Upon touching the rough texture of the puppet statue, what should have previously resembled skin turned into chalk and then... dust? The body it held fell to the ground, but he held on with his elbows.

"What are you doing here, Addai? Are you hur-"

A sharp, obsidian-colored blade was pointing right at Mine's throat, almost touching where he slashed earlier. Mine gasped and stood still, looking at the person in front of him who was far from being friendly.

Before Mine could open his mouth to say anything in his defense, the blade's tip touched the already bruised skin. It didn't hurt nor tear the tissue that had just been healed with magic. The diamond-shaped marks on Mine's forehead, chest, and shoulders glowed a little brighter, and the blade dissipated where it touched his skin.

Addai appeared unmoved, but his expression worsened. He reached out to squeeze Mine's neck, but an invisible wall seemed to prevent him. Despite his failures, he didn't insist and just stared at Mine.

Mine exhaled and touched his throat, feeling the ghostly sensation of the blade touching it. He then looked at Addai with confused but angry eyes.

"It's me, your dumbass!! I should have let you be torn apart by Agarath's blade!" Mine protested, angrily pointing a finger at Addai. "Do you want any-"

"How can I be sure you're not Agarath's illusions?"

Well… he has a point. Mine stopped for a second and rubbed his forehead. "Ok, right… then, give me your hand."

"…"

"Hand me your hand, or I'll rip it off!" Mine argued, and Addai did so.

Mine placed Addai's hand on his cheeks and looked at his friend right in his eyes. He let his essence run through his body like a warm shower, and it soon reached Addai's hand, which twitched the moment the warm wave touched his skin.

But something was off.

Suddenly, the warm wave turned as scorching as iron and burnt Mine from the inside out. Despite such fright, Mine quickly took Addai's hand away from him the moment the scorching wave burnt his chest and throat. He felt oddly light, as if he was about to pass out-

"Believe me," he muttered, gathering strength to look at Addai. "Lydia made a band-aid… but I'm not in full control…" he felt his body shiver again.

Addai's expression drastically changed. His pupils were round, and the once crimson-colored irises turned the usual golden and blue. The hand touching Mine's chest reached for his waist, and he offered himself as a support for his friend.

Mine looked at him and chuckled.

"See? It's me," Mine grinned, regaining strength in his legs. "Let's hide so we can talk," he took Addai's hand, who nodded.

Mine's body was still burning up, and the hourglass shape on the back of his hand, once golden, turned red, and what once was "sand" turned into something liquid. He headed to the nearest wall, but it was blocked by tons of puppets made of concrete, which Addai made sure to make way using the shadowy thing that came from his shadows.

Touching the cold, stone wall with the tips of his finger, Mine opened a crack in the wall, and it soon expanded like a breach somewhere. He pulled Addai closer, and both passed through the breach, only feeling an odd chilly sensation when they crossed it before it closed.

They were in a room.

It was wide and looked very much like Younri's dressing room. The only thing that differed from it was the wide wardrobe and the different patterns on the rug and bedsheets. It smelled fancy, like Sicilian lemon with raspberry scents mixed. There were also touches of wood from the expensive furniture and door.

Mine quickly locked the door and placed an hourglass illusion on it before his cosmic-like body turned to the usual peach-colored hue and apparent softness. His hair also turned back to the classic ashy green and was no longer golden, and his eyes turned back to the usual pink.

"What was that…?" Addai finally asked anything when the room's time seemed different from what they had witnessed under the glowing dome.

"I'll only answer that after you answer my question first," Mine said, turning to Addai. "What are you doing here, Addai?"

Addai's lips twitched, and his fingers slightly curled on his palms. Still, he nodded a bit too hardened and sat on the rug where Mine had just sat as well.

"First, let me secure our stay," Addai waved his hand, and another pattern formed beside the hourglass on the door. "It's a detection spell, so we can know when someone attempts to enter."

"Hm," Mine hummed, looking at the door. "Not bad… but it does not answer my question," he looked at Addai again, placing Lydia's scarf around his neck – that fortunately wasn't lost during the chasing.

"I…" Addai's throat locked, but he kept speaking, not looking into Mine's eyes. "I'm after the devil that will expose my identity."

Mine bit his bottom lip slightly and tilted his head to the side. "Your… identity?"

Addai's hands were unsettled, and he tried to make them stop moving by fixing his tie. "Yeah… I… ah…" he exhaled, his voice thick and tight.

"Who are you, Addai?"

That question made Addai's shoulders as tense as his posture. His eyes flickered the once crimson and now glowed one side gold and the other blue. He was biting his bottom lips with so much force it was slightly red when he released them, maybe because it was hurting. Not only that, but his hand was almost scratching his own arm by the way the fingers were placed and how much force he was doing.

He inhaled deeply and exhaled, then looked at Mine. He stretched his arm and took Mine's loose hand, placing it on his faltering chest. Mine could feel how his breathing was unsteady as well as how fast his heart was beating.

"Locate my mana spot," Addai said, his voice trembly and uneasy. "I'll let you know who I really am."

"…" Mine looked at him, noticing how tight his eyes were shut and how his lips were pursed, exposing his discomfort.

Mine brought his hand to Addai's cheek, and his friend opened his eyes, not figuring out what was behind those pink marbles and a faint smile.

"I know who you are," Mine smiled. "I just wanted to be sure you trust me enough for that."

"Then… what am I?" Addai asked, his voice thick and dense.

"You are Lilith's Heir," Mine's eyes flickered into gold, then to pink again.

"…" Addai fell silent, and his expression was far from being as light as Mine's. "Since when did you know that?" he voiced, his tone thick and looking to the side.

"Since the beginning," Mine turned his face to him. "I always knew it."

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Addai urged, his eyes turning dark and the pupils shrinking like a cat's.

Mine nodded negatively and cupped Addai's cheeks. "'Don't be too hard on yourself…' It goes for you as well, Addai," he brushed the blood stains from his friend's cheeks. "We are more alike than we thought… crazy, isn't it?" he faintly chuckled at the troubled face from Addai.

"But… I'm a walking curse!"

"And…?"

"… >:( " Addai frowned, losing his words.

"I'm not afraid of you," Mine cleaned the blood stains from Addai's lips. "The moment I saw you at the evaluation room… I knew you were different. So, I assigned myself to be your tutor. This way, I could see if you were or not a menace to the university… who could guess Lilith's Heir was just a gentle and grumpy boy-"

Addai suddenly hugged Mine, letting Lydia's scarf idly fall on the floor. It was a tight but comfortable hug. Mine reciprocated the embrace and nuzzled in his friend's shoulder, cuddling his back and hair.

It was so comfortable, but so comfortable Mine felt his tense body finally relaxing after all the high emotions he felt since he entered that haunted mansion. When the warm hand of Addai's traveled his now nude back, he felt shivers across his entire body due to how gentle the touch was, contrasting to the harsh sensations his skin felt earlier.

It was a bliss after the storm.

Mine nuzzled more on Addai's shoulders and faintly smiled, forgetting the nightmare they were into that exact moment. He didn't want to wake up from that safe embrace.

Addai slid his hand on Mine's hair, touching his neck effortlessly once his hair was now cut. He carefully examined the strands and cuddled Mine's head, noticing the faint unknown bumps, and kissed his forehead, healing a few bruises.

Mine chuckled and looked at him with gentle eyes. "You were growling at me not too long ago... now you're acting all mushy?"

Oh… That made Addai turn into tomato mode! He flushed entirely, and even his ears were as red as his cheeks and neck.

Cling!

Addai quickly looked at the door, and his eyes were stern. Mine's senses sharpened, and Addai's pupils turned sharp, with his fangs showing.

"Someone is trying to enter," Addai voiced, looking at the door, and soon his eyes darkened terribly as an indistinct chatter sounded outside.

"What's this noise?" Mine asked, loosening the embrace.

"It's not worth knowing," Addai replied and started growling at the door - whose doorknob twitched.

This is not good. Mine quickly thought when he saw Addai's eyes turning crimson and heard the voice louder. Hide! We need to hide!

Mine grabbed Addai's hand and dragged him to the nearest hiding spot: the wardrobe!

He placed a half-confused, half-angry Addai on the wardrobe before entering as well among the hanged clothing. When he closed the door, Addai almost protested, but Mine quickly covered his mouth.

"Shush! Or else we'll be spotted!" Mine whispered.