Little Pink Starfish

That’s…

Swallowing hard, I thought to myself.

…Is that the Demon God?

Beyond the wings of Saetbyeol and Mika, I glimpsed the Demon God’s figure.

By the time Madogin, Vanessa Bernstein, and I arrived at the rooftop, the conversation was already well underway. Mika, noticing us, turned around and put his index finger to his lips, signaling for us to remain quiet. I nodded in response and quietly listened to the conversation unfolding between Saetbyeol and the Demon God.

Hell, Heaven, and the world where all creations dwell. The Demon God and Saetbyeol were discussing these matters. The world divided into these three realms always carried an implicit hierarchy when spoken of.

If you commit evil, you go to Hell; if you do good, you are promised Heaven. And this world we live in serves as the testing ground of the Savior Who Is One and All. That’s how people usually perceive the structure of these realms.

Being told you’re going to Hell is an insult, while being told you’ll go to Heaven is a blessing.

The demons invaded the human world to escape Hell. Countless lives, including humanity and other living beings on this planet, were lost because they were swept up in that demonic advance.

Up until now, the reason demons hadn’t launched a full-scale invasion was…

Because Saetbyeol, Satan himself, acted as a barrier.

But even that answer wasn’t entirely sufficient. Just as humans possess free will to oppose the Creator’s will, in Hell too, no single being could fully control all circumstances.

Above all, Saetbyeol was a slothful king. I knew what birthed that sloth. It wasn’t merely the repose of a failed rebel nor a period of preparation for a new war.

He likely thought there was no need to do anything.

Having selected souls he cherished—those who were unjustly cast into Hell—he simply kept them in his palace, seated on his throne without any further ambition.

The sole reason demons had not waged a large-scale invasion was simple.

They were too busy hating each other.

It was no different from humanity. History stagnates when people become consumed with mutual hatred. Only a few names ever truly move history, and those few lead to the uniting and scattering of people. This phenomenon was not so much about greatness as it was about a fundamental law established by the sole Creator, the Savior Who Is One and All.

And so, to the demons…

The Demon God must have been their messiah.

Absurd.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

Because the Demon God standing beyond Saetbyeol’s outstretched wings looked so utterly human.

“That’s… surprising, isn’t it?”

Vanessa Bernstein, who had been peering up beside me, spoke softly.

“A god resembles humans. And humans resemble demons.”

In her awkward pronunciation, Vanessa’s words hinted at something significant. Gods are said to have created humans in their image, and there is no creature easier to liken to demons than humans themselves. In that sense, the Demon God was symbolic—an inhuman demon in human form. A demon who proclaimed herself a god.

“You’re… very smart.”

Vanessa smiled.

Then she suddenly grasped my wrist.

“Huh…?”

The sudden warmth startled me. Madogin looked equally surprised. Clutching both of our arms, Vanessa began walking forward. Just as Mika, startled by our movement, turned around—

“It’s showtime!”

Vanessa whispered with a playful grin, pulling us along.

<What is this?>

Saetbyeol furrowed his brow, turning to look at us.

“…Vanessa?”

The Demon God widened her eyes at the sight of Vanessa.

<I expected you to stay hidden and watch longer, but you couldn’t resist interrupting our conversation.>

“I don’t know Korean. I can’t understand.”

Vanessa answered Saetbyeol’s question with feigned innocence.<How troublesome. The Savior Who Is One and All is truly cruel.>

Saetbyeol sneered and shrugged, seemingly recalling the incident of the Tower of Babel where the Creator had confused humanity’s languages.<You should understand now.>

With a wave of his hand—

“Oh wow. You speak quite good English.”

Vanessa responded, now speaking fluent Korean with a bright smile.

No doubt, Saetbyeol’s technique was automatically translating languages for her. To Vanessa, Saetbyeol’s words likely sounded like English.

<I have no interest in languages. Frankly, neither Mikael nor I even need mouths to communicate.>

<Hmph.>

Mika scoffed.

“Anyway, nice to meet you, Great Demon King and Archangel.”

Vanessa cheerfully began her introduction.

“I’m Vanessa Bernstein, daughter of Matteo Bernstein—the man who saved humanity.”

And also the Demon God’s contractor, she added with a wink.

“I enjoyed eavesdropping on your conversation. To be honest, I didn’t fully understand it since I’m not particularly bright. I’ve never really given much thought to what Heaven or Hell truly are.”

“But you made a contract with the Demon God.”

Unable to hold back, I spoke.

“I heard you personally requested the Savior Who Is One and All to authorize your contract with the Demon God. You’re the daughter of humanity’s hero who eradicated the origin of mankind.”

