Azazel, avoiding his boss's bloodthirsty gazes, scratched the back of his head and let go of his shoulders. "Ah, I don't know, there's no need to look at me like that, boss... hehe..." his posture drastically changed when Mephistopheles aimed the gun at him without much ceremony.

"Then move your ass and come over here! Do you have any idea how much I searched for you?! Belial is recovering because someone left her and Blanche alone!" Mephistopheles fumed as he lectured his subordinate more and more, who slowly crawled towards his boss like a dog being taught a good lesson by its master.

Mine watched the duo, confused.

This Azazel brought more and more doubts, not only because he, by chance, was the "Fruit Ninja guy" in the Satan Flower episode, but what were the reasons he carried on his sword and mind exactly? Why did he target Mine that day? Why did he look so much like that rich guy at the Pub who wanted a night with Star? Why did he also look like that guy he had given his frog umbrella to? Could Azazel have been watching him all this time without him realizing it? 

Thinking about that, Mine clutched Addai's shirt a little tighter.

Mine recalled that in addition to targeting him, they were also targeting Addai, but the math didn't add up. Addai was very quick at hiding his identity, so much so that Mine had to touch him to be sure of how his soul was shaped and say whether or not he was a threat to the University of Magic. If Addai was that agile, locating him would be difficult, and not just anyone could accomplish such a feat. Could it be that, because Mine discovered it first, the information must have somehow leaked? But he remembers mentioning this to trusted people – Soleil, Abannak, and Mr. Shire only.

Could Mine be the reason why Addai became an easy target for them?

Addai might not be here if Mine hadn't boldly discovered his identity and become friends. Mine couldn't help but think that that friendship could be cursed for Addai, contrary to what he thought would be him who would curse Mine. 

"Hm…" Addai mumbled into Mine's lap, feeling his forehead throb. "What...? Mine?"

Mine was still lost in his thoughts and barely noticed that his friend had finally woken up. His eyes were slightly blue, as were some strands of hair that betrayed whatever he was thinking. The diamond patterns on the back of his hands had become drops of water and glowed with a blue light like his hair. 

Addai sighed and took one of Mine's hands, turning his face with the other hand. "What happened? A book flew at my forehead, and you're the sad one?" He joked, still feeling his forehead throb.

Mine shook his head and looked at his friend. "It was nothing," he forced a smile.

"Bullshit," Addai shook his head and reached for Mine's cheeks, squeezing them. "Don't think too much about nonsense," he continued to squeeze Mine's cheeks, who soon became annoyed, and his hair colors returned to their usual grayish green.

Azazel, already fed up with listening to the warm and well-placed sermons given by his superior, looked for ways to leave the sermon session and looked at Mine, who looked back at him. Their gaze met, and Mine's eyes glowed gold, causing the demon to smile back. Azazel had always had a soft spot for beautiful creatures, and Mine fit his standards perfectly.

However, this casual glance didn't last long when someone's bloodthirsty eyes close to Mine also looked at Azazel, leaving him with goosebumps from head to toe. At that moment, he remembered Belial warning him to stay away from Mine. He also remembered the astonished look on his work partner's face every time she tried to decode the energies she found in the frog umbrellas Mine gave Azazel on that fateful sunny day. But seeing that look face to face was a whole different story. It was terrifying.

"What are you tense about? I haven't even decided what to do with you when we get back to the castle," Mephistopheles flicked Azazel's forehead, who winced. "Now explain to me how you ended up here," he crossed his arms.

Azazel straightened his posture and avoided the pair of eyes piercing into his entire body as he thought about how much Mine fit his standards. When he tried to speak, his legs gave out, and he kneeled on the floor.

Zophiel, a little distant from the rest of the group, calmly turned his eyes to Addai and opened a mana fan, slowly fanning himself. Seeing a show every once in a while was fine for God's most devout and agile worker - even God took a day off once, right?

Mephistopheles, confused, helped Azazel to stand up and noticed that his subordinate's body felt incredibly heavy as if his knees were rooted to the ground. He squinted and saw a small mark on his subordinate's neck that resembled a coat of arms. At this moment, Mephistopheles sighed in disappointment, deciding whether or not to help his subordinate in trouble and bound by an influence spell.

Influence spells only worked in two kingdoms: Heaven and Hell. Its explanation was simple: if a demon or angel of a higher hierarchy – such as the Governors of Hell or Seraphim of Heavens – needed a more authoritarian intervention, they would use spells to influence subordinate creatures and those of lower hierarchy. The first stage was for the subordinate to kneel and remain silent. The second stage would depend on what the superior would demand from his subordinate, and, in this case, the higher-ranking being than Azazel wanted him to stop thinking whatever he was thinking. The (not so) poor demon had his frivolous thoughts immediately purified.

In the end, Mephistopheles decided it wasn't his problem and ignored Azazel, heading to talk to Zophiel in the background, who was waving at him with his mana fan.

You heartless bastards! Azazel screamed internally upon seeing his boss's negligence.

Mine, feeling that something dark was close to him, turned his face to Addai, who was staring at Azazel energetically and darkly. His eyes, previously heterochromatic, were bright crimson, and his neck seemed tense, as did his entire body. The young teacher of Pure Mana reached his friend's face and slowly turned it to look at him without realizing that when Addai's intense eye contact with Azazel broke, the demon could breathe again.

"Why are your eyes red-colored?" Mine asked, looking at Addai with his eyes glowing in rosé gold.

"It's nothing important," Addai replied, his voice thick.

In the background, Azazel was in a cold sweat and avoided looking at Addai at any cost. Meanwhile, Mephistopheles was comfortably leafing through the blank books close to Zophiel.

Zophiel laughed softly and fanned himself with his fan. "Be careful with your miasma levels, sweetie," he advised.

"Ah, right," Mine nodded and looked at Addai, a bit uncertain. "Erm… How do I do it…? Ah! I remember," he touched his confused friend's forehead with his thumb and closed his eyes.

Not bad, sweetie. Zophiel thought, dearly looking at Mine rearranging Addai's essence and working as a stabilizer. And how's the bold demon going? He looked at Azazel, who was recovering his breath and mind.

Azazel quickly stood up and walked over to his boss, who was still flipping through blank books as if he wanted to make time pass faster. When he noticed his subordinate approaching, Mephistopheles put away the book and crossed his arms.

"What have you done for His Grace to force his influence on you?" Mephistopheles asked, looking annoyed.

Azazel knew what he did. But he wanted to be delusional, so he bluntly replied: "I don't know," and shrugged.

"Whatever you did, just don't do it again," Mephistopheles rubbed his eyebrows, feeling an upcoming headache kick. "Now, tell us how you ended up here."

Azazel posed proudly and ignored the duo in the background doing their things, lost in their own world as they casually talked. At least Addai's eyes were back to the heterochromatic hues, but his hands were still as dark as before.

"I was trapped here by a foul spell while investigating Agarath's moves as you tasked me, boss. But things turned out wild when that motherfucker made the illusions go wild! It wasn't that bad the first few days I've been here, but as soon as the ball started… he's much more powerful now," Azazel stored his sword in the sheath in his waist like a katana. "I was defeated, and the eyeless demons sent me to the prisoners' gallery. I was locked up in a small jail with a blonde girl and a dragon hybrid, who was as weakened as I was."

Blonde girl? Mine's senses sharpened.

"The blonde girl healed us both with cute little things, and we managed to escape before they annihilated us!! They sort people by how much they can fight them, then, BAM!! They kill them!! The eyeless demons do the job, and the gargoyles take the rest and turn the scraps into materials," Azazel shivered. "The dragon hybrid was about to be killed before us, but that man was as wicked as the demons! He chewed a few demons and freed us so we could run away and find a suitable place to hide and find the exit."

"How about the other prisoners?" Zophiel asked, lowering his fan.

"We saved half of them, but the other half…" Azazel shook his head slowly, defeated. "I contacted the Consort so he could deal with it in Hell. The prisoners are going to the main traffic route at Lilith's domain."

"Shit… this is too tangled up," Mephistopheles rubbed his chin, glancing at Addai. "Where's the dragon hybrid and the blond girl?" He looked at his subordinate again.

Azazel perked up and grinned. "Lemme show you guys our hideout."