Chapter 34: (an unknown era) 1,999,999 Years Before Zero : Do you see what I see?

Van wrapped himself with invisible space that he shaped like a raincoat, floating above the ground before his sandals even had the chance to touch the unfamiliar ground.

Beluga hid behind Van’s body like a frightened dog while Van stood silently staring at the four demons in front of him, standing before a hell gate that was dozens of meters tall.

Van blinked several times, but the demons did not move.

He finally whispered to Beluga, who was peeking from behind his back.

"Oi... do you see what I see? If you see it, do you think it’s strange? Or because I’ve already seen so many strange things, does it still look strange?"

Van shook his head.

"Good grief... what am I even talking about?"

Beluga, who was behind Van’s back, finally opened his mouth to speak.

"If I have to answer your strange question, honestly, I’ve never seen a demon before... but, are those demons? Aren’t they statues because they aren’t moving?"

Beluga pushed Van like a living shield, as he also wanted to see the unmoving demons from up close.

"Try checking over there... you won’t get hurt."

Van and Beluga ended up fighting first to compete for the position of being in the back.

After several minutes without a winner, they finally hugged each other while Van created an invisible raincoat to protect Beluga.

Van walked slowly while Beluga gently swung his tail.

They looked at the two demons standing at the very front.

One was a demon with a muscular and large body. He had no hair, and on the backs of both of his hands were shields that seemed to be trying to protect the demon behind him. Two horns protruded like a bull’s from the sides of his head, while he looked like he was gritting his teeth with his pale white skin.

Van whispered to Beluga.

"Aren’t demons supposed to be red? They... look just like humans. They might even look like Kalula, I mean dragons."

Beluga whispered back into Van’s ear.

"You watch too many movies..."

Van nodded several times, agreeing with what Beluga said. He and Beluga then turned toward the demon beside the shield demon.

There was a demon with one knee kneeling, with long black hair that was stiff like stone even though it was hanging down. Her black eyes stared at Van and Beluga with hatred, while her two horns could be seen protruding downward.

Van looked at the demon from top to bottom, where the demon wore light combat clothing that suited both of her hands that produced claws. Van also saw something protruding from her body.

He turned toward Beluga, while Beluga also turned toward Van at the same time.

The two of them pointed at the clawed demon.

"She’s a woman?"

"Female demon?"

Van and Beluga finally moved closer to see the texture of the female demon’s face more clearly, which looked soft and pale.

Van even crouched down to stare at her for a while while thinking, while Beluga looked at Van.

"What else? I already told you not to compare them to movies... are they not allowed to have two genders? Then how can they reproduce...?"

Van raised both of his shoulders as he stood up.

"Who said they’re not allowed?" Van pointed toward the two demons in front of him. "What else can I do? This is my first time meeting demons... even though I don’t know whether these are demons or statues... but they are right in front of the hell gate."

Van and Beluga finally walked past the two demons to see the other demons behind them.

There, a white-haired demon with wrinkles on his pale skin could be seen fallen down with both of his hands directed toward a demon who had the smallest body among them, with white eyes and smaller black horns.

The demon had fallen into a sitting position, staring at the three demons in front of him with an expression mixed with fear, regret, and anger. At least that was what Van concluded as he crouched beside the small demon and looked at the other three demons who seemed to be trying to protect him.

Van turned to the left where Beluga was beside the small demon.

"Have you felt the POV yet?"

Beluga nodded once. The two of them finally walked around the four demons who were forming a natural pose.

"These are clearly not statues... did they turn to stone? I mean..." Van tried poking each demon’s cheek "...they don’t feel like stone, they just don’t move."

Beluga nodded several times while stroking his chin, sweeping his tail over the bodies of the four demons.

"You’re right."

Van stopped beside the four demons who were forming what he thought was a cool pose. He pinched the air and took out a camera.

The sound of the camera shutter along with the flash finally photographed the four demons.

Van then turned toward the hell gate behind them. The gate was black and shaped like a gigantic door with various carvings whose meanings Van did not know.

He looked at the sky where auroras appeared above the icy ceiling that had stalactites. The auroras came out like smoke from above the hell gate.

Van stroked his chin, standing beside Beluga.

"Don’t they look like people who were late returning? I mean, it seems like they didn’t have time to return to hell and were left behind... but why did they become stiff like stones?"

Beluga lowered his sunglasses covered in gold and diamonds.

"Is that a request?"

Van frowned.

"Do you know why they’re like that?" Van pointed toward the hell gate that had various carvings. "Do you also know what those carvings are?"

"Then just tell me all of its history as well... how much is the price?"

Beluga looked at the four demons and then at the hell gate that produced auroras above the tropical forest. After a while, an expletive was the first word that came out of his mouth.

"Shit!! The price is the same as killing the old man!!"

Van’s grey eyes widened. He grabbed Beluga by the neck tightly and shook his body.

"What the hell is that?! Shit! Hey, hey, don’t grant it!! What do I need information equivalent to my life for?!"

Van sighed. His back was wet with sweat because Beluga had almost granted a request that involved his life.

Van looked at the sky where ice particles were falling from the hole that had become the way he entered earlier.

Van kicked the strangely fertile ground several times. He even looked in various directions, where the area around them was surrounded by forests with strange-shaped plants.

"Oi... do you want to look around?"

Beluga looked at Van and crossed both of his fins.

"I’ve already seen enough strange things... I don’t want to know if there are dinosaurs later."

Beluga slowly disappeared while Van chuckled.

"Crazy whale... so you know about dinosaurs too?"

Van sighed. With the invisible raincoat still covering his white shirt and yellow pants, he finally took his camera and left the four demons.

The sound of rustling leaves moving because of Van could be heard, and as that sound began to grow farther away, another sound appeared, a sound that sounded like a language.

A voice that sounded disgusted came from the female demon. Her mouth did not move, but her voice could still be heard.

"That perverted human... he touched me so casually... what did he say? It’s his first time seeing a female demon? Damn it... has he never been told about our terror... damn it-"

A heavier voice came from the shield-carrying demon. The voice cut off the female demon before her curses filled the entire area.

"Hey, Lily... that human, he fell from above... did he destroy his first barrier?"

Lily clicked her tongue. They were standing right beside each other, yet they spoke without moving at all.

"How would I know, idiot! Besides, when was the last time someone came?"

The shield demon remained silent for quite a while.

"Hmm... who was the last one to come?"

A gentle voice was heard from behind the two of them, the voice of the old demon who had fallen while both of his hands were directed toward the smallest demon.

"That was Kalael... he came a thousand years ago."

The old demon remained silent for a moment.

"You two have to learn to remember properly. Lily, Grok... you have to remember how long this suffering has lasted in order to decide the right price to repay our revenge."

Grok chuckled without turning around, and Lily also laughed softly upon hearing the old demon’s words.

"Butler... you are the most forgetful among us. What did Kalael do a thousand years ago when he came here?"

"Sir Aryn... I think you keep getting older even after becoming a stone."

Aryn laughed softly.

"That’s true... what did Kalael do back then? Was it really a thousand years ago?"

Grok and Lily burst into laughter, while Aryn, whose eyes were fixed on the smallest demon, finally smiled even though his body could not move at all.

"How about it, young master? Do you remember? Was the last one who came Kalael? What did he do? You must remember, right? You’re the youngest..."

Grok and Lily’s laughter stopped, causing silence to cover them again, just as it should for those who appeared like statues.

The silence was broken after a while when the voice of a young boy was heard.

"He went to the temple of the fallen angel and...."