[Chapter 1: First Meeting]
"Hmm...~ hmm...~"
A quiet humming voice filled the lonely bedroom. Moonlight escaped through the cracks of the wooden walls. It was a very quiet night as neither the animals' sounds nor the cicadas' buzzing was heard.
Two persons lay on their single mattress. One of them was a very large man with messy black hair. A few red streaks were visible on a closer look. Despite the intimidating body, his sleeping face was at peace. Only a very quiet breathing sound escaped his mouth. A soft hand caressed this man's hardened face. The woman beside him was using his muscular arm as her pillow. The slender fingers continued to stroke, especially the scar running across his cheek, as if it was something special.
"Haaah...," a small sigh escaped, "you should go to sleep, honey. It's late..."
"Ah, I'm sorry, dear... Did I wake you up?" Despite saying that, she continued to touch his cheek in a very caring manner.
He didn't reply to her question as he wasn't really asleep anyway. Lying lazily in bed with her was everything.
"I- Is my face that interesting to you?"
No matter how long one lived, there was something about being stared at with such loving eyes, causing even the "Great Disastrous Evil Who Will End The Universe" to blush a bit.
"Yes," she replied with the loveliest voice, "I will never get tired of looking at my beloved face."
"I see."
Quietness once again filled the room.
"Dear..." She slowly moved it even closer to him than before.
"Hmm?" His rough finger tucked her long white hair behind her ears.
"I love you so much," she whispered as a small kiss was planted on his lips. It didn't take long, however, for her tongue to invade his.
Instead of resisting, he simply welcomed it as it is. It was very sweet.
"I love you, too."
~~~~~
"Quick! We have to find her!!!"
A group of angels scattered throughout the green forest. They were spreading out to cover as much ground as possible. Nonetheless, this forest was like a maze.
"I... I just can't believe our Great General would do such a thing..." a young angel said in a sad tone.
"She was like an idol... No, a goddess to me... I look up to her so much," another was crying.
"You better suck it up and focus on finding her," a stern man reaffirmed to the squad. "I... am disappointed, too. Seeing such an icon betray us like this-" His fist landed on a nearby tree, causing it to fall.
"Yeah... Let's hurry before she somehow crosses the border. It's for her own safety too. Who knows what those Demons would do to her once she's on their land?"
"I don't want to imagine that scenario. She's heavily wounded, so she couldn't have gone too far."
The group of angels once again flew through the thick forest to find their target.
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"I guess even I alone can't win against groups of soldiers, huh... Ughh—!"
The pain in her abdomen pierced through the entire body. The ones searching for her are people she personally trained to become elite soldiers for Heaven. She alone had managed to subdue some of them, but numbers always triumph...
"Ha... My wound is not closing on its own... What... *coughs* a shame..." The only thing she could do now was continue forward with small yet heavy steps.
"The border should be nearby... Please... Someone..." Blood continued to fall down to the ground, leaving a red trail behind.
She was forcing herself to not pass out. Her eyelids were too heavy to keep it from staying open.
"-nd her!" can be heard from the distance. They were coming. Was this the end? All the remaining strength left her body as it lifelessly fell down. The last thing her eyes perceived was a large shadow hovering over her.
It didn't smell like sterilization or medicine. It smelled... more like burning wood. But why burn wood?
As she slowly regained her consciousness, more and more information about her surroundings presented itself. The ceiling was made out of simple material. The entire building was a single room with a fireplace in the middle of it.
"Someone lives in the middle of the woods? How unusual..." she pondered.
The simple wooden door left a creaking sound as someone pulled it open.
A friend...? Or maybe a foe...?
"You are awake..." A large, imposing man entered the room. He was holding a basket that was filled with vegetables. Even if they were across the room, far from each other, she could feel those red eyes looking at her without any kind of emotion.
"Sleep some more," he said as he put the basket down and walked over to the mattress. As he raised his hand, many thoughts came to her like a flash. She was in no position to fight back even if she wanted to. But the illogical side of her suggested he would do such a thing despite having no points made for such a suggestion. Simply by feel?
As multiple thoughts ran through her brain, his palm was already covering her forehead.
"As I thought, it's still rather warm." His palm was rather rough to the touch, but it wasn't a bad feeling for some reason.
"I will cook you some porridge," he slowly walked away, "it will be done in a moment."
"Uhm..."
"?"
"T-thank you..."
Only after she saw the small nod from him did she feel comfortable falling back asleep.
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