“Yes.”
Harris rested his chin on his hand, staring at me with an expressionless face.
His half-lidded crimson eyes looked cold yet mesmerizing, and his indifferent face was strikingly handsome, like a painting.
To wake up to such a visually pleasing face—it was almost enough to make me giggle like a fool again… Wait, now is not the time!
“Y-You—no, Lord Harris! Why are you here?!”
“Just now realizing it? Looks like you’ve finally woken up.”
“Ah, yes… I-I’m usually slow to wake up because of low blood pressure, so I tend to be groggy for a while—no, wait!”
I was so caught up in his calm tone that I instinctively answered before snapping back in shock.
“Wh-Why are you here?!”
Suddenly jolting up from my groggy sleep, I lost control of my limbs and collapsed again.
“Jade!”
A hand reached out from behind to catch me.
“You just woke up, you shouldn’t be moving like that.”
The unfamiliar voice and the familiar nagging tone reminded me of my sister. I responded out of habit.
“Sorry, sis—”
But what I saw in front of me wasn’t my sister.
“…ter?”
Pink hair. Indigo eyes. A beautiful, androgynous young man with dazzling looks.
It was our protagonist—Adrian—looking down at me.
With a kind and worried expression.
What the hell?!
Why are you here?!
Only then did I realize I had been in his arms this whole time—and that he was the one who’d pulled me away from Harris.
Cough!
Why is he acting so familiar? What’s his game?
Adrian tried to kill me.
To be precise, he threw me—unarmed—into the arms of Harris, an S-Class ability user suffering from a berserk condition and soon to become a Transcendent.
Same difference.
Of course, Adrian had his reasons.
I had pushed him to use the powers he was hiding, and I knew his true identity.
That’s why he threw me to Harris while he was berserking!
To kill me!
Honestly, Harris telling me to “get lost” so politely was rare. Most ability users just erase annoying people with brute force.
And their methods aren’t exactly gentle.
I almost died like that, too.
But now, Adrian is holding me protectively, looking at me with concern?
What the hell? Creepy. What kind of twisted plan is this main character cooking up now?
Perhaps reading my horrified expression, Adrian said gently,
“It’s okay, Jade.”
His hand stroked my back slowly, and it was so intimate it gave me chills.
“You don’t have to be scared.”
No—I’m scared because of you!
Suddenly, I was yanked to the other side. I lifted my head to see black hair, a strong jawline, and piercing red eyes glowing even in the shadows.
“You.”
It was Harris.
Oh, right—he’s still here!
Adrian had me so flustered I forgot all about him.
“You’re not a Guide.”
“…What?”
His expressionless face twisted slightly, eyebrows furrowing. I blinked, confused.
But he looks fine…
He wasn’t burning with fever or coughing up blood anymore. That meant the treatment worked, didn’t it?
Then why is he here the second I wake up? What’s the problem?
Don’t tell me… was the treatment itself the problem?
Maybe he came to question how I healed him even though I’m not a Guide.
The dreaded “problem patient.”
“N-No! I just—!”
“Enough.”
Before I could defend myself, black energy wrapped around me and lifted me into the air.
“Come with me.”
Harris glanced at me with arms crossed, then turned around without another word. His attitude made it clear he didn’t care about the other slaves.
So he’s targeting just me!
Thump, thump. Harris floated away with me in tow. My fellow slave comrades once again scurried out of the way.
Hey, you jerks!
Isn’t it about time you showed some loyalty since I helped you before?!
But I soon realized that blind loyalty might not always be the best thing.
“Come with you? Why?”
Adrian grabbed me again.
“What do you intend to do to Jade?”
“What business is it of yours?”
Thank goodness Harris voiced the question I wanted to ask.
Yeah, Adrian—what does this have to do with you?!
“Jade is my sister.”
“…Huh?”
I blurted out my confusion without thinking.
That’s not in the original story…
I remember clearly—he’s my second favorite character. But I clamped my mouth shut when Adrian glared at me.
“Let her go. She’s fragile enough as is, why—”
Adrian couldn’t finish.
The black energy holding me suddenly wrapped around his neck like a noose.
“Guh…!”
Thud. I fell to the ground and couldn’t even groan. Adrian’s flailing figure was a mirror of what I looked like just a few days ago.
“Shut up.”
Harris’s voice was icy.
As if a lowly slave daring to talk back was irritating him, he seemed ready to squash Adrian like a bug.
“W-Wait!”
