Madojin quietly observed a trail of ants crawling through the grass.
This place was different from the city. Among the lush greenery, the soil was prepared just right for small lives to flourish.
Urban forests always felt somehow desolate. Trees and flowers were fenced off within designated areas, preserved as though they were generously allowed to exist by humans. And it wasn’t just plants. Small animals wandered on leashes, and insects that entered human spaces were often exterminated.
‘…They seem content.’
Madojin smiled faintly at the thought.
A group of ants was carrying the body of a much larger insect. Anyone else might have frowned and stomped them to death. But in Madojin’s eyes, there was only a faint curiosity.
The Savior Who Is One and All had created countless creatures. From a human perspective, this world was the human realm, but from the perspective of other creatures, they were undoubtedly the rightful owners.
Madojin found it fascinating.
That life could be preserved like this.
A spherical planet, receiving varying solar energy by latitude, created diverse ecosystems. The oceans brought differences in humidity across the continents, and the unevenness of the land contributed to countless lifeforms evolving in their own ways.
What purpose did the Savior Who Is One and All have in creating and maintaining this world?
No, that didn’t really matter.
What fascinated him was how all of it was calculated.
‘Where there is death, there is birth. Where there is birth, there is death…’
Madojin marveled at how precariously this world was balanced like a tightrope.
“Watching insects again, huh?”
Min Heejae’s voice reached him.
Madojin lifted his head slightly. Min Heejae was approaching him with a faintly amused expression.
“…Heejae.”
Madojin nodded quietly.
“Weren’t we supposed to speak casually? At this point, it feels like you’re deliberately trying to make me uncomfortable.”
“To be honest, it’s a bit awkward considering our age difference…”
Madojin smiled with a sigh.
“But it’s not like I’m well-versed enough in human relationships to make you feel awkward on purpose.”
“Of course.”
Min Heejae shrugged and crossed his arms.
“You said you were an angel, right?”
Min Heejae recalled the countless guardian angels that had poured from the sky. Like statues infused with breath, devoid of any life. He found their presence deeply unsettling.
“Will you become like that one day?”
“No.”
Madojin shook his head.
“There’s a hierarchy among angels. Guardian angels are at the very bottom. They’re made to act according to procedures, performing goodness without any consideration of personal will.”
Goodness had its standards—following laws, adhering to morality. Guardian angels existed to serve according to those standards, like mechanical creatures operating by what one might call elementary ethics. It was natural Min Heejae felt no life from them.
“I’m different from them.”
Madojin extended his index finger toward the trail of ants.
One.
A tiny ant climbed onto his fingertip.
“I can think for myself and act according to my own sense of goodness.”
The ant’s tiny legs moved busily, and Madojin inferred its ticklish sensation from that.
Guardian angels wouldn’t have such perception. Even if their bodies were crushed, they would feel no pain. Pain involved self-interest, so the Savior Who Is One and All had not endowed them with the capacity to feel it.
“Once I complete my apprenticeship…”
Madojin trailed off, pondering.
What kind of angel will I become?
He wasn’t sure. But there was one thing he was certain of.
“I’ll probably live a very long time.”
Madojin smiled bitterly.
According to the Angel Who Cast Down the King of Hell, walking the path of an angel meant complete liberation from death. Once his apprenticeship was complete, he would become something nearly akin to a Star. In other words, even when Min Heejae eventually grew old and passed away, Madojin would remain as he was, eternally.
“Immortality, huh?”
Min Heejae chuckled.
“So when I’m an old man lying on my deathbed, you’ll still look exactly like this, working in that heavenly realm or whatever.”
“Yes. I won’t be able to stay in the human world forever. I’ll become something quite different.”
Madojin gently returned the ant to the ground.
‘Eventually…’
He would follow the Angel Who Cast Down the King of Hell to the heavenly realm. Staying in the human world without aging would only create confusion. Someday, he would fully depart from the human world and intervene in creation from the position of a Star.
“This whole thing we went through…”
Looking into the distance, Min Heejae spoke.