I turned my gaze toward the Demon God.

She calmly met my eyes.

“That’s right. I asked the Savior Who Is One and All to let me contract with the Demon God. Why?”

“Why did you make such a request?”

I simply couldn’t understand. Why would the daughter of humanity’s hero seek a contract with the Demon God?

“Oh, that?”

Vanessa pursed her lips.

“Well…”

As she began to answer—

“I’ll explain.”

The Demon God interrupted.

“No. I want to tell it.”

“Be quiet. Your way of explaining invites misunderstanding.”

The Demon God muttered, then faced me.

“You’re my Father’s contractor, correct?”

“…Yes.”

I nodded, averting my gaze.

“And you’re the contractor of the Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell.”

“That’s correct.”

Madogin answered plainly.

“First, let me apologize. I destroyed your world. This apology is not to seek forgiveness but simply to acknowledge the fact itself. I hold no regrets.”

Shifting her gaze between me and Madogin, the Demon God spoke. Then she glanced at Vanessa.

“My contractor was imprisoned for a long time by Matteo Bernstein.”

She began her story calmly.

“She was only freed after his death—and that too was because of me. Matteo Bernstein, after realizing that the Demon God was surprisingly weak, grew paranoid. He believed that the true Demon God must be elsewhere, and I was merely a proxy.”

“Yeah, yeah. My dad was a fool.”

Vanessa chimed in with a cheerful tone.

“That’s why she requested the Savior Who Is One and All for our contract.”

To witness her father’s trivial accomplishments firsthand, to accompany the original sin of humanity her father had slain, and thus to endlessly disgrace his life. That was Vanessa’s intention.

“But that’s not the only reason.”

Vanessa spoke softly.

“I don’t like humans. I couldn’t stand how you idolized my father as a hero. Frankly, I don’t think your survival was all that necessary.”

“Vanessa.”

“No, I’ll speak from here.”

Interrupting the Demon God, Vanessa walked into the center of the group.

“You are the Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell, correct?”

<That’s right.>

She first addressed Mika.

“Messenger of the Creator, I cannot bear this world you sustain. We are nothing more than puppets—clowns forced to perform under God’s voyeuristic gaze. Therefore, I hate you.”

Next, she turned to Saetbyeol.

“You’re the Star Hated by All, aren’t you?”<You ask even though you know.>

“I just felt like confirming. I heard that after rebelling against the Savior Who Is One and All, you fell into Hell and subdued the demons by force. That you sheltered only the souls you loved, like the souls of suicides. Perhaps you inherited that selective love from the Savior Himself? I hate you too.”

Then, turning to Madogin:

“You’re not human, are you?”

“…That’s correct.”

“I figured. You didn’t seem lively at all. You wanted to ask me, didn’t you? Why I contracted with the Demon God. Out of pure curiosity.”

Unbelievable.

Vanessa smiled bitterly.

“Don’t use my life to satisfy your curiosity. It’s offensive.”

And finally—

“You.”

She turned to me.

“You’re just an ordinary human, right?”

“Yes.”

I answered readily. It was the truth.

“I hate humans.”

“I don’t particularly like humanity either.”

I admitted honestly.

“Humans aren’t beautiful creatures. They’re greedy… After countless advances, they’ve become the most inefficient beings alive—sacrificing countless other lives just to maintain their inefficiencies. Often… no, routinely harming one another.”

“I never thought that deeply about it. You all simply disgusted me. When I came out of the shelter, seeing all of you worshiping my father sickened me.”

Having vented her hatred without hesitation, Vanessa finally turned to the Demon God.

“So aside from you, everyone else here only disgusts me. Am I a demon, then?”

At Vanessa’s sudden question, the Demon God wavered.

“No. I’m simply human. One of those very humans you slaughtered.”

She trailed off and looked at Saetbyeol.

“You plan to hand this child the throne of Hell, don’t you?”<I do.>

Saetbyeol nodded.

<With my authority, I can return her to Hell. More precisely, only I—as the King of Hell—can do so. She will become the true god of Hell, while I…>

Well, at that point, I wouldn’t really be the King of Hell…

<Uhm…>

“More like a real father, I guess.”

I said lightly.

At that, Saetbyeol glared at me with an exasperated look.

“What else could it be? You’re the only one who hasn’t realized it.”

<Th-that…>

Saetbyeol glanced at the Demon God.

She desperately avoided his gaze.

“Then all that’s left is a last dance, isn’t it?”

Smiling, Vanessa looked around at everyone.

“Let’s have a farewell party, my beloved objects of hatred.”

After all, no matter how much we despised each other, there was at least enough time to sing together.

Vanessa whispered softly.