Chapter 17: Has The Devil Ever Fell In Love?

"What do you think I should do? I'm really confused and scared."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Girlfriend? No, I don't have a girlfriend!"

"What about the person you love?"

"Love? I don't know but, I have a childhood best friend who is five years older than me and we are very close."

"Really? What is he like?"

"He is tall, sturdy and also very handsome. His hair is brown and his brown eyes are very soft and sweet like candy."

"He must be very handsome, right?"

"He is also very kind and besides that, he is close friends with my older brother, we were friends until he finally moved to this city to work as a ship crew."

"So you live in this city with him,"

"I live in an apartment and he lives in a special crew apartment which is close to the port."

"What's his name?"

"Ryan,"

"You seem to love him,"

"I don't know whether I love Ryan or not. On my high school graduation day, he kissed me. But because of something I-"

Edelweiss was silent, she didn't know if she could tell that part. If you remember again, at that time it seemed as if Ryan had said something to him. However, because the trauma attack suddenly appeared, he couldn't hear anything and just remained silent with his body shaking.

"What is it?"

"No, at that time I didn't feel ready because maybe all this time I thought of him as a brother, so because he suddenly kissed me, I felt strange."

"I understand, just because he loves that person doesn't mean we are ready to touch or kiss him. Because he is the person we love, the first kiss must feel very nervous and awkward."

"Maybe so,"

"Because of that, to avoid Leviathan's tricks, maybe you could try to love someone."

"You mean I have to have a boyfriend?"

"I think so,"

"B-but with who?"

"Of course with your childhood friend Ryan."

"But he already has a girlfriend."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Actually, they are ex-boyfriends, but I feel there is a possibility that they will get back together again."

"Oh my, what a shame. Then for now the only way you can avoid Leviathan's tricks is to ignore his presence as much as possible."

"You mean by pretending not to see him?"

"If you can try this method, I don't think there's any harm in it." Sasha smiled. But Edelweiss's eyes fell on the bruises on her neck. The bruise was quite clearly visible, reddish blue in color.

"Your neck is bruised, is it because of Leviathan's power?"

"I already told you that you are great, Edelweiss. You look fine even though there is a demon as strong as Leviathan following you. Usually only the subordinates of the seven princes of hell or ordinary demons whose job is to tempt humans to commit crimes. Demons Powerful people like Lucifer, Asmodeus or Satan probably have many subordinates who are tasked with tempting humans and looking for lots of followers. So you could say what happened to you is something very rare. What actually made Leviathan choose you?"

Hearing Sasha's question, he could guess from what Leviathan had told him about his scarf which was left in the sea when he tried to jump and commit suicide. He still remembers when he opened his eyes, there was a pair of very big eyes looking at him full of joy. He also heard a sentence that said, "Don't be afraid, the pain won't last long. You will soon be free from a very cruel world."

"Edelweiss? What's wrong? Did you remember something?"

"No, I was also thinking what really made him decide to follow me."

***

Edelweiss stepped into the quiet hospital hallway after leaving Sasha who thought it was time to rest. In the middle of the hallway, he saw Leviathan standing smoking. Staring at him with a mocking expression.

"Smoking is prohibited in the hospital!"

"Haha... who can stop me? How is your strange friend doing? Is he nearing death?"

"Sasha is not strange at all, she is like that because she has abilities that not everyone can have. Besides, she will definitely recover soon."

"Oh yes?"

"That's bad, I forgot! Even though I should have pretended I couldn't see it and ignored it. How about this?" He thought.

"Don't pretend you didn't see me, you idiot!"

"Y-you can read people's minds, right?"

"Of course, I'm a devil! How long are you going to pretend not to believe that I'm a devil?"

"Because you don't look like a devil at all."

"What?"

"The pictures of demons in books and the internet all look scary. Some have horns and some look like monsters. But why do you look like a human?"

"Have the people who made those pictures ever seen the devil's true form?"

"May be,"

"Hahaha...we're not that easy to look like."

"The proof is that Sasha and I can see you."

"Your friend is a weirdo and you-"

"What's wrong with me? A crazy person?"

"You're special." Leviathan smiled. Edelweiss, who saw his smile, once again couldn't resist his charm.

His heart was beating fast and every time this happened, he felt restless because he kept remembering what they did last night. Even though they hadn't had time to have sex, it still made him feel depressed.

"So, you can't be seen by anyone other than me and Sasha?"

"Depends on whether I want to show my form or not."

"Hey, Leviathan."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever fallen in love?"

***