence, he looked back at Geon.

"It's the first time someone has asked me to be friends. And it had to be a human. Even if we become friends, it will only be for a fleeting moment."

"So what?"

"What?"

Pyemon touched the frown between Kushiyeon's brows with his index finger.

"Then remember him in your heart for a lifetime. If he remains a friend in your memories, that's all that matters."

Kushiyeon stared silently at Pyemon tapping his brow, then cast his gaze to the ground, hesitating.

"Will you... be my friend too?"

"Heh, if he can be friends with Geon, then I guess Gamagin, Amducias, and I could be your friends too."

"Phew... I see."

Pyemon playfully raised his finger.

"Oh, there's one more."

Kushiyeon nodded indifferently, prompting Pyemon to laugh and say,

"You missed Shiva."

Kushiyeon exclaimed in surprise.

"What?"

"Heh, Shiva."

"That, then, means that the Hindus and the lamas that

attacked back then..."

"Heh, I don't know about the lamas, but the Hindu side was definitely Shiva's doing."

Kushiyeon, now aware that Shiva was also watching Geon's back, watched Geon reaching out to the birds. He looked surprised for a while and then asked,

"Gamagin, you, Amducias, and Shiva too. Ah, Brahma and Vishnu must be included, right? Ha, I touched the wrong person."

Kushiyeon chuckled ruefully and suddenly asked,

"What would have happened if I had tormented him more cruelly?"

Pyemon whistled to the sky.

"Who knows? It would have been as you are imagining."

"Huh... I see."

Kushiyeon smirked bitterly, shaking his head, which Geon noticed as he approached the bench.

"What are you talking about so seriously? Leaving me out."

Kushiyeon looked at Geon and smirked lightly.

"You were quite something, weren't you?"

Geon widened his eyes in confusion.

"Huh? What's sudden?"

"No, let's get up now. Where were we going next?"

"Uh... I was going to have dinner with other friends... but it's still a bit early."

"Is that so? Are we staying here then?"

Geon glanced at his wristwatch and pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Pay, Sion. There's someone else who's just as important to me as my friends, and since there's time, let's go see them for a while."

Pyemon silently dusted off his hands and stood up.

"Sure, let's go anywhere."

* * *

A short while later.

Standing in front of a 5-story building under construction near Manhattan, Kushiyeon asked,

"Why are we at a construction site?"

Looking up at the red brick building under construction, Geon smiled sheepishly.

"This is our company's U.S. branch. We didn't originally plan to expand to the U.S., but with Montana and Shizuka signing contracts, we decided to set up a branch." Р

Whistling at the 5-story building located in downtown Manhattan, Pyemon remarked,

"Whew, you must be making a lot of money."

Geon, with an arm around the shoulders of both, laughed.

"I'd like to go in, but it's too dangerous. Ah! There she comes."

Following Geon's gaze, Kushiyeon's eyes widened as he saw Lynn, dressed in a sky-blue blouse and black skirt, walking towards them with the sound of her high heels. Seeing her, Geon playfully laughed.

"Hehe, isn't our director pretty? Can't help but step back, can you?"

Misunderstanding something, Geon laughed and ran forward to greet Lynn, while Kushiyeon couldn't take his eyes off her.

"That... she's not human?"

Pyemon, hands clasped behind his neck, laughed.

"Yeah, she's not."

Kushiyeon looked at Pyemon in surprise.

"Did you know?"

Pyemon chuckled and looked up at the sky.

"Weren't you curious why the angels weren't intervening?"

"Well, that's... Huh? Don't tell me?"

"Yes, the angels like her too. That's why they didn't intervene. Oh, of course, thanks to Lord Gamagin's efforts."

"Such... a child protected by both demons and angels?"

"Heh, right."

Kushiyeon's shocked heart seemed not to settle as he stared wide-eyed at Lynn. Geon, chatting with her, occasionally glanced at him. Kushiyeon muttered to himself,

"She's not just a Crusader; she's an angel of the Ophanim rank or higher."

Pyemon nodded with his hands still behind his neck.

"Lord Gamagin said she might be Uriel."

Kushiyeon gasped in shock.

"What!! One of the four archangels, Uriel!!?"

As Kushiyeon raised his voice, Lynn and Geon turned to look. Pyemon waved his hand as if to say it's nothing and whispered to Kushiyeon,

"Lower your voice, friend."

Kushiyeon, despite Pyemon's warning, continued to scrutinize Lynn and said,

"Does that make sense? The power I feel is weak; she can't be Uriel."

"She's incarnated in a human body, so she's not showing all her angelic power. It's what Lord Gamagin said, so it must be right. Plus, there's another angel around her that we don't know yet. They're hiding really well."

"Another... there is?"

"Not just that, Caliel and Nanael are always watching over the child too."

"Huh!! Caliel, you mean Michael's right hand? And... the angel of dreams, Nanael?"

"Heh, yeah."

"What's so special about this child that not

just Crusaders or Dominions but even higher-ranking angels like Uriel and Caliel are watching over a mere human child?"

"Heh, you'll have to find out yourself."

As they talked, Kushiyeon turned his head towards someone approaching. Geon, holding Lynn's hand, came over with a bright smile.

"Director! These two are my new friends. This blonde handsome guy is Pay, and this brown-haired European handsome is Sion. Sion is a student studying painting, and Pay is... uh, what was Pay doing again?"

Pausing in his introduction, Geon looked confused. Pyemon laughed and said,

"I'm a student too, studying marketing."

"Ah, I didn't even ask, haha. Anyway, that's it, Director."

Lynn nodded in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Pay. And..."

Lynn stared intently at Kushiyeon, who was still scrutinizing her, and gave him a cold smile.

"Nice to meet you, Sion."

Since the woman didn't offer her hand first, Pyemon simply nodded in greeting and spoke.

"I've heard a lot about you, please take good care of my friend. Director Lynn."

Lynn smiled warmly at Pyemon.

"That's good to hear, it seems Kay has found some nice friends."

Lynn turned to Kushiyeon, sizing him up briefly, then asked,

"And... Sion, you'll be a good friend to Kay too, right?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Kushiyeon. Watching Lynn smile at him, Kushiyeon looked back at Pyemon, who was urging him with his eyes to answer, and at Geon, who was grinning.

>

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