TDATD⋆♱✮

XCV

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 95

Afraid of what he might do if she didn’t comply, Judith silently followed him. Honestly, she wanted to spend a little more time with him.

With her head resting on his outstretched arm, Judith stared at him intently.

“It feels awkward.”

Understanding immediately what she meant, he laughed with a deep voice.

“I tried to make it as similar as possible.”

“Why?”

“So that you could get used to it more quickly.”

Judith recalled the situation when she met him again at the banquet. She recognized him not because of his appearance, but because of the way he looked at her and his actions. It would have been stranger not to recognize those traits that were identical to the demon who had stayed by her side.

“It’s fine. I would have recognized you even if you had come back completely different.”

As she whispered, burrowing into his arms, his large hand embraced her tightly.

“Well, coming from someone who felt awkward just a moment ago, it doesn’t sound very convincing.”

Despite his affectionate touch, his complaining tone made her smile.

Judith, who had been staring at his chest, thought it was time to have the conversation they had postponed due to the joy of their reunion.

“By the way, what happened to Hannibal?”

“Seeing that I’m here, doesn’t that answer your question?”

Hannibal had tried to eliminate Derrick, but Derrick was alive and well in front of her. That meant the one who was eliminated was that vicious demon.

Judith had once trembled in fear, wondering if the strange phenomena she had experienced were Hannibal’s doing. Naturally, she suspected it since she thought Derrick had been eliminated.

Now that she knew the truth, she felt a little relieved.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Derrick took a moment to choose his words as if considering where to start.

“He and I were expelled from our human bodies almost simultaneously. It’s more accurate to say we were repelled by the power of annihilation. The battle continued to the end. Hannibal had absorbed the King’s power, so there was a chance I could have been defeated…”

His voice was calm, perhaps because the events were in the past. Judith, however, felt her heart drop.

“I survived thanks to the timely intervention of my subordinates. But because my soul was severely damaged, I had to focus on healing for a while.”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes.”

“It would have been nice if your subordinates had helped sooner.”

“That was my order. I told them not to intervene.”

Judith abruptly sat up. She couldn’t understand why he made such a decision when his life was in danger.

“Why? If they had stepped in, you might not have been hurt so badly.”

“The devils in my district were already dissatisfied with me. Devil hierarchy is strictly based on power, and as a commander who was being dragged around by his subordinates, they weren’t pleased. On top of that, I kept hesitating because I didn’t want to part with you, which made their patience wear thin. They would never understand my actions because they consider humans as mere tools.”