I screamed, clinging desperately to Harris’s ankle.
Harris, you crazy bastard! How could you threaten your one and only oasis—Adrian?!
Of course, you don’t know that yet…
But I did. I couldn’t let Harris make an enemy of Adrian.
Without him, Harris would either die or be in such agony he’d wish for death.
“…What the hell are you doing.”
I felt Harris’s leg freeze. His calf and thigh muscles were as firm and defined as expected—wait, focus!
“Wh-Whatever you want! I’ll do it! Just please let him go!”
Let Adrian go!
Even if he did try to kill me, he’s still my second favorite! And without this bastard, the plot won’t progress!
“…”
Harris’s crimson eyes looked down at me.
Fury.
Killing intent.
The force in the air was so vivid it made my skin crawl.
I was terrified. My body trembled. A part of me wanted to run away, to let go and let Adrian die.
No!
Until now, I thought this was all some delusion of an over-immersed fan. I thought I was crazy.
But what if I really had possessed someone in this world?
What if Adrian actually died like this?
Then what happens to <The Demon Who Covets the Heavens>?
If the story ends before it even begins—what happens to me?
Tears welled up.
Not just because I was a despairing fan about to lose my favorite novel.
I had possessed a lowly, untouchable extra in this dystopian world. That alone was hell. But if my only compass—Adrian—died…
“…Please.”
Then what am I supposed to do?
Drip. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks and fell from my chin.
I was scared. Terrified.
But the thought of Adrian dying scared me more. I feared the unknown future I couldn’t predict.
Even though the wild, raw air felt like it would tear my skin apart—I couldn’t let go of Harris.
“P-Please save Adrian—!”
“You.”
Those deep, dark red eyes looked down at me.
“You said you’d give me anything I wanted.”
“Yes! Yes, I did!”
I nodded frantically. Whatever it took—Adrian had to live.
“I’ll do anything you ask!”
Was he satisfied with my answer?
“Guh!”
Thud. The black energy strangling Adrian vanished and returned to Harris. I quickly turned around.
“Adrian!”
“Cough, cough…”
Even if he was the jerk who tried to kill me—he was still the only main character. Seeing him crouched, gasping, holding his reddened throat wasn’t pleasant.
“It’s okay now. Just breathe slowly…”
I reached out to soothe him, but—
“You said you’d give me what I want.”
“…!”
Before my hand could touch Adrian’s back, it was lifted into the air.
Harris!
He had come up silently and grabbed my wrist.
His long fingers pressed against my skin like piano keys, and his pomegranate-red lips curled into a smile.
It was enchanting.
My mind momentarily blanked. I felt a strange energy through every inch of skin he touched.
“Liar.”
The haze in my brain cleared instantly.
“N-No! I’m not lying—”
“You said you’re not a Guide.”
“I really meant to do what—ack!”
Harris turned my body away from Adrian, and before I could stumble, his other hand gripped my neck and jaw.
“Ugh.”
Even with no force, I couldn’t breathe.
It felt less like a human was touching me, and more like an immense energy was crushing down.
“You should’ve known better than to tell such an obvious lie.”
Harris leaned in close. His brilliant crimson eyes filled my vision.
“I-It’s not a lie—!”
As if disgusted by my words, he tightened his grip. My lips were forced shut.
“The resonance is so vivid.”
“-Mmph?”
…Resonance?
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in my head.
Adrian.
That was it. In the moment Harris choked him, Adrian must’ve unconsciously released the power he’d been hiding.
A Guide of Adrian’s caliber can calm ability users simply by existing—no contact required.
But Harris misunderstood.
He thought I was the source of the resonance. Because Adrian and I were facing the same direction, the confusion deepened.
And Adrian hasn’t retracted the resonance yet…
Even I could feel its faint presence—this strange “resonance” coming from Adrian.
Was it on purpose? Or a mistake?
All my senses turned toward Adrian behind me.
His shallow coughing, his still-weakened body…
Was this all part of his plan? To use me as a shield and hide his identity?
“No… No, that’s not it.”
Cut it out, Adrian! Just admit the truth already!
I wanted to scream—but instead, I took a deep breath and swallowed the words.
Telling on him now would get me killed…
Extras who betray the protagonist only find one end: death. Haven’t I learned that the hard way?
I can’t tell the truth.
But I can’t lie, either. Someone like Harris—a Transcendent—can sniff out lies easily.
So I’m left with only one option…
