“Friends? Are you perhaps unaware of what a demon is?”

I twisted my body and looked at Paradise.

Raising one eyebrow, I questioned again, feeling like I’d misunderstood something.

At first, I thought I was in danger, but the conversation took such an unexpected turn that I was dumbfounded.

“They are beings who fell to the underground due to the sin of abandoning their faith in Father. They are fundamentally different from us.”

“But if what you’re saying is true, demons were also created by God. Just like us.”

The human with purple hair, hands on their hips, slightly tilted their head.

She didn’t understand why I was cautious of demons and why their presence here displeased me.

“No, it’s different.”

I was frustrated at this point, my face scrunching up in anger that quickly filled my head.

“They betrayed Father’s mercy.”

I somewhat expected Paradise’s head to be a flower bed, but I never thought she would be so unaware of the rules of Heaven and Hell.

Inviting another friend wasn’t wrong, but she chose the wrong person.

‘Doesn’t Paradise understand that a single exception could collapse the whole system?’

After kicking these demons out, I’ll have to talk to Paradise again.

‘She’ll understand if I explain calmly.’

Without saying another word, I turned my back on Paradise, who had her arms crossed, and glared at the demons with sharp eyes.

Being generous, I assumed Paradise just didn’t know better, but it was strange that the World Tree followed her will.

‘Although Paradise is the caretaker of this land, the true owner is the World Tree.’

The World Tree should clearly know that its essence will dry up as soon as a demon’s energy touches the land.

‘So why did it allow this?’

If the World Tree dries up, all life on this land will die instantly, and it’s strange that the World Tree, who values life more than anyone, would let Paradise do as she wishes.

It was unbelievable that it hadn’t offered a stern warning or any advice.

‘The sure thing is, from the moment Paradise set foot on this land—’

I gripped my spear tightly again, gritting my teeth.

‘Many beings started making strange choices like the World Tree.’

The demons were stepping back, whispering amongst themselves as if discussing a countermeasure.

“What’s with this tense atmosphere?”

That’s when it happened.

A loud thud, like a book being slammed shut, sounded in the air, and someone appeared, fluttering enormous wings and pulling along a dark red aura.

With huge, dark-red horns, very long brown hair, and eyes glowing a vivid red, the demon was peculiar for holding an ancient book in one hand.

“What?”

Another demon, but this one had a different charisma; I instantly recognized that he was a commander-level demon.

“Captain!”

The little-winged demons who had been aimlessly around immediately lined up behind the enormous wings.

“Who dares to scare my little lambs?”

The red-eyed demon glanced around and then fixed his gaze on me, blinking his eyes.

“Could it be you?”

Crossing his legs in the air, he began to exert an immense pressure, as if trying to crush my shoulders with a tremendous force.

“Ugh!”

This was not just a revenge for scaring his subordinates, nor was it merely because I was an angel and he was annoyed.

Those evil eyes told me he was interested in turning me into a plaything, like rolling a ball off a cliff just to see it tumble.

“Hey, stop it! We promised not to harass anyone, remember?”

Finally, Paradise intervened, and the demon reluctantly withdrew his force.

“Ah! I did promise, true~.”

With a chuckling sound, the demon gracefully landed on the ground, snapped his fingers with a ‘pop’ sound, and quickly appeared in front of me, offering his hand.

“What is it?”
Just moments before, he had been eager to turn me into a mess. The thought made my skin crawl.

“Let’s make peace, okay? Come on, let’s reconcile and end this?”

How revolting it was to see him try to flash a refreshing smile. I forcefully slapped away the hand of the devil, adorned with giant horns.

“Wow, is he always like this?”

“No. He’s just particularly sensitive today.”

As if my slight show of hostility could make the devil burst into fake tears, Paradise simply shrugged her shoulders with a plump face.

“Captain, this guy is really malicious!”

“As a demon of great wisdom, please scold him!”

“Hmm?”

Meanwhile, the brown-haired demon turned to look at me upon hearing the constant chatter of his subordinates.

“I thought angels were supposed to be virtuous beings? How rude of you to try to attack.”

The way he innocently tilted his head and asked scratched my nerves raw.

“You seem to have forgotten that you invaded our territory?”

Having resolved to remain composed, I raised my voice as my patience reached its limits.

“Do you think the World Tree would have stood idly by if we had invaded Paradise?”

Unfazed by my prickly demeanor, the demon with large wings shrugged and twisted his lips while glancing at Paradise.

“Just admit you overreacted because you have something you want to protect, kiddo.”