Chapter 43 – Loss

With Arin’s prayer, Juan’s body was engulfed by blue light. The blue light took a long time to disappear because he was a very powerful demon. The blue light, which burned his body, flowed along with the sewer and began to purify it. The entire sewer, which had been contaminated with Magi, was being purified. Ed stood next to Arin and looked at Juan, surrounded by the blue light. It sounded crazy if a demon were to go to heaven, but it felt like Juan was qualified to go to heaven for some reason. When Juan became a blue particle and disappeared, only one ring remained. A ring that was made of an unknown material. However, seeing that the torch did not burn it, it must be something with good energy.

Juan disappeared, and Arin’s body was emitting a halo-like blue glow. Considering Ed’s experience, Arin seemed to have gained tremendous holy powers. Ed invested his status in agility, picked up the ring, and looked at it. There were two snakes, black and gray, and they looked s if they were twisting each other. Ed held up the ring as Arin woke up after her prayer.

“It’s nothing special, right?” “Yeah. It’s not special.”

Ed clenched the ring at her words.

“May I give this to Diego?”

Arin nodded her head.

“Sure. But this time, the problem is that we couldn’t get the blood stone.”

They’ve been tracking the blood stone, but they lost it. This is because, in order to kill Juan, they had to attack the blood stone, where all the magi and energy were concentrated. As Arin sighed, Ed soothed her.

“But we got a lot of information. His name is Lagrox, and he has the strength comparable to that of the great demon.” “I need to give that information to the church.”

Right now, the link for tracking was broken, but she knew it would continue again in some way. Whether it’s the power of the church or through Thane.

“Let’s get out of here.”

The sewage from the entire city was purified and no longer stinky. It would get dirty soon, but while they were going outside, they felt like they were walking in a clear stream.

When Ed and Arin arrived at the meet-up spot, Ed first visited Sophia. Seeing Ed and Arin, Sophia’s eyes quickly filled with tears that flowed down.

“Mom.”

When Diego, who was next to her, held her hand in surprise, she swallowed her tears.

“Did you meet him?”

When Ed nodded, Sophia bit her lips and looked at Arin. Arin couldn’t easily talk. She did not kill Juan herself, but she could not answer easily because she was related to his death. When they were looking for Juan, they knew he was a demon, and Sophia knew that Arin was a holy knight. Ed understood her feelings and spoke instead.

“We met him.”

Sophia’s eyes turned to Ed. Diego also fixed his eyes on Ed.

“He sacrificed himself to save this city.” “Huhu.”

Sophia couldn’t hold back her tears and started to sob. Diego hugged Sophia and asked, looking at Ed.

“Dad saved the city?”

Diego only knew that Juan had left home. He looked at Ed, wondering what he was talking about. He left home without a word, and since then, his mother had been sick, he was only resentful. Juan disappeared and people in the slums persistently harassed them. But Juan saved the city? Ed approached Diego and held out the ring.

“He asked me to take care of you”.

When Sophia saw the ring in Ed’s hand, she fainted. Arin hugged her and laid her on the bed, and Diego accepted the ring.

“This is my dad’s ring”.

Diego, who did not believe everything when he heard that he sacrificed himself to save the city, realized his father’s death only then. Tears poured down Diego’s eyes from the touch of the cold ring on his hand. Diego couldn’t see the ring well and kept wiping his eyes with his right hand. Then Diego, who grabbed the ring again, looked up at Ed. Juan asked Ed to be a father-like figure. Diego’s face began to be distorted after seeing Ed’s face. Ed approached and hugged Diego when he saw Diego shedding tears without even knowing how to express his feelings. Diego, whose head was buried in Ed’s chest, opened his mouth.

“Dad, dad…”

Ed swept Diego’s back silently. Diego barely burst into words as if he felt comforted by the touch.

“I blamed my dad every night, when my friends bothered me when my sick mother couldn’t sleep and moaned at night! Everyone blamed my dad!”

Diego’s body trembled. Diego buried his head in Ed’s chest. Ed continued to sweep Diego’s back without saying a word. Diego burst into tears hugging Ed.

“Oh, Dad! Dad!”

Ed held Diego tightly and listened to the sobbing. Then, Diego collapsed because he was exhausted. Diego collapsed in Ed’s arms and muttered.

“I’m sorry. Dad. I’m sorry.”

Ed hugged Diego, laid him down on the sofa, and sat next to him. Thane approached and looked at the conditions of the two and asked.

“What happened?”

Ed sat next to Diego and replied.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Thane nodded when he realized that the atmosphere of Ed and Arin was different from usual.

“I’ll be drinking downstairs.”

When Thane went outside, Arin approached and looked at Diego.

“Your mom just fell asleep because she was tired. You don’t have to worry.”

Arin could not heal Diego with her divine power. Because there is magi in his body, and it creates strong repulsion. Ed looked at Arin and said,

“You said that you needed to report this to the church. Go ahead.” “Yes. I’m sorry. I wish I could stay here longer….” “See you later”.

As Arin looked at Sophia one more time and went outside, Ed leaned against the sofa and looked out the window. The night has not even passed yet. Ed looked at the moon and stars in the sky and realized that so much had happened in less than a day. Ed’s eyes turned to Diego, sleeping on the sofa and frowning. When he held Diego’s hand, who was struggling with a nightmare, and touched his hair, Diego calmed down a little. Even if Arin hadn’t met Ed, she would have reached this place. Thane would have met Juan somehow, and Diego would have been recruited. Or they would have met a city that was devastated because they were too late. Or Diego could’ve been dead or maybe turned evil? Ed sat on the floor in front of the sofa holding Diego’s hand. Diego held his hand tightly as if he would never let go of it. Ed can’t imagine how great the pain of losing a father will be. Hoping that holding hands like this would help at least a little, Ed held Diego’s hand tighter.

Diego’s Dad, who had disappeared silently, returned and reached out. Diego ran up and hugged him. Even though he was upset that he left them behind, his father was looking at Diego with a smile as always. Diego looked for his mother with a satisfied smile full of love. But he couldn’t find his mother. When he turned his head, his father’s face became blurred and his body was disappearing like a mirage. He was surprised and reached out, but there was a hand that caught him, so he clenched it with all my might not to miss it. But the hand felt different. His dad had softer hands than his mom. It wasn’t a hand that had a lot of calluses.

Diego opened his eyes wondering what was going on. Diego saw a familiar face. He looked concerned. He was embarrassed for a moment because he had never seen Ed look so worried. At that time, Diego felt something on his left hand, so he tried to raise his body, but he couldn’t. Ed held Diego’s left hand and gently rubbed his fingers one by one. Then a ring that he had seen a lot was held in them. The moment Diego saw it, it reminded him of what he heard last night. Diego raised his head, wondering if it could be, and Ed was still looking at him.

“It wasn’t a dream?” “No.” “Did my dad really die?”

Ed nodded slowly. Diego bit his lips, breathed deeply through his nose, and asked.

“Did my dad really save the city?” “Yes. Without your dad’s sacrifice, all the people living in this city would not have seen the sun this morning.

Diego felt like Ed’s words were a joke, but considering the actions he showed after meeting him, he didn’t seem to be joking. In the slums, his dad always smiled and treated people nicely, but strangely, he remembered that people were having a hard time with him. However, Diego still could not believe that he saved the city. He wouldn’t have believed it if it wasn’t for Ed’s words.

Diego’s eyes turned to the ring. A ring that was always in his father’s hand. Diego, who was looking at the ring, carefully put the ring on his left index finger. He thought it would be big because it was his dad’s ring, but the ring shrank and it fits perfectly on his index finger. When he put on the ring, his heart pounded. Surprised by the sudden echo, Diego put his hand on his chest, but his heart pounded only once and subsided.

“Hmm.”

At that time, Diego jumped up from his seat because he heard a moan. But he stumbled while taking a step from the sofa. Somehow, his legs were weak. At that time, Ed supported him from the side, so he did not fall.

“Thank you.”

Diego put strength on his legs and approached Sophia. Sophia opened her eyes lying in bed, and Diego was surprised to see her eyes. Even when she was sick, he couldn’t see those eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of the dead.

“Mom.”

At Diego’s call, Sophia’s eyes were dim but came back to life. Sophia’s eyes turned to Diego.

“Diego.”

When Diego approached and held Sophia’s hand, she reached out and hugged Diego. When Sophia heard Juan’s death, she seemed to have lost her entire world. She didn’t even have the will to live anymore, but the moment she saw Diego, she realized something. Her loving partner left, but she still remained as a mother. Diego raised Sophia’s body gracefully to hug her. Sophia smiled in tears when she saw Juan inside of Diego.

“You’ve matured a lot. My son.”

Diego smiled as brightly as possible and showed Sophia the ring.

“Mom, I’ll do my best to take over dad’s roll now.”

Sophia touched the ring on Diego’s index finger and bowed her head. She tried to hold it in, but she cried again. Diego hugged Sophia tightly, raised her head, and hid his tears from his mother.

After they both calmed down to some extent, everyone in the group gathered together. Arin reported to the church yesterday and spoke to Thane after she got back. And Ed took a bath and gathered together. Sophia bowed her head.

“We thank you in many ways. How can I repay this favor?”

Ed replied with a smile at her words.

“There is nothing to repay. Juan saved this city.”

Sophia was calmly accepting the fact and smiling quietly. Perhaps Sophia already knew about Juan. Even if Juan tried to hide it, it would have been revealed eventually.

“I don’t know if you remember, but Juan asked us to take care of Diego.”

Sophia stared at Arin. If Juan is a demon, Diego is the son of a demon. Can she trust Arin? She thought it was impossible to entrust a cat with fish. At Sophia’s gaze, Arin slowly opened her mouth.

“It’s a promise under the name of Astron. Please leave Diego to us.”

Sophia couldn’t speak for a while. The holy knight made a promise in the name of Astron. That meant, this promise takes precedence over her own life. Juan asked for this promise. When she heard that Juan sacrificed to save the city, she thought they were saying it out of courtesy. But listening to them, she realized that Juan really sacrificed himself for this city, and for his family. She tried to hold back, but she couldn’t stop tears from forming around her eyes. Sophia accepted Juan’s last request without blinking.

“Please take good care of Diego.”