"What exactly are you talking about?"
deia was silent for a mont, not knowing what kind of answer she should give to him.
Besides, why was he questioning the obvious?
Lucian didn’t want to leave, that ant he wanted her to leave the base, right?
"Can you not make have to say it?" deia sighed. "It still hurts, you know."
Lucian imdiately ca closer and checked her bandage. "Where? Where do you feel pain? Should I ask doctors to co here?"
Doctors? So the base had a lot of doctors.
Ah, that was not the point!
The point was, why should Lucian seem to care too much about them?
"No, it’s not like that." deia nudged him slightly, then looked away. "I an ..." She hesitated, her voice trembling. "You don’t have to act this way, Lucian. It’s hard for to leave you when you treat too well."
Lucian said nothing for a mont, not even a word. deia thought he was just feeling awkward because she had guessed his mind. Perhaps he was struggling to find a polite way to agree with her decision.
"It’s okay," she said quietly, trying to hide the crack in her voice. "I know it’s better this way. You don’t have to say anything. I’ll leave as soon as I’m strong enough to walk."
Lucian had not yet responded to her words either, so deia lifted her face to look at him.
At that mont, she nearly choked to death, because she had never seen Lucian with such a pitiful expression on his face, as if he had just seen his loved one die in front of him.
"You ... you want to leave ?" Lucian’s expression darkened, his erald eyes wide with disbelief. "Have I done sothing wrong to you? Is it because I couldn’t protect you and let you get hurt?"
What?
Why was he blaming himself all of a sudden?
No ... deia didn’t like it when he sounded so hurt like that.
"No! You didn’t do anything wrong!" deia hesitated, her throat tightening. "I thought ... you’d see as a monster and want to leave."
Lucian was taken aback. "Monster? What makes you think you are a monster?"
deia snarled in frustration. She had finally had enough of their aningless questions. She snapped, "Didn’t you see what I beca earlier?! Lucian, I look like a demon, a disgusting creature with a disgusting heart!"
"deia." Lucian suddenly cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Why should I leave you just because you look like a demon? Many people also have the ability to transform because of mutation. So what’s the point of despising you?"
Oh ... deia hadn’t thought about it that way.
She was so caught up in the demon appearance that she forgot that this world had so many oddities, including transforming into strange creatures.
"But don’t most people only turn into animals?" deia lowered her voice, "I heard that from Colton."
"Don’t take his word for it. He hasn’t even traveled the entire world, so he has limited information." Lucian softened his voice. "But I ... I’ve seen many things in this world, and I can assure you that you are not the one who can turn into anything other than animals."
"But I also have demon-like traits when I transform!" deia said in despair. "I’ve killed so many people!"
Lucian replied calmly, "So have I."
"I hold a grudge when soone hurts !"
"So do I."
"I like to eat people’s souls to strengthen my body!" deia imdiately continued, "But only the souls of bad people!"
Lucian was silenced for a mont before he said, "How do you do that?"
"I ... take their souls when they’re dying."
Lucian nodded. "Then next ti I’ll make sure not to kill the bad guys so you can eat their souls."
deia’s jaw dropped. Her expression was enough to show her mind. Is he crazy or what?
Other n might be afraid of her, but he wanted to help her eat souls instead?
There must be sothing wrong with his head.
[Maybe he is just in love with you, Host!]
The system spoke cheerfully, like a fangirl who would go crazy if her ships beca cannons.
Well, deia didn’t think so. Maybe Lucian just felt attached to her because they had spent so much ti together.
"Lucian," deia called him. "What if one day I do sothing so bad? This ability feels so real---"
deia shut her mouth imdiately as Lucian wrapped his arms around her. He gently pressed her head against his shoulder, letting her lean against him. "I still won’t leave you. Weren’t you the one who said we’d be together for a long, long ti?"
"I did." deia finally gave in. She buried her face in his neck and hugged him back. "But sotis I wonder if one day you’ll see sothing in that you can’t forgive."
Lucian tightened his embrace, his voice firm yet soothing as he whispered close to her ear, "I will not leave you anyway.
Is this what it’s like to earn the favor of others?
deia had never had soone who spoke so genuine and gentle to her like that. No one had ever comforted her when she felt bad.
But why did this feeling feel familiar? Her ex even had never treated her the way Lucian treated her.
"Why? Why are you like this, Lucian?"
He stroked her back in a circular motion to comfort her. "Because I don’t want to lose you. No matter what happens, no matter what you think of yourself, I’ll never despise you and I’ll never let you go."
deia lifted her head, searched his face, and saw her own reflection in his eyes.
For the first ti in centuries, she finally had soone who wanted to be with her, not because she was the Queen of Hell, but because she was just her.
deia might not be her real na, but when Lucian called her by it with such warmth and sincerity, it felt like it truly belonged to her.
It wasn’t the na of a queen of hell or a demon despised by heaven.
It was just her, an ordinary woman who wanted to be loved by a man nad Lucian.
[Warning! Warning! Quest Deadline Approaching: 10 Minutes Remaining!]
Oh, fuck off.
[Foul language detected! Penalty -20 C-points!]
deia grunted, annoyed at the system for interrupting their romantic session. If only it would shut up for a mont, maybe she could finally taste Lucian’s lips!
[Host, the system was only doing its best to warn you!]
10 minutes.
That ant deia had slept for over 9 hours. Who could guess what had happened in that ti.
What happened to Orlon? Did he run away? Or did sothing happen after the gunshots?
deia wanted to ask Lucian, but the damn system wouldn’t stop reminding her of her quest.
She clenched her fists, her irritation bubbling just below the surface. The system’s incessant interruptions grated on her nerves, like an unwelco third wheel in a mont she desperately wanted to savor.
[Host, the quest deadline is approaching! Please prioritize---]
"Shut up!" deia accidentally said it out loud, startling Lucian.
He let go of their hug and asked worriedly, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing," she replied quickly, trying to find an excuse. "My stomach ... it won’t stop growling. Do you have any food?"
Lucian stood imdiately and opened the cupboard next to the bed. "I had stored a few of canned foods earlier for you. But I can make sothing else if you don’t want it."
She hissed at the canned food because she really didn’t like the taste of it. However, she didn’t have the privilege of choosing her food when her deadline approached.
’There’s no plate here. Can a can also be considered a food container?’
[It can!]
"That’s okay. Can you open it for ? My hands are not in good condition."
Lucian opened the can of beans in a second, then handed it to deia. "The food is cold. Do you want to heat it up for you?"
"No! It’s fine! I don’t think I can wait any longer to eat."
She forced the disgusting beans into her mouth and swallowed them without chewing. The system only told her to eat, not to finish the whole al, right?
"Lucian, would you like to eat this with ?" deia looked at him hopefully.
Co on, make it easier for her.
[Ti remaining: 5 minutes].
"I can open another one," Lucian said, smiling. "You need to eat more---"
"No!" deia stopped him from taking another can of beans. "Just eat this one! I ... I might not be able to finish them all!"
"Didn’t you say you were starving?"
Did she?
[Ti remaining: 4 minutes]
That damned system! It really succeeded in make deia anxious about eating!
"Can you please just eat it with ?" deia batted her eyelashes, trying to convince Lucian.
Lucian didn’t understand why she was acting like that, but he finally nodded. "Okay. But if you’re still starving after this, we--"
He wasn’t able to finish his words because deia had shoved a spoonful of beans into his mouth and forced him to eat them.
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