The music continued to sway the night around Dante and Velryna, who had finally found a quiet spot, a bench beneath the shade of an ancient tree with its roots intertwined around worn stones. They were far from the bustling center of the festival, where the stalls and lantern lights created a scene of joy and chaos. The vibrant rhythm of the celebration now seed like a distant echo, as if the world around them had paused for a mont, allowing them both to just breathe.
Velryna sat in silence, observing the movent around them, while Dante looked at her with a gentle smile on his lips. Her expression was more relaxed than he'd seen in days, the weight of her worries seemingly set aside. She didn't need more words to understand what he was feeling.
"Thank you, Dante," Velryna said, her voice low but full of aning.
He looked at her, surprised, his eyes full of curiosity. "For what?"
Velryna hesitated for a mont, her hand sliding lightly to his, their fingers intertwining with a familiarity that seed to ease a part of her soul. "For being here with ," she replied. "For showing that there's more to life than fighting, more than the constant pressure of responsibilities. I… needed sothing like this."
Dante smiled widely, the warmth of affection reflecting in his gaze. "You don't need to thank . Just being here with you is more than enough. I needed this too."
The atmosphere between them grew even more peaceful, until a laugh echoed from beside them. Two won, apparently around the sa age, quickly sat down beside them on the bench without asking, and began talking to each other. Dante and Velryna turned to them, observing their curious yet relaxed expressions.
"Did you notice how she's always busy?" one of the won comnted with a hint of frustration, as she ran her fingers through her pink hair. "Mom always has sothing to do. No matter how many tis we try to ask for attention, the Celestial Kingdom always needs sothing from her."
The other woman, with platinum hair and an equally tired expression, nodded in agreent. "It's true. She barely has ti for us. She's always chasing after so responsibility. But you know, Raphael, I think we have to make the most of when we get a little space. Even if it ans forgetting who we are and the pressure that cos with it."
Raphael let out a low, bitter laugh. "Yeah, sotis life needs a little fun. Otherwise… what are we doing? Just sinking into our own duties. I can't even rember the last ti we did sothing just for us."
Both seed so imrsed in their conversation that they didn't realize they were actually interrupting a private mont between Dante and Velryna. But it was when one of the won, with sharp, piercing eyes, finally noticed their presence and looked at them with a cautious curiosity that the mood shifted.
Dante had been observing the two, and the na "Raphael" imdiately caught his attention. He couldn't resist the temptation to ask. "Raphael... Uriel?" He questioned, his voice firm and sowhat intrigued.
The two won turned to him with a speed that could only be described as chanical, as if a sudden shock had frozen their movents. Their expressions quickly transford into a mix of apprehension and confusion, their eyes analyzing every feature of Dante with visible discomfort.
Raphael was the first to react, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "You... you know our nas?" she asked, the tension in her voice clear.
Uriel, in turn, observed Dante with a caution that made her seem even more imposing. "We... have never seen you before," she said, hesitation in her words. "Who are you?"
Dante, maintaining his composure, simply smiled enigmatically, leaning slightly forward. "I am soone who has been part of many stories, but that's not what matters right now." He continued with a calm and serene tone. "What matters is that you don't need to worry about . Enjoy the festival. I'm not here to interrupt."
But the response was not enough to ease the distrust in the expressions of the two won. Raphael, sensing sothing was wrong, placed her hand at her side, as if preparing for sothing, while Uriel tried to analyze every movent of Dante. It was obvious that, in their minds, sothing was deeply unsettling.
"But... you know our nas. How do you know about us?" Uriel insisted, her gaze now fixed on Dante. Her celestial aura seed ready to react to any sign of threat.
Dante, without losing his calm smile, briefly averted his gaze and then did sothing neither of the won expected. He simply removed the transfiguration magic he had placed on himself, allowing his true form, the demonic form, to be revealed to the two young won.
The air around them seed to freeze for a mont. The bench creaked slightly under the weight of the growing tension, and Raphael and Uriel beca completely frozen. The two moved slightly away, their eyes wide, as if they had seen a monster. Their hearts pounded in their chests, and for a mont, fear enveloped them with its imnse strength.
Dante was a demon, the greatest of them all, and his presence radiated an almost tangible energy, capable of making anyone unprepared for it falter. His imposing appearance, with horns and deep red eyes, made the two sisters have to grip the bench to avoid falling in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Raphael almost whispered, the expression of disbelief still on her face. She tried to hide it, but her hand was trembling slightly, and the tension in her body was unmistakable.
Uriel beca even stiffer, her eyes locked on Dante. She didn't know what to do. It felt like the ground beneath her was about to give way. The tension, the fear—everything was taking over. A demon... right there, so close to them.
Dante, however, seed completely indifferent to the fear he was causing. He continued to look at the two won with a relaxed smile, as if he were not even remotely concerned with the situation.
"You both seem a little scared," Dante said softly, almost kindly. "But there's no need to worry. I'm not a threat. I'm here to have fun and enjoy life. This festival is a rare opportunity to let go of responsibilities, and that's how I see it. It doesn't matter who you are or where you co from."
Raphael and Uriel exchanged glances, the distrust and fear still visible. They were in a dilemma, struggling with the shock of encountering soone like Dante here, in the middle of a human festival. They were angels from the Celestial Realm, and he... he was the Demon King, the greatest enemy of them all.
However, Dante's smile, his calm words, and his laid-back behavior made them feel a strange sense of confusion. If he truly were a threat, they would be feeling his power much more clearly. But for so reason, he didn't seem to want to do anything other than live in the mont, like any mortal.
"Let us just go on with our fun," Dante said softly. "I'm here with my wife, Velryna. We ca to enjoy the night, without the pressure of the world, without the duties that always chase us."
He glanced at Velryna beside him, who watched everything with a peaceful smile, and then turned back to the two won.
"I suggest you do the sa," he added, the gentleness in his voice almost surprising for soone of his nature.
Raphael and Uriel exchanged one last glance, and the tension, though still present, began to ease. They couldn't deny the truth in Dante's words. As much as the Demon King was standing before them, he seed so... human in that mont, so focused on simply allowing himself to live.
Uriel let out a deep sigh, trying to control the anxiety in her chest. "Alright... let's enjoy ourselves. We don't have many opportunities like this."
Raphael smiled slightly, still cautious, but with a silent acceptance. "You're right. Let's just... let it pass."
And so, with one last glance at Dante, they tried to shake off the tension that still consud them. For the first ti, Raphael and Uriel finally had a chance to enjoy the festival, at least for one night.
Raphael and Uriel were still visibly tense after Dante's revelation, but as if the atmosphere around them had begun to ease a bit, they took deep breaths and started to regain their composure. The energy of discomfort still lingered in the air, but it was no longer as dense. The two exchanged quick glances, as if deciding that it would be better to relax for a little while. Raphael, with her pink hair now returning to its usual tone, was already making a conscious effort to calm her thoughts.
Uriel, with her snow-white, luminous hair under the moonlight, also seed to be trying to release the tension in her body.
Raphael looked at Dante and Velryna, her expression now more relaxed, a slight smile forming on her lips.
"Want to have a drink?" Raphael asked, trying to sound casual. The tone of her voice didn't hide the curiosity she still felt, but at the sa ti, she seed more willing to relax. She glanced at Uriel, who raised an eyebrow, surprised by the offer.
"A drink?" Uriel repeated, looking a bit skeptical, as if she wasn't sure how to react to sothing so... ordinary. She had grown up under strict rules and pure discipline, always guided to stay on the path of duty. But Raphael's proposal felt different. It was almost as if it were a chance to loosen up, to truly allow herself to experience what the human world had to offer.
"Well, what do we have to lose? Let's just forget about this whole Angel vs. Demon thing," Raphael added, shrugging. She seed to be trying to ease the tension in the air with a more relaxed attitude, as if she were willing to go along with the flow and see where it would lead.
Dante and Velryna exchanged a glance, and then Dante shrugged, smiling. "I'm not the type to turn down a good drink," he said casually, still wearing that calm smile. "Why not?"
Velryna, who was still absorbing the scene and getting used to the presence of Raphael and Uriel, smiled gently. "I'd love to," she said, a playful glint in her eyes. The atmosphere seed to finally begin to change, so much so that even the previous tensions no longer felt as imposing.
Raphael stood up from the bench and made an inviting gesture, as if saying "follow ." She and Uriel moved away slightly, leading Dante and Velryna to one of the festival booths, where different kinds of drinks were being served, from sparkling elixirs to exotic mixtures said to bring unusual sensations.
Raphael made sure to choose a drink that seed to emanate a faint smoke, sothing mystical and intriguing. "Here," she said, handing a golden goblet to Velryna. "This is a human specialty, they say it's good for relaxing. It's not sothing from the Celestial Realm, but... I think it's worth trying."
Velryna chuckled softly as she took the goblet. "I don't usually drink these things, but who knows..." She looked at Dante, who was watching everything with a look of pure amusent. "And you? Are you brave enough?"
Dante didn't hesitate. "If it's a human specialty, I can't miss the chance," he replied, taking the drink and watching the smoke rise from the goblet with curiosity. "It looks... interesting."
Raphael and Uriel, in turn, took their own glasses. Uriel stared at her drink with a mixture of uncertainty and fascination, as if she were apprehensive about what it might do. She had never had ti for these small indulgences, but now, with the energy of the mont taking over her, she allowed herself to try. The very fact that she was there, next to Dante, the great Demon King, and Velryna, his wife, seed to be a sign that even celestial forces needed a break from their duties.
"I'm not much of a fan of... drinks like this," Uriel said with a shy smile, "but why not? We're here, right?"
Raphael let out a low laugh. "You'll see, Uriel, this won't kill anyone. It might even make you feel a little more... human, maybe."
Dante watched everything with an amused look, and soon raised his glass to his lips. "I'm also a great connoisseur of the new. Let's see what we have here."
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