Soon after, the demon with the large horns chuckled and fled, prompting me to give chase with my spear.

“Oh, I must have hit a nerve!”

The demon with crimson eyes seemed to find toying with me a form of amusement. Throughout the chase, he didn’t attack once. The damned demon dodged all of my attacks, laughing all the while.

“We might actually become good friends.”

The demon with the red eyes moved behind Paradise after flying high up in the sky, signaling he knew I wouldn’t swing my spear anymore.

“Starting today, Day 1?”

The urge to argue surged as he held his chin with one hand and blinked both eyes.

“Disgusting! Even if I were reborn, that would never happen. Stop talking nonsense.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

Despite my harsh words, the demon with the large horns simply chuckled and added,

“Folks like you who act so high and mighty always end up becoming one family in the end.”

The demon with the red eyes momentarily exuded an evil aura as he saw Paradise turn her head nervously, but in an instant, his face became gentle again.

“I’m tired from talking to that prudent guy. Let’s go sightseeing!”

I wanted to argue again when he suddenly grabbed Paradise’s hand and shouted for departure, but I held back for the sake of Paradise.

“What’s this?”

“That’s a flower. Flowers are always blooming in Paradise.”

The demon with the large horns was incredibly curious.

He never hesitated to ask about unfamiliar things and meticulously recorded them in a floating book.

The only problem was, he was so curious that Paradise gradually grew tired from answering all his questions.

“So this is the World Tree? Smaller than I thought. I was expecting something huge.”

When we finally visited the World Tree as the last stop, the demon with the red eyes sparkled his eyes so innocently that I wondered if he was truly a demon.

His appearance was the most innocent when he was acquiring knowledge.

“Is this your first time seeing the World Tree?”

“Of course. It’s only full of demons down there.”

Perhaps because I had been glaring menacingly at him from behind, the brown-haired demon didn’t say much more.

“These guys are all playful, but they’re good. Come visit sometime.”

So, as he prepared to leave, I thought he was finally going, but then he made a useless proposition to Paradise!

“I have to go now. Someone keeps giving me the evil eye.”

Upon revealing my hostility like a growling beast, he said he would be invited when I was not around and disappeared into the underground with his subordinate.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I also have to…”
Paradise only paid attention to me after the demons disappeared, but now I had to leave. I bid a quick farewell and headed to the sanctuary to report to my father.

“Father! Demons invaded Paradise today.”

“Hmm? An invasion?”

Father did not take it as seriously as I had expected. I realized he already knew that the demons would visit Paradise.

“Didn’t the World Tree and Paradise invite them?”

Father leaned back, even smiling.

“If Paradise and the World Tree treat them without prejudice, it soothes my heart.”

I was less satisfied with his lukewarm response than if he had been angry.

“I have told the World Tree to limit invitations, so don’t worry.”

Why was I the only one in a hurry? I didn’t say anything in front of my father, but I couldn’t quell the unrest bubbling up from deep within.

“There will be nothing to worry about.”

How can he be so sure?

Father told me not to worry, but if rules could be broken so easily, it would be better if there were none.

Feeling the injustice, I visited Paradise daily, concerned about another demon invasion.

But there was no sign of demons in Paradise after that day.

“Young Yong has run away!”

One day, the eternal peace shattered.

A dragon had suddenly left Paradise, plunging it into sorrow.

As a result, I spent more time in Paradise under the pretext of consoling, watching the saddened Paradise and blaming myself for being unable to do anything.

How much time has passed since then?

Soon enough, Paradise began to store the love it had received in a box my father had given, and even after the dragon had matured and returned, it did not stop.

And as a result, Paradise was exiled.

Things spiraled out of control when the admirers began to fight among themselves; the gods intervened, leading to a tragic ending.

“Father not answering me, or destroying Paradise…”

“I can’t understand any of it! You loved Paradise more than anyone!”

“If you were going to abandon Paradise so easily, you should never have created it!”

I later begged my father to forgive Paradise, but nothing changed.

And when I decided to leave the gods to recreate Paradise, I finally realized.

The reason angels fall to the underworld is precisely because they cannot overcome despair.

“I had vowed to recreate Paradise.”

A long or short reverie ended.

My heart choked, and I grimaced in pain, feeling as if my blood wouldn’t circulate.

Even the moonlight filtering through the window couldn’t alleviate this pain.