“You’ll probably experience things like that countless times, won’t you?”
“…I will.”
Madojin had received human history implanted directly into his mind from Enoch.
Human history was saturated with desire. Mankind had always sought that which it could not have. Scholars clashed in pursuit of ultimate truth, and generals waged war to seize impossible territory. The ambitions of those who ruled over them were beyond words. Throughout history, countless charlatans claimed to be children of gods, and only such charlatans were able to reign over the masses.
“Heejae…”
In a soft voice, Madojin spoke.
“You seem to think what we experienced was rather unusual.”
“Exactly. To be honest, it still doesn’t feel real.”
Min Heejae scratched his neck.
“Honestly, I’ve never been fond of the existence of Stars. I only entered CYB because I wanted to, personally… I never had any desire to borrow their power or enhance my abilities through them.”
Musically, he already felt complete.
Min Heejae muttered.
“I find it weird that gods would lend power to humans.”
“How so?”
At Madojin’s question, Min Heejae thought for a moment.
“They say gods lend power because they care for humans.”
Is that really true? He tilted his head.
“If I were a god, I don’t think I’d care much for humans.”
There’s no real reason to care.
Min Heejae said.
“Because you created them, you care? That sounds strange. Maybe I’m too human-centered, but people are usually pretty merciless toward the things they create.”
Everything gets disposed of eventually.
It’s just that some things take longer to discard.
That applied not only to lifeless objects. What would happen if humans eventually created beings they could call life? Mankind had long strived to reach such a realm.
“They’ve bred animals into new species, even cloned them. But humans never truly cherished what they created—they just used it up.”
That’s why Min Heejae found it incomprehensible.
Why do Stars care for humans?
Why do humans believe so firmly in such declarations from Stars?
“…I don’t know.”
Madojin replied softly.
“But I suppose it’s because it’s the rule.”
All Stars except the Savior Who Is One and All are bound by rules.
Perhaps only the Star Hated by All is truly free.
To cherish creation, to contribute to its life—all upheld by rules made by some absolute being. Without that, this universe would be filled with nothing but doubt.
Madojin firmly believed that religion was born from humanity’s desire to escape such frailty.
“There’s something I want to show you.”
Madojin said to Min Heejae.
“That sounds like a secret between friends. I like it.”
Min Heejae grinned mischievously.
“It is a secret.”
Madojin began to walk.
“Though not my secret.”
He gestured for Min Heejae to follow.
“So…”
I brushed my hair back.
“Let’s try to sort this out.”
I stared straight ahead.
Shatbyeol and Geahrzimen were staring at me with serious expressions. Their faces were so stiff that even I felt tense.
We sat across from each other at a table. The smell of coffee in my mug was strong. The melting ice clinked against itself as it sank, and after taking a sip, I spoke.
“The Demon God is definitely in the human world…”
I looked at Shatbyeol.
“And you’re trying to find him?”
<That’s right. I intend to settle his story once and for all.>
“So that whole thing about apologizing to the Savior Who Is One and All was just a cover, and you descended to find the Demon God?”
<I thought the Demon God would be imprisoned in the heavenly realm. It wouldn’t make sense to reincarnate him, and there’s too much to analyze to simply erase him. I had to apologize to meet him.>
“I see. For the King of Hell to bow his head—it must mean the Demon God is something remarkable.”
Grumbling, I turned to Geahrzimen.
“And you… you found his whereabouts?”
“That’s right.”
Avoiding my gaze, Geahrzimen answered.
“While you were busy fooling around fighting with the heavenly realm in Seoul, I found my mother’s trail. Through the Bearer of the Cursed Grail.”
“Good job. I’d like to see what he looks like myself.”
So where is he?
The Demon God.
When I asked,
“In America.”
Geahrzimen answered cheerfully.
“America?”
“Yes. My mother is in America.”
And also…
A mischievous smile appeared on Geahrzimen’s face.
“She’s formed a contract with a creature.”
Little Pink Starfish 